My plate is heapedwith spring rolls when I head back to find Clay and Sophia already settled in our usual spot in the NYPD cafeteria. The food here isn’t the best, but it’s convenient given our crazy work schedules rarely allow us to meet elsewhere for meals.
Sliding into the seat next to Clay, I catch the last part of what he’s saying, “… so glad that jerk’s finally gone. Couldn’t stand seeing his face every time I ate.” His words are garbled by a mouthful of spaghetti.
“Who are we talking about?” I ask, taking a big bite out of a spring roll.It’s surprisingly not too bad today.
“Justin, of course,” Sophia says, rolling her eyes. “But he’s gone now, Clay. I’ve got a new intern. No need to bring him up anymore.”
I can’t help but grin at her words. “Yeah, Clay, one less person for you to torture,” I tease.
He shoots me a look, not amused. “I didn’t torture him. He was just a homophobic, ego-tripping jerk, and I didn’t like him.”
Sophia takes a swig from her water bottle, not missing a beat. “Oh, don’t worry, you made that abundantly clear. I think part of the reason he quit was your snide remarks at every meal.”
Clay just shrugs, twirling spaghetti on his fork. “Not my fault he can dish it out but can’t handle it being thrown back at him.”
I bite my lip to hold back a smile.
Clay can be a total pain in the ass when he wants to be.
Sophia shoots him a stern look, pointing her fork at him. “I swear to God, Cooper, if you scare off my new intern too, I will kick your ass. I want her to stick around.”
I think about the witty, beautiful girl with the captivating cat eyes.Yeah, I’d like her to stay too.
She’s the first one who’s left Clay speechless, a sight I’d pay to see again.
The corner of Clay’s mouth lifts in a smirk, eyes still on his plate as he replies, “I don’t think I could scare her away even if I tried.”
“So don’t,” Sophia says.
Clay turns my way. “What do you think about her?”
I give a noncommittal shrug, not wanting to hand him any fodder to tease me with for days. “She seems nice.”
His grin widens devilishly as he says, “Nothing on that girl is nice. She is a feisty little thing. But that gets you off. So much so you asked her to marry you.”
I huff at him. “She managed to insult you without even trying. I think that alone makes her worth keeping around.”
“Jerk,” he retorts, setting off Sophia’s laughter again.
“Lina?”Howie questions, surprised as he lifts his gaze from his lap to me.
“Here,” I say, tossing him a sandwich packet as I sit next to him on the ground.
“Why are you here during the day?” he asks, looking puzzled.
“I started an internship with the NYPD today. They let me leave early, so I thought maybe you’d have time to grab dinner with me before my shift starts,” I say.
He smiles. “I think I can squeeze you into my busy schedule, kiddo.” He opens the sandwich packet, inhaling deeply before turning back to me. “Thank you.”
I return his smile. “Yeah, I figured you might want a break from burgers for once, so I picked up some sandwiches on my way.” I take a bite of my egg sandwich.
“I like the burgers.” He shrugs, taking a bite as well.
“You’ll get one later tonight, but for now, it’s this,” I say. I open my sandwich to inspect its contents and grimace. “Ugh, who puts pickles on an egg sandwich?”
Howie laughs and opens his sandwich too, so I place my unwanted pickle into his. “You learn to eat anything when you’ve had to for long enough.”
“I know, I know, but there are limits.” I shudder.
