Sandman Read Online Free PDF Page B

in his chair. She giggled and covered her mouth like a schoolgirl. The corner of his mouth went up in a kind of half-smile; the glint in his eye was mischievous.
    Damn, he was sexy as all get out. Something stirred between her legs as she imagined him slamming her up against the wall, her legs wrapped around his waist and her holding on tight for the ride of her life. Yah Whoo! Down girl, he’s probably gay. Her eyes roamed down to his left hand where she spied a gold band glittering with tiny diamonds.
    Oh, well, it never would have worked out anyway. Men like that usually had an ego the size of Texas. But I bet the sex would have been great.
    The fantasy slipped quickly from her mind and reality reared its ugly head when her eyes slid up his arm and looked at his face. He was staring right at her. A slow smile came to his lips. Meagan felt her cheeks flush, she stood up abruptly.
    In an effort at recovery, she quickly blurted out, “Hi, I’m Meagan. The relief crew that was sent in.”
    The man’s deep baritone filled the room, “I’m Jerome, glad you could come. I’ve been working as fast as I can, but I was already booked with my own appointments. It’s just too much for one person to handle.”
    His voice made her quiver. Stay focused. Meagan turned away and called her first client.
    The evening flew by and Meagan enjoyed every minute of it. She and Jerome joked and laughed, and even sang to the Motown hits that rang through the salon speakers. That’s why she didn’t flinch when he asked her to go for a drink after work. By then her jets had cooled. The man was obviously spoken for, so she figured the invitation was innocent enough.
     
     
     
     

SEVEN
     
    Meagan followed Jerome to a nearby sports bar where everyone greeted him by name. He led her to an open table.
    Once seated, he took her drink order and headed for the bar. She passed the time watching the big screen TV, feigning interest in the football game.
    Jerome returned with a pitcher of beer and two glasses. They sat and talked for a couple of hours. Meagan told him about her divorce and moving from her four-bedroom home in Dana Point to the one-bedroom duplex in San Clemente. How she didn’t have any children, but would like to one day. She told him of her return to the hair business and how much she enjoyed the ocean and boogey-boarding.
    He told her he had two children, each with different women. He hadn’t married either one of them. But he did pay child support, which took a good chunk of his pay. He told her he had been married for nine years, but he and his wife now slept in separate rooms.They wanted to divorce, but couldn’t afford it. So they co-existed under the same roof. He lived his life and she hers.
    Gee, like I’ve never heard that one before.
    All at once she put two and two together.
    It was in the way his arm rested on the back of her chair, the way he leaned in close and spoke intimately into her ear. It actually wasn’t that loud in there. She turned her head from the TV and looked at him, really looked at him. His expression was not that of a fellow co-worker, but of a man in the midst of seduction.
    That explained the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach and her increased anxiety that had her leaning as far away from him as she could. It wasn’t her imagination.
    Jerome hit her with an invitation to a Chargers game that Sunday. Keeping it light, Meagan told him she wasn’t much of a sports fan.
    Glancing quickly at her watch, she stood up so fast she nearly knocked the table over. She caught her glass before it toppled to the floor. “I should be going,” she told him. “I’ve got an early client.”
    “I’ll walk you to your car.” Jerome stood alongside her.
    Damn. “That isn’t necessary. You should stay and finish your beer.” She feigned a smile.
    “Don’t worry about it.” He put his arm around her waist and hugged her snug against his side.
    Meagan decided to keep her mouth shut as she made