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Chapter three. Sloan stretched and looked at her watch, surprised to find that they had been sitting wordlessly together for over an hour






SLOAN STRETCHED AND looked at her watch, surprised to find that they had been sitting wordlessly together for over an hour, each working. She looked over at Michael, missing the pensive smile on Michael's face, unaware that Michael had been watching her for the better part of the last quarter hour.

" Done for the night? " Michael inquired.

Sloan nodded.

" So, you're a cyber-cop? " Michael inquired, still curious, and genuinely interested.

Sloan laughed harshly, thinking of how she had once been called that by condescending colleagues, another lifetime ago. " Hardly. Internet security specialist is the latest jargon. Mostly, I guess, I'm just a techno geek, without the glasses and pocket-protector."

Whatever you call yourself, you're far from that, Michael thought. It had been a long time since she had lost herself in conversation with someone when it hadn't been focused on sales or development or some other aspect of her work. Perhaps as long ago as those early years with Jeremy, when they had stayed up half the night fantasizing about a world that was now coming to be. Had it been this easy then?

" Somehow I don’t see you in the nerd role, " Michael laughed.

Sloan laughed with her. " You should have seen me when I was twelve."

" So this was what you always wanted to do? "

Sloan’s immediate impulse was to change the subject. Her past was not something she discussed with anyone, even her friends, and she didn’t have many of those. She looked into Michael’s eyes, prepared for evasive maneuvers, and discovered something she hadn’t seen in a long time. Simple interest, unaccompanied by innuendo or pretense. Often when women inquired about her personal life, it was a prelude to seduction. Not unwelcome, by any means, but a circumstance she had learned to direct away from revelations that could put her at a disadvantage. From Michael, however, the questions seemed merely friendly, and Sloan dropped her guard. There was no need to protect herself from Michael Lassiter, because nothing was going to happen between them. There was no danger here.

" I was into computers before most of my peers, and it came easily to me. Pretty soon I was hacking into places I probably shouldn’t have been, but it got me turned on to the possibilities early on. One thing led to another."

" We have that in common, " Michael noted.

Sloan regarded her with surprise. " What? "

" An early fascination with something other people don’t understand." Her face took on a distant expression, and she continued musingly, " It sets you apart. It can be hard."

" Yes."

Their eyes met, and Michael knew that there was more that Sloan wasn’t saying. She was very aware that Sloan appeared to be censoring her words. There was a harsh undertone in her deep voice that hinted at pain. Michael wondered if it was the same lonely isolation that she had experienced, before Jeremy. She caught herself, realizing that what she had believed was a partnership had very likely only been dependence. She thought of Jeremy now – remote, calculating, a stranger.

Sloan saw the flicker of sorrow in Michael’s expressive eyes. Impulsively, she asked, " Have you eaten? "

Michael stared for a second. She was surprised by the question, realizing she hadn't even been aware that she was hungry, and surprised that Sloan was inquiring. Sloan didn't seem the type for easy familiarity, any more than Michael was.

" No, " Michael replied cautiously, wondering where the conversation was headed.

Sloan hesitated, uncertain why she was doing what she seemed to be doing. Maybe it was because they seemed to share some of the same disaffected past. She shrugged. She was just being friendly, right? " I'm about to catch a show in Old City. A friend is performing, and the food there is serviceable. Want to come along? "

Warning bells were going off, but when Michael thought of the long night ahead, this seemed like a harmless enough diversion. " Why not? "

Why not, indeed.

 

Michael almost backed out a dozen times. Unfortunately, she had agreed to let Sloan drive, which at the time seemed to make sense. She hadn't thought about the fact that she wouldn't be able to make a hasty retreat if the evening turned into a disaster. She sat in the front seat of the sports coupe, staring out the window at the busy city streets. It was close to 11p.m. on an unseasonably warm Friday night in April, and an unusual number of people were still walking about, taking advantage of the weather. She realized that she was rarely out at this time of night, unless it was to travel home from the office. Then her mind was usually still busy constructing answers to questions most people hadn't yet asked. That was one of her strengths, her ability to see both the problems and the solutions inherent in a project before they developed. She wished the ability extended to her private life as well.

Beside her, Sloan drove with quiet concentration. She was efficient, aggressive without being reckless, and intensely focused on maneuvering the compact sports car through the narrow crowded streets. Michael was surprised to find that she wasn't uncomfortable, even though she was doing something completely foreign to her. She rarely socialized outside the obligatory business meetings, and when she and Jeremy had been forced to entertain, she had done so reluctantly. She simply didn't feel comfortable making casual conversation with near strangers. When she tried to remember the last time she and Jeremy had been out alone together, she couldn't. How on earth she had ever allowed herself to be drawn into this strange outing escaped her.

" You needn't stay if it doesn't please you, " Sloan said as if reading her mind.

Michael looked at her sharply, studying the angles of her face in the flickering light from overhead street lamps and passing cars that illuminated her features briefly before surrendering to darkness again. In those brief patches of light, Michael could make out the strong chin, sculpted cheekbones, and straight fine nose. She couldn't see the color of her eyes, but she didn't need to. That deep violet was something already etched in her memory. She reminded herself that she had spent the last few hours in this woman’s company, in far more than casual conversation. Contrary to being awkward, it had been amazingly easy.

" I'm accustomed to looking after myself, Ms. Sloan. Please don't worry about me."

" Just Sloan, " Sloan repeated again. She glanced briefly at Michael, then returned her attention to the road. " I have absolutely no doubt that you are entirely capable of looking after yourself. I only meant that it might not be the kind of entertainment you're used to."

Michael had assumed it would be some kind of musical performance, probably a jazz band or piano bar. " What exactly does your friend do? "

Sloan grinned while maneuvering into a parking space on the street. She cut the engine and turned in her seat to face Michael. Carelessly, she draped her right arm over the back of the passenger seat. There wasn't a great deal of room in the interior of a two-seater Boxster, and her fingers glanced unintentionally over Michael's right shoulder. " It's a drag show."

Michael jumped slightly, more from the unexpected contact than the unanticipated answer. She swallowed, then answered steadily, " Of course, a drag show. Exactly what I was expecting."

Sloan laughed, appreciating her companion's aplomb. She released her seat belt and pushed open the driver's door. " Come on. I have a table reserved up front."

Michael waited on the sidewalk for Sloan to come around the car and join her. As she watched the unquestionably handsome woman approach, she wondered what in God's name she was doing.

 


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