A definite cherry on top, as Mateo couldn’t say he liked that possibility. He’d be super pissed if McClunis soured their relationship with the local PD. “Can it be both?”
“It’ll be no different from when any of my other ladies hook up with one of your guys. Or when they bang a nurse,” Isadora reminded him, since the firemen of 15, including himself, were not always discreet about their liaisons with MetroGen or Cleveland PD.
MetroGen and the Second Precinct were still speaking to them. “You win.”
“Women don’t ruin everything. Guys bring plenty down on themselves. Otherwise I wouldn’t be dressed like this.”
He took a meandering examination of her outfit and makeup. It was much louder than he remembered her wearing in the past, but the last time he’d seen her up close had been the day of her cousin Benicio’s funeral a few years back. Her black-on-black ensemble that day in no way resembled her neon blue eyeliner and heavy mascara. “I remember your hair being less bright. And your makeup…”
“Less like a stoplight? I’d hope not at the cemetery,” she joked and sipped her Tequila.
“You used to be over in the Fourth Precinct, right?” While he wasn’t sad to see her, the Second Precinct handled the hospital area. “You got transferred here?”
“Just here for the summer. Another officer is on maternity leave, which is why I’m in this lovely get-up.”
“It’s very attractive.” Mateo deliberately took a long look below her collarbone to where her breasts were on excellent display.
“I’m a streetwalker.” She pointed to her boobs. “Pushup bras are amazing, aren’t they?”
“No opinion here, though I expect they got you plenty of attention.” Mateo hadn’t expected her to encourage him to ogle them. Rather than let himself cross a line, he lit a new cigarette.
“You would not believe the number of men who offered me drugs or money.” She finished her shot. “So, you got this year’s newbies at the firehouse. How is that going?”
“I think you pretty much saw,” Mateo said.
“Lots of passion?”
“Very true.” He ordered another beer and took a slow drag of his cigarette. Captain Cordova had not been pleased to discover Firehouse 15’s vacancy had been filled by a woman. Like Mateo, the existence of two women within Cleveland Fire had been tolerable in the abstract to his captain. It became less exciting when it was staring him in the face.
And Hector Mondragon wasn’t known to go easy on anyone. Still, he couldn’t look at the tiny Leslie McClunis and not think Hector had been overly generous on her evaluations. Even if she was ready for the job, the social disruption of a woman being in what had been a men’s only space was a struggle Mateo did not relish.
“It will fade. They’ll get used to her. If the police can, so can firefighters.”
“I don’t know,” Mateo said. He took another long drag, willing it to calm his nerves. As lieutenant, his job was to build team cohesiveness, and they couldn’t even make it through an evening at a bar.
“I do know. It’ll take time. Do you know what they called me during my first three years on the beat?”
“No.”
“Spic chick.’”
Mateo gagged on his cigarette. “That’s the only thing they could come up with?”
She stole his cigarette and took a hit. “What did they call you?”
“Pedro.” He took it back. “Hector Mondragon was the one who came up with it.”
“See, everybody will take their lumps and get back to the job.”
The troublesome wildcat herself walked up to the bar right next to them and ordered three vodka shots. “I’m on may way out, but I figured I’d get one for the road with the fearless leaders of police and fire.”
“Cheers.”
They clicked their glasses and downed their shots. Leslie walked out with nary a stagger despite Mateo’s count of her consumption of five drinks in under an hour. “I hope she gets home okay.”
“Actually, I think she’ll have help.” Isadora jerked her head at the two police officers mingling and sharing beers with the firefighters. One of the police officers brought over a new pitcher, poured a round, and appeared to be on his way out.
Mateo ordered another beer, understanding Isadora’s meaning. “You think the two of them, even though they just met?”
