Raul silently debated, then said, “The moment my boss got wind that I was looking into Cook, they pulled the plug on my research and demanded I stop… or lose my job. I couldn’t give up the job when it helped expose so many wrongs.”
“So then you understand my dilemma,” Sam persisted. “I can’t lose this job. Please.”
“All I’ve got is a flimsy file on the guy, which you can have. Maybe you’ll have better luck with it than I did.”
Sam would need a lot more than luck.
“Do you happen to have a home address in that flimsy file?”
“Home address, work hours, relationship status… I even managed to dig up his home phone number. Though I think his number has been changed since then. As for getting access to Thomas Cook, he’s as shifty as President Nixon on tax day. You’ll need to get creative in order to get close to him, Sam.”
Creative, Sam could do. Getting close to people, though? That wasn’t Sam’s strong suit.
“Any suggestions for how to do that?” she asked.
“You could always date the guy, assuming he’s still single.” Raul laughed at that, but the idea wasn’t half bad. “That was a joke, by the way. You’re not actually going to try to date him, are you?”
“I just might, Raul. For the story, of course. Unless you don’t think he’ll go for a girl like me?” Sam wasn’t sure she wanted to hear Raul’s reply. She knew she wasn’t most men’s type, but she didn’t need it spelled out for her.
“I’ve looked into the women he’s usually seen out in public with. Brainy types. But he’s also got a womanizing streak. You’ve got the intellect to hold his interest, but you’ll need to work on your wardrobe and makeup…”
It would require a makeover of epic proportions, but Sam knew someone who could assist with that.
“So you’ll help me then?”
Raul hesitated. “I don’t know, Sam…”
“Are you going to make me beg?” Sam had a feeling it would come to this, and she was prepared for it.
“No begging required,” Raul finally concluded. “But I’ll only help you on one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“That you agree to go out with me.”
“Together? In public?”
“What other way is there?” Raul chuckled.
“I’ll agree to your terms, as long as you agree to mine.”
“Name your price.”
“I get to pick the location.”
“Deal,” Raul hastily accepted, unaware that Sam was plotting what would be his worst nightmare incarnate. “That sounds fair.”
Whether this was intentionally set up to give Sam the upper hand in this agreed-upon date, or simply to amuse her, Raul would never find out, but it ended up serving both purposes.
Chapter 11
“This is totally unfair!”
Raul stood at the entrance to the newest roller-coaster addition at Kennywood Amusement Park, watching in horror from the safety of the ground as the cart climbed and plunged and twisted and turned along the tracks, already flipping Raul’s naturally sensitive stomach. Screams of excitement joined the sounds of metal clanging as Raul imagined his own eardrum-splitting cries soon joining theirs.
“You really thought I would enjoy going to ‘The Roller Coaster Capital of the World’ for our date?” Raul lamented.
“Don’t be a baby, Raul. We can’t stay in Kiddieland all day. A grown man riding children’s rides? That is just plain old creepy. And it could probably get you thrown in the slammer.”
Sam had already dragged Raul across the park, from the Skooter bumper cars to the Turtle tumble bug. The jarring motions and centrifugal forces had already done him in, but Sam wasn’t done with him yet. To conclude their date, she had given him the choice of two rides: the Jack Rabbit, famous for its double-dip drop, or the Thunderbolt, known for its double helix. Both double the trouble for poor Raul and his bilious belly.
When he couldn’t pick the lesser of two evils, Sam chose for him. Thunderbolt it was. The Potato Patch French fries tossed around in Raul’s gut, a warning of what was to come if he got on that ride.
