Crime in the Club (The Bound Detective) by Ashley Thompson Page A

harass Jane every time Jane walked into the office.
    Jane wasn’t in the mood for games, however.  She wanted to get this show on the road and she was more than willing to do so when she got there.  When she opened the door, she saw the familiar and beaming face of Thomas who looked at her like his favorite rock star just appeared in his office.  Jane smiled back at him, but the man sitting in the seat she was normally in caused her to frown in displeasure.
    “Who the hell is in my chair?” she said in a bossy manner.  Jane folded her arms over and glared at Thomas, who smiled sheepishly at the woman.
    “Hello there , Jane.  Have a seat and I’ll explain everything,” the man replied.  Jane looked at him as if he was on something, but followed the man’s wishes and moved her body into the other seat.  She gave a displeased look as she sat in the other chair, which was certainly less comfortable than the one she called her own.  She looked at Thomas and then looked at the man beside her with a frown plastered on her face.
    “Okay , now that it’s done can you please explain to me what the hell is going on?  Why is this man in my seat first of all and even in our meeting?  You know I’m not a fan of an audience,” Jane started.
    Thomas gave her another fake smile before he spoke once again.  “Well Jane, for your next mission you won’t be going into it alone, you’ll have a partner this time around and I hope you’re able to take care of him and ensure that he comes out alive,” Thomas explained.
    Jane looked at him and scoffed.  This was getting beyond ridiculous and she didn’t need a partner.  She felt like the hatred for the man next to her was about to boil over, and Jane also felt insulted at the sheer idea of working with a man  who wasn’t even on her level in any way shape or form.
    “What the hell do you mean?” she asked.
    “I mean what I say.  For the next mission you will have a partner.  This man will be your partner.  His name is Franklin and I hope you’re able to get along well and figure out how to solve this case,” Thomas said.
    Jane looked over the man and inwardly she felt disgust, but for some reason she also saw the man as kind of cute.  He had brown hair that was cut short but looked clean, a little bit of stubble on his cheeks and chin, and he had blue eyes.  He had on a trench coat and a suit underneath it, which was weird to see considering it wasn’t that bad outside.  It was also a complete contrast to Jane’s outfit, which was a simple skirt and sweater ensemble that looked casual in comparison.  She didn’t like the way he smiled at her, and when he flashed a warm grin at her again Jane wanted to hit him in the face.  She was too good for this, and she didn’t need some little imp tagging along and trying to bring her down.  Jane didn’t need him; she was already fine on her own.
    “ Why do I need this? You know I can handle missions on my own.  I don’t need any help,” Jane said.
    “ First of all don’t consider him on the same level.  Think of the man as an apprentice of sorts.  He is trying to learn the ropes of detective work, and I know that if he works with you he will learn a whole lot.  He recently got out of the police academy and I want him to also go and solve cases that you can’t get to.  But I want him to get his feet wet first before he does anything else, which is why I’m going to assign him to you.  I don’t want you to do everything for him, but if he does have a question, please answer it and don’t give him too much of a hard time,” the man replied.
    Jane looked in disgust at this man.  Never in her life had she wanted to punch someone so badly as when she saw this man.  Jane felt insulted that she was getting stuck not only with some sort of bitch work job, but also getting a partner who’s a rookie compared to her. 
    “I still don’t like it.  Besides , what kind of case is it that you have to give