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"A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it." Jean de La Fontaine

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Chapter 10

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Sam stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel off of the rack. She was feeling an wonderful sense of calm at having come to an important decision last night. She was going to wrap up this case and go home. That's it. No fling. She was supposed to be ridding herself of complicated relationships and she knew that if anything were to happen with Martin would certainly be a complication. Besides, he was another agent. Another no-no on her road to healthy, happy Samantha Spade who was avoiding self-destructive affairs and a fling fit into that category.

So today she selected to wear her very conservative black slacks with the high collar black turtleneck sweater. At least that is what she told herself. Willfully choosing to ignore the fact that the underwear she selected to wear today was her favorite because it made her feel sexy and powerful.

It was simply coincidental.

She exchanged the wet towel for a cotton robe and went to stand at the bathroom sink. She wiped the steam off the mirror and began her daily beauty ritual. She reached for the blow dryer when she heard a knock on her door. She picked up her cell phone and looked at the time: 8:00 AM.

This was a first: Danny Taylor was actually on time to pick her up. Damn. This was not good because for the first time in her life she was counting on him being twenty minutes late.

"Hang on!" She shouted as she dashed out of the bathroom, grabbed her clothes and holster off the bed and placed them on the bathroom counter.

She walked up to the door and looked through the peephole but instead of the lanky Cuban agent she saw the dimple grinned Irishman. She wondered where Danny was and why Martin was at her door so she reached for the doorknob to find out. "Hey, what are you doing here?" She realized how rude that sounded. "I'm sorry, I mean…"

"It's okay." He smiled and held out a large Starbucks coffee. "I come bearing gifts."

Sam accepted it and gestured for him to enter. "Thanks. As much as I like men showing up at my door bringing me hot caffeinated beverages….why are you here exactly?"

"Danny called me this morning and asked me to pick you up."

"Why?" Sam was starting to wonder if this was a little plot by Danny.

"The car is stuck in a snow drift." He replied before taking a drink of his coffee.

"No, I me why just pick me up……oh, he's not here at the hotel is he?" She asked as realization dawned on her. Martin smiled lamely and shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, well thanks for coming to get me and for the coffee. I'll just finish getting ready. You can watch TV if you'd like."

"Thanks. Take your time." He smiled with his eyes on her before they darted to her chest.

She looked down and suddenly realized that she was standing in front of him in a bathrobe and nothing else. She felt a blush run over her entire body suddenly feeling very vulnerable and exposed. "Um, I'll just…..okay."

She walked back into the bathroom, closed the door and leaned her back against it. She wondered how this guy managed to fluster her so much when she considered herself unflappable. She tried to shake off her nervousness and took a drink of her coffee. He got her a café au lait, her favorite. How did he know what to get her? She wondered. Danny must have told him.

She took another long drink before setting it on the counter and picking up the blow dryer. She decided to do just a quick dry and tie her hair back in a bun. Buns were safe. They weren't sexy or provocative. They were safe and professional. Women in buns didn't have flings.

Once she was done setting her hair she started on her make-up to conceal all those freckles that she disliked so much. As she watched her reflection in the mirror she could hear the news in the background.

"…expect this cold weather to worsen over the next few days. Heavy snowfalls should arrive by early Saturday with an expected 10 inches of snow. Some meteorologists are likening it to Chicago's snowstorm of the 20th century which occurred in the winter of 1967. After unseasonably warm temperatures, snow started falling at 5:02 a.m. Thursday January 26…..."

Ugh, she groaned. This weather was going to get worse?

Once she was done she reached for her clothes. She slipped on her tanga panties and started searching for the matching bra. She shuffled all her clothes around, looked all over the little bright white bathroom when she realized it wasn't here. She was sure she had it with her clothes when she laid them on the bed.

Damn. She must have dropped it earlier when she grabbed them. Which means that it was probably lying on the floor…..double damn.

She met her own eyes in the mirror as she considered her plan of action. She and Martin were friends and professionals. He knew she was a woman and women wear bras. She will just go out there and pick it up and that will be that. Surely he can overlook the fact that the bra was hot pink and silk and sheer and lacy.

Mustering her courage she buttoned up her slacks and pulled on her turtleneck before opening the door to retrieve her undergarment. She tried to look cool as she folded her arms across her chest and walked into the room.

Martin sat on the other end of the room in one of the chairs at the table with his eyes glued to the TV. He glanced over at her and said, "We better find Erica soon or you guys might get stuck here. They are expecting a big snowstorm."

He was so casual she was sure he hadn't spotted her bra. "I'm almost ready to go. I just have to get something that I think I must have dropped."

She slowly glanced around the room but didn't see it. She looked along the floor by the bed and under it. She started to wonder where it might be when Martin cleared his throat. She looked at him and he pointed to something near where he sat. She walked around and there was the bra: hanging along the side of the bed in all its glory, stuck to that damn polyester bedspread by one of the little hooks.

DAMN.

She tugged on it until it came free. Tucking it under her arm she turned around to face Martin who just smiled at her. She started backing up slowly and said, "So, yeah, I'm almost ready."

"Okay." He covered his mouth which was holding back a grin like he was trying to restrain a laugh.

She walked back into the bathroom and closed the door. She picked up her cell. It rang four times before going to voicemail, "You've reached Special Agent Danny Taylor…."

As soon as she heard the beep she said in a sickeningly sweet voice, "Danny, this is Sam. I'm just calling to give you a friendly warning: Be afraid, be very, very afraid."