“You’re here on time?” My best friend Corey rolled his eyes. “What am I supposed to be doing for you again? Stalking some woman you met?”
“It’s not stalking.”
“Whatever you call it, it’s highly illegal. But since you said it was love at first sight, I guess I can make an exception.”
“First of all, it’s not love. Second of all, I don’t even know who she is.”
“So, why am I hacking into the security footage of Pacific Bay Lounge at seven in the morning?”
I sighed. “Because you’re my best friend and an employee. Don’t act like this is against your morals or something, Corey. You do this all the time.”
“I do, huh?” He laughed. “What’s the time frame?”
“New Year’s Eve between eleven thirty and midnight.”
He began typing away at his keyboard and the twenty massive screens that covered his office wall began to illuminate in grids and static.
“Wait. You were having a business dinner that late at night? Since when do you agree to those?”
“Since the client is worth five hundred million dollars.” My eyes focused on the screens that were now showing people walking in and out of the lounge. “She was wearing a short black dress. Is there any way you could color code this thing by clothes or search for people by their hair color? She’s a redhead.”
He looked at me and raised his eyebrow. “You said you saw her on the pier, right? I’ll just tap into those cameras...Give me a second. They have some pretty outdated software...And surprise, there’s no audio, only visual...”
The screens started to show the pier action in slow motion. People were lounging on couches, drinking beers, and dancing next to the speakers.
“Wait.” I stepped closer to the screens. “That’s her. Pause it.”
The images suddenly froze and I looked the woman over again.
She was walking out onto the deck with a beer in her hand, slightly pursing her plump, pink lips. From the angle of the cameras I could see that her fitted black dress cut right above the top of her thighs and gave way to a set of perfectly toned legs. She was even sexier than I remembered.
“I’d probably waste company resources trying to find her too.” Corey nodded his head in approval. “You said she was fifty? She looks pretty damn good to be fifty. I say go for it. I would.”
“What? I’m not sure how old she is. She can’t be much older than me though.”
He pressed play on the video again and paused it when she leaned over the railing. “She has C-cups...Not bad.”
“How old are you again?”
“It’s a habit. If I had to guess, I would say she’s thirty or a tad bit younger. Any older than that, and she knows where the Fountain of Youth is hidden. Actually, now that I think about it, I meant to tell you that there was an article about—”
“Please not today.” I shook my head. “You need to stop reading those conspiracy books. There’s no such thing as the Fountain of Youth.”
“Really? Well explain Johnny Depp.” He crossed his arms.
I rolled my eyes.
“Exactly. If I wasn’t making so much money working for you, I’d be out there trying to find it myself.”
“Good to know. Is there any way you could access the cameras in the parking lot? I need to get her license plate number and–”
“And what? Show up to her house and say, ‘Hey. I tried to find you at the lounge the other night but you were already gone. But don’t worry, I had my friend hack the security system so I could get your tags to get your address and come ask you out?’ Seriously?”
“I wouldn’t say it exactly like that, but—”
“Forget it. All the street cameras are managed and monitored through Flynn-tech and they’re impossible to hack. Trust me, I’ve tried it.”
“So what do you suggest I do?”
“Um, move on?” He turned off the screens. “You don’t even know her name. Yeah she’s beautiful, but there are plenty of other beautiful women out there. I’m sure you of all people can find another one in a heartbeat. Speaking of which, why don’t you give Vanessa a chance? She has no baggage, she’s insanely hot, and she practically loves you already.”
“She’s an employee. It’s against company policy. I specifically ordered that a no-fraternization clause be included when I started this company, remember?”
He rolled his eyes. “Whatever. You can find yourself another pretty redhead.”
That was true, but I’d never thought about a woman after meeting her for the first time. It usually took a couple dates or a few lengthy phone calls to keep a woman on my mind—but I hadn’t even met this woman yet.
I’d also never asked Corey to find footage of someone I was interested in before. I’d never been that intrigued.
I pulled into a grocery store parking lot and sighed. Thanks to a dry-cleaning mix up, I was wearing a sweatshirt and jeans and would have to run home to get another suit.