John was speechless. He didn't quite know what to say to her answer. She had a definite effect on him.
"I'm like you," she added.
John stood from his chair and met her at the window. "How so?"
"Well," she stated, "the more I find out about you the more I want to know."
The private eye ran his fingers through her hair. He lifted the soft strands up and let them fall to her shoulders.
John said, "Glad you're keeping me."
"I also have a stake in this. My new manager could be a murderer. Although, I doubt it"
"I know. To be honest, I should keep digging for you. We could be on the verge of something here."
"What do you charge?" Tammy asked sheepishly.
"Well, for anyone else I would charge a bundle. But you look like a nice girl."
"Right. Sure. Nice and poor."
"Simply join me for dinner tonight and we'll go over the arrangements."
She smiled in a way that made John almost forget what his name was, turned to gather her purse from the chair, and started toward the back door.
Quickly, John closed the front blinds and switched on his answering machine. "Where we going?" he asked reached over to switch off the desk light.
"You invited me."
John had to let out a laugh at her snide comment. She was right. He rounded the corner and met her at the door. The same back door where he had been shot at four days ago. As he approached, she slid her arms around his waist and pulled him to her. They kissed passionately for what seemed to John like only a few seconds. He wished their embrace could have gone on for hours.
Suddenly she pulled away and hung her head as if a little embarrassed.
"No," John whispered into her ear. "Not this time." He lifted her chin softly and brought their lips together. She responded by holding him even closer and harder than before.
The passionate kiss abruptly turned into a friendly hug and she said, "I'm sorry."
"Don't be."
"You don't want to get tied up with me. I can be a nut sometimes."
"I know," he said as she playfully hit him on the back.
"Can we just slow down a little?"
"We can," he said, still holding her close. "But that's what usually breaks up things like this."