Split Second (Sean King & Michelle Maxwell 1) - Page 38
“Over what?” she asked.
“Calling everyone ‘sir.’ From waiters to presid
ents.”
She shrugged. “I guess I never realized I was doing it.”
“Why would you—it’s ingrained. With a lot of other things.” He looked pensive. “One thing about you has been puzzling me.”
A tiny smile crept across her features. “Just one? I’m disappointed.”
“Why did a supersmart superjock like yourself go into law enforcement? Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It just seems like you’d have other opportunities.”
“It was a genetic thing, I guess. My father, brothers, uncles, male cousins are all cops. My dad’s the police chief in Nashville. I wanted to be the first girl in my family to do it. I did a year’s stint as a police officer in Tennessee and then decided to break the family mold and applied to the Service. I was accepted and the rest is history.”
After the waiter brought their food, Michelle dug into hers while King quietly worked on his wine.
“I take it you’ve been here before,” she said between bites.
King nodded as he finished off his glass of Bordeaux and started eating. “I bring clients, friends, other lawyers here. This area has quite a few places as good as if not better than this one. They’re well hidden in the nooks and crannies hereabouts.”
“Are you a trial lawyer?”
“No. Wills, trusts, business deals.”
“Do you enjoy it?”
“It pays the light bill. It’s not the most exciting job in the world, but you can’t beat the views.”
“It is pretty here. I can understand why you’d relocate to a place like this.”
“It has its attractions and limitations. Here, sometimes you fall under the delusion that you’re insulated from the stress and tribulations of the rest of the world.”
“But they tend to follow you, don’t they?”
“Second, you believe you can actually forget your past and start life anew.”
“But you have.”
“Had. Past tense.”
She wiped her mouth with her napkin. “So why did you want to see me?”
He held up his empty glass of wine. “How about joining me? You’re not on duty.”
She hesitated and then nodded.
A minute later they had their drinks, and after they finished their meal King suggested they move to the small lounge situated off the dining area. There they sank into old leather chairs and breathed in the aromas of old cigar and pipe smoke augmented by the odors of ancient, leather-bound books on the worm-eaten walnut shelves that stood shoulder-to-shoulder along the walls. They had the room to themselves, and King held the glass up to the light coming in through the window and then sniffed it before taking a sip.
“Good stuff,” said Michelle after she took a mouthful.
“Give it ten more years, and you’ll never know you were drinking the same wine.”
“I know nothing about it other than screw top or cork.”
“Eight years ago I was the same way. Actually beer was more my specialty. And it fit my wallet better too.”
“So about the time you left the Service you switched from beer to wine?”
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