Chapter 4

• Jacinda stood back and admired her newly organized closet. That didn’t take too long. Well, if you didn’t count the four hours of sorting through the papers. Glancing down she looked at the last box. The only empty space left on the shelves had to be at the top. The top, she knew she couldn’t reach. A stepstool might have been a worthwhile investment. The two small chairs were too small. Glancing around she looked over at her desk chair. The other alternative was to drag a desk to the closet.
• She stood on the spinning chair as it twisted back and forth with each movement. At least the wheels didn’t turn very well, or she’d probably end up twirling across the room. Very slowly, she lifted the box up to chest height and waited to see if the chair was going to spin or tip. Slowly now, just another foot. She almost dropped the box when the chair turned quickly towards the left. Steadying herself she stood and looked at the shelf, it was now beside her instead of in front of her. She twisted her hip with a small jerk trying to make the chair turn back. When it did, she slowly reached out balancing the box.
• A hand quickly went by her face and shoved the box up onto the shelf. She grabbed the shelf to stop herself from flipping off the chair onto the floor. Turning she looked into the face of man with the greenest eyes she’d ever seen.
• ~
• Reid smirked. “Your boss should buy you a stepstool.” He stifled another smirk as he stared into large brown eyes that were looking at him, much like a deer caught in headlights. He grabbed the back of the chair to steady it and offered her a hand to get down.
• She looked at his hand but reached past to grab his wrist where it was covered by his jacket. “Um, thank you.” She pulled her hand away as soon as her feet were on the floor. She looked up at him, he had to be almost a foot taller than her.
• Reid smiled. He found few women appealing, and she was one of the few. “I’m detective Merritt; I’m looking for Jack Brown.” He looked around the tiny office noticing there were no other doors.
• She pressed her lips together for a moment before offering him what could call a polite smile. “I’m Jac Brown. Jacinda, actually.” She raised her eyebrows, almost daring him to comment.
• “You’re Jack?” She nodded at him and he could tell she was trying not to boldly grin at his surprise. “I guess I’m here to see you.” He backed away a few steps and studied her for a moment in silence. This day was proving to be filled with surprises. “You called to inquire about a woman?”
• She sighed. “They didn’t have to send someone down here, simply answering my questions would have sufficed.”
• “Actually, I’ve come to ask you some questions.” She stood there with her hands on her hips studying him. Why was it no matter the size or age of a woman, when they put their hands on their hips your first thought is uh-oh? His mind briefly hovered on the fact that the hips her hands rested on were nicely shaped ones, as far as hips went.
• “Really?” She pulled the clip from her hair and dark long silky black hair fell almost to her waist. Grabbing the chair, she pulled it over to her desk. “What kind of questions?” She pushed the chair behind the desk and sat down before looking at him again.
• He wanted to rush right to the point but having found out the hard way, he took his moment. Some people didn’t deal well with the things he dealt with daily, so he took a few moments to think how to approach this. “Who were you looking for? Do you have a photo?”
• She pursed her lips for a moment and studied him. “You know I do.”
• She wasn’t going to be easy to deal with. He tried not to smirk at her. “Yes, I do. Can I see the photo?”
• She looked tense and gave him a very guarded look. “Why?”
• Realizing this wasn’t going to be one of those times he got complete cooperation, he walked over and sat in the chair in front of her desk. “Look, Miss Brown, I’m trying to do this as easy as possible.” He smirked at her. “You’re not helping.”