Catch Me If You Can (The Mancini Way) (7 page)

Chapter 7

Mancini

Poor thing she's so out of her element; I'd read her file, knew all about her background her education, her friends so I knew this wasn’t the type of place she frequented, from what little I’d gathered so far Ms. Stone was a little bit of a recluse, something we both had in common. I know about the one short-lived affair she'd had in college, the way that had ended but not necessarily the why; I probably knew more about her than the bureau had on me. I was tempted to approach her first but then I thought nah, let her work for it. She had no idea that I knew who she was and I couldn't wait to see how she handled her approach. I know the deal is for me not to know who she is like some sort of Mata Hari I guess but they knew I wouldn't be that easy so I wondered what angle they'd decided to use to draw me in.

I had to admit that for all my sordid dealings with the opposite sex she had something new, I'm not sure if it was her air of innocence that she tried so hard to hide or that natural sensuality that exuded from her. For all I know it could be just the mere fact that she was the first female the bureau had sent into the game the first agent they’ve tried to get this close. The fact that she was fucking stunning didn’t hurt either. I'd originally planned to play with her, a little game of cat and mouse but now I'm not so sure; this one might take something out of me that I'm not sure I was ready to give, I wasn’t exactly comfortable with the things she made me feel truth be known, I liked being in control at all times, somehow the lady made me feel less in control of my own feelings, something I’ve been able to master for a very long time; then again when have I ever backed down from a challenge?

Cierra

With drink in hand I tried to play the sophisticate looking around sparingly as though I was people watching; why wasn't he making a move yet? Am I such a dog that even a notorious skirt chaser like him wouldn't take the bait? That was a very unsettling thought I mean job or not I'm still a female with all the feminine wiles. I felt heat rise in my cheeks at my own thoughts, maybe in retrospect it had been a bit presumptuous to think that he’d take one look and fall all over himself trying to get to me. I guess I'll have to go with the fallback plan, if he doesn't approach me I'm supposed to manufacture a reason for approaching him. We'd already worked out a scenario and again I'm eternally grateful that seduction wasn't the first item on the menu though it was indeed on the list. When the waitress came back around I put my plan into action no sense in wasting time.

"So I'm new to the city and a friend recommended this place I'm very interested in possibly having some kind of promotional type thing here and I was wondering if the owner might be around?"

"Well maybe I can get you a manager...."

"No no no I prefer dealing with owners as opposed to management when talking these kind of numbers you understand!"

"Sure let me see what I can do ma'am." She took my order for another glass of wine before turning away; I watched her from the corner of my eye as she approached him and saw when the bastard shook his head and handed her his card to give to me.

Son of a ...She returned with my drink and the proffered card.

" I spoke with Mr. Mancini who happens to be here tonight and he said I should pass on his business card since he prefers not to handle any business dealings this evening; but if you'd like you can call him between eight and five tomorrow." I think she smirked at me when she said that and I felt my ire rise; how dare he try to brush me off as if I were nothing? He hadn't even bothered to look at me when he did it the bastard. I swear I'm going to make him pay for that slight. And on that note you need to calm down girlie, what the hell happened to you? You’re acting like a jilted lover and not at all like the special agent who has been assigned to bring down a master criminal. If just one look at the man in the flesh was going to cause this much turmoil this was going to be an uphill battle. You need to calm down and start thinking like the federal agent that landed in New York this morning and not some lovesick teenybopper. That little pep talk helped to smooth my ruffled feathers just barely and I sat back in my chair as I thought of my next move, what I really wanted to do was march over there and give him a piece of my mind, insufferable jerk.

Mancini

Ball's back in your court Cierra now what are you going to do? There was only one thing left for her to do she'd already played her hand so she couldn't back down now, either she'd wait until tomorrow which I was pretty sure she wouldn't do or she'd find her way to me before the night was over under this made-up guise. I could practically feel her pique from across the room she didn't like being thwarted but too bad; if she thought I was going to be easy prey then she really hadn't done her homework very well. I'm almost certain she did though because the bureau knew better than to send an inferior after me; each time I'd sent one of theirs back to them with his ass handed to him they'd brought out the big guns. I think I've been through all their best in the last eight years or so.

There was one glaring problem now though; I've never wanted to fuck my antagonist before. And is that all you want Hank? I ignored the annoying little voice in my head for now, whatever was going on here was going to have to wait until our business was done, until she was no longer hunting me, I hoped I could hold out for that long, something told me I was about to meet my match in more ways than one.

Here we go I guess she's decided to make her play; let's see how well she played the game, it could mean the difference in how things played out between us in the personal arena. I hope I wasn’t going to have to be too hard on her; I’ll just have to curtail my natural propensity for destroying anything to do with law enforcement.

"Good evening Mr. Mancini, mind if I have word?"

"Sure have a seat."

Magnificent up close she was a natural beauty what could be mistaken for artificial enhancements from afar is actually the beauty of unblemished skin with nothing more than moisturizer I'm guessing. I let my eyes feed on her boldly, after all she was a beautiful woman she might find it strange if a player like I've been rumored to be didn't show at least a minute interest. She took the chair across from me and folded her arms on the table in front of her. "So, what can I do for you Miss....?"

"Stone, Cierra Stone."

"A name as beautiful as its owner; so tell me Miss Cierra Stone to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

"I'm not sure if your employee explained my needs to you..."

"She did; and I explained to her that I'm not interested in discussing business at this time however..."

"Yes I heard, tomorrow is better for you tell me Hank, I may call you Hank yes?"

I inclined my head and hid my smile; the little cat was showing her claws already she really didn't like being put off.

"As I was about to say do you always disregard such lucrative business deals? If so then I don't see how you've amassed your reputed wealth with such lax business practices."

"Is that right? Okay Ms. Stone you've peaked my interest exactly what did you have in mind?"

I could see that threw her since she wasn't expecting me to capitulate that easily. It was easy to since I had no plans on letting this farce go much farther but it was nice putting her through her paces.

"I'm interested in renting out your space maybe having a private party for a hundred people or so."

I looked at her for a minute before answering, let her sweat.

"Sorry not interested."

"Pardon?"

Oh that ruffled your feathers did it sweetheart?

"It wouldn't be cost-effective for me to do that; I make more money in one hour than I would by renting you the space for such a small number, unless you were willing to pay the premium plus overhead, plus the fee per person not to mention the liquor charge. So you see your little venture really doesn't hold any appeal for me."

Chew on that agent Stone let's see what else you have in that bag of tricks of yours, her eyes smoldered for just a second before she got it under control.

Fuck, I think the boys in Virginia had finally come up with something worthwhile, who knew they could attract such beauty? The fact that my dick was paying attention didn’t sway me though I’m going to make her work for every tidbit she took back to them.

Chapter 8

Cierra

I think he's toying with me. It's the only explanation I could come up with. But why? There's no way he can know my true purpose and yet I can't quite put my finger on it but I know he's playing me. It would be really embarrassing to go back to my superiors with my ass handed to me so soon. I see now how he's always outmaneuvered the others that came before me; he's a smooth one Hank Mancini, his trick; never want what the other guy was selling.

Okay, I made my play and got rebuffed but this is just the beginning and though I prefer to go a different route, it looks like I'll have to use the old clichéd strategy though he didn't exactly bite. I felt my face heat up at the thought and refused to let myself go down that road of self- castigation again. I’d always been more focused on my career choice than my social life so I had never really had time to notice what men thought of me. My one short lived affair had been pretty tame according to some of the stories I’d heard around campus, or maybe it was just me, maybe I’d been so focused on my goal of vengeance all my life that I hadn’t taken time to notice anything else, like what kind of effect I had on the opposite sex. I know one thing it was so not a good feeling getting shot down by a known player.

"Well I guess that's that then Mr. Mancini thanks for your time."

I got up to return to my table, it felt like the walk of shame for some reason but I kept my head up and my shoulders squared thinking all the while what my next move should be. I had no intention on giving up but the elusive Mr. Mancini had no way of knowing that.

"Ms. Stone!"

Gotcha!

I erased the sudden smile from my face before turning around to face him again.

"Yes?"

"Why don't you join me for the rest of the evening since it appears we're both flying solo? Sit, relax what are you drinking? Let me get you a new glass."

I returned to my seat across from him and sat gingerly; my heart started racing now when it hadn't before at least not like this. That other felt like work, it was easy, simple; somehow this felt more personal like I was meeting him on a more intimate level. He’d shot down my offer but now had opened up the playing field again and somehow it felt different with him being the one to instigate my return, more personal.

"So what's your poison Cierra?"

"Riesling please."

He raised his hand and beckoned someone behind me; the same waitress from before came over to take our orders and she wasn't smirking this time. It looked more like she'd swallowed a lemon.

"What can I get you sir?"

"Get the lady her Riesling and bring us the Mediterranean platter please."

How very cordial and professional I wonder if he knew she wanted to jump his bones? And why should that thought bother you? You aren’t interested in the slightest remember?

Mancini

"So Cierra Stone tell me about yourself."

"What would you like to know Mr. Mancini?"

Did she have any idea of the danger she was in right now with that flirty look she was throwing my way? I wondered how much of that was real and how much was her job because I had no doubt that she was attracted as I was but she was a cool one; not by so much as a twinge did she give away any sign of discomfort at this new turn of events, in fact other than the slight color in her cheeks there was nothing to give her away; well done agent Stone.

I'd read her profile from front to back so I knew this was her first real field operation; so far she'd been tested in controlled situations but this little gander was her first foray into the real world; too bad she was going to fail.

"What would you like to tell me Cierra?" Like a cat with a trapped mouse; the imagined visual almost made me smile.

"That's a weird way to put it what if I wished to remain a mystery? After all there's an allure in that isn't there?"

"For some yes but I prefer my relationships to be upfront and open I'm not so big on secrets." Make of that little tidbit what you will special agent; she made a slight shift on her seat before settling herself again, had I not been watching so closely I would've missed it. Good to know she wasn't exactly comfortable with the deception. I'm still going to make her pay for it though before I fuck her to within an inch of her life.

“I'm not sure I'm comfortable discussing myself with you on such short acquaintance after all what do I really know about you?"

"This is true; so what would you like to know? Ask me anything."

"Well I didn't exactly come prepared with a list of personal questions this might take some thought."

Liar! You know down to the last question mark what you want to ask me; I bet you've dreamt about it every night since my name and file came across your desk. I didn’t utter a word of my inner thoughts just smiled innocently and watched her, it was hard not to; she had this one lock of hair that kept falling forward into her face every time she moved and my fingers itched to touch. Her lips were wide and sexy as fuck conjuring up all manner of illicit activities in my mind. They were painted a natural shade that did not distract from their sensuality but enhanced. I wonder what she’d do if she knew just what I was thinking of doing to her? What I absolutely planned on doing to her in the not too distant future. I brought my thoughts back to the conversation at hand putting aside my more lascivious thoughts for later.

"Okay then I'll start I'll tell you something personal about myself then you tell me something about you, sounds good?"

She shrugged her shoulders and fiddled with her glass; I'm sure she knew it wouldn't be that easy to garner information from me and I had no intentions of making her job anything less than difficult but I did plan on having lots of fun with her in the meantime.