Chapter 6

"Randi?" Mac called, concerned. He could hear the Backstreet Boys blaring out their song Everybody (Backstreet's Back) from her MP3 stereo on her worktable but couldn't see Randi anywhere. The front desk officer, Officer Davey Vickels, had gotten concerned when Randi hadn't answered her phone, even after several messages. He'd mentioned it to Mac, who knew how good Randi was about answering her cell and he'd gone to check on her.

"Randi?" Mac called again, louder.

"Be right with you," she called finally back from somewhere way the heck at the back. After a moment, she emerged from a pile of boxes, covered in dust and cobwebs. "I think I just found the world's largest collection of cobwebs," she groused, pulling a spider out of her hair. Today she was wearing paint-splattered stretch jeans over a bright purple halter body-suit that left her back deliciously bare. Tan and denim-studded cowboy boots from Victoria's Secret were on her feet and over her jeans and a knee-length sweatercoat in tan and cream wool hung from the back of her work chair. Her hair was in a high ponytail and decorated with a purple, blue, and pink scarf. Mac thought she looked absolutely adorable, especially with the dust smudges on her face.

He chuckled and asked, "How come you're not answering your cell?"

A frown coming across her face, she unhooked her cell from its place on her hip, flipped it open, fiddled with it for a moment and said finally said sheepishly, "'Cause the ringer's off?"

"Good reason. How did that happen?" he asked, grinning.

"I was in a wee bit of a hurry this morning and I was trying to change my ringtone while dashing out the door and not trip over Fabio while I was at it."

"You over-slept?"

"Over-slept implies I forgot to set my alarm clock. It was more of a case of I was ummm… enjoying my dream just a little too much."

"Do I even want to know?"

"Do you want your ears turning red?" When Mac just grinned and shook his head, she said, "Didn't think so." She checked her missed calls and started muttering, "Drat, drat, drat, drat, drat!" She punched in a number. "Yeah, Davey, it's Randi. No, I'm fine, I had a minor problem with my cell, don't worry. Sorry about that." She groaned. "Okay, I'll be right there." She ended the call and closed the cell with a snap. "Drat, drat, drat, and double drat."

"Problem?" Mac asked, concerned.

"My business partner, Stewart, is at the front desk. Seems he decided to pay a visit."

"You don't look too happy about that," he commented as they left the storage area and headed for the reception area.

"I always wind up with a headache after dealing with him, more so as of late. I'm trying to find a new business partner but trying to do that and do it quietly, well, I just haven't had the time. Plus, I think Stewie wants to get closer than just business and I'm really not that interested," Randi explained.

Mac nodded in understanding. It had been almost a week since their dinner and he'd seen how busy Randi could get.

"Stewart, what brings you to this neck of the woods?" Randi asked the tall, reed-like man in a dignified gray tweed suit. His brown hair was perfectly combed and his shoes were polished.

"Really, Miranda, you should dress better than… that… outfit. It fails to do your image any good," Stewart sniffed, staring in distaste at her dust-covered clothes and revealing back and arms.

"Like I'm gonna wear a suit while crawling around on my hands and knees in a dusty room, yeah right. Real funny," she said sarcastically, folding her arms across her chest. Unfortunately, that drew unwanted attention to her breasts. When she saw Stewart's eyes drifting down that way, she glared at him. "Stewart, I have a lot to do. Why are you here?" she asked, getting impatient.

"I have some contracts that require your signature," he said, holding out a file and pen.

She opened the file and counted the contracts. There were four and all from some pretty big names in New York. "I'm not signing anything until I've had a chance to look over them."

"That's really not necessary; I've already looked over them and they're just fine," Stewart replied arrogantly.

"That's what you said about the Fellany contract and I wound up with a whooper of a mess landed in my lap that took way too much unnecessary hassle to sort out. The rule is I read over the contracts or anything that comes my way before I sign anything," Randi shot back.

"Don't you trust me to do what's best for the business?" he snapped impatiently.

"I don't trust Fabio to do what's best, what the heck makes you think I'm gonna trust you?" she shot back.

"That's a real good business ethnic you've got," he snarked.

Randi could feel a headache coming on. She rubbed the bridge of her nose tiredly. "Is there anything else I need to know about?" she asked.

"Yes, I took the liberty of signing the Endbergs to an appraisal contract. Your secretary should be mailing them the papers now," he said pompously.

Don't bet on that, she thought, thinking of her loyal secretary, Angel, who cared little for Stewart and had made it very plain where her loyalties lay. Mind you, it didn't help that Stewart was constantly suggesting that Randi remove Angel in favor of someone with more experience and better dress ideas. Angel was a Goth and had been with Randi for about two years, getting hired by her right out of college. The two women got along great and Randi let Angel dress however she want, complete with nose stud and eyebrow ring, as long as nothing was rude or indecent. Also, Randi ideas about work were radically different than most other secretarial-type jobs. Angel didn't work for Randi, she worked with her.

"Really Randi, if you would simply pay more attention to the business and less to the antiques, things would pick up," Stewart said.

So lost in thought, Randi almost missed the comment. Fortunately she didn't miss the chirp of her cell, indicating an incoming text message. Flipping the cell open, she accessed the message and started grinning.

HAVE ADVIL, U WANT?

The message was from Mac. She quickly sent back a message.

X-TRA STRENGTH?

The cell chirped again. YES, IN OFFICE. She quickly sent back a "smile" emoticon.

"What was that all about?" Stewart asked, annoyed that Randi wasn't paying attention to him.

"Just a friend relaying a message to me," she said absently.

"Ah. Anyway, I was hoping we could discuss the contracts, say over dinner?" he suggested.

Randi raised an eyebrow. "Not a chance. I'll swing by the office in the late afternoon and we'll discuss it then. With certain rare exceptions, I don't do dinner with co-workers," she said. "Now, I'm going to go look at these contracts and get back to work, so if you'll excuse me." And she started to walk away.

"I need those contracts signed and back on my desk by tomorrow morning!" Stewart called in an annoyed tone of voice. She flapped her hand over her shoulder in acknowledgement, not looking back.

As she headed for Mac's office, she glanced over the contracts and scowled. Yeah, the names were big in terms of money, but they demanded too much of her time and the start dates would interfere with her work with the NYPD. Plus, she had to wonder just how much of a cut Stewart was getting from these. Her headache grew.

Suddenly, someone accidentally knocked the contract file from her hands and the contents spilled all over the floor. She groaned and bent over to pick the papers up when she felt a hand grab her ass.

WHAM!

Her grabber, an arrogant young prick of a beat cop, was now on the floor on his back, thanks to a lightning fast move she'd pulled. Feeling her rage build, she calmly put her foot against the man's throat, leaned over, and hissed, "Congratulations, I was already in a bad mood. You just managed to make it worse." Loudly she said, "As someone who's supposed to be a cop, I would have expected better behavior from you than your pathetic attempt to grab my ass while I'm bent over. Shame on you."

She removed her foot and another young cop, his face and ears going red, handed her back her now-gathered-up file. She nodded her thanks and, back straight, continued on her way to Mac's office.

She entered without knocking, even though he was on the phone, and plopped down on his couch, tossing her file on his desk. She tired put her head on her knees and groaned. After a moment, Mac finished his call and joined her on the couch. He waved a bottle of water under her nose, along with some Extra-Strength Advil, causing her to lift her head. Smiling gently, he handed her the water and painkillers. She dutifully swallowed both Advil before leaning her head back down. When she felt Mac's gentle hands begin to massage the back of her neck, she moaned in appreciation.

"Have I told you how much I love ya so?" she asked. He just chuckled softly.

"You going to be okay?" he asked.

"I'll live, thank you," she replied as he finished the massage. She sat up, her mind feeling a lot more clearer than it had earlier. "I think I need to have a chat with Angel," she said, pulling out her cell. He raised an eyebrow. "My secretary." He nodded in understanding.

"Do you want me to vanish?" he asked.

"Nah, 'cause after I finish this, I've got a question for you so you might as well hang around. Besides, I got nothing to hide." She punched in a number on her cell.

"Back In Time Antique Appraisals," came Angel's cheerful voice.

"Hey Angel, it's Randi."

"Oh! Hi Boss, how's it going?"

"Stewie stopped by the precinct. You can guess the results."

"I sure can. Why you put up with him, I don't know."

"I've been asking myself that question a lot these days," Randi groused. "Listen, Stewie said he gave you a contract to mail out."

"Got it right here. It didn't have your mark on it so I said 'yes sir' and promptly hid the thing."

"Smart girl. I'm thinking… Stewie hit me with four more contracts to sign. Do we still have Paulie on retainer?"

"Paul Kent, the lawyer? Yeah, we should do. Why? You thinking of hitting him with the contracts and telling him to eyeball the things?"

"You read my mind, girl. Give him a call for me, will ya, and tell him to go over the contracts with a fine toothcomb and red pen in hand. You know how I operate."

"I do indeed and I will make the phone call right away. If he says 'yes' I'll courier the contract over to him and tell the guy to swing by the NYPD to pick up the other four."

"Good idea. Call me on my cell with the results."

"Will do. And, I hate to say this, but you have a bunch of invitations to say 'yay' or 'nay' to. I made a note of which ones Stewie said 'yay' to but didn't send out any replies yet."

"You're going on a very long lunch break tomorrow, girl."

"Yay!"

"Bring whatever you feel needs my attention and head to the precinct. Once I know you're there, I'll meet you and we'll hit a restaurant."

"Will do. Oh, and did Stewie comment on your outfit?"

"Yeah, me, a suit, and dust, are you out of your mind?"

Angel giggled. "Maybe you should show up in pajamas. That would really get his goat."

"Top, yes, bottom, no. But… I do have a pair of jeans that have seen better days… now I remember why I hired you!"

Angel laughed and said, "Okay, see you tomorrow, Boss."

Randi sighed with satisfaction and smiled at Mac as she snapped her cell shut. "Wanna grab dinner tonight?"

"Sure. You sure you're going to be okay?" he asked.

"I'm always okay. Surely you've figured that out by now."

"I know, but even the strong need a rest once in a while."

"Thanks for the offer," she said, smiling as she stood up to go back to work. "You're a regular prince." And she leaned down and, right from a classic Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs scene, gently placed a butterfly kiss on his forehead. Then she left the office and left him smiling softly, his skin tingling from where her lips had touched his head.