Adelyn Brady was sick and tired of the case. This particular software thief was just as Pertel had described him earlier… elusive. In the past few days, there had been many break ins with even a few arrests involved, but every person she handcuffed had either been a reckless juvenile or a clueless adult just looking for shelter.
She sighed. Where was this guy hiding?
Her desk was still piled high with case files, and it didn’t look like it would be going down anytime soon. She had worked all morning, trying to figure out the guy’s every move, and was still stumped. She wasn’t even sure if some of the reports were connected to him.
Her watch beeped and she realized it was twelve. Time for lunch, thank God. She picked up her phone and dialed Justin’s number.
Justin was sitting at an umbrella table outside a little deli when Adelyn’s squad car pulled up. Every morning, when he woke up, he thought about how stupid he was for asking a cop to be his friend… but then he saw her… and remembered why he had. There was just something about this girl that made him forget about everything else.
If she would have been wearing her uniform, Justin knew he’d be uncomfortable throughout the whole lunch, but she was obviously having an office day and showed up in her normal clothes.
Justin stood up as she approached and pulled out her chair so she could sit down.
“Thanks for meeting me here,” she told him in a sigh. “You have no idea how stressful my job is right now, and I just needed a break.”
“On that note,” Justin said with a smile, “Tell me what you would like for lunch and I’ll be back with it.”
“Justin, you don’t have to buy me lunch…” She moved to get up, but he put a hand on her shoulder, forcing her back down. “Really, you don’t have to pay every time.”
“No arguments,” he insisted. “Just please tell me what you would like for lunch.”
She sighed. “Fine, but this is the last time. Okay?”
Justin didn’t say anything.
“I can’t even fight with you properly!” she told him
Justin smiled. “Adelyn… if you don’t tell me what you want for lunch, I’m just going to have to surprise you.”
“Fine. A turkey sandwich,” she finally gave in. “Lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and a little mayo.”
“Perfect,” he grinned, pleased with their conversation.
Adelyn watched him walk away and go into the deli. What was it about Justin that made her let him have his way every time? God, he was so hard to argue with! Once he had his mind set on something, she couldn’t get him to budge for anything. Men were such a stubborn breed…
“I wish you would let me pay every once in a while,” she told him when he got back with their food.
“It’s not a problem,” he insisted, setting down her wrapped sandwich and a large cup of Sprite in front of her.
“It is to me! And I didn’t ask for pop!”
“I figured you’d get thirsty.”
She watched as he sat down across form her and began to carefully peel away the wrapping from his sandwich. “That isn’t the point.”
When he looked up at her, he swallowed his first bite. “I don’t understand why this is such a big deal to you. So what if I treat you to lunch?” he took a sip of his Coke.
“You treat me to lunch every time,” she cleared up for him. “And that’s not fair. Do you think I’m poor or something? I do live in the same apartment complex as you do, you know!”
Justin sighed, rubbing his temples. “Adelyn,” he said slowly. “You’re a lady… you’re my friend. I LIKE you! Why shouldn’t I treat you to lunch?”
“Never mind,” she said. “I hate arguing with you. Just let me pay next time. Okay?”
Justin took another bite of his sandwich and chewed, not saying a word. When he swallowed and took another drink, he just looked up at her silently.
“You’re impossible,” she told him.
To Justin, that was a compliment. “Thanks,” he smiled.
She quickly opened her sandwich and took a bite. “You know,” she said after swallowing. “I came here to get away from the stress… and here you are taking my insults as compliments.”
Justin pretended to be hurt. “That was an insult?” he asked, looking at her with wide eyes.
She threw a piece of bread at him, and he laughed, throwing it right back. “Oh, shut up,” she said, not being able to help but laugh along with him.
Justin threw his pen at the television and watched as it bounced off with a clunk and fell with a soft thump on the carpet. “Idiots,” he murmured. That news guy claimed that the police were on his trail… that it wouldn’t be long before the software thief was captured.
The anchor turned to the next page off his notes then looked back at the camera, “He’s considered to be armed, and dangerous, so kids, don’t go wondering into empty buildings at night.” He and the other anchor had a good laugh and then went to the next story.
Dangerous? Justin didn’t think he was dangerous. Murderers were dangerous, not software thieves. “Morons,” he said to the screen.
There was a knock on his door, and he quickly turned off the TV, got up and peered through the peephole. Justin sucked in his breath. It was Adelyn… in her uniform. God, how he feared the day the cops showed up at his door, claiming they knew all about what he was doing. After all, that’s what all his nightmares were about.
With a deep breath, he opened the door. Before he could even say hello, she threw her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his cheek. He looked at her, wondering what that was for.
“I just wanted to stop by on my way to work and say I’m sorry about throwing a fit when you were just trying to be nice today. You’re a sweet guy and I shouldn’t take you for granted.” When he continued to stare at her, she tried again. “I’m sorry, Justin. Please forgive me?”
“I’m just trying to figure out what you’re apologizing for,” he admitted as he placed his hands on her waist, expecting her to let go of him at any second.
She didn’t.
“Remember? When you wouldn’t let me pay for lunch? I’m sorry I made such a big deal about it. It’s just that I don’t want you to be paying every time. It’s just not fair.”
He knew he wouldn’t be able to look into her eyes much longer without kissing her, so he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a hug. “It’s okay. There’s no need to apologize.”
“Good,” he heard her say, a smile in her voice.
“Like you said before. I’m a nice guy. Why shouldn’t I pay?”
She pulled away from him quickly. “You are so stubborn! You’re supposed to say, ‘Oh, Adelyn, I didn’t think you felt so strongly about this. You can pay next time!’”
He looked at her, confused. “Why would I say that?”
She gave him a shove. “Never mind. I take my apology back.”
“There was nothing to apologize for in the first place.”
She folded her arms and stared at him. “How come you’re always so calm? I’ve never even heard you raise your voice before. How do you do it?”
Justin shrugged. “I guess I just never get angry.”
“How does that work? Don’t people get on your nerves sometimes?”
“I ignore them,” he explained.
“What would you do if I ignored you?” she wanted to know.
“Adelyn…” he said, not liking the direction this conversation was going.
“What, Justin? What would you do?”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her inside, closing the door behind them and latching it tightly. “There’s no need to ignore me,” he told her gently. “What good would that do?”
She looked up at him, suddenly noticing the tears in her eyes. “I’ve never met anyone like you before, Justin,” she admitted.
Justin bit his lip, but still held onto her hand. He sighed as her fingers tightened around his. “Don’t go saying things like that,” he told her. “You wouldn’t be helping.”
“Why not?” she asked. “Why shouldn’t I say that? It’s true, you know.” Before he could stop her, she continued, “you’re so… mysterious, and I get frustrated that I can’t tell what you’re thinking about, but then you look at me,” she looked up at him and saw his eyes gazing into hers. “Just like that, and then it doesn’t even matter that I can’t read you. Does this make any sense?”
“No,” Justin lied, then smiled. “I’m kidding. And about the mysterious thing… I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You would,” she told him. “You take everything as a compliment.”
“Why wouldn’t I? I’m perfect, aren’t I?”
She didn’t like how he never answered her question, then turned it into a joke, but she smiled anyway. “You, Justin Timberlake, are God’s gift to Earth.”
He frowned. “I thought I was God’s gift to women…”
“Well, then you can be both.”
He grinned, pulling her close and lightly kissing her forehead. “That’s better.”
She was the first to pull away from the embrace. “I’m going to be late to work if I don’t get going,” she said softly, not really wanting to leave.
He nodded. “Adelyn, I was kidding about the perfect thing. I’m far from perfect. Trust me.”
Chapter 6
Paying the Consequences
Justin {Fiction}
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