Catching the Bad Guy (Book Two) (Janet Maple Series) (30 page)

“I love pancakes,” Janet stalled,
remembering seeing a carton of pancake mix somewhere in the back of her kitchen
cupboards. “Can you watch the bacon?” Janet rummaged through the cupboards,
finally locating a worn-looking, but unopened carton. “Here we are!”

Dennis eyed the carton suspiciously. “I
think you might want to check the expiration date.”

Janet’s eyebrows furrowed as she searched
for the date. “It’s perfectly edible for another two months,” she announced
triumphantly.

“Excellent. Now I need milk and butter
and we’ll be in business.”

“Milk? I’ve always made pancakes with
water.”

Dennis cocked an eyebrow. “By the looks
of this carton, it’s been a while since you’ve made any pancakes, with water or
milk.”

The playful look in Dennis’s eyes was
the only thing that stopped Janet from snapping at him. He was only kidding,
and she knew it. Besides, the best revenge would be to see Dennis actually
making those darn pancakes he was harping about. Janet flung open the fridge
door, hoping to find a carton of milk that was less than a month old. She was
in luck.

“Here you are,” she announced, placing
the milk carton on the counter. “The expiration date is tomorrow.”

“Excellent.” Dennis grinned. “I got it
from here.”

Janet used the opportunity to sneak into
the bathroom and check her makeup. Dennis Walker was in her kitchen, making her
breakfast. She was so happy, she could float on air.

When Janet returned to the kitchen, she
found that Dennis was an ace at manning the stove. Already the first batch of
pancakes was ready, and Dennis was expertly pouring the batter for the next
round. Just as the batter began to sizzle on the pan, Dennis turned his
attention to the omelet. “Breakfast is almost ready,” he announced.

“I’ll make coffee,” Janet offered.

A few minutes later they were seated
behind the table. Baxter curled up by Janet’s feet, his nose curiously inhaling
the tantalizing breakfast fumes.

Janet ate a forkful of eggs and bacon.
“It’s delicious.” Normally, she limited her breakfast fare to toast, oatmeal or
yogurt, but she figured that she had burned more than enough calories last
night and this morning to justify the splurge.

“Good. You’d better eat up if we are
going to have an encore of this morning.”

Janet’s face grew warm with pleasure. An
encore of this morning meant that he wanted to see her again, which meant …

“I love it when you blush,” Dennis
teased her.

“I bet you do. You love making me
uncomfortable.”

“From what I recall, you were pretty
comfortable with me this morning. More than comfortable, actually.”

“See what I mean?” Janet felt the blush
creeping up her face. “You’re doing it again.”

“Okay, I’ll stop.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Dennis put a forkful of pancakes into
his mouth. “You’re safe for now. I’m too hungry to embarrass you.”

“Good.” Janet dug her fork into her
food.

Baxter peaked from under the table and
placed his head on Dennis’s lap.

“He’s just had his breakfast,” Janet
said reproachfully.

“Come on.” Dennis made eyes at her. “How
can you resist the little fella?”

“Human food is bad for him.”

“Most human food is bad for humans too,
but we eat it anyway.”

“I’m looking out for Baxter’s wellbeing.
If he gets an upset stomach, I’ll be the one dealing with the mess, thank you
very much.”

Dennis made a face. “Sometimes you can
be such a worrywart, but I love that about you too.” Dennis blew an air to
Janet with one hand, while his other hand disappeared under the table.

“I saw that.”

“What?”

“You slipped Baxter a piece of bacon. I
can hear him chewing it.”

“Guilty as charged. We men have got to
stick together.”

“What have I gotten myself into?”

“I hope you’ll stick around to find
out.”

This time Janet did not blush. “I intend
to.”

Finished with his meal, Dennis took a
long swallow of coffee. “How about we go for a walk around the city and play
Joe tourist?”

“Sounds like a great idea. I’m just
going to call my neighbor and ask her to take Baxter for the day.”

Baxter was the only one who seemed to
disapprove of the plan, as he growled and looked at Janet reproachfully.

Dennis scratched Baxter’s back. “We can
take Baxter with us. He looks like he’s dying to come along.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind? I can
leave him with my neighbor. She is retired and she is always glad to take
Baxter for a few hours.”

“Me, mind Baxter? We’ve become best
buddies.” Dennis began scratching Baxter’s belly, and Baxter rolled on his back
in pure delight.

“You’re going to spoil him.” Janet
folded her arms on her chest. Not that she was jealous, but …

As if to reassure her, Baxter got to his
feet and started licking her legs. “Yes, I love you too.” Janet smiled.

A few minutes later they were exiting
the lobby of Janet’s building. “That breakfast hit the spot.” Dennis rubbed his
washboard stomach, which miraculously stayed just as flat as it had been prior
to their meal.

“Yes, it did.” Janet agreed, conscious
of the snugger fit of her jeans.

“How about a walk in Central Park? We
could cut across town here.”

“Sounds like a great idea. I need to
walk off all that greasy food we just ate,” Janet replied.

Dennis gave her a once over. “I don’t
see the need to walk off anything.” He pulled her toward him and held her in a
long, sweet kiss. “Believe me, I’ll make sure that you get plenty of exercise.”

“Dennis! We’re in the middle of the
street.”

“So what? Can’t a man kiss his
girlfriend?”

Girlfriend? Janet’s heart jumped like a
schoolgirl’s. She was Dennis Walker’s girlfriend. “You don’t mind me calling
you my girlfriend, do you, Janet?”

“Not in the least,” she murmured.

“Good. In that case, your boyfriend
would like to know if you’ll grant him another kiss.”

“With pleasure.”

They spent the day enjoying Central
Park, eating hot dogs and ice cream. Baxter was happy to tag along, and Dennis
had managed to sneak him bits of food while Janet pretended to be oblivious to
Dennis’s tricks. Afterwards, Dennis suggested that they go to SoHo, and they
took the bus downtown. They stopped by SoHo’s many galleries and enjoyed the
neighborhood’s artistic flair. Baxter received endless compliments as he was
welcomed by all the gallery attendants and visitors.

“I’ve to get going soon,” Janet said.
“We both have a big day tomorrow.” It was close to five o’clock.

“Yes, we could do that, but why waste
another wonderful night?” asked Dennis.

“What do you have in mind?”

“My place is just a few blocks away from
here.”

“Ah, I see you had a plan in mind.”

“Maybe. Do you like it? You could stay
over.”

“I’d love to, but I don’t have a change
of clothes for the office.”

“Ah, I didn’t think of that, but I could
grab a change of clothes and stay at your place instead.”

“That sounds like an excellent idea.”

Usually Janet woke up to the sound of
the alarm clock, but the next morning she awoke from a sensation of kisses on
her neck.

“Rise and shine, sleepyhead.”

She smiled at the sound of Dennis’s
voice. The details of the previous day came back to her. She had spent two
magical nights and one wonderful day with Dennis Walker, and now he was in her
apartment, making her breakfast. He was in her apartment! Janet burrowed her
head under the pillow, only imagining how she must have looked with her hair a
mess and her eyes bleary from the lack of sleep last night. “What time is it?”
she mumbled.

“Time to go to work,” Dennis whispered.
“I’ll be in the kitchen.”

Twenty minutes later, Janet was ready
for work. Her hair was pulled in a French twist. She was dressed in a black
suit and black pumps—her usual work attire. The only difference from her
typical appearance was the flush in her cheeks and the plumpness in her lips
that still tingled from Dennis’s kisses.

“Wow, now that’s what I call a
transformation.” Dennis gave her a once over. “Although I liked you warm and
sleepy under the covers.”

“We’ve got to go work in a few minutes.
Don’t get me all excited.”

Dennis looked at his watch. “You’ve got
a point there. But you owe me a rain check.”

“You can claim it any time after work.”

“That’s a deal.”

“Should we get going?” Janet asked.

“Don’t you want to have breakfast
first?”

“I usually have breakfast at work.”

“But you don’t usually have breakfast
with me. Don’t tell me that you’re going to make my cooking go to waste.”
Dennis motioned at the kitchen table that was set with coffee and toasted
bagels.

“Oh, I didn’t even notice. Thank you.”
This was a nice surprise indeed. How hard was it to make coffee and toast
bagels? Not very, but none of her previous boyfriends had ever made her
breakfast.

Janet took a sip of her coffee. If
anyone had told her a week ago or even a few days ago that she was going to
spend two steamy nights and one incredible day with Dennis Walker, and that
after all of that he was going to cook her breakfast, she would have never
believed them. And even though Dennis was sitting opposite her right now, she
still found it hard to believe.

Dennis checked his watch. “We’d better
hurry. I want to talk to Laskin first thing when we get in. He’s got to be on
the lookout for trading in Rover and Valley Metals.” Dennis finished the last
bit of his bagel. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

“But you didn’t eat anything.”

“I ate some.” Janet motioned at the
three quarters of her bagel.

“You eat like a mouse, Janet. It’s going
to be one hell of a day today, and you’ll need your strength.”

“I’ll take it with me to go. How does
that sound?”

“That’s better,” Dennis relented. “Do
you need to walk Baxter before we leave for work?”

“No. I knew we’d be in a rush to leave
so I’ve asked my neighbor to walk him. She has the key.”

“In that case, let’s go.” Dennis halted.
“Janet, you know that this weekend has been amazing …”

Here it comes, Janet thought. The brush
off.

“And I want to see a whole lot more of
you. But until we have the case wrapped, I think it would be best if Alex did
not see us together. Would you agree?”

Janet hesitated. Alex had insisted on
keeping their relationship secret at work, and now Dennis wanted the same. Her
common sense told her that he had a point, but her heart literally sank.

“Is something wrong?” Dennis asked.

“I … No, nothing’s wrong. Let’s get
going.”

“Janet,” said Dennis, taking her hand.
“This is only for the next few days, until we get the case nailed. After that
I’m going to stand in the middle of the office and yell that Janet Maple is my
girlfriend.”

“Promise?”

“I swear.”

“I was only kidding. I wouldn’t want you
to get dinged for disorderly conduct. Just promise that that you won’t hide it
from people.”

“I won’t, Janet. I know you’ve been
hurt, but I’m not like him. I will never do anything to hurt you.”

“Promise?”

“I swear.”

“Good. Then you’d better get of here.
I’ll follow you in ten minutes.”

“See you at the office.”

Half an hour later, Janet was at work.
She was a few steps away from her office when Alex intercepted her in the
hallway. “Good morning, Janet. How was your weekend?” Alex regarded her for
several moments. “You look rested,” he added.

I look like I’ve been made love to all
weekend, Janet mused. “Thank you, Alex. I took Baxter to Central Park. Being
outdoors always does it for me.”

“I agree. How is the little fella? No
more jumping at people, ripping off trousers?”

Janet swallowed a smirk. “Nope. I
believe he reserves that kind of treatment especially for you.”

“I see. The next time I go to visit you,
I’ll make sure to wear combat gear.”

What made Alex think that she wanted him
to visit her? But she knew better than to argue. If everything went according
to plan, Alex would not be her boss for much longer.

“Oh,” added Alex, “I meant to ask you
about that anonymous complaint against Rover executives—has that been closed
out?”