He wanted to tease her, ask her if she really was, when he already had some information about her. Mikaela Johnson really needed the money. She was an orphan, she had lived alone since she was fifteen, spending time in half-way houses and at one point, an orphanage.
“If you aren’t then you needn’t be defensive.”
She scowled at him. “I don’t need your money.”
“I think you do. And I think you need some time off from working. How many shifts do you do?” he asked her.
; She didn’t look at him. “I only have one shift.”
“But you extend hours to support yourself better?” he prodded.
“I do it because I’m bored,” she snapped.
“Really now?” He was looking at her, all-knowingly. What else did he get to read last night about her? The private detective had been quick. He didn’t need to know about her whole life, but a summary did fine. The detective did just that.
For the lonely life she led, she sure made it seem like she came from a good family background. She was upbeat, even if she had lost her parents at a young age. She had been self-supporting since, according to the files, managing to graduate with honors. How was that even possible? he wondered.
Her parents had been professionals, her father was a bank manager, her mother a guidance counselor. She also had a younger brother who had been eight by the time of the accident. The private investigator had been thorough, even managing to come up with an old news clipping announcing the internment of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, along with that of their son, Aaron, at a local funeral parlor in Washington. At least they had something in common, that he and Mikaela were quite new to Malibu.
“Will you take the bracelet?” he asked her mildly, holding up the charm.
“And what? End up paying for it?” It had her name on it. The bastard put her name on it.
“You could use the thousand dollars I left you—oh wait, you didn’t get it,” he grinned.
Her eyes narrowed. “You really are an asshole,” she told him.
“Fine,” he said. “I’m leaving this here, and anyone who fancies it can take it. I understand this isn’t enough to warrant a date from you.”
She looked confused, as if she was forced to make a terrible decision. She wildly looked around, trying to find a way out. What the hell was he up to?
The elderly female customer passed by, eyeing them both. Apparently, the young barista was playing hard to get. “Say yes, dearie,” she called out before walking away.
“She wasn’t so senile, now was she?” Justin said. “She still made sense.”
She didn’t say anything, but she stared at Justin as he put down the bracelet and its box on the table.
He was looking at her. “You can throw it away, pawn it, but I doubt you’ll find another Mikaela within at least five miles around you. Or you can also leave it here, I don’t mind if you leave it here.”
She shook her head. He was leaving her with no choice. Of course she would take it. It was a trinket that had her name on it; it was something she wouldn’t dream of buying in years-
“No takers?” he said, ready to leave. “I didn’t think you’d be this hard to please.”
“You think you can waltz into where I work and just assume I’d say yes to a date? After you left me alone?”
“To fend for yourself? In that sad, big apartment stocked with food and every amenity women want to have?” he continued for her.
She flustered. “You want me to go on a date with you and yet you’re acting like a complete dick.”
“That was my now-dead uncle’s nickname you know,” he told her.
She stopped herself for a moment. Dick was some standard English nickname and it didn’t sound too well that she was comparing his departed uncle to a penis. “I don’t want to go through that again. I felt used. Dirty.”
“It’s only dirty if you do it right,” he joked, remembering their romp on the couch and on the bed. He wanted to smile at the memory of it. That night certainly had to have a repeat. At least he was sure of that.
She shook her head, he was hopeless. He was one of those people who lived by their looks and wealth. Well, if you’ve got it, flaunt it, right? She was torn, though. She wanted the bracelet, it had her name on it, and he was good at persuading her. It was only the memory of him leaving her all alone that prevented her from saying yes to another date.