An Offer You Can't Refuse by Sal Bianchi (best beach reads .txt) 📕

my face and started recording just as Thompson ducked into the passenger side of the car. I adjusted some of the settings on the camera so that I could zoom in more closely. It was a little difficult to tell from this angle, but I could clearly see Thomspon leaning forward toward whoever was in the driver’s seat.

Unfortunately, the view was obstructed by the frame of the car, and although it certainly looked like the two were kissing, I couldn’t be sure. I sighed in frustration and put the camera down in the passenger seat before putting the car back in drive, ready to follow wherever they went.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, and just as I was considering just moving my own car closer to get a better angle, the driver of the red car finally put it in reverse and backed out of the parking spot.

I followed them for about ten minutes until they came to a spot outside of a small bar I didn’t recognize. Normally, I would have parked far away to avoid being detected. This time, however, I parked directly behind them. There weren’t any other spaces free nearby this late in the evening, and I was hoping to get lucky and catch them in the act now that I had an unobstructed view through the rear windshield.

I quickly lifted the camera back up to my face and pointed it directly toward their car. This was insanely risky since there was no way they wouldn’t spot me if they happened to glance into their rearview mirror.

Luck was on my side that night, though. As soon as I lifted the camera up, Thompson leaned over and began to kiss the woman in the driver seat again. I zoomed in to make sure his facial features were clearly visible. It was dark, and the video looked a little blurry, but there was no doubt it was him.

Once I felt satisfied by what I’d captured, I put the camera back down before they could notice me. I leaned back in my seat and pulled my phone out of my pocket to wait for them to leave. They got out of the car a few minutes later and headed into the bar, and I sat back up straight. I’d upload the footage to my computer tonight and call Christine tomorrow to give her the results. I felt satisfied that I’d solved another case and excited at the prospect of getting paid, but at the same time, the results were bittersweet. More often than not, my job consisted of charging people for bad news. Hopefully, I’d be able to give my other client a more positive update.

It was too late now to start working on the adoption case, though. The sun had set while I was recording Thomson and his mistress, and now the sky was black.

I was about to pull out of the parking spot and head back home but stopped with my hand on the gear shift. I was in the middle of the city, surrounded by bars and restaurants, and it seemed like a waste to just head straight home now that I was here.

My first inclination was to call Jase and ask if he wanted to hit up a bar. Before that thought could fully materialize, though, I suddenly thought of Roxanne. I hadn’t seen her in a few days, but somehow it seemed like it had been a lot longer since that morning when we’d had breakfast together. In an instant, I had made my decision, and before I could think twice about it, I was calling her.

“Hello?” She answered almost immediately.

“Hi,” I replied, smiling even though she couldn’t see me. “Are you busy right now?”

“Not really,” she hummed. “Why?”

“Do you want to have dinner with me?” I asked as I stepped out of my car and glanced around at the surrounding restaurants.

“Right now?” She laughed.

“Yeah,” I replied as I leaned against the side of my car. “Why not?”

“All right,” she chuckled. “Should I meet you somewhere?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “I’m on South Miami Avenue, near the intersection of Fifth Ave. We can meet here and decide where to go from there.”

“Okay,” she huffed. “You might be waiting for a while, though. This is pretty short notice, and I’m not about to head out without getting ready.”

“You’re worth the wait,” I replied smoothly.

“Wow,” she scoffed, but I could tell she was smiling. “Okay, I’ll be there soon.”

“See you,” I replied before ending the call. I opened a search browser and began to look up good restaurants in the area. One of the first results was for a fancy Italian place called Il Gabbiano. I smiled as I thought that it might be a cute place to take her since we’d talked before about eating Italian food together.

Even though she’d teased me about having to wait a long time, Roxanne arrived less than half an hour later. I just happened to glance up and was surprised to find her walking toward me. Considering how long it would have taken just to drive here, she must have gotten ready in a rush, but she still looked great.

“Hey, Nick.” She grinned as she came to a stop in front of me.

“Hey.” I smiled back at her. “Did you have to park far away?”

“I took a cab,” she explained. “I didn’t want to deal with the traffic, and if I drink, I won’t be able to drive, anyway.”

“Smart move.” I smirked as I snaked an arm around her shoulders. “You got here faster than I thought you would. Were you that excited to see me?”

“Shut up,” she scoffed as she playfully elbowed me in the side. “I just didn’t have anything better to do tonight.”

“Oh, I see,” I teased. “So I’m just your last resort? That’s harsh.”

“Yep.” She smiled. “So you better have something fun planned for tonight, or I might just decide to go find something else to do.”

“Fun, huh?” I mused aloud. I could think of