Apparently no one told Miami it was October and far too late in the year for a nearly ninety-degree day. As Lisa waited in line for an iced latte to simultaneously cool her and get her past the post-lunch slump, someone behind her called her name.
Initially, she didn't turn around. Part of their training had been to be careful while out in public. Disgruntled defendants and their families very rarely approached them with the intent to harm, but it wasn't impossible. It took a split second to recognize the voice and turned.
"Jungkook!" She waved at the man in a tailored black suit sitting at one of the few little tables along the window. "Don't lose your table," she added when he started to stand. "I'll be right there."
With cold caffeine in hand, Lisa sat at his table, wishing her pencil skirt was a little looser. "What are you doing here?"
He smiled. "A date. She works at a clothing store around here, so we're meeting for an afternoon coffee." He glanced at his watch. "I'm a few minutes early."
They chatted about what each of them were doing, and the more he told her about county criminal, the more positive she was she'd chosen correctly by selecting the domestic violence unit.
"I heard you and Roseanne have kissed and made up," he said out of nowhere, catching Lisa off guard.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Jungkook chuckled as he fidgeted with a sugar packet. "Just that you're very friendly despite supposedly hating her guts."
"I never hated her," she replied defensively. "Plus, we're just sharing an office." Her muscles tightened and her stomach tensed. "What the hell are people saying?" Her mind reeled. The office was worse than high school when it came to gossiping about new couples or the latest splits. Even when they were interns. But they didn't have anything newsworthy going on. Did they? Had Freddie told everybody about Roseanne's crashing their drink and acting so possessive? It wasn't impossible, but she hadn't caught wind of it before.
"Chill, just that being forced together did the trick to make you two get along," he replied, calming Lisa's runaway fears. "I just think it's funny considering the amount of shit you talked about her."
Lisa wanted to defend herself, but she couldn't deny she'd been very vocal about disliking Roseanne. "I think something changed her," she admitted. "She's not so . . . like herself," she added with a chuckle.
"Listen, it's not like I know the first thing about her," Jungkook replied with a shrug. "Just watch out for yourself. A hot terminator pretending to be nice will still blow your head off with a shotgun."
"Point taken," she said with a smile as she stood. "Thanks. Good luck with your date."
"With looks like these," he stroked his clean-shaven square jaw, "who needs luck," he joked before inviting her to happy hour on Friday.
While walking the short distance back to the courthouse and up to her office, Lisa's mind worked triple time. She hadn't gotten the sense that people were talking about her in DV, but how else would Jungkook have heard anything about her.
By the time she got to the office, Lisa had unconsciously downed the entire latte. Tossing it in the garbage can between the elevators, she touched her security pass to the door, regretful that she hadn't savored the expensive drink.
Dongwook. That's how he knows. Dongwook's roommate was in the County Criminal Division with Jungkook. But what would he have said?
Leaving that part for later sleuthing, Lisa strolled into the office where Roseanne was pacing in front of a whiteboard she'd perched on top of two stacks of boxes. In a sleeveless white top tucked into navy blue trousers and her hair falling in golden waves down her back, Roseanne was annoyingly beautiful. If she'd lost a contact and had to resort to her tortoise shell glasses again, Lisa might have had to go work in the library.
