Gamer Girl Read Free

retired now. You?”
    “Oh no. My family lives in California. I was born in San Diego.”
    Eam on leaned a little closer. “Are you a Navy brat?”
    “No. My father is a physician at an HMO. Mom was an ER nurse; she’s semi-retired now. My brother has a gastroenterology practice in the north county. David lives in La Jolla, owns a couple of Mercedes, and just about every other toy. Seldom gets the chance to play with them. But he keeps hoping.”
    “Ah! You are one of the privileged. I, on the other hand, came from the wrong side of the tracks. Your father would have warned you against me in high school,” Eamon teased.
    “M y father warned me against most high school boys,” Sarah explained with a seriousness that could have been real or play. “Certainly, the few who braved my front door were met with scowls and warnings about what he could do with a scalpel. By my senior year, Daddy had pretty much scared them all away. Or at least I would like to think that was the cause.” Then Sarah looked at him from the corner of her eye and a tiny smile graced her mouth. Eamon knew that she was teasing him.
    “It pro bably worked as well as the shotgun my father used. My sisters despaired of ever having a boyfriend,” Eamon replied offhand. “So what brought you to Kansas City? It’s a long way from the Coast.” When Sarah blushed, he said, “Sorry. Touched a nerve there?”
    Sarah bit her lips. “It’s okay. I met a guy; we were going to get married, so I moved back here to be with him and he called it off. By then, I had a job, a place to live, and I was on my own which I liked. So I stayed.”
    “So unds like he was really stupid,” Eamon quipped. He was rewarded by Sarah’s delighted smile.
    “I like to think so.” Sarah took up her fork again. “You know, this Chicken Gorgonzola is delicious!”
    Eamon turned the conversation to great local Italian restaurants as they finished their meal and people began leaving.
    “I should be going,” Sarah told him softly.
    “Okay if I walk you to your car, Sarah?”
    “Yes. I’d like that.”
    Eamon stood and helped Sarah with her chair as she said goodnight to everyone. He escorted her to the parking garage; his hand lightly cupped her elbow as they made their way through the mall. When they reached Sarah’s car, he took out his business card and wrote something on the back.
    “ I’d like to take you out next weekend. I’m sure you need to check your calendar, so here is my cell phone number. If you want to go out, call me and we’ll figure out which evening, okay?”
    “All right .” Sarah took his card hesitantly.
    “ Look Sarah, I had a great time tonight. I’d like to see you again.” Eamon debated whether or not to kiss her. He didn’t. He contented himself with taking her hand. “Call me.”
    “ Thank you for coming. It was nice to have someone in the audience.” She shook his hand and Eamon opened the door for her. He couldn’t resist; he brushed her cheek lightly with his fingers and found her skin to be warm and smooth.
    “Goodnight . Call me,” Eamon insisted. He stepped back from the car so that she had room to get in.
    Sarah buckled up and turned her attention to backing out of the parking space. When she was out and ready to pull forward she looked his way. He was standing there, watching her. She raised her hand and gave a small wave. He simply nodded his head and watched as she drove away.

Chapter 2
    Sarah debated whether or not to call Eamon to arrange a date. Curious, she put his name into her search engine and was startled by the number of entries that came up. His picture appeared in the society pages of the Star and he was mentioned in business articles. His company, Gryphon World, Inc., was in direct competition with her employer, Rainwhite Games.
    T hat could be problematic. Sarah knew that she would never reveal any of her firm’s work product, but there was always that pesky “appearance of wrongdoing” to worry about.