Sarah's Private Dick Ch. 03

"I don't know what Martin told you, but it doesn't matter," Sarah said, lying. She was dying to know what Martin had told him, but damned if she'd give him that satisfaction. "I have no interest in you. Never have, never will. You cannot and will not satisfy me. Ever."

Vincent's eyes flashed with anger. "Then who?" Suddenly he sneered, his eyes darting towards the door to the management office, only twenty feet away. "Him?"

"No," she said coolly, unable to suppress the flash of heat that went through her. Vincent's eyes narrowed at the flush in her cheeks. "Not that it's any of your business."

"What is he doing here anyway?" Vincent finally asked, realizing that it was odd that she'd let Q's cousin into the office by himself. "Are you fulfilling a sex at work fantasy?"

The crassness of Vincent's words made her flinch. Especially because as soon as he said it, she did have a quick vision of exactly that... Derrick pounding into her, holding her up against the office door. Her pale lily-white hands grabbing his shoulders and hanging on for dear life.

"I told you, he's helping me with some things for Martin's estate?"

"What things?" Vincent asked. Had he paled? "What does he do?"

"I'm a private investigator," said Derrick, his deep rich voice rolling through the hallway. Sarah glanced up to see him standing in the doorway to the office. Her pussy gave a little throb as the vision of them having sex against the door whispered through her mind again.

Derrick was interested to see Vincent blanch at finding out his occupation.

"What are you investigating?" Vincent demanded, bristling visibly. Using anger to hide his reaction, possibly?

"Just some things about the estate," Derrick said mildly. He looked at Sarah. "I'm done here. Thanks for letting me look through the offices."

"Offices?" Vincent asked. His body was tensing visibly.

Derrick nodded. "Yes, the one here and Martin's at home."

The silence dragged out for a minute and then Vincent nodded. Even though he was now keeping his emotions tightly contained, Derrick recognized the slight relaxation of Vincent's facial muscles. That was relief. Carefully hidden.

"Well good," Vincent said finally. "I have things to do. Goodbye."

He nodded and turned on his heel, stalking very quickly to the employee entrance. Sarah shifted on her feet back and forth, trying to get her own emotions under control. She roiled with anxiety, disgust with herself, a slight tinge of fear of Vincent, shame that she was attracted to Derrick and the unsettling feeling that something important had just happened and she'd missed it.

Derrick smiled down at her, adding another jolt of sexual arousal to the chaotic mix inside of her.

"Actually, I need to come back over and look through Martin's office again, if that's okay," he said.

Sarah nodded, feeling numb. Have Derrick in her house again? But if he needed to... There was no way to deny that her body responded to him in ways that it shouldn't. Hearing Vincent talk about her and Derrick that way had just made her feel even more ashamed. Not that she should care what he thought, but what would everyone else think if they knew she was having sexual fantasies about a man that she'd just met, only a month after Martin had died? Heck, she judged herself for it, she didn't need anyone else to. And Vincent's words had sullied the fantasy for her, at least for now. Although her body was still attracted.

"We can go now," she said. Might as well get it over with and get him out, as quickly as possible. Then she remembered Brandy. "Oh, wait, I wanted to talk to Brandy before I go."

"Ah, Sarah," Derrick said as she started to turn. Sarah looked back at him. "I don't have any proof of this on me, and there haven't been reports in years, but in college there were some reports filed against Vincent for sexual harassment. Innocent until proven guilty, but the way he looked with her wasn't good."

Sarah's lips tightened. That rat bastard, she thought. But then she clamped down on the reaction. It's possible he was just lecturing Brandy and it looked bad. She wasn't going to let herself judge just because she didn't like him, not until she talked to the girl.

Leaving Derrick in the kitchen, Sarah headed out into the dining room, beckoning to Brandy. On her way over to Sarah, Angela joined her. Sarah gave Angela a questioning look, but didn't say anything.

"Brandy," Sarah said, feeling like she was kicking a puppy. The sweet-faced twenty year old was staring at her feet. "Brandy, can you look at me?"

The expression on Brandy's face, once she lifted it, was pure fear. Fear of being fired? Or fear of not being believed?

"It's okay sweetheart, no matter what you say you're not going to be in trouble," Sarah said. She looked around and then grabbed a chair, pushing it towards Brandy, and then grabbed one for Angela and one for herself. Across the room she could see Gloria looking over at them, concerned, but for once she didn't come over to find out what was going on. Sarah could feel her muscles tensing. This couldn't be good. "Can you tell me what you and Vincent were talking about?"

Brandy's voice was so soft that Sarah had to lean forward to hear it. "He was talking to me about how I liked working here and how I was doing, and then he started asking me about my personal life and if I was getting enough time off to have a life... and then he asked me if I had a boyfriend. I was getting uncomfortable and I told him that was none of his business and I tried to leave, and that's when he trapped me against the lockers. He was saying that after a shift sometime he and I should get a drink, and that's when you came."

Tapping her foot, Sarah gnawed on her lip. Definitely inappropriate. And Vincent had lied. But at the same time, he hadn't quite pushed the bounds of sexual harassment. What could she do in a situation like this?

"He's getting worse," said Angela. Sarah raised her eyes to the young woman, who was looking at her with a steady gaze. "Over the past month. Ever since Martin died. It used to be he'd only hit on us when he was drunk. He just barely tiptoes the line of what can be reported and what can't. Now he's getting closer to crossing it."

"Did anyone tell Martin about this?"

"We tried... he didn't want to hear anything bad about Vincent. But he knew, I think he just thought he could keep a handle on him."

Sarah tried to assimilate this information. She'd always thought of Martin as being the father of this little family, but it sounded like he'd been protecting the pervy uncle, not the young women in his car. Then again, if Vincent hadn't actually done anything... but he had done enough to make them uncomfortable. That should have been enough right? Toeing the line wasn't okay. Not with her anyway.

"Why isn't Gloria over here?" she asked, for lack of anything else to say.

"Martin wouldn't let Vincent anywhere near her," Angela said. "He still stays away."

Well that was interesting. Gloria had started working for them when she was fifteen. Sarah felt a surge of fury that Martin had known about Vincent, enough that he'd taken steps to protect the underage girl. Why not the rest of them? Well no, Angela had said that he'd protected them somewhat. But it wasn't enough. Why hadn't Martin ever told her these things about Vincent? Maybe because she already didn't like him. Hearing this wouldn't have helped. And she wouldn't have wanted him anywhere near the restaurant.

Didn't want him anywhere near the restaurant.

"Okay," said Sarah. "Okay." She looked directly at both girls. "I don't know what I can do yet, but I will find out. I can promise you I'm not going to sell him my share." Both of the woman immediately relaxed, and Angela grinned at her. "I'll talk to the managers and see what we can do about keeping him out of the restaurant as much as possible, and tell all the woman to try and make sure they aren't ever caught alone with him."

"We already do that," said Brandy softly. "I was just running late this morning and he caught me after I had put my purse in my locker."

Sarah sighed, feeling unworthy of the trust that was in this young woman's eyes. Looking at her to make it right. Unfortunately Sarah had no idea what to do or what her legal options were. But she would find out. Her chin lifted as she made that promise to herself, and to Brandy and Angela and all the other women in the restaurant.

The two women hurried back to work, since the restaurant was going to be opening in a few minutes, sitting down for line-up with Rick, the day time manager, and getting information about the daily specials and any announcements. Feeling incredibly weary, Sarah just stayed in her seat and listened. Mmmm. Chicken and artichoke risotto with parmesan cheese. That sounded delicious.

When line-up finished and the servers scattered, Sarah got up from her seat. Just as she was turning to head back into the kitchen, the door opened and Cara led Derrick out into the restaurant. Why did seeing him always pack such a visceral punch? Her body tingled, her nipples tightened, and she had to fight the urge to blatantly stare at him. Cara's gaze swept around the room, landing on Sarah.

"You two are staying for lunch," she announced, and then grinned up at Derrick fondly. The chef was just barely taller than Sarah, and she could see how incredibly tiny she must look next to his tall and muscular body. So tiny. So vulnerable. Why was that so sexy?

"But-" Sarah started to protest, and Cara's hand waved, immediately cutting her off.

"I made today's special with you in mind," she said, giving Sarah a sharp look. Yes, Cara knew exactly how much of a weakness Sarah had for artichokes. And risotto. And cheese. "And this delightful young man must try some of my actual dishes so that he can compliment me some more."

Derrick grinned down at her, amused at being called a young man. Thirty five didn't feel that young. But then again it didn't feel that old either. Cara was a small force of nature. She'd taken him around the entire kitchen, introduced him to everyone, and had him tasting sauces and tidbits until his tongue was exploding with flavors. When she'd heard his stomach rumble hungrily that had been the final straw. Although part of him knew it was a bad idea, his stomach and his dick had outvoted his brain. He was having lunch with Sarah.

It was obvious when she caved too, her soft brown eyes giving in to her friend's demand.

The redheaded server she'd been talking to when he first came in immediately took charge of them, leading them to a small corner booth in her section. After giving Sarah a rather enigmatic look, she poured the water as she rattled off the specials, and then retreated. Leaving her alone with Derrick, quite obviously intentionally.

If she hadn't been so distracted by keeping her leg away from him underneath the table, which was really meant for cuddling couples, she'd have been fuming at the staff's assumptions. Did they really think she'd just abandon all common decency and dishonor Martin's memory like that? She should be in mourning for... well, she didn't know how long, but more than a month surely, before it would be all right for her to even indicate interest in another man.

Or was she just reading too much into it because that's what her secret, deep, dark desires wanted?

As their legs brushed, once again, underneath the table, Sarah felt the heat rise in her face and she studiously looked over the menu, which she already had memorized, and pretending to be trying to find something to eat, when she already knew that she was getting the special.

"So what's good?" Derrick asked, finally, breaking the ice. He couldn't just sit in silence anymore, tormenting himself with the light touches their calves occasionally made as they shifted in their seats. The staff was all very friendly with him, but they seemed a little intimidated by Sarah. Their server had given them the fastest rundown of specials he'd ever heard and then fled, leaving him alone with this gorgeous woman who starred in all sorts of unwarranted fantasies in his head.

If he had to sit next to her then they needed to get a conversation flowing or he'd never be able to stop thinking about how much he wanted to do so much more then let their legs touch.

"Oh um... pretty much everything. Sarah's a really fantastic cook. If you liked the sausage she gave you then you'd probably like the meat and ziti platter that she does, it has a couple different kinds of meat that she makes with a side of the most incredible baked ziti."

"That does sound good," he said, grinning at her and leaning back. She tried not to let her eyes follow the play of muscles, just barely visible under the thin fabric of his shirt. He really had the most incredible shoulders. "I'm determined to figure out what she puts in those sausages."

"You seemed to know your way around her flavors," Sarah said, trying not to jump as their legs brushed again. Also trying not to think about double entendres involving him having a talented tongue. "That was pretty impressive. If you figure out the secret ingredient, you'd better share it with me."

"Of course." He flashed her another one of those stunning grins that set her heart pumping, the gleaming blaze of his white teeth so startling in that handsome dark face.

"So how do you know so much about spices anyway?"

"Well, with Italian cooking there's a lot of basics," he said, smiling at her again as she realized that he was pointing out the obvious. But then he started to tell her about the cooking lessons that his mother had given him growing up and how much he'd enjoyed experimenting with the food. And some of the truly awful dishes he'd served his unsuspecting family. Getting him to talk had been a mistake, she wished that they'd just sat there in silence so that she could concentrate on not letting their legs touch and keeping her wayward libido under control.

Right now, listening to the sexy rumble of his voice, it was all she could do to keep her thighs tightly together, squeezing her insides tightly to relieve some of the throbbing in her aching vagina. Even worse, listening to his story of how he'd accidentally mixed up the salt with the sugar while making a cake, and then describing the dogged attempts of his family to it eat before tried a bite, had her nearly crying with laughter. Self-effacing humor, utterly gorgeous, and knew his way around a kitchen (at least, now he did). Could the man get any more perfect?

Sarah suddenly realized that they'd been sitting there for at least fifteen minutes and Gloria hadn't even been by to get their drink order. With a quick glance around the room she caught the redhead's eye and gave her a stern look. The mischievous smile that she got in return did nothing to quell her inner turmoil.

When Gloria finally came over she took their order quickly and efficiently, gamely ignoring the gimlet stare that Sarah was giving her. When she turned to go she even winked!

Good grief.

And yet that wink made some of Sarah's anxieties unwind. Was it possible that people might not judge her for being attracted to someone else?

The thought lingered in the back of her mind for about five minutes, until Derrick asked her about her own upbringing, and they fell into a comparison of family dynamics. His sounded wonderful, he had a bundle of nieces and nephews and it was a close-knit clan. Sarah had been an only child - part of why she had wanted a lot of children of her own - and although she loved her parents very much, they lived several hours away so she only saw them on weekends. It sounded like Derrick had a fair amount of family in the area and just as much out of it.

When the food arrived they both tucked in with gusto, but it didn't derail the conversation at all as they compared interests in books and movies, flowing easily from one topic to the next. And, of course, the requisite amount of time spent gushing over the food. Although Derrick still couldn't place the secret ingredient.

At the end of the lunch Sarah was shocked to realize that it was the most fun she'd had with a man during a meal in years. Eating with Patricia was this much fun, but she and Martin had never had even a dinner conversation that flowed so easily or covered so many interesting subjects. In fact, she'd been so involved in the conversation that she hadn't thought of Martin once, or noticed that Derrick's calf was now pressing against hers.

Suddenly aware of the impropriety she jerked her leg away and turned to her purse, rooting around for a ten dollar bill to leave as a tip for Gloria, using the movements to cover the blush on her face.

Derrick was perturbed to find that he was sad the meal was over. Sarah was truly an interesting and engaging woman, not just beautiful but easy to talk to, and she had a wonderful laugh. He'd told story after embarrassing story just to hear that husky laugh and the little giggles that she made. What was personal humiliation compared to that?

"So ah," he said, suddenly uncomfortable for the first time since he'd started the conversation, as she laid the tip down on the table. "I guess we should go to your place so I can check out the office again?"

"Yes that's fine," said Sarah, not meeting his eyes. Quickly she stood up, trying not to watch as he eased himself along the seat and out of the booth. Despite the tight fit of his muscular body between the table and booth, he moved with the easy grace of a cat. More like a panther. She pulled her car keys out and fiddled with them nervously. "I'll meet you there?"

"Yes. Thank you for a wonderful lunch."

Smiling, she said her own thank you as she automatically looked up into his eyes. Her voice caught in her throat again. He was standing so close, looming over her and making her feel so small and delicate. Something stirred in his eyes, the way a man looked when he found himself next to an attractive woman, and she felt an answering wave of lust roll through her. Definitely time to back away. She was already hyperaware of him as it was, if he looked at her like that again she'd be a goner.

They both went through the kitchen to thank Cara for the wonderful lunch. In the middle of the busy rush, she smiled at them beatifically as she called tickets and put the final garnishes on the dishes in front of her before handing them off to the runners. Obviously she couldn't talk though, so Sarah just gave her a quick hug and then she and Derrick were off.

When she got in the car she let her head fall onto the steering wheel with a thud. He was going to be back in her house again. She tried to tell herself that it wasn't a big deal, but the truth was her body was humming with anticipation. Down girl. No reason to get excited. Because she was so not going to go there.