Done for a fun prompt fest at Tumblr, and for some practice getting into another boss of mine's head. He's got some other prompts and ideas waiting for him, so we'll see if those pop up here in the future too.
The turning of the knob pushed him out of sleep. It let out a long squeal as the metal moved, and Grant stayed in place with his eyes cracked open enough to see but not to alert.
One person entered, on the small side, but even from this distance he was able to make out the dreads. Shaundi took light steps towards his bedside, staring down at him curiously as he remained still, and his breathing returned to normal when she turned around. The grip on the handgun under his pillow also eased, and he let it go when she reached for the door to his closet.
Drawing his eyebrows together, he watched as she picked up the sleeve of one of his shirts, examined it closely, then went on to the next. She repeated this pattern for a good minute as he stared at her openly, and when she paused to yawn he cleared his throat.
"Shaundi."
Her posture went rigid, but she didn't make a sound. Only slowly turned to peek at him over her shoulder. "Uh, hey boss."
He propped his head up on one arm and gave her a measured glance. "It's four in the morning."
"Is it?" She wandered over to his clock, ignoring the way his eyes tracked her. "...Damn. Looks like Mike wasn't kidding when he warned me about that. Keeps you running long after the buzz's gone."
"Did you need something?" he asked, his voice still rough from sleep.
Shaundi blinked a few times, her attention stopping briefly on the set of sunglasses on his nightstand, and went straight back to the closet. "Yeah, boss. I got a tip from one of the guys tracking the places where the Samedi stay and he told me there was a huge party being thrown. It's still going on right now."
Grant sat up as she pulled one of his shirts out, his usual black, and she smoothed a hand down the back of it. "And?"
"And I figured you wouldn't want to wait."
When her back was to him again, he pushed the sheet aside and got up. He reached her side as she kept on searching through his clothes, her fingers running over the silk, and he let himself follow her movements for a few minutes.
"Huh. I thought you only had one of these and wore it all of the time," she muttered, dropping the last shirt, "but you really do own ten versions of the exact same thing."
He had to try not to crack a smile at the expression on her face. "Is that a problem?"
She looked up at him and shook her head. "No, but it's got to get boring after a while. Sure they've got a great fit, but there's a lot of things you could pull off."
His eyebrow went up at the grin forming on her face. "I'm sure."
"Suits, slacks. Ties. Pierce goes on about it a lot.
"And you?"
"Not as much, don't worry," she told him, bumping him with her shoulder. "But I've got some ideas."
Both eyebrows went up then, and Shaundi took the chance to check him over. Then did so again at a slower pace, leaving her eyes somewhere on his collarbone. When she looked up again, however, there was a smirk on her face, and she pushed the hanger into his hands as she cut around him.
The drawer opened with a creak as she yanked on the handle, and she flipped through the clothes there until she pulled out a pair of jeans. "Let me guess, they all have holes in them too."
"Most, not all." She unfolded the pair to look at them, and when she started to trace a nail around one of the larger holes in the denim, Grant found himself speaking up. "Shaundi, if you want me to get dressed I will."
"No, it's cool." She waved a hand at him, and leaned back against the drawer. "It's early. You want to lounge a little I won't stop you."
"...Lounge."
He tested the word and Shaundi chuckled before passing him the jeans. "Just kidding. I know you're up and at attention at all times, boss." Giving him a single pat on the arm, she made her way back to the door and cracked it open. "I'll be downstairs. Don't take too long or I'll have to come back up here to check."
"And I wouldn't want that?"
The question had crept into his voice without him meaning to, but Shaundi didn't give him an answer. Just a non-commital shrug as she closed the door behind her with a quiet click.