Dear Maggie

A call came crackling through one of her scanners, and Maggie adjusted the volume so she could hear it better. Sounded like a domestic violence case. She certainly wasn’t about to rush out of the office for that. If she reported on every man who struck his wife, there’d be no room in the paper for anything else.

Evidently, what she’d seen because of her job was making her a little cynical. “Don’t worry, I’ll let you know when to take the pictures,” she said, returning to their conversation.

He leaned an elbow on the partition surrounding her desk. “Want me to help you stay awake?”

Yawning, she supported her head with her hand. “I don’t think anyone could do that.”

This statement elicited a wolfish grin. “Maybe I’m better at keeping a woman’s attention than you think.”

Maggie didn’t doubt his capabilities; in fact, it was his potential for late-night entertainment that scared her. “What did you have in mind?” she asked hesitantly.

“I don’t know. We could play a game.”

“Like checkers? I’m afraid I don’t keep board games in my desk, and frankly I’d be a little surprised to find them in yours.”

“I was thinking of something like Truth or Dare,” he said with a chuckle. “Doesn’t require any props and it can be very interesting, depending on who you’re playing with.”

Maggie rolled her eyes. “I’d be crazy to play that with you.”

“Why? Got a few skeletons in your closet?”

“No, I just don’t feel like doing anything stupid. Eating coffee grounds or something.”

He scowled. “Eating coffee grounds is something a twelve-year-old would think of. I can tell you haven’t played this game for a while.”

“And you have?”

“No, but I can think of more exciting things to have you do than eat coffee grounds.”

Maggie felt an unexpected tingle go up her spine at the thought of what some of those things might be. “I think that might be the problem,” she admitted.

“I’m hurt you don’t trust me.”

“Why should I trust you? I barely know you.”

He pushed away from the partition to steal a chair from the cubicle next to Maggie’s so he could sit down. “That’s the beauty of this game. It’ll help us get to know each other. Come on, I’ll let you go first.”

Maggie regarded his six-foot-plus length folded in the chair beside her, long legs stretched out in front of him. Where was he going with this?

Wherever it was, she wasn’t sleepy anymore. She had to give him points for effectiveness.

“Okay,” she said, unable to resist the opportunity to have him at her mercy, “truth or dare?”

He pursed his lips and held her gaze. “Truth.”

“Why did you ask me out a couple of weeks ago?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“No. There are a lot of women in this office. Why me?”

“Because you’re beautiful and driven and a little shy. I like the combination.”

Maggie tried that on for size. It was a far cry from some of the things she’d been called in high school. Even though twelve years had passed since those days, she sometimes found it hard to rid her head of the echo. “Wow,” she said. “Okay. Maybe this game is going to be fun.”