Worth Waiting For (14 page)

Not caring that he was in his work clothes, Julia did what she’d wanted to do since the moment he stepped inside the house. She buried herself in the comfort of his arms and pressed her cheek against chest.

About the Author

Delaney Diamond (
delaneydiamond.com
) was born and raised in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She has been an avid reader for as long as she can remember and wrote her first novel at the age of fourteen, which she only shared with her friends. Her writing won her several trophies in high school and a scholarship to help pay for college. In 2008 she started freelance writing, and in 2009 she gave fiction writing a try again, which resulted in her debut novel,
The Arrangement.

A diehard foodie, when her head’s not buried in a book, she’s in the kitchen trying out new recipes or dining at her favorite restaurants with friends. She speaks fluent conversational French and can get by in Spanish.

Another great read from Astraea Press!

Joan Smith worked hard not to fidget while she waited at the back of the line that wound its way around the bank’s glossy interior. No fewer than twenty people awaited attention from the bank’s lone teller in the space not designed for such a crowd. To make matters worse, the woman seemed to take the longest time possible to complete even the simplest of transactions for the frustrated customers.

Since she’d opened her account with this bank a little over six years ago, Joan had noted their claim to fame seemed to be super bad service. All that was about to end, Joan thought, as the man being served snatched up his documents and stormed off. For her anyway. She’d opened another account with an online bank a couple years ago. They’d been fabulous. They’d even notified her when this bank had tried to initiate an automated loan transfer from her new accounts based on information she’d given them for one payment. Even though it was a huge pain in the rear end, that’s what had prompted her to finish paying off this loan with cash in person.

 
“Next.” Her tone dripped with boredom as the teller shrugged and took in the line with a nonchalant air.

When the customers inched forward, Joan fantasized at how wonderful it would feel once she was done with this institution. She had one last payment on the loan she’d had to take out to repay the bank’s hefty overdraft fees incurred after they’d held a deposit without her knowledge. Just thinking of the way they’d drained her checking and savings accounts in less than two days was enough to get her steaming mad. So it was best not to think about it. Especially since they’d covered themselves so well they could legally steal all she had then make her repay them for the trouble. Without some major clout or cash behind her, all that had been left for her to do was suck it up, pay off the debt and move on. After this final payment, that’s exactly what she planned to do.

Another customer stormed out, jarring Joan from her thoughts. She watched the woman shove the door open and stomp her way up the street. Oh yeah. It would be fantastic to be finished with this bank.

“Next.”

The line inched forward and Joan clutched the canvas shoulder bag just a bit tighter since it contained the eight hundred dollars in twenties that represented her freedom from this bank. Even after all these months of large cash payments, she still hadn’t become comfortable carrying so much cash. She slid her hand inside the canvas bag and searched for the reassuring feel of the Ziploc baggie she’d put the money in. It was lodged under her coupon binder and she had to tug it free. Joan had no idea how much she had in change in the baggie, but it had been getting hard to zip when she put the payment in.

Her hand brushed against her camera case. In one last effort to keep from being screwed over yet again, Joan had brought her digital camera with her. The video function was going to be put to good use when she filmed her final transaction proving everything was paid on time and no additional fees had been incurred. Then she’d be finished with this bank forever. She couldn’t help the smile that blossomed on her lips.

“You’re quite mistaken. It is not possible for this account to be overdrawn.”

The cultured tones and hint of an accent drew Joan’s attention to the front of the line where the tall, handsome, strawberry blond man stood arguing with the teller. She’d noticed him before on several of her other payment runs and also in a couple of the local restaurants along Main Street. He’d always been alone and seemed preoccupied with writing in some kind of notebook while eating his food. Joan had never frequented the restaurants she’d seen him in because there’d never been a coupon for any of them. Maybe someday she’d convince herself to do something without a coupon. That day wasn’t today, however.

 
“Sir, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to calm down. You’re causing a scene,” the teller admonished the man while staring at him over the tops of her wire-rimmed glasses.

“You steal my money, yet I’m the one ‘causing a scene’? You must be joking.” The man had a way of looking down his long, straight nose at the teller that caused the woman to squirm.

Amused because she’d never seen anyone else get the best of the teller before, Joan leaned to the side to get a better view since the customers in front of her were doing the same. No one bothered to pretend like they were ignoring the altercation.

“I demand to speak with your superior right this moment.” The man never raised his voice but his tone was forceful nonetheless. One had to be a complete idiot to continue arguing with him. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what the teller was.

“There is nothing the manager can do. You’ve overdrawn your account. If you’d like to make a deposit…”

Joan frowned, remembering those same words said to her two years ago. Determined not to let the bank get away with this again and maybe because she didn’t want the poor guy to miss any meals, she pulled out her camera and started videotaping the scene.

“A deposit? It is clear, madam, that you’re out of your mind. Why would I give you one more dollar when you’ve already misplaced the ones given to you previously?”

The woman’s cheeks reddened with embarrassment. “Like I said before, we have nothing to do with your account being empty. You have to watch your spending habits. If you’ll step this way, we have counselors on staff to—”

“Am I to understand that you expect me to undergo counseling because you stole my money?”

“If you don’t calm down, I’m calling security,” the teller warned even though the man had yet to raise his voice.

“Please, call them. Tell them to bring my money with them.”

“That’s it, sir!” The teller picked up the phone and dialed. “I need you to escort a customer out.”

“I’m not going anywhere until you–”

Two security guards came out of nowhere and tackled the man in mid-sentence. The three men went down with an audible, “ommph.”

Joan’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in surprise, but she kept filming. There were audible gasps from several of the other customers. The man didn’t know it at the moment, but the bank had just made him a millionaire.

The guards jerked him to his feet and dragged him toward the exit. The man looked livid, but he didn’t protest. The long line of customers stepped away from the procession when the three passed. Their move exposed Joan with her camera pointing right at them.

The guard closest to her stopped and snarled. “Give me that camera.”

Joan stepped out of his reach when he tried to snatch it from her. “No.”

The move pulled the man and the other guard off balance. The two of them turned their attention to her to see what was happening. Having the man’s intense blue eyes on her caused her to pause a moment. If she’d thought he was gorgeous from a distance, she certainly hadn’t been prepared for the up close and personal.

Her hesitation cost her a little distance when her would-be attacker shoved the stanchion aside and reached for her again. Joan backed away and tripped over the rope between stanchions on the other side. She landed hard on her behind, but avoided the man’s grip. The other customers recoiled away from the commotion.

The guard’s reach shortened quite a bit when the man yanked his body in the opposite direction. Since the guard still had a hold of his arm, the move twisted him away from Joan. She bounced to her feet and ran for the exit.

“Hey! Get back here!”

She looked back in time to see the guard let go of the man with the blue eyes and chase after her. Or he would have if the man hadn’t tripped the pursuing guard and shoved the other one away before joining her in her flight out the door.

Astraea Press

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