Really? And what were you expecting?, Keke said, leaning forward.
I don't know. Most private detectives are white, middle-aged and fat. They are in the movies anyhow. Then, at least, he doesn't think I'm fat, Keke thought. I need someone to watch my fiancee, he continued.
Keke raised her eyebrows and leaned back again. Why?
Er.. I...don't really know I.....
Keke looked at him and ticked off his features against her wish list. Dazzling green eyes, tall, well built, dark hair well cut, white smile, beautiful honest-looking face, no designer stubble and about her twenty-five, her age. Perfect. Dan, if you don't know why you're asking me to investigate your fiancee, how do you expect me to be able to help you?
Dan felt embarrassed. The beautiful woman opposite him with the seductive lips and sexy smile had pointed out a flaw in his presentation of the problem. Lack of preparation, he usually did a much better job in his business, so why not now? He wondered
Yes.. er ... sorry. Perhaps you'll allow me to be more specific? He picked up a spoon and threaded it through his fingers as he waited for Keke to nod. I have been engaged for around three months. My fiancee and I live together. Since we became engaged, her behavior has changed dramatically.
Jesus, this man really can't get to the point, Keke noted. Dan, let me help you. You think she's screwing someone else, and you want me to check it out.
Maybe, Dan said as he looked around the diner. When he saw a picture of a tin of Budweiser, he was sorely tempted, but he remembered all to well, what Dr. Needham had told him would happen if he had another drink. I don't know whether she's having an affair, but I want her checked out before I settle down and marry her. She won't touch me anymore, and she spends two or three nights a week at a girlfriends house. She's just behaving really weird.
Keke sighed and looked at her watch. She was anxious not to miss her two o'clock appointment with Mr. Sanderson. He could be really important for her struggling practice, she thought. If Dan were asking her on a date, she'd say yes, without hesitation. But asking her to investigate his woman just because her behavior had suddenly changed, was a much less interesting proposition. Dan, you'll have to excuse me. I have an appointment soon, and I need to go. It was nice to meet you. Keke nodded to the waitress who brought the check. When she put it on the table, she smiled at Dan and gave him a wink.
I'm Jessie, she said, hopefully.
Dan stood up as Keke left the table and watched her walk towards the door. He'd always been a sucker for a woman in a business suit and black stockings, especially one with such a beautiful behind as hers, he thought. My Dad's Ernie Stephenson, he shouted after her.
Keke stopped and turned around. Ernie Stephenson from ESM, the largest mining company in the world? she asked, trying to hide the sudden surge of interest within her.
Dan looked at her and noticed how her breasts fought against the softness of her blouse. Er..yes. That's my father. Dropping his father's name worked every time, he thought, as Keke began to walk back to him.
I'm sorry I was a little abrupt, she said. I really do have an appointment at two, but can you hang on until it's finished? It shouldn't take too long.
Okay, then let me give you a ride, Dan said.
I usually walk, it's good for me, but I've never been in a Ferrari so why not.
When Keke got into the low seat, her skirt rode up, revealing her soft thighs, a fact that didn't escape him.
Dan pulled up outside the office and took a good look at it. The peeling paintwork around the windows and the weeds growing through the surface of the small parking lot led Dan to one conclusion. Keke's business was not flourishing. When she opened the door, he was already round at the passenger side, helping her up. Chivalrous as well as hot, she thought.
Come with me. It's not much of an office I'm afraid. I've only just started the business. The office needs some renovation work doing. Inside it was a scruffy as outside, which surprised Dan because Keke was obviously the kind of person who took great care in her personal appearance. Perhaps it was a lack of money, not a lack of will, he thought.
A man in his middle sixties stood up and shook Keke's hand. Dan would you mind sitting here for a while? Keke picked up some old magazines from the arm chair and put them on the glass coffee table. Why the hell do I employ a secretary, if I have to do everything myself, she thought.
Janice, make Mr. Stephenson some tea, please. Keke left Dan to the mercy of her secretary and disappeared into the back office with Mr. Sanderson.
How do you like it? Janice asked referring to the tea.
Milk, no sugar. He watched Janice as she got up and skilfully navigated her ample rear end through the gap between her desk and the wall. She walked past him to the kitchenette. The office was a small wooden construction, with white painted paneled wood walls and a V-shaped roof supported by iron trusses. It needed a coat of paint and the linoleum on the floor needed replacing. There was a picture of a tall ship in a storm hanging on the wall behind Janice's desk. The picture reminded him of his life. He was just like a ship in a storm, perhaps a rudderless ship.