Free Young and Scambitious (A short story) by Mina V. Esguerra Page B

time. 
     
    --O--
     
    Six weeks ago, she went to a library. She liked to do that, when she visited a place.
    She had never worked with other people on a scam before, but she noticed that they liked to wing it in their own way. Margaux, especially, who was old school and went with rumor and gossip rather than hit the books. Wendy was all about the internet. Alexander would talk his way out of a jail cell if he could, and he apparently already did, but there was no substance to the form.
    Jane liked to go to libraries. She spent a lot of time in them growing up, and she had had to grow up in several places. Later she started seeing how each building was different. In one place, old and regal; in another, shabby and musty.
    So since the preparation for the Chrysalis Magnolia job had her visit Singapore, a city with a (shiny and modern) public library, she naturally had to go there on her only day free. The first thing she did was purchase a keychain from the gift shop, because she couldn't help but get souvenirs, another problem given this questionable hobby of hers. Then she went browsing. The books felt new, another odd experience. Was no different from shopping at a store.
     
    Diamonds are for Everyone: Selection, Evaluation and Care
    The Best Traveler 's Guide to Jewelry and Diamonds
    The Insider 's Tips for Buying the Right Diamond
     
    She saw him when she wandered over to the general fiction floor, because she usually picked up a mystery or thriller to dip into between the research. He was wearing the strangest shade of rusty red for a shirt, paired with ridiculous cargo shorts that made her notice his strong calves. Her eye sort of moved up from there, over to his profile, up to his head of dark hair, just long enough for the curls to start coming in. She leaned a little closer to the stacks and allowed her gaze to linger a little longer on his eye, the clean curve of his jaw.
    And then he turned toward her completely and she quickly turned away.
    Yeah, that was stealthy , she thought, and in her mind she gave herself a swift kick.
    He made his selection and then left the stacks, passing directly behind her.
    Jane sighed. He was probably over six feet tall. She was five-eight herself, couldn't help noticing height when she looked at guys. But she knew what it was that made her really look. That thing about him.
    He looked Asian but not quite, not enough to be clearly labeled from one country or another based on the stereotypes. Which meant, as she knew, that he fell under another one entirely. The half-something, like her. She actually found that fascinating, not surprisingly because of her own history with it.
    It wasn't a crime, to look. She did that all the time, "on the job" or not. Looking was as innocent as ogling a magazine cover boy. Jane admired, and then assessed, and then moved on her merry way.
    That night, the merry way happened to be toward a quaint organic/vegan cafe a few blocks from the library. She walked all the way, enjoying the night air and that for once she was appropriately dressed for the tropical weather: nondescript white tee, a lovely print skirt that came down just to her knees, canvas walking shoes.
    There was a glass case of vegan desserts and she was about to choose a strawberry cake when a flash of odd rusty red reflected in the glass and she nearly jumped.
    He was expecting this reaction and motioned for her to join him at his outdoor table, a small and round one that didn 't match any of the other tables outside. None of the tables or chairs matched. It was that kind of place.
    " Why are you following me?" he said, smiling, but not really joking.
    His accent was vaguely American, vaguely New England, which revealed certain things about him at least in her mind. If that was his actual accent, because it seemed like he was neutralizing.
    Just like she was.
    "How would I know that you'd be craving vegan cake after a book?" she teased.
    " No one does that," he answered. "Except you and