Disclaimer still applies.
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Chapter 3
Two Months Later
Annie's POV
I lay in bed next to Les, finally breathing normally after having made love for the second time in the last few hours. I knew I was never going to get to sleep. There was too much going on in my head for that. I waited until Lester's breathing evened out and then sneaked a peak at the clock. Damn, only four thirty in the morning. Oh well...only two hours before Les had to get up. I carefully slipped out of bed, pulled on some shorts and a T-shirt, and headed to the front of the house. Quietly opening the door, I grabbed the paper and then made my way to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee before sitting down with a pen and the classifieds.
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Lester's POV
I rolled over and knew immediately I was alone in the bed. Looking toward the bathroom, I saw that the light was off, so I knew Annie had to be out in the rest of the house somewhere. I got up, pulled on a pair of boxers, and then made my way to the kitchen, following the smell of morning coffee.
"Angel? Where are you?" I called quietly.
I heard her call that she was in the living room, then she asked, "Can you bring me a cup of coffee, please?"
I grabbed two cups and poured in the morning kick-start juice. In Annie's, I added what seemed like more sugar and cream than coffee, leaving mine black, and then took them into the living room.
"Morning, hon," I said, setting her coffee down on the table in front of her. "What are you doing up so early?"
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Annie's POV
I sighed. "Couldn't sleep. Too much on my mind."
He sat down across from me on the other end of the couch and pulled my feet onto his lap.
"Wanna talk about it?" he asked me quietly as he rubbed my feet, causing me to sigh again—in pleasure this time.
I shrugged. "Not really, but I guess I need to. You know I've been looking for a job and that it's just not happening. I'm to the point where if I don't find another job soon, I'm going to go crazy. I'm tired of waitressing at the club. My feet hurt all the time, I'm tired of the creepy hands playing grab-ass, and I make crap for money. But Les, there's nothing here for me. I'm at my wit's end."
Before I could stop them, tears started making their way down my cheeks.
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Lester's POV
When Annie started crying, my heart broke. I pulled her up into my lap and rubbed her back with one hand while stroking her cheek with the other. Slowly, her tears dried up and her breathing evened out as she fell asleep. If I had to guess, it had been at least a couple of days since she'd had a good night's sleep. I carefully stood up and carried her into the bedroom, where I tucked her into bed, smoothing the hair away from her face once before going to take my shower.
Leaving a quick note for Annie on her nightstand, I then leaned down and pressed my lips to her forehead for several seconds before heading out the door to work.
I spent the ten minute drive from her house to Haywood thinking about the last two months. I spent most nights at her house, where we were almost assured of our privacy. Every morning, I'd wake up early enough to shower, dress, and get to work a few minutes ahead of schedule to grab some breakfast. We were dating, actually going out to dinner and the movies, shopping, whatever else her heart desired, and I...I'd realized the other day that I was slowly beginning to fall in love.
By the time I entered the elevator at work, I'd made a decision. After dropping off my bag in my apartment, I buzzed the control room to ask if Ranger was already in his office. When they said he was, I made my way upstairs and knocked on the door.
When he called out, "Yo," I walked in and closed the door.
"Got a sec?" I asked.
"Sure," Ranger replied.
"You know I mentioned the girl, Annie, I've been dating since the night you took Steph to your house for the first time?" He nodded, so I continued. "She graduated from college a few months ago with a degree in Computer Information Systems. Her family's here in town—mom and two younger siblings—so she wants to stay here. Unfortunately, she's been hunting for a job for months now with no results."
He gave me a quick look and motioned for me to continue.
"Anyway, I know Steph's been getting backed up with searches and is itching to get out into the field more, especially after having been training with me and the guys the last couple of months. So I was wondering if there's any chance RangeMan might be needing a second researcher anytime soon? I'm not saying she should get the job because of me, just that she be given the opportunity to come in and talk to you and the other guys. Maybe get Steph's input as well, since she'd be working with her a lot and I know you trust Steph's instincts, especially about people."
"Actually, that's something I'd planned to bring up at the next core team meeting—the fact that we should think about bringing someone else on board, I mean. I don't see why we can't have Annie come in first and meet Tank, Bobby, Steph, and me. I'll bring it up at the next meeting. I'll just mention that it's a friend of a friend I'm thinking of hiring, but that I want their input."
I stood up. "Great. Thanks, Bossman," I said as I turned around to leave.
Ranger interrupted my departure by saying, "You love her, don't you, Santos?"
Keeping my cool, I asked, "Why would you think that?"
"Because you have the same look on your face that I've had on mine for a while now. I see it every day in the mirror. It's the look of a man in love. Now, get back to work," he said before turning back to the paperwork in front of him.
I let myself out of the office and headed to the kitchen to grab a quick breakfast. Hopefully, the next time I talked to Annie, I'd have good news for her.