The Do-Over (The Rooftop Crew #5) - Piper Rayne Page 0,14

he doesn’t have to. He’s earned his stripes, and I’ve always enjoyed working under him.

“Shut the door,” he says.

I do, and he points at the chair across from his desk. As I lower into the chair, I see the same box that was on my desk open on his. Fuck me. The other night when I brought Leilani in, all the captain did was shoot me a glare. I should’ve known he wouldn’t let it slide.

“So.” He links his hands over his strained belly and leans back in his chair. “Have anything you want to tell me?”

“That’s bullshit. You know DuPont was responsible for it.”

He holds up his hand to stop me and picks up another piece of paper from his desk. “This is your recommendation letter for the detective position. It’s time, and I don’t want something or someone to interfere in this again.”

Yeah, you guessed it—Cap isn’t really a fan of Leilani.

“I won’t. The fact she’s even back has nothing to do with me. I’ve washed my hands of her.”

He nods. “And she didn’t reach out after she was released? At least I saw that you didn’t bail her out.”

“No, her friend did.”

He cocks one eyebrow. Yeah, if I was as detached as I’m saying, I wouldn’t know that fact. He’s right.

“I swear I’m not with her or even talking to her at all.”

He lays the sheet of paper on the desk, leaning forward to intimidate me. Sweat forms at the base of my neck.

As if he’s a human polygraph machine, he nods. “Then you won’t mind finding someone else to bring to Louie’s retirement party?”

I blink a couple of times. “What?”

“Show the big guys you’ve moved on. Remember when Leilani tried to hula dance at the Christmas party only to fall down on top of a table? People have long memories. The higher-ups even longer. You need to clear your name of her, and the best way to do that is to show you’ve moved on. I’m not saying you have to get married or even find a steady girlfriend. Just show people you’re willing to let another woman into your life.”

“So you’re asking me to rent a date or something?”

He chuckles. “Don’t you young people have that swipe right thing going on? Just find a date. You’re a good-looking guy. I’m sure it can’t be that hard.”

I’m not opposed to bringing a woman to Louie’s retirement party. Hell, I could ask one of the girls to come with me. With her sweet and innocent demeanor, Rian would be perfect. But there’s still that damn part of me that hates being told what to do. I want to dig my feet in the ground and say I’m not gonna bring a date because you can’t judge my ability to do a job on something irrelevant like that. I’m the most qualified candidate, so who cares who I’m dating?

“I’ll find someone,” I hear myself say, and the stubborn side of me kicks me in the ass for caving so easily.

He smiles. “See, that’s why I’ve always liked you. You’re a team player. Believe me, once they see you got a new girl, Leilani will be old news and the detective position will be yours.”

I nod, unable to speak.

As I exit his office a few minutes later, I pull out my cell phone, knowing Rian is up and at the bakery.

Me: Hey, can you come with me to a retirement party and pretend to be my girlfriend?

Rian: Sure. When is it?

I sit at my desk, and Patrice hands me papers to sign and waits for me to tell her what happened.

“When is Louie’s retirement party?” I ask.

She laughs. “Next Friday. Why?”

I shake my head.

Me: Next Friday.

Rian: Oh sorry. All the girls are going into the city to see Blanca’s dress.

Me: All of you guys?

Rian: Afraid so.

I shut off my phone and sigh. Hell, this sucks.

“What did Cap say?” Patrice asks when I don’t volunteer the information.

“Pull out your phone. I need a date for Louie’s retirement party.”

Her eyes light up. “My pleasure. Let me look through my Facebook friends list.”

As her thumbs scroll down her screen, she pauses and looks at me. Her face bears that same expression it did when she thought someone should make s’mores using donuts. Trouble.

“What?”

“The waitress. She’s cute and innocent looking. God knows she won’t hula dance on the table.”

I groan at the reminder of that night. The embarrassment of the situation as I walked Leilani out. The judging eyes on the back of