Page 14 of The Reading

When she first started working at Granger a few years ago, I’d almost swallowed my tongue when I’d been introduced to her.

Lightning bolt.

However, Sloane had simply smiled, shaken my hand, then had gone on her merry way. As far as I knew, she didn’t date guys that she worked with, and there was even some speculation that she might bat for the other team. She was rather…reserved when interacting with people at work, but I didn’t necessarily fault her. It was hard to work in a man’s world, and Sloane definitely worked in one.

Besides having a twin sister, I also knew that her parents were still together, she lived in a condo, she wasn’t on the FBI’s Most Wanted list, and she had a thing for turtles. I also knew that she had this gaggle of friends that she was super close to. Friends since college or something like that. Granted, this was all gossip that I’d manage to pick up over the years, but if left up to Sloane to share the details of her life, I’d know nothing.

As for me, I’d had an idyllic childhood with no complaints. My parents were also still together, and my older brother, Roan, was happily married with three kids already. Instead of a condo, I owned a house near the city limits, and though work took up a lot of my time, I still made the time to get my dick wet every now and again.

Again, Sloane Vicious was the only hiccup in my otherwise happy life.

“That’s your plan of action?” I asked. “Getting drunk?”

She shrugged her shoulder. “It’s St. Patrick’s Day,” she replied. “I probably would have gotten drunk, even without this little stint in jail.”

“You’re not even Irish,” I pointed out.

“Everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day,” she argued. “Just like everyone’s Hispanic on Cinco De Mayo, and everyone is patriotic on Fourth of July, and-”

“I get it,” I bit out, annoyed that she was going out drinking.

“Plus, if the beer isn’t able to drown out this craptastic day, maybe a hotIrishman can,” she continued, and I could feel my hands fisting immediately.

I wasn’t Irish, either.

“Gonna let him take you in the bar restroom?” I bit out. “A classy night for a classy girl?”

Sloane got to her feet. “Why, you sonofa-”

“Alright, you guys are out of here,” came a life-saving voice.

I stood up, looking over at the bailiff. “We are?”

He nodded. “Apparently, Judge Roberts was just trying to teach the two of you how to get along,” he said. However, when he noticed Sloane shooting daggers at me, he added, “At least, in his courtroom.”

Sloane grabbed her briefcase off the floor, straightened her shoulders, then turned her back on me. “Well, if you don’t open these doors right now, you’ll have to book me for murder, so can we get on with it?”

I reached down and grabbed my own briefcase as the sounds of keys and unlocking metal filled the room. “Yes, please,” I added drolly.

Sloane’s middle finger joined her sexy ass in walking out of the jail cell, and all I could do was shake my head when the guard said, “She’s a pistol, ain’t she?”

Chapter 2

Reign~

After reclaiming my newfound freedom, I’d gone back to the office, checked on some calls and emails, then had decided to jump on Sloane’s bandwagon and drink the fucking day away.

Leaving the office, I hadn’t had to go far before walking into the first bar that I’d seen. Downtown was a hodgepodge of businesses all over the place, so it was easy to find a market on the same block as a night club. It was fucking weird.

Luckily for me, this particular bar served food with their drinks, and that was a good thing since I hadn’t eaten anything since lunchtime. The plan was to get drunk enough to forget this fuck-up day, but still be able to function if someone caught my eye. Sloane wasn’t the only one that could make those kinds of plans.

It was also only six in the evening, so the heavy drinkers weren’t out yet. Oh, sure, there were already a few people in here pretending to be Irish, but it wasn’t anything too out of hand just yet. I’d been able to eat my bar kitchen dinner in peace.

Just as the bartender slid another beer in front of me, an annoying, stubborn, arrogant pain in my ass walked through the front door of the bar, and I could only assume that I had wronged someone severely in a past life and this was my penance.

As always, Sloane was too busy in her own little world, doing her own thing, not giving a thought to anyone around her. She was focused on getting comfortable in her chair, and that singular determination was one of the many things that made her great at her job. The woman was tenacious, and I often wondered if she was like that in bed, too.

I didn’t say or do anything as I watched the bartender take her order, but I did take a quick inventory of all the men that were sitting at the bar with us. There were only two that seemed to be alone, but that was two too many inmy book.

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