Shut Off (Just This Once #3) Read Online Free

sleeve though.
    “Are you calling to gloat, because I have to say I’ve been fucking overworked carrying your load, so I’m as grumpy as a prostitute with a broken vagina.”
    “There’s a visual I wouldn’t mind scrubbing from my mind. Thanks for that.”
    How Kerri could get away with talking like that at work, I still didn’t understand. When I first started working there, I’d heard rumors that she’d slept with Henderson, but somehow I couldn’t picture that. He seemed way too uptight for her. Although it would explain how much she gets away with.
    “Anytime, honey. So tell me, you’re just now calling because you’ve finally come up for air.”
    “What have I told you about living vicariously through me? We’ve got to find someone for you. That’s not why I’m calling. I’m actually calling about the case.” I knew no one could hear me, but that didn’t stop me from whispering the words, as if someone near Kerri’s desk would overhear our conversation. Believe me, it wouldn’t be the first time Kerri was overheard discussing her admiration for someone else’s sex life or her lack of one. Except, I didn’t want anyone knowing about this meeting. I’m sure I would be breaking all kinds of ethics and morals, never mind office policy. I was sure just discussing the case could get me officially fired. But, if there was a chance I would lose my job anyway, I would’ve felt better knowing I did everything I could to help Joel win.
    “Of course you are. Ooh, that makes me think of role-playing. Ever done it? Probably haven’t. You want to do lunch? I can swing by.”
    “Yeah, he actually lives up at The Ridges. Do you want to meet me over at the country club? One o’clock?”
    “Yep. Catch you later.”
    “Oh, and bring your laptop.”
    “Gotcha. See you in a bit, honey.”
    ***
    I should have known when I invited Kerri to meet me for lunch that she would stand out in a place like a country club. For it being lunchtime in the middle of the week at an exclusive club, there were quite a few people sitting at the tables nearby. People who I was sure registered just how out of place Kerri was in a place like that.
    The maître d’ showed her to the table I was already sitting at. The table was in the back of the room, overlooking the eighth hole and a small pond with a water fountain sprouting from the center of the water. Kerri spotted me, waving exuberantly. She smacked the man leading her to the table to let him know she could find her way. He looked down at his arm as if she’d burned a hole through his blazer before turning around to storm off in the opposite direction. She bounded down the aisle, wearing a lime green blouse and navy capris, carrying a leopard print laptop case. The only thing that seemed to fit in were her black Jimmy Choos and matching black sunglasses and those glossy black curls that always reminded me of a 40s pinup girl.
    “I see you’ve been getting some sun,” she said as she lifted her sunglasses to get a better look. Her eyebrows lifted approvingly, and she pulled out the chair across from me and sat down.
    “Actually, today was my first day getting outside.”
    “Your skin looks warm, but then again you’ve got that ‘fucking’ glow.”
    I looked around to make sure no one else overheard her. “Let’s try not to get kicked out of this place. I told Joel we were meeting for lunch here, and I’m pretty sure he had to call ahead to get us a pass to eat here. Also, I think it goes without saying that we should leave his name out of our conversation. He does live here, after all.”
    “Yes, Mother. Any other rules you need to address before the waiter comes and I’m left to my own devices?”
    “Behave.”
    Her hands rose to bump the curled ends of her hair while she gave me a wink. I wasn’t sure if she meant to reassure me, but it had the opposite effect. I was almost more nervous. Kerri was a bull in a china shop, which was hard to achieve in a place