Free Jason Deas - Benny James 02 - Pushed by Jason Deas Page B

going to say, ‘winter’ or something like that.” Benny tried to find one of Jessica’s flaws to concentrate his mind. He couldn’t find one.
    She continued, “Where’s that bitch, Rachael?”
    He found one.
    “Excuse me?” Benny hoped he’d heard wrong.
    “Oh,” she said, feigning ignorance, “are you involved with her? I heard she was staying here and I don’t want her cornering me again, asking for information I’m not at liberty to give.”
    “She’s a good journalist.”
    “Excuse my language, Mr. James, but maybe you’ve forgotten what it’s like to be hounded by the press for information, and Ms. Martin, for lack of a better term, is a hound.”
    “I remember what it’s like,” Benny offered. “I didn’t let it bother me. If I didn’t have anything to say, I just didn’t say anything and I moved on.”
    “You didn’t answer my question about your relationship with Rachael,” Jessica stated, motioning for a bartender.
    “We’re seeing each other,” Benny said, even though he didn’t think it was any of her business.
    “Exclusively?”
    “We never discussed it.”
    “Interesting,” Jessica cooed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
    As Benny’s mind did a few flips and searched for words, a waiter appeared.
    “Sorry for keeping you waiting,” he said, “we were just going through a shift change. What can I get for you?” he asked, looking at Jessica.
    “My new friend,” she said, brushing against Benny’s knee again, “was just saying he had a taste for fine champagne. What do you suggest?”
    “We had a wedding here last weekend and the wedding party left a few bottles of some divine champagne. I’ll go and see what we have and bring two glasses of our best.”
    “That sounds divine,” Jessica mimicked.
    As the waiter walked away, Benny gathered his wits and shook off the spell of Jessica’s beauty to ask, “Why do you need to speak with me?”
    “No small talk?” Jessica asked. Her smile was beautiful and evil all at once. Benny cringed inside.
    “I don’t have much time.”
    “Do you have another appointment this afternoon?”
    “In fact, I do.”
    “With whom?”
    “My girlfriend.”
    “Touché,” Jessica said, acting like she was stabbing Benny in the chest. She laughed and Benny registered it as one hundred percent fake. “Stay away from Ted,” she said, switching the conversation into a whole new gear.
    “Ted who?” Benny asked coolly.
    “I’m not talking about Ted Danson,” Jessica said. “Who do you think? You saw him two hours ago.” 
    “Oh,” Benny said. “That Ted.”
    “Yeah. That one.”
    “So,” Benny said, “you’ve been following me?”
    “Yes.”
    “I didn’t see a tail.”
    “Oh Benny, honey, we don’t do it that way anymore.”
    “I know that.”
    “I could teach you so many new things if you would let me.”
    “You could?”
    “I could,” Jessica promised.
    Benny started to slip away again, under her spell, before he caught himself. “When I inspect my car, you better have had the tracking device removed.”
    The waiter arrived with the champagne and tried to act as if he had not heard what Benny said. The look on his face revealed he had heard every word.
    The waiter departed, and Jessica picked up her flute. “I already have a boss who tells me what to do,” Jessica said, sipping her champagne. “If you want to boss me around, I could probably get into that,” she said with a wink. “If you don’t have your handcuffs anymore, you can borrow mine.”
    “You are out of line!” Benny said, shocked by her advances and forthcomingness.
    “I thought you already figured that out,” she started, “with the little tracking device thing.”
    “I could report this to your boss,” Benny said calmly.
    “But you won’t.”
    “What makes you so sure?”
    “Remember Brandt Anderson?”
    How could Benny forget. He was the guy who had the job of firing Benny when he made his little mistake. And, he wasn’t nice