Page 55 of Burning Love
She was smirking at him. He didn’t think she was here for a friendly visit, but he wasn’t letting on to anything between them regardless.
“I’ve got a check for your victims’ fund.”
“Oh.” It’d been almost three weeks since she’d asked for more information.
How had the weeks flown so fast?
She handed it over. “It takes time to get money from corporate. I’ve got to give a write-up of everything with a purchase order. I was able to get that on my own through research. But for the equipment, I need more details. We have an application if you’re interested.”
“I can pass that on to the chief,” he said. “Can I open this?”
“Yes.” She was still grinning at him and looking around. There were a few men close enough that might be watching. He was damn positive they were.
If he hadn’t been dating Talia, he’d be watching just because of how gorgeous she was.
He slid his finger into the edge and ripped it open. The check for fifty thousand had his eyes popping. He hadn’t expected that. He thought maybe five tops.
“Damn. This is generous. And you still want information for the rest?”
“The foundation is large,” she said. “And you know, we live in this district. Anything to keep my mother safe and the higher ups comfortable with that.”
She wasn’t saying her brother’s name, but he knew what she was talking about.
“Do you have a few minutes? I’ll bring you back to meet the chief. He’s going to want that with the size of this check.”
“I assumed as much.”
He wanted to put his hand on her lower back to usher her back but couldn’t with so many prying eyes.
“Follow me.”
She moved closer to him, leaned in and whispered, “Have you been thinking of me?”
He turned his head. “Don’t tease me here. You might not like the outcome when we are alone again.”
She laughed and his blood boiled over the sound. “I think I might enjoy that very much.”
He always thought he was good at word games with women, but she had him at a disadvantage in a place where he wouldn’t push it.
The clicking of her heels on the concrete floors was the only sound to be heard as he kept his mouth shut for the moment.
He turned the corner, saw the chief at his desk and knocked on the doorframe. “Do you have a minute?”
Chief Rogers stood up when his boss caught sight of Talia next to him.
“Of course,” Chief Rogers said.
“This is Talia Carlisle. She’s brought over a very generous donation for the victims’ fund. She’d also like us to fill out an application for equipment that we might need.”
Chief Rogers moved forward with his hand out. “We’d love to do that.”
“I’ll email Captain Rigby the information since I’ve got his address already, if that’s okay?”
“Perfect,” Chief Rogers said. His boss took the check and looked at it. “Thisisvery generous. If I knew you were coming, I would have made sure we had some kind of press or newspaper here. It’d look good for both sides. Do you have time for me to give them a call?”
Jace should have figured that would happen.
“I have two hours before I need to be on a call if someone can come right now,” she said. “Otherwise I can return another day or they can reach out to ask me questions.”
