Deciding to approach with gifts and information, Mike heads out to a coffee shop down the street from his apartment before six. Ordering a black coffee for himself, he decides on a mocha for Paige as he suspects she will enjoy the chocolate.
It’s a beautiful day with a clear blue sky and the sun is shining brightly. He is grateful to be outside in it. Reaching her building, he decides to stand to the right of the door so he can grab her when she exits. He sips his coffee while watching people pass him on the sidewalk from other buildings on the street as well as the people leaving her building.
He sees leggy Neesy come out with her blonde hair up in some sort of a clip.
Neesy sees Mike, stops and asks with a smile, “Hi. Are you waiting for Paige?”
“Yeah, I am,” Mike respond gruffly.
“She’ll be out soon; I think because she was packing up her stuff.”
“Okay. Thanks. Enjoy your evening,” nods Mike taking another sip of his coffee.
He is dreading the conversation that is to come but she has to know what he found out. He will be keeping a closer eye on Joe.
“Mike, what a surprise,” Paige smiles, her eyes twinkling at the sight of him. “Is everything okay?
“Yeah. I just need to talk to you for a minute,” he says shaking his head, feeling the knot in his belly that seems the size the cruise ships use when docked. Thrusting the mocha out to Paige, “I got you this.”
“How nice. Thank you,” Paige accidentally brushes her fingers against his as she takes the cup sending a tingling sensation all over her body. Her heart is now banging like a drummer in the percussion section of a marching band. She pulls in a deep breath, hoping to appear calm.
“Sure. You’re welcome,” Mike clears his throat, wondering if she felt the electricity from that touch when she brushed his fingers. “I did some digging into your robbery and there’s information I think you need to know.”
Swallowing the warm, rich, and bold concoction, “What is it?”
“A guy in your building paid someone to hit and rob you. His name is Joe.”
“Really?” she gasps, her eyes widening. “I had one interaction with him on a project and we disagreed. I need to call security and let them know. He’ll lose his job because of this.”
“I’m going to the police with his name. They need to know.”
“You’re right, they do. This isn’t good. Now I wonder if he’s the reason I had garbage in my office and it wasn’t the cleaning guy,” she bites her lip and shakes her head slightly. “I have more questions now than answers …”