Trouble in Tampa by Nicole Williams

him.
    Either way, if he didn’t find me like I guessed he’d try, I had to find some way to work my way back into his good graces. The job wasn’t just another Errand; it was more like a mission. A woman’s life depended on me doing my job correctly and succinctly.
    I wouldn’t fail her. No matter the cost.
     

 
     

     
     
    I HAD A bruise “bangle” on my wrist from Mr. Tucker’s grip yesterday. I wasn’t a person who bruised easily, either.
    After returning to the hotel to regroup and figure out where to take that mess of a Greet, I decided I’d wait two days for Rob to come to me. Even though I hadn’t told him my phone number or where I was staying or anything other than my name, I didn’t doubt a man as well connected and ambitious as he was could find out anything he wanted to.
    If he didn’t come find me, it would be back to the drawing board until I’d worked out a plan to get the Errand closed. Two days. That was all the time I could afford before I’d have to go after him. I only had five days before I had to be back in California.
    My schedule was getting out of control, and I had the lack of energy to prove it.
    In an effort to bolster my energy stores, I wandered down to the hotel lounge and ordered an extra cherries cherry Coke while I went through Henry’s file for the three thousandth time. I was looking for something I couldn’t find. I wanted something to pop up that would explain everything. I was searching for the vice that would remind me of the kind of person I was dealing with on the Callahan Errand.
    By the time I was almost finished my second soda, I still hadn’t found anything. I’d thumbed through the file start-to-finish for the second time that night. I groaned and resisted the urge to punch something. As far as files went, Henry’s was pristine. Mrs. Callahan’s notes held no hint that Henry was the kind of husband who deserved to be taken to the bank and smeared by a messy divorce. There. Was. Nothing.
    Other than what he’d done to me. That the one piece of evidence I had against Henry Callahan was what he’d done to me years before he’d even met Mrs. Callahan put me in a sticky spot. Especially since my traitor self emerged from time to time and pretended that nothing had changed between Henry and me.
    If I didn’t keep that image of Henry in bed with another woman while I had his engagement ring on my finger, the Errand would continue being exceedingly difficult. If I didn’t separate myself from the man who seemed impossible to dislike, the Errand would turn into a disaster.
    I was just looking up to catch the bartender’s attention when someone practically stumbled into my view. It had only been a day—I could have sighed with relief. But then I noticed his stumbling was paired with glazed-over eyes and a flushed face, and relief became the last thing I felt. Alcohol paired with a man like Rob Tucker was like lighting a stick of dynamite.
    “There’s my girl,” he said as he bumped into the chair across from me.
    Trying to be casual yet quick, I shoved the Callahan file back together and stuffed it into my briefcase. Once it was locked, I composed my face and took a deep breath before looking at Rob. I’d been anticipating him finding me, but that was the second time a Target had stumbled upon me while I was studying an Errand file. Even though he was at least a few drinks away from comatose, it still made me feel like some Eve rookie.
    “I thought I made it pretty clear yesterday that I’m no one’s ‘girl,’” I replied, crossing my legs and leaning back. Thankfully, I’d worn something appropriate to the lounge instead of my tank and yoga pants.
    Rob grabbed the chair in front of him, pulled it out, and sat. He barely kept from falling out of it, though. “And I thought I made it clear that whatever I want, I get.” He pointed his empty drink glass at me, almost in accusation. “I want you. So that makes you my girl.”
    I wanted to shake my