Chapter 3
Meri cleaned her loft and wondered why Chase Harper invited her to dinner.
She wasn’t blonde or built like the women he usually dated.
She’d done a second Google search and found out he was thirty-seven, and made his first billion by the time he was thirty.
Every recent picture had him with a different woman.
The older photos showed him with a single woman. A petite blonde who was very beautiful and curvy. She saw pictures of them at various events over several years, then, about three years ago, she was gone and the revolving door of women began.
He’d said his fiancée was murdered. She looked for stories about it but found little.
Someone found her shot to death in a part of the city she shouldn’t have been in.
The police had put it down to a drug deal gone bad, but she got the feeling that Chase didn’t agree with that finding.
His emotions seemed to fluctuate between anger and grief, or perhaps anger had completely taken over now.
She decided not to worry about it and just enjoy the evening with a hot man. And boy, was he hot. She fanned herself and then laughed.
Meri decided on a turquoise top with a few sequins around the bodice. She tucked that into a pair of skinny black pants with black suede ankle boots. Looking in the mirror, she applied soft lavender eyeshadow, several coats of mascara and a pale peach lip gloss.
At seven on the dot, the doorbell rang.
She opened it, and Chase stood there looking good enough to eat. He wore dark gray pants and a white dress shirt, open at the neck, showing off his tanned skin.
“Would you like to come in?” I’m glad I spent the day cleaning. I love my loft. It might not be what he’s used to, but I’m proud of it.
“Not now, but I’ll take a raincheck. We have a seven-thirty reservation at The Capital Grille steakhouse.”
“I’ve wanted to try that place. Let me get my coat.” She grabbed a thin leather jacket off the sofa, along with her purse.
Chase exited before her.
She closed the door and locked it, shoving her keys in her small handbag.
“It’s near to here, just a few blocks. Do you want to walk?”
Meri put on her jacket. “Sure. My boots don’t have high heels, so I’m good with walking.”
After they exited her building, Chase held out his arm.
Meri was almost at a loss what to do with it. Almost. She’d never been out with a proper gentleman before. She placed her hand through the crook in his elbow. Walking so close together was nice.
By the time they arrived at the restaurant, Meri’s jacket seemed like overkill.
The weather was too warm for even the light coat.
They walked into the restaurant and the male greeter showed them to a booth in the corner.
He wore a white button-down shirt and black pants. The lighting was low and romantic.
Meri looked around her at the décor. It exuded a modern, club-like ambiance. If it had been loud with a dance floor in the middle of the room, she would have thought they were in a club. She hadn’t been to a club in years, but she thought this would make a good one.
Instead, they’d gone for the style of a club with a lot of open area between tables for easy access and the ambiance of a small romantic restaurant. She liked the place very much.
The server, a thin woman with short blonde hair that was shaved on the left side and to the bottom of her ear on the right.
She had heavy eye makeup, black lipstick, and a single tattoo of a long stemmed rose on the back of her right hand.
She wore the same attire as the greeter - black pants and a white shirt.
Carrying a small computer, she took their drink orders.
Chase ordered a draft beer.
Meri remembered this was a steakhouse and ordered a glass of Malbec wine.
“So, Chase, tell me more about you. How did you get into the security business?” She thought that was a safe-enough topic, especially since their breakfast that morning had included her history, but not his.
“After my tech company took off, I found I wanted something else to take up my time. Don’t misunderstand, I still like to design programs and games for my company, but I needed more than that to occupy me.”
“I can understand that.” He’s so easy to talk to. I’m surprised he’s not constantly on his phone like Jared was. He always told me it was business, but now I think he was probably talking to Angela while he was on a date with me.
The server returned and dropped off their drinks and a basket of freshly baked dinner rolls and butter. She also brought two appetizer-size plates.
Chase picked up his beer and held it out toward her. “To new friends.”
Meri lifted her glass and clinked it with his. “To new friends.”
She sipped her wine, then picked up a roll, buttered it, and took a bite. The roll was wonderful, yeasty and light. The butter melted into the soft insides and squirted on her fingers at the first bite. She set her bread down and licked her fingers before picking up her napkin and wiping them off.
Chase seemed mesmerized. He gazed at her like a hungry wolf. His pupils were enormous and his eyes seemed black. He finally looked down and took a slug off of his beer.
Meri picked up the menu. “What do you recommend?”
He grinned and pointed to the menu. “It is a steakhouse, and the steaks are great, so I’ve never had the inclination to try anything else.”
“Well, that doesn’t narrow it down much, since they have more steaks than I’ve ever seen on one menu.”
The server returned and asked Meri for her order.
“I’ll have the lobster bisque and the tenderloin, medium rare.”
“Very good. And for you, sir?”
“I’ll take the porcini-rubbed bone-in ribeye, and I’ll also have the lobster bisque to start.”
“Would either of you like a baked potato with your dinner?”
“Yes, please,” said Meri.
“Yes, please,” said Chase simultaneously.
Meri chuckled.
The woman turned to Meri. “What would you like on it, miss?”
“Everything.”
“Bacon, cheese, butter, sour cream and chives are all right for you?” asked the server.
“Yes. Perfect.” Everything about the evening so far had been perfect. Chase was perfect. Down, girl. He probably has every single woman in town panting after him. He doesn’t need me to do the same.
“And you, sir? Do you also want everything on your potato?”
“Yes, please.”
“Very good. Enjoy your drinks, and I’ll return shortly with your soup.” The woman turned and walked away.
After seeing the prices on the menu, she was very glad she wasn’t paying.
She’d have had an appetizer, a drink, and left.
That was her budget for dinner out for a month.
Oh, well, that was the life of an artist, even a successful one, and she didn’t want to be anything else.
Art soothed her soul and gave her peace.
It also energized her and made her happy.
He leaned forward and kept both hands wrapped around his beer. “You’ve got a smile on your face. What are you thinking about? Is it too soon to hope it was me?” He waggled his eyebrows.
Laughing, she nodded. “Yes, way too soon. I don’t even know you. I did a Google search and besides the fact that you’re wealthy, you often attend gatherings, bringing a different woman to each event. And you’re a private investigator.”
Chase clenched his jaw and sipped his beer. “You know pretty much all about me. I’m what you see is what you get.”
Thinking that his fiancé’s murder was a sore subject with him, she decided not to mention it unless he did. She tilted her head and cocked an eyebrow. “Oh, I doubt that very much. No one is. We all have our secrets.”
“Do you have secrets, Meri?”
He’d leaned forward and quietly asked the question. Almost as though he wanted to whisper it in her ear.
“Yes, and that’s all I’m saying. They are my secrets to keep.” She took a sip of her wine and then set it on the table. But she didn’t let the glass go, rolling the stem between her left thumb and forefinger. “So tell me, what do you do as a PI?”
He was quiet for a moment. “I work mostly on my fiancée’s murder case. But I haven’t made much headway.”
“I read no one witnessed anything. I’m surprised the killer hasn’t bragged to someone about committing the perfect murder and been caught by now.”
Before he could answer, their soup arrived.
Not wanting the dish to get cold, Meri dipped her spoon and then blew on it before putting it into her mouth.
She closed her eyes and let the flavors of cream, lobster, and spices permeate every corner of her mouth before swallowing. “Oh, my God. This has got to be the most wonderful soup I’ve ever had.” She gazed at Chase and found him staring.
“I like when a woman enjoys her food. Paige never ate much in front of me, but several times I found her in front of the refrigerator in the middle of the night. I know she was hungry. I never understood why she didn’t eat with me.”
Meri set her spoon down and leaned her elbows on the table with her hands clasped under her chin. “I’ll tell you why. The media bombards women with messages to desire super thin bodies, and if they don’t match that ideal, they experience shaming.”
He furrowed his brow. “You’re slender, and yet you seem to enjoy your food.”
She shrugged. “I’m naturally skinny. I’d love to put on some weight. Twenty pounds would be about perfect.”
Chase smiled. “We’ll have to see if we can do something about that.” He took a spoonful of soup and did much the same as she had. “You’re right, the soup is superb, but then their soups always are.”
“Do you eat here often?” She took another spoonful of soup.
He shrugged. “Depends on what you call often. I don’t cook, except for breakfast. I make mean eggs…any style you like. Anyway, I eat out a lot for business. So, yeah, I guess I eat here quite a lot.”