come right out and say it. You were late. You didn’t call. You didn’t offer a reasonable excuse. You came to the meeting totally unprepared. I already have an investigator. Therefore, I do not need you. Is that clear enough for you?”
“Look, if this is about my being late—”
She added dense to the list of things she didn’t like about him. Where the hell did Mike Shelley find this guy? “This is about your attitude.”
“There’s nothing wrong with my attitude.”
Kate laughed, but she could feel her temper winding up. Taking a deep breath, she pulled herself back, but only a little. There were times when honest emotion spoke better than calm. Particularly when dealing with thick-skulled ex-cops. “You skulk in here like some kind of angry tenth grader and expect me to fall all over myself accommodating you because you decided to grace us with your presence. Well, I’m sorry if this comes as a surprise to you, but I don’t operate that way. This is my case, and I plan to win it. Nothing personal, but I don’t think you have anything to offer this team. You can tell Mike Shelley that or I will. Do you have any questions?”
FOUR
TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 9:25 A.M.
Frank might’ve only been with the DA’s office for two days, but he’d heard all about the infamous Kate Megason. She was a favorite topic among the male attorneys during happy hour when the booze was flowing and tongues were dangerously loose. He knew she was a pushy, uptight, type-A personality with a capital letter and double underscore on every single one of those adjectives. He’d even heard her name mentioned a few times back when he’d been a cop. Only cops weren’t quite so politically correct and called her things like hard-driving, big-mouthed, ball-breaking bitch.
Frank had figured he could deal with that, since many of those same adjectives could be used to describe him. Well, except for the bitch part, anyway. Frank’s personality flaws went far beyond bitch. Just ask his former boss, Dallas PD Chief of Detectives Manolo Blanco.
But while his attitude sucked and his life was totally fucked at the moment, Frank still considered himself a professional, even if he was hanging on to that belief by the skin of his teeth. When Mike Shelley had told him he would be working for Kate Megason, Frank hadn’t even blinked. He might have a short fuse these days, but he wasn’t so wigged out that he was going to blow the best opportunity he’d had since returning from the Middle East. Having spent the last year in his own private hell, dealing with some mean-spirited, self-absorbed, ambitious, she-bitch lawyer would be a walk in the park.
Or so he’d thought. Having just received a thorough verbal trouncing that would put any drill sergeant to shame, he wasn’t so sure.
She was staring at him, her gaze direct, her nostrils flaring slightly. He stared back, his own temper stirring up all sorts of nasty comments. “Look,” he began, “I got caught in traffic.” It was a lie, but Frank was getting good at lying, especially to himself. “There’s construction on—”
“Everyone gets caught in traffic in Dallas, Mr. Matrone, including me. That excuse doesn’t wash.”
“I was fifteen minutes late, for chrissake.”
“Twenty.”
“Whatever the case, a few minutes is no cause to have someone removed from an assignment.”
“I guess that depends on expectations and whether or not the person doing the removing is willing to settle for less. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I don’t ever settle for less than what I expect.” She shot him a pointed look over the tops of her glasses. “This meeting is concluded.”
He stared at her in disbelief, aware that his heart rate was up. That his temper was revving. That he disliked her. Intensely. It was one hell of a time for him to notice her eyes. They were the color of a deep mountain lake reflecting a cloudless sky and so blue he thought they had to be contact
“Look, if this is about my being late—”
She added dense to the list of things she didn’t like about him. Where the hell did Mike Shelley find this guy? “This is about your attitude.”
“There’s nothing wrong with my attitude.”
Kate laughed, but she could feel her temper winding up. Taking a deep breath, she pulled herself back, but only a little. There were times when honest emotion spoke better than calm. Particularly when dealing with thick-skulled ex-cops. “You skulk in here like some kind of angry tenth grader and expect me to fall all over myself accommodating you because you decided to grace us with your presence. Well, I’m sorry if this comes as a surprise to you, but I don’t operate that way. This is my case, and I plan to win it. Nothing personal, but I don’t think you have anything to offer this team. You can tell Mike Shelley that or I will. Do you have any questions?”
FOUR
TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 9:25 A.M.
Frank might’ve only been with the DA’s office for two days, but he’d heard all about the infamous Kate Megason. She was a favorite topic among the male attorneys during happy hour when the booze was flowing and tongues were dangerously loose. He knew she was a pushy, uptight, type-A personality with a capital letter and double underscore on every single one of those adjectives. He’d even heard her name mentioned a few times back when he’d been a cop. Only cops weren’t quite so politically correct and called her things like hard-driving, big-mouthed, ball-breaking bitch.
Frank had figured he could deal with that, since many of those same adjectives could be used to describe him. Well, except for the bitch part, anyway. Frank’s personality flaws went far beyond bitch. Just ask his former boss, Dallas PD Chief of Detectives Manolo Blanco.
But while his attitude sucked and his life was totally fucked at the moment, Frank still considered himself a professional, even if he was hanging on to that belief by the skin of his teeth. When Mike Shelley had told him he would be working for Kate Megason, Frank hadn’t even blinked. He might have a short fuse these days, but he wasn’t so wigged out that he was going to blow the best opportunity he’d had since returning from the Middle East. Having spent the last year in his own private hell, dealing with some mean-spirited, self-absorbed, ambitious, she-bitch lawyer would be a walk in the park.
Or so he’d thought. Having just received a thorough verbal trouncing that would put any drill sergeant to shame, he wasn’t so sure.
She was staring at him, her gaze direct, her nostrils flaring slightly. He stared back, his own temper stirring up all sorts of nasty comments. “Look,” he began, “I got caught in traffic.” It was a lie, but Frank was getting good at lying, especially to himself. “There’s construction on—”
“Everyone gets caught in traffic in Dallas, Mr. Matrone, including me. That excuse doesn’t wash.”
“I was fifteen minutes late, for chrissake.”
“Twenty.”
“Whatever the case, a few minutes is no cause to have someone removed from an assignment.”
“I guess that depends on expectations and whether or not the person doing the removing is willing to settle for less. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I don’t ever settle for less than what I expect.” She shot him a pointed look over the tops of her glasses. “This meeting is concluded.”
He stared at her in disbelief, aware that his heart rate was up. That his temper was revving. That he disliked her. Intensely. It was one hell of a time for him to notice her eyes. They were the color of a deep mountain lake reflecting a cloudless sky and so blue he thought they had to be contact
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