Katy's Point of View.
His office was really cold. I knew shivering was something we were supposed to repel against. Mrs Smith couldn't be more clear in training. Good thing I was not a spy. If a naive and quite comedic housekeeper was what would keep my identity a secret, then I was all in.
"Are you alright?" He asked, peering over me. I nodded and quickly moved to the chair that faced his own seat. He was tall. Too tall if I was being honest. Crazy tall. Why hadn't they mentioned anything about his height?
"You may sit, miss..."
"Philips. Josie Philips." I squeaked out, falling behind on the chair.
He paused, staring at me for a while before sitting down ruggedly in his chair. Stroking his chin, he finally broke the silence. "You say it like you're not very sure."
"I'm not quite sure what you mean."
"You said your name with a hint of uncertainty."
"Yeah, only because you won't stop gawking at me." Woah. Why on earth could I not control my tongue since today?
He didn't say anything. If he was annoyed about my retort, I didn't know. I rushed to apologize.
"Oh my God, I am so sorry. I didn't mean it. I don't even know why I said that. I'm sorry."
"Ah."
At this point, I had nothing more to say.
"Sorry."
"You're nervous. We are all bound to be defensive when we are nervous."
What could I even say to that? He opened his laptop.
"You worked four years before you were without a job and I hired you."
Why did he say it like I was trouble? I mean, I did trust Mrs. Smith to handle communications with him, maybe that was a mistake. In fact, it was.
"Yes, that is correct sir."
"And you were fired?"
Wait, what? Was I supposed to say 'I think so?' "Yes, sir."
"Why?"
"Why?" I knew what he wanted to know, but perhaps delaying with this question would help me think of something. Anything at all. So far, I was coming up with nothing.
"Why were you fired?"
"There was a situation."
His eyes laughed even though his lips remained tight. "What situation?"
"I wanted to see Washington DC. I was born in Texas. Schooled in Texas. Kindergarten till college. I needed to see somewhere else."
"Funny I find Texas cooler than here." It was such a simple statement, but his face remained stern.
"Um... Well, we all have our preferences I guess."
"So you got fired because you wanted to see another part of the world?"
"Kinda."
"Hmm." He stood and walked to the curtains. Seriously, I thought blinds were the real deal now. "There are a number of rules that you need to know of if you're gonna be working here."
"If?" Johnson would laugh his head in if I got turned down. Didn't realize he had options.
"If." He confirmed, walking to the coffee stand. "I would not want you to run off on me. Maybe the next place you decide you wanna go to is Switzerland. I hear that green lushes are quite famous around there."
I rolled my eyes. "I hear some people get detained for sarcasm."
He turned quickly, spilling some of his coffee. "What was that?"
"Nothing."
"You said something."
"Yes, I said... Um..." Oh boy. "I do have questions of my own. I know that might sound crazy but it's true." He stares at me for a while, making my heart thud. He took a sip from his cup and strode swiftly to his chair.
"Okay, what did you hope to ask?" Oh boy! What did I want to ask?
"Um... Naturally, you are going to have to finish before I start warming up my questions. I have to know everything before I'm able to get my questions on board."
"Alright." He finally said. I tried not to stare into his eyes too much. And at this point, I wished when someone was annoying to you, a little of their genes becomes invisible to you.
"So... How am I so sure you're not going to turn on me?"
"I won't turn on you."
"How am I so sure?"
Why was he making this a problem? Move on already. "Okay, the thing is this, if you are so worried that I might go all AWOL on you, then let's do this, why don't I sign something."
"How am I guaranteed that would keep you?"
Okay, now he was just being repetitive. Annoyingly repetitive. "It's only natural that I sign a contract, I mean rich people had a lot of confidence in all that stuff?"
"We do, but I would have had more confidence if I was the one that thought of it."
"I assure you, I have no plans to ditch you."
Silence. Again! Men, was this blonde-eyed guy getting on my nerves with his whole James Bond move? "Alright, you will sign a contract." He took a sip from what I presumed would be a lukewarm coffee now. "But you should know, the grounds are quite extensive. Should you plan to run, there are going to be people waiting for you. With guns, maybe."
Wait, what?! First threat! This was his first time threatening me. I carefully tried to pull my phone out of my pocket and hit record. I would get him to say it again. This could be helpful in court or to the judges or a lawyer, whomever. For some reason, my phone couldn't quite make its way out. It was stuck. Great. When I realized he was still staring at me, I immediately plastered a sad look. No, not sad. A terrified look. That was what I needed.
''I won't run."
"That was meant to be a joke."
Are you sure, Carson? Thankfully, I had the willpower to control my lips before that slipped up.
"Okay, sir." That was much better.
"Next question."
Next question? We weren't done yet? Ah great.
"Do you have children?"
"No."
"Ever had children?"
"Nope."
"Ever been married?"
"No. But sure has been in a lot of dates." I joked. I knew it sounded crazy, but the monologuing tone was beginning to give the room more shade than the funny-looking curtains in place.
He stared at me and smiled, shaking his head. Well, that was a first.
"Do you like community?"
"Who doesn't?"
"Miss Philips, you can't answer a question with a question."
"I just did and you got what I meant, right?"
"Well, when I am asking you questions, let it be questions and answers. I don't have time for decoding all these fancy talks you have been laying around.
"Fancy?"
"Yes, so if you don't mind, no more questions after questions. Just answer after questions, got it?" He wasn't completely growling, but the smile had vanished into thin air. God, I missed home. So much.
"Yes, sir."
"Okay. So let's continue. So you like community?"
"I do."
"You've also noticed that this house is within a... Concealed residence. How exactly do you plan to be connected to the community?"
"I don't know. Yet."
"Would you mind elaborating further?"
"No." Woah.
He raised his eyes from the screen he had been perusing and stared into mine.
"May I ask why?"
"Because I don't know yet."
"Ah."
"Yes."
He squinted his eyes at me. "You know I told you to answer a question, I didn't tell you to begin answering in a monologuing manner."
"I am trying to be civil."
He gulped down coffee. "Alright, what are your questions?"
"You're done asking me yours?"
"Yes."
"Okay, do you write letters?"
"No."
"Okay. Well, I like writing letters. I like delivering them to the small box shop just before the borders."
"So, your point is?"
"I would like to be writing letters. I would not like to stop. So, I just... Well, I want to know how I would be going about it."
"Very well, Morris will take care of that. He will take your letters and he will deliver them."
"Why can't I just deliver them myself?"
"It's miles and miles and miles away. And that is why Morris is present. He will provide you with all the outside service you need."
Wait. Why was he so bent on making rules that kept us locked in? I swayed.
"Do you mind if I poured myself a cup?" I asked, pointing to the coffee table.
"Pour all the coffee you can handle."
"Thank you." I needed caffeine. Immediately, I stood up and poured a cup to the brim.
"I'd like to handle the letters myself."
He studied my face for a while.
"Why?"
Why? Great question. Except I had no answers to give in return. Boy, oh boy.
"Erm... I do like to meet the man who runs the place in person. He's my friend."
"How often do you write these letters?"
"Two times a week."
"And who do you write them to?"
"Family." Okay, now my heart was beating fast.
He studied me for a while, before squinting back at his laptop. "It does say here that you have no family."
Oh, Mrs Smith and her ways. This wasn't 1978 anymore. I frantically searched my mind for something. Anything.
"I have friends. I do consider friends family. Do you not?"
"I don't have friends." His tone was steel.
"Oh... Okay. Yeah, well I do. I am not really willing to let go of what I have with them."
"And if I say no?"
Well, that was a bummer. "Sir, I want this job. I want to work here but at this point, I'm not ready to let go of my friends to work for you. If you would give me three months for trial, you would see that it is... That I am... I will be good at this job."
"I never said you won't be."
"Yeah, but you thought it. You're thinking it now in fact."
"You don't know that for sure, now do you?" He was holding in a smile.
"Ah, but I do read minds."
He didn't say anything for a while. Squinting.
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"Alright. I will let you deliver your letters. It will not be easy because it is quite extensive, but I'll give you a chance."
I smiled. I guess Johnson wouldn't be laughing at me after all. "Yay."
Just then, a knock sounded at the door.
"Come in."
The door opened to reveal a rather plump woman. "You're even more beautiful than Morris described." She smiled brightly. Her red hair matched her shoes. Her very high shoes. Wait, was that mandatory?
"Miss Philips, meet Adelaide. She's the cook. Very distinguished in the kitchen."
She smiled. If I didn't know better, I would say she batted her lashes at him. Maybe this mission wasn't going to be as drama-less as I thought. I waved at her.
"Hi Adelaide. I'm Josie."
"I know I have said this before but you are very very beautiful."
"Thank you. You are very beautiful. I cannot wait to work with you."
She smiled again. Didn't her cheeks hurt?
"Would you mind showing her around, Adelaide? Make sure she knows the grounds quite well."
"Yes, sir. I look forward to seeing you at dinner."
"Thank you. You too."
Men could be so oblivious without trying so hard.
"It's so nice to have another woman in the house. I'm more happy than I let on." She said immediately the door to Mr Cooper's office closed.
"I have worked with women before but none as beautiful as you. And kind."
She smiled again. "Good to know. You're not single are you?"
"Why do you ask?" Was that also a requirement to live in this rather vast estate? It was so tiring.
"Well, I just thought I'd let you know that Mr Carson already has his hands full and I'd hate anything to come between this report we're forming." She said. Sweetly? Wait what?
I was still standing there when she happily walked ahead. Great. Now I was in a semi-love triangle I knew nothing about. Great. Just great.
Katy's Point of View."You know as we're touring, it's only normal that the both of us talk a little right?" Morris asked. I had no idea what changed Adelaide's mind but I was glad she wasn't the one giving me the tour anymore. At least Morris wouldn't sweetly threaten me. I searched my mind for a comeback."We're talking, are we not?""Yeah, well. But we've been talking about how beautiful the Lily bushes are for thirty minutes straight. And you're not even into the conversation. You look like you're trying so hard to focus. Homesick?"The agency was my home, I guess I did miss being myself. I had to start wearing funny wears now. No fun talk. No loud makeup. That was a lot to take in all at once. "Yeah, I guess."He nodded slowly and then smiled sympathetically. "Give it a week or two, you'll start getting used to this place. It is secluded but trust me when I say it is fun."I chuckled. "Is that what you tell yourself?"He paused, then chuckled too. "Yeah. But it does work. To just
Katy's Point of View.I would appear rude if I said I didn't want to be here. And I was tempted to say it anyway. I didn't want to be here. But when I suggested to Morris that I would rather have dinner in the comfort of my bedroom, his reply shook me to the teeth. My belly grumbled, clearly disagreeing with the repercussions of missing dinner at dinnertime."The thing is... You miss a meal here, you can forget about eating at all. It's a kind of a rule.""Well, how is he sure that you don't sneak the food from the quarters to your bedroom? He's not even there. It doesn't make sense."He chuckled a little. "We all eat at the dining table. It's not a hidden thing. I'm serious, you were not briefed at the interview about it.""Wait, so you're telling me that the moment we're called in right now to eat, we are actually going to sit down with the boss and eat with him?" Interesting.He laughed this time around. "You should see your eyes. They're so huge." He nodded still, "You act like it
Carson's Point of View."You're the boss, if you don't want her among your crew you could always tell her to go. It's not like she's going to strike you or anything." Abel said, his voice booming from the iPad. Morris chuckled softly, pouring himself a drink. He knew his brother too well."Shhh. Don't draw attention to this office. You're loud. I'm still trying to get a hang of this boss thing.""You have been on this thing for a few years, you should know the drill by now.""Oh, yeah? What, if I may ask little brother, is the drill?" Morris asked, carefully sitting to avoid spilling his drink."Be so strict with them that the mention of your name scares them to death.""This is why I don't come to you for advice." I turned to Morris, who looked like he was too deep in his thoughts to argue with his brother like they usually did. "Morris, how on earth did you deal with him for years?""He's my brother. I have my ways."I sighed. "I hope the agency's doing well? I don't want you gettin
Katy's Point of View.I stared at her for a while, not knowing what to say. I didn't want to jump to a conclusion. I knew that if I did, she would definitely know that I was doing a little bit of a federal job myself."Nail him, how?" My heartbeats blasted into my ear."Make him fall in love with me.""Oh. Is that what you meant?" I wondered out loud.She frowned. "What did you think I meant?""Nothing serious, I guess. I thought, you meant he was into shady businesses and you needed my help to bring him to the authorities." That would be nice, wouldn't it? Nailing the boss under a week that I show up. I would be the talk of the agency. In the food sense.Adelaide laughed, washing her hands. "You have a wild imagination." Well, it was true. It was also one of the reasons the agency thought I had potential, until after three months of working my brains off to actually prove myself. I was a bit nauseous just thinking about the training process.Speaking of difficulties, how did I go fro
Katy's Point of View."Um..." It almost sounded automatic as Morris and I uttered it at the same time. Adelaide walked in with a curious smile on her face. Seriously, was there a time when this girl wasn't smiling?"Are you alright? Both of you." She asked after a few seconds. "Tell me what?"I stared at Morris. I didn't think I had ever seen him so unnerved before. This was the time to come clean and if he couldn't do it, then I would do it for him. For all we cared, Adelaide wasn't really in love with Carson. Maybe, she was just scared of ending up alone and for some reason, she thought making her boss fall in love with her was the easiest way out. Seriously, don't fault me, I'd been reading too many short stories before this operation.As if Morris knew what I was thinking, he slightly shook his head the moment I stared at him. I immediately turned back to Adelaide.
Katy's Point of View.Luckily for me, well somehow, today was packed with things to do, and there was hardly any time to give romance lessons to Adelaide. But the sad part about it all was that my waist felt like it was about to break into two. And there was only one cure for a bone injury. TV. I turned to my bedside clock. If I started now, I could make it on time. I resisted the urge to jump up and slowly got off the bed and slipped into my slippers. The fluffy ones. The last thing I wanted was to do something that would wake everyone up and pin me down for questioning. There was hardly any TV time here and it had been three days since I last watched my favorite soap opera and it was driving me nuts.I slowly walked down the stairs as I made my way to the living room. Quietly. Slowly. The popcorn that I got from the refrigerator was as hot as I used to like it, but when I saw it, I didn't hesitate to collect it. Once a suc
Katy's Point of View"You have to tell me everything!" Morris said behind me, making me jump and clutch my chest. I bent down to pick up the duster while glaring at him."For crying out loud, you scared me to death."He shrugged and walked further to the room, stopping briefly before the fruit basket that lay on top of the dining table. He chose an apple."I mean, you know my voice, don't you?" He asked with a small frown, munching on the apple."I do. But it doesn't mean you should sneak up on me like that. I could have had a heart attack. Then we'll be talking about real trouble.""Yeah, but you didn't, now did you?""You know what? Forget it." I turned back and resumed dusting. I was cranky. I didn't want to transfer it to him. After all, he wasn't the one I had stupidly laid down all night thinking about. He wasn't th
Carson's Point Of View.The door closed behind Morris. He silently watched me."What's wrong with you?" He finally broke the silence."Nothing's wrong with me. I should be asking you that question.""What do you mean by that?" He asked, stepping further into the room until he was grasping the chair that was opposite my table."You seemed a little bit too cozy with the home keeper and all." I just wanted us to talk like we usually did. Our case was finally heading somewhere after years of burning midnight oil. It was something to celebrate. And, today, thirty was staring me right in the face. That was huge. I did not want us to argue. I felt like arguing, I knew he did too. But I was not going to give in. I refused to do so."We were just talking. She called me her friend, don't friends talk?""Of course, they do."
Kathy's POVThe fireplace had been on all the while as we lay down on his office floor. It was almost... Magical. But my bones were starting to ache. Regardless, all these was perfect. Well... Almost. I turned to look at him. I knew he was staring at me. Like a little child that thought... Not expected to lose something. We never got the chance to talk. Maybe we'd do it now before we made our way to the plane."You love me, don't you?" I whispered and he rolled his eyes, smiling."I thought you were going to start with something a little bit more scary." He said, chuckling and pressing a light kiss on my temple. His eyes were calm and frantic at the same time. Perhaps I was just seeing things."Love is not scary to you? Well, you're who I want to be when I grow up." I said, and he laughed. It sounded forced. He knew."You know, come to think of it. Yesterday night you almost gave me a heart attack.""How?""When you almost walked out
Charmaine's POV"What in the heck?" The woman who was just threatening me, exclaimed and slowly lowered her gun."Well... I would have said that but wouldn't be nearly as cool since you've already said it." Jack said and shrugged, he put his own gun down too. And I just stood there, grasping to understand what in the heck was going on. The woman rolled her eyes and walked around me, just as her hands started sticking the gun in its place in the holster."Optics said you were kidnapped." She said as she came to stand in front of him. His eyes studied the wound that had started bleeding again. "And shot.""They said I was shot?" Jackson's eyebrow shot up."Well, no. But I can see that for myself now. You were supposed to duck, you know." She said, and he scoffed."I was not given that luxury. This is not training. I'm in the field and I'm being an agent. Do try not to judge me already.""Yes, well. It's kinda my job. So... But don't wor
Charmaine's POVI raced to his side the minute his eyelids fluttered, breathing thanks to God as he'd been unconscious for hours since we landed in the middle of a small town called Laddertown. Thankfully, he hadn't noticed the disturbing odour of chicken, cow, and goat feces."Where are we?" He asked, trying to get up but only wincing and falling back on the hay that I'd laid him on with the help of the kind farmer that owned the property we'd landed on. Other than the fact that we had almost given his wife a small heart attack and had fallen on his freshly planted corn, I was certain he had nothing else against us."You have to rest, my love. Oh, I'm so glad you're up. What were you thinking, scaring me like that!" I scolded, angry at him like it was his fault he got shot. Like he was the one who pulled Jessica's bullet to his belly."From the look of things, I don't think I'm going to die." He joked, laughing.I gently nudged his shoulder. "Quit
Kathy's POV"You have to understand, Carson. If you were standing there long enough, you'd know that it had been him who'd been kissing me. I didn't kiss him." I said, following him into the office and shutting the door after me. The last thing I wanted was for Morris and, especially, Annabel to be dragged into this."So I didn't just see you locking lips with him?" Carson asked, his eyes more deadly than I had ever seen."For crying out loud, no! You have to believe me. He kissed me, and I was pushing him when I heard you step into the office.""You were pushing him, but not hard enough to let him get away from you. Am I supposed to believe that a field agent who had been trained to protect herself above every other thing couldn't fend a man off herself?""There was no way I could do that without hurting him, you know that.""Yes, I do. If you don't mind, I'd really love to be alone right now." He said, then turned his back to me.I
Kathy's POV"Hey," Abel said, smiling brightly as he saw that I was the one behind his door. He immediately stepped aside, and I entered. My heart was beating so loudly. Not from fear but from the uncertainty of what was going to happen next. He had to know that my mind was made up. Perhaps that would cause him to stop... Whatever plan I knew for sure that he was hatching. "I thought you would be sleeping by now, Kate."I exhaled slowly, refusing to let that old name he used to call me get in the way. "Well, I couldn't sleep. Besides, there was something that I had to tell you. Something you have to know. It can't wait till morning.""It's more important than sleep?""Well, it definitely is if I'm standing here with you now," I said, trying to place a kind smile on my face. I forgot how good he was at reading me."Are you okay?""I'm great," I said, my voice high-pitched. Of course, I wasn't okay. I was about to be as blunt as I could to Abe
Annabel's POVThe door banged again, and this time it made me more annoyed rather than laugh. With sleepy rage, I made my way out of the bed and rushed to the door, prepared to scratch the Intruder's face off if I had to. But as I opened the door and found Morris staring back at me, the angry words that had once resided at the tip of my tongue fled.He smiled lightly... At me? I was tempted to look behind me just to be sure. But I didn't do that. "Hey." He said."Hey," I repeated, wondering what to say next. I was afraid to talk again. Morris could barely look at me and the last thing I needed was to say anything that would make the situation worst than it already was."Hi." He said."Hi." I repeated. Again. He chuckled softly and studied me for a while, the laughter still hovering around the corner of his eyes."Are you going to let me in or...?" He trailed, and I frowned slightly. He must have seen the look on my face because he rushed to
Kathy's POV"You don't have to be in here, you know," Carson said quietly as I cleaned his wounds. His eyes wouldn't leave his fists, which were still clenched, regardless of the pain he must have been feeling as it was bleeding."I want to be in here," I said, maybe a bit more forcefully than I intended. He looked up at me but only briefly before he lowered his eyes again. Even without him speaking, I knew what he was doing. He was shutting me out. He was closing his heart just in case..."Hey," I called to him, placing my palm over his roughened jaw. He still didn't look up. "You remember what you said in that garden, right?" I asked and I saw a ghost smile. Perhaps it was just my imagination."I do." He said, the smile was in his voice. I wasn't just imagining it. "How could I forget it. It had to have been one of the best, if not the best, moments of my life."Suddenly in the moods to play games, I said: "you mean when you said you loved me?"
Carson's POVMorris sighed as Abel stepped into the office. The tension could have been sliced in half. I hated the situation we were in. Abel and I had always loved to joke around. Morris had always been the quiet one. Now, it was obvious that Morris was doing all he could to fill in the space, and even he was uncomfortable."I want you to know that this meeting will be civil. Neither of you will talk stupidly to each other. Neither of you will make this a wrestling ground. You will be respectful, and we will both act like nothing but adults, do you understand?""Yes," Abel said, nodding. I shrugged."Okay, good. Now, Abel, I don't understand what you said in the living room. Do you mind elaborating further?" Morris said, chuckling. "I do not mean to laugh, but this situation is very complicated. Funny too.""Katherine and I used to love each other." Abel began, and I felt anger rise within me."But that's not the case anymore, is it?" I said, and Abel stared at me for a while, then
Charmaine's POV"How are we going to do that without dying? I don't know if you have realized this yet, but we are in a plane.""Jet.""Same thing! They both hover in the sky and falling from both of them could give us both broken spines.""I know you're scared, my love—" he began. Oh, he'd called me his love! I would have shot up from my chair and done my crazy happy dance had it not been that he was making a crazy suggestion. And even crazier because it honestly sounded like the best we had so far."It's not about being scared, Jack. It's about being careful. I don't want to fall off from the sky.""You're not going to. I'm going to hold on tight to you and protect you fiercely, you have my word.""Then you'll be doing all the work?" I asked and he nodded his head. He looked happy that I had finally gotten him."No! Absolutely not. Jack, we are parents now. We can't go making crazy decisions. We have a daughter to consi