Page 12 of Smooth Moves
A surprising invitation. She almost took him up on it, wanting to know a little more about Smith Ramsey. But she spotted Cash going up the stairs. “Raincheck?”
“Sure.” He nodded and left to finish with the paperwork and hang up the keys.
Jordan darted up the stairs after Cash. The moving office consisted of a large warehouse to accommodate their moving vans, a gigantic space they shared with a neighboring bakery’s trucks, and an upstairs office. The second floor of the building was home to a clothing store, watch repair shop, computer repair shop, and, at the end of the hall, Vets on the Go!
She followed the sound of Cash’s low rumble midway down the hall on the left, where the lady who worked at the vintage clothing store stood talking to him by her door. Jordan had been interested to see what Miriam’s Modiste offered, but the shop kept weird hours, and she’d never managed to catch the place when open.
The lady talking to Cash wore a long, clingy dress, making her look taller than what couldn’t have been more than five feet, and that was in heels. A middle-aged woman with dark hair and thick black glasses, she had a lush frame. Cash, to his credit, hadn’t looked below her chin, though he did seem a little tense.
Jordan neared to overhear the woman asking, “Are you sure? I can pay you. You’d be more than stimulating for my clients.”
Cash noticed Jordan, and a look of relief washed over his face. “I really can’t, Miriam. Jordan wouldn’t like it.”
“She’s not very enlightened then, is she?” Miriam turned to study Jordan’s approach.
Curious, Jordan stopped by Cash’s side and smiled. “Hello. I’m Jordan. I work for Vets on the Go! So, you’re Miriam. Is this your store? I’ve been dying to check it out.”
“I am, and it is.” Miriam beamed, her bright blue eyes sharp behind her lenses. “We’re not only a vintage clothing store. We offer classes on female empowerment to assert the feminine perspective in a world largely dominated by men.”
Jordan didn’t know what to say, but she had a feeling she should say something. “Interesting.” Next to her, Cash took a step back, but Jordan latched onto his wrist to prevent his escape. “Hold on, Cash. I need to talk to you.”
He sighed. Loudly. But he stayed put. The sly look he gave her warned her to beware as he said, “You know, Miriam, even though Jordan probably wouldn’t like me involving myself in your classes, I bet she’d get a lot out of them.”
“Hmm.” Miriam looked her over, and Jordan was dying to know what the classes involved. Something weird because Cash had a suspicious gleam in his eye.
“What exactly do you teach?” Jordan asked.
Miriam puffed up. “I instruct women in truly embracing and accepting what it means to be a woman. We reach for our full potential by expressing ourselves intellectually and emotionally through physicality. I call it a stimulation of the senses in their entirety.”
Sounded like more of Seattle’s alternative thought processes that frankly gave Jordan a headache. But she liked the idea of embracing her own inner power. How often had she been talked down to, working in a male-dominated environment like the Army? Maybe she’d give it a shot. “When are your classes?”
“We have one later tonight.”
“Oh, I can’t tonight. I have to get home.”
“We also offer weekend sessions. Would you like to come this Saturday? We have a new rotation starting. It’s an advanced class, but it would give you an idea of what we do. You could try our first class for free to see if you like it.”
Cash stood way too still, his expression one of guarded amusement.
She didn’t care. She’d take the unspoken dare and come out on top. After giving him a look, she answered, “Sure. I’d like that.”
“Great. Nine o’clock Saturday morning, right here.” Miriam shook Jordan’s hand. “A pleasure to meet you, dear.”
“You too.” After Miriam went back into her store, Jordan turned to Cash. “Why won’t you help with her class? Female empowerment sounds positive. Don’t tell me it insults your over-the-top manliness?” She felt left out of the joke when he laughed.
“Oh God. Please let me watch Saturday morning.”
“Sounded like a woman-only kind of thing.” She frowned. “And why bring up my name to get out of helping her? What do I have to do with it?”
Cash shrugged. “Hell. I’ll admit it. I panicked. I might have let her have the impression you and I are involved and that you wouldn’t want me helping out.”
“What? Why?”
“Never mind.” He turned and walked away.
“Hold on.” She had to chase him down the hall, the way he ate up the corridor with those long legs. “You lied, used my name to get out of work. You owe me.”
He stopped so suddenly she barreled into his broad back. “I owe you?”
