Nobody Does It Better

Chapter Seven

After dinner together, June and Phoebe had parted company with Lucas and Stanley, with both retreating to the privacy of the room that they shared. The room was large, with two twin sized beds on either side of the wall. Phoebe went straight to sleep, while June found herself repeatedly staring at the door, the only deterrent between her room and Lucas's. She should be thankful that he had left her alone. She had done everything she could think of to get Lucas Mutuma off her mind. Taking a cold shower, watching a couple of hours of mindless shows, making work related phone calls. But the man had a way of crawling up your skin and irritating your insides.

Now here it was going on eleven o'clock and she'd spent the past half hour in bed, tossing and turning. Her mind wouldn't shut off. Sleep wouldn't come.

She flung back the covers, got up, and walked over to the windows. She double checked that they were locked. After completely pulling back the edge of the drapes and peering out into the night, she heaved a deep sigh. Not much of a view.

Why had she flushed the remainder of those sleeping pills that Dr Raj, her personal therapist, had prescribed for her months ago down the toilet? For several weeks at a go, from six years ago, she had been unable to sleep without them.

She had disposed of the pills because she wasn't the type who liked to use medication as a crutch any longer than necessary. She'd actually thought of the sleeping pills as a sign of weakness, but Dr Raj had made her realize that sometimes even the strongest people needed help. Besides, she needed to be as alert as she possibly could while on the current case she was working on. But her mind was running wild.

June flopped down on the sofa, stretched out, and stared at the tiny light coming from the transom window above the door.

I wonder if Lucas is still in there with that little reporter of his? Or perhaps a new catch? What a manwhore. Why was she even thinking about him in the first place?

If June was the type who went in for brief meaningless flings, then maybe, just maybe, she might risk her job for one night with Lucas. But she would die first before that would ever happen. June was solely and forever a one-man type of woman. She prided herself on that.

The ringing of her cell phone jerked her out of her thoughts. She checked the caller ID and smiled widely. Not wanting to wake Phoebe, June stepped out of the room and walked down the hallway.

'Hey cousin.'

Catherine Mugo was the only relative she kept in touch with on a regular basis. They had been best friends as children, and they'd both been each other's maid of honor at their respective weddings. No matter how much time passed between phone conversations and visits, when they were together, it was as if no time at all had gone by. Of course, texting a couple of times a week kept them up to date on each other's lives.

'Hey! How are you?'

'Oh, so so. You?'

'I'm great, the kids are great. They miss you though. How's work?'

June smiled as images of her two beautiful young nieces, aged five and three, flashed in her mind.

'Work's okay. You know how it usually is. Give Tracy and Trish a kiss for me, will you?'

'I will. Sooo...' June heard Cathy's voice rise ever so slowly in excitement.

'What?' June asked, although she suspected what Cathy's next words were.

'You guys are working together...again?'

June groaned. 'Unfortunately.'

'I can't believe you get to work with the Lucas Mutuma, but you won't even give him the time of day.'