“See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Ruby teased. “I’ll text her now.”
Ruby
Having lunch with Cassie felt oddly comfortable. Normally I felt a little shy around new people, the pressure to keep up a conversation in the front of my mind. But with Cassie the conversation flowed more naturally. Sure, I was well aware that she was asking me questions to help with the case, but somehow her questions seemed a little more personal. It made me want to know her more.
“What about you?” I asked. “Tell me about yourself.”
She looked confused, like maybe she wasn’t used to people asking her questions. Her nose scrunched up a little like she was thinking.
Finally she shrugged. “I’m your bodyguard.”
Well that told me nothing.
“Who’s Anson?” I asked, remembering my father mentioning that name.
Just like in my father’s office, Cassie’s expression turned arctic.
“He’s my father,” she said shortly.
Okay, this was obviously a sensitive topic.
“Wait, isn’t Anson Weatherby a TV commentator?” I asked. “Where have I seen him?”
“He’s a football commentator,” she said shortly.
“Oh yeah.” My mind conjured up a burly guy with a blonde crew cut and cold blue eyes. “He used to be the Seattle quarterback, right?”
Cassie nodded but didn’t say anything. I didn’t need to be a body language expert to see that she wanted to change the subject. Clearly there was a story there, but it wasn’t for me to pull it out of her, no matter how curious I was.
“Okay, so no father talk,” I said lightly. “How long have you worked at Sapphic Security?”
I’d looked up the company after Lois left last night. Their online presence was minimal, but my father name dropped several highprofile people they’d worked with. I’d been surprised to see that they had offices in more than half a dozen cities too. They were a big operation.
“I’ve worked there eighteen months,” Cassie said, relaxing as we moved onto safer topics. “Before that I did twenty years in the military. When I retired I moved to Seattle to work at Sapphic Security.”
“So that makes you…?”
“I’ll be forty in a couple of months,” she said shortly.
Ten years older than me. Not that she looked it. Her skin was smooth and she was obviously very fit, although I wasn’t sure how much of that was genetics and how much was hard work. As a professional athlete, I understood better than most what was needed to keep your body in peak physical condition.
“What do you do when you’re not guarding people?” I asked.
“Security work. Deep background checks. Surveillance. Monitoring the dark web.”
I smiled as she ticked things off. “I mean outside of work.”
She glanced down, almost like she was uncomfortable, before meeting my eye again. “I like to run. Well, anything physical is something I like to do. It keeps my vamp calm. And I knit.”
“You knit?” It was the last thing I expected her to say. Well, one of the last anyway.
“Yeah it’s something I started doing in the military between jobs. I don’t know why but it calms my mind. It feels almost meditative. And I can do it while watching TV or staking out a location because I mostly don’t need to look at what I’m doing once I get my needles set up.”
“Cool. Maybe you can teach me. I’ve never had much interest in crafty stuff.”
“Whatstuffdoes interest you?” she asked, and for some reason I thought the question was loaded with meaning.
I gave her a long look, studying her blank expression. Her emotions showed up in her eyes, I realized. Right now I could see curiosity and maybe something more. Hope?
