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."
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
Charmaine's POVI hated the silence that remained after Jessica had long left the room."So that's Jessica?" Jackson said, stealing a glance at me."Please, do not try to make light of this. For all I care my child is in danger. I obviously trusted the wrong person. I don't know why these things keep happening to me.""What things?" He asked, oblivious.I sighed. "I keep trusting the wrong people. Whenever I meet someone and think that that person is going to be my village, it turns out they're not. Kinda makes me wonder if there's a point to this. All of this. I just... I just don't know anymore.""So Jessica is not the only wrong person you confided in that turned out to be wrong for you?""No," I said, passing him a pointed look. Hopefully, he would get it. He would see that he was one of the people that I thought was going to be it that was not it. And hopefully, he would finally leave me alone to my own thoughts.He chuckl
Kathy's POV"Did you hear that?" I asked, already swinging my feet to the other side of the garden chair. Carson's hand clamped over mine."What are you doing?" He whispered, then reached behind his pocket and pulled out something that looked like a pen. He snapped the green button and then a very sharp blade came out."Wait, all this while, that was in your pocket?" I asked and he shrugged."Stay here. I'll go check what's happening, if you hear any weird sound, run. Do not even look back.""Are you kidding me?""Do I sound like a comedian?""You know that I'm an agent, right? You can't just tell me to stay back and watch around like nothing's happening.""I'm not telling you to watch. I'm telling you to run. Run! And hit the red button on the way to the hallway. It'll send an alarm signal to everyone's room.""Or we could just go out there together. It'll be safer and quicker that way.""You've got to be kidding
Kathy's POV"What are you still doing up?" I heard him say behind me, making me jump. It was in the middle of the night and I just couldn't get a shut eye no matter how hard I closed my eyes and no matter how soft Annabel's pillows were, the sleep just wouldn't come. So I decided perhaps it was better if I went to the garden and rested there.I slowly turned around, fighting the urge to smile at him, perhaps that would make him forgive me. Wait a minute! Forgive me? For what? I didn't think there was anything I needed forgiving for, dangit! I flinched at the headache that was coming on at the internal scolding. I heard him come a little bit closer, his feet crushing gravel."Are you okay?" I heard him ask. The concern was eminent. It was the first words he'd said to me since our discussion earlier. My heart jumped and I tried my best to calm it down."I'm fine. I just have a little headache." I said with a wary smile.He shrugged. "Sorry. But you know that it's bound to go away if you
Carson's POV"What are you waiting for? They're obviously done talking." Annabel said, her eyes dulled. When she had barged into my office a few minutes ago demanding that I hear what she had to say I sincerely missed the time she was nothing but an employer who received orders from me. Now? Now, she was a partner in the recovery of my sister which was the reason I'd grudgingly decided to hear what she had to say rather than match her out of my office and shut the door on her face like I had been tempted to do.I studied her for a while. She looked awfully calm. And if she was calm after hearing everything that Morris and Katherine had said about her, why would I let it rile me up? "You look awfully calm, Miss...?""Miss? Please, call me Annabel. And why wouldn't I be calm?""You heard what Morris said, didn't you?"She shrugged, carefully keeping her eyes on the rim of the well-carved table. "Yes. I heard what he said, and I don't see any reason w
Kathy PovFor the first time since Carson found the truth out, I could finally get a little bit of peace for myself. Just a little. I leaned against the garden chair and closed my eyes very tight, trying so hard to lock everything else away from my mind. I wasn't very successful."Hey." I heard Morris say from behind me. I sighed. Him and I had not had a conversation about what happened and I knew without any doubt that he was here to tell me how much I had disappointed him. I was in no mood to hear it but I knew the sooner it happened for me, the better. I knew it wasn't going to be easy but I had been doing my job for crying out loud. He was undercover. It was a deep cover! How was I supposed to know that he was going to be lovely? How was I supposed to know that he was going to be... Him and that I was going to fall in love. I hated that everyone, safe from Annabel, was mad at me but I was doing my job and I had nothing to feel bad about."Hey," I said back, straightening."You can
Carson's POVOne for Morris. Zero for me. His smooth talk had won me over. Once I had the opportunity to think things through I saw how right he was infact. It was wise to utilize the manpower we had altogether. Even though we'd been in this meeting for a few minutes long, I couldn't bring myself to listen to the nudge my heart kept on punishing me with.It was obvious that she'd been crying. Her eyes were puffy and when she'd spoken her voice was hoarse. The make up she'd reapplied didn't hide her puffy eyes well. Besides they were still red and obviously tears ridden. I made it a point to let her know to change her powder product. It was doing a lousy job in protecting her dignity."You said they left a note?" Annabel asked again, her hands boldly clad to her waist."Yes, I did. They... did. They left a note, that is." I said, trying to keep my face free of emotions. My cook was an agent. My cook was an agent! How did she even learn all those professional pies
Carson's POVThe knock that sounded at the door irritated me even more than I already was. I didn't want to be rude or shout at the person on the other end, but I knew I would. At that certainty doubled if it was Kathy. Kathy... That was her real name. And she was an undercover agent. She'd been here to take me down. Obviously sent here because of her good looks. And just as they had predicted, I really fell. Oh, I hated this."Are you okay?" Morris asked from behind. I hadn't even realized he'd entered into the room. I nodded, going around my table and making my way to my chair."I'm alright. We have a lot to do though. I suggest we get to it.""You mean about the kidnapping?""Of course, I mean about the kidnapping." I snapped, not caring about anything else. I just wanted this pain to stop. I just wanted this hurting to stop. "What else would be worthy of my time at the moment?""Remember rule number twenty-nine?" Morris said after a stretched silenc
Kathy's POV"My name is not really Josie. It's Kathy. Katherine. And I work for the agency. I'm new at field work and it's what I have always wanted to do. I was lucky to get a chance and I'm the only one with a 3.5 GPA to get an opportunity there, so... I like tea but am forced to drink coffee because coffee is always readily available. I... Cry into the notebook every time I watch it and then I smile in front of the camera. The thing is I am very goofy. And you shouldn't know that because then perhaps you'd start seeing me in that light but it's just the truth." I said, my heart panting. I would have continued. Heck, I wanted to continue. But the look on his face was not encouraging at all. He looked like he was bored. No, no he looked like I was annoying him with my words. I wish he'd heard it from me, but I was not sorry that I had chosen to keep my identity as I had been told firmly by the mother of the one who finally let the cat out of the bag."I have one question