Page 20 of Marked

I point an accusing finger at him. “You’ve now interrupted two of my meals and ruined a precious cup of coffee. Why do you hate—ow!” Did Taylor just fucking pinch me?

Taylor gives Jack a warm smile as she settles back against her chair, ignoring my cursing. “You aren’t interrupting at all, Detective Khoury.”

“Please, call me Jack,” he says, giving her a smile in return.

“Jack,” she repeats before her smile twists into a conspiratorial smirk I know all too well. “You know, Val’s right, you do owe her.” When his brow furrows in question, she continues and moves a safe distance away from me. “You ruined her coffee and her dinner yesterday. Do you know what my friend is like without caffeine and food? Let me tell you, she turns into a bitch.” She cups the side of her mouth and loudly whispers, “Worse than usual. Like, a mega bitch.”

“Taylor!” I snap, knowing exactly where the wolf is going.

She jerks her thumb at me. “See?”

Jack glances between us and lifts a brow at me, the corner of his mouth tilting. “I think I know exactly what you mean. She did threaten me yesterday. I suppose it makes more sense now.”

Oh, I’m going to wipe that smirk off his face.

“Great! So, you agree you owe her!” Before he can reply, Taylor claps her hands together. “It’s decided then, you can make it up to her on Friday after work! I happen to know that her booty call dumped her last night so she’s free.”

“Taylor!” I hiss again, shooting from my chair and reaching for the blonde across the desk.

Agile as ever, Taylor slides out of my reach and stands up to keep distance between us. “You should already have her number, but I’ll email you her address in case she tries to leave work early. We almost had Mexican for dinner yesterday, so I suggest taking her to a place where she can get her enchilada fix.” She quickly grabs her takeout box from the desk and blows me a kiss. “I’ll send you the reports from the crime scene as soon as I can! Love you, bye!”

I stare dumbfoundedly at the door after Taylor leaves. Oh, I’m going to kill her. There is no way she’s going to get away with trying to set me up on a date with Jack. Hell no.

I clear my throat and look at the man in question in my doorway. “Please ignore her, Detective Khoury. I’m convinced she’s bat shit crazy. In fact, we’re not really friends. I don’t even know her. She’s like a lost puppy I fed once.”

He gives me a once over. Immediately, my sleeveless, dark green chiffon blouse feels suffocating. “I’ll see you at seven on Friday,” he states before setting a file down on my desk.

“W-what! No!” I protest, throwing up my hands. “Really, Khoury, you don’t have to. Neither one of us agreed to this so let’s just pretend it didn’t happen.”

Jack shoots me that sly smirk that makes my stomach flutter. “You have three days to come to terms with it.”

When he too vanishes from my office, I sink down into my chair and stare at the file on my desk with wide, disbelieving eyes. What the hell just happened?

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