Stolen Shadows

3 - The Devil Wears Prada

Sophie thought she was last to the bar, but let out a sigh of relief when she realized the chief was late. Spencer didn't seem like the kind of woman to be late to anything—but then again, she didn't seem like the kind of woman to agree to hit up the bar with her coworkers.

Johnny waved her over to a booth in the corner, tucked away from the chaos at the bar. She slid in next to Katy and offered a brief smile. Her black jeans stuck to the leather seat, the edge of the table sticky with something Sophie didn't intend on identifying. Hail Mary was noisy, voices swelling with the music and chatter coming at her from all sides. Booths were along the wall and tables lined the center, but there didn't seem to be any order to them. On the other side of their booth sat a few pool tables and two dartboards, one of which a group of guys was playing with.

Sophie leaned back, hands clutched in her lap. "What made the chief pick this place?" she mumbled.

Katy smiled. "Who knows why that woman does anything."

"Speak of the devil!" Johnny exclaimed.

Sophie turned towards the door, and it took her a moment to realize what she was seeing. It was Chief Spencer. But gone was the blazer and slacks of the office; instead, she wore a short-sleeved white button-up, with the buttons undone to the strappy cross of her black bra beneath, one half tucked into leather pants and the other loose over her thigh. The fabric was arranged just enough to show a shadow of her stomach. As Addison spotted her team and crossed the room to join her, Sophie knew she wasn't the only one staring.

Chigs whistled as Spencer took a seat, right beside Sophie. She tried to move over to give her room, but Katy wasn't budging on her other side. Sophie sat up straight, pretending not to notice the way their thighs brushed every time one of them moved.

Addison rolled her eyes, a gesture so natural, so human, Sophie almost laughed out loud.

"You invited me out, Chigs," she quipped. "This is what you get."

Johnny leaned towards her, fearless as ever. "If I offer to buy you a drink, will you make my life miserable for the next week?"

Addison smiled right back. "The next month, Johnny Boy."

He laughed and turned towards the bar, promising drinks for everyone. He shot Don a wink. "As long as the big guy's paying."

Don grumbled something inaudible, and Johnny bounded away, still hollering.

"Wow, Chief," Katy said. "I didn't know you had it in you." She leaned back behind Sophie, who sat back-straight against the table edge.

Addison turned sideways, one arm across the back of the seat, her shirt pulling apart even further as she turned to Katy. Sophie held her breath as she leaned in close, right behind her, her hair brushing Sophie's arm and her open shirt right there, for God's sake—

Someone nudged her left shoulder. "Soph? Your opinion?"

Sophie blinked, turning to Katy. "My—sorry, what?"

Katy laughed at the stunned look that Sophie hadn't managed to wipe away. "I think we should do this more often. Every couple of weeks, yeah? It'd be great!"

Every couple of weeks, with Addison Spencer sitting next to me in clothes that would get her fired?

Sophie swallowed. "Sure—I mean, it'd be fun, and like, good for the team, right?"

Addison faced forward, but her arm was still on the bench behind Sophie. "Maybe we'll make a habit of it," she said.

Sophie only nodded, grateful when Johnny returned with a handful of beers. They all grabbed one and Don said something about Addison being amazing, and Chigs agreed, and Katy cheered and Johnny hit on Addison again and Sophie pretended Addy's arm behind her wasn't setting her on fire.