THE NEW PARTNER

(JANE JOHNSON)

I had been sitting right outside the Deputy of police office, getting nervous at intervals; this was my first job in a very long time. I never dreamed of getting back to being a detective, the fact that I had no other choice made it more awful. As soon as the handsome man with dark curly hair and blue eyes entered the office, there had been a series of yelling and shouting. He didn’t even notice me when he walked by, there must have been something very important in his mind.

The Deputy had told me, I’d be working with a man, I was starting to hope it was the one that walked in, even though he looked fierce and tough; he was still the handsomest among the other detectives, he was tall and had a great body; just the type of man I had always dreamed off.

I shook off the thoughts immediately I heard my name coming from inside the office, my nervousness returned instantly. I was so vulnerable for having such thoughts for a man I didn’t even know, I bit my lower lip as I staggered up to my feet and headed for the Deputy’s front door.

It seemed my dream actually came true though, that man was still inside there; which would certainly mean, he could be my partner. Half of me was excited while the other half judged me for falling easily for a man who could be my new partner. Not that I had fallen for him, that was totally the wrong word, guess I was just glad that my partner was a handsome man.

I pushed the door open and was struck with both of their stares, my heart leapt from its original place, but I struggled to compose myself. Instead of looking at my handsome partner, I looked at the deputy’s, at least it didn’t make my heart jump out of my mouth; I was so certain it would have if I looked at that man.

Just then I remembered what I was wearing, not that I was ever concerned about my looks; but somehow, today, I was. It was really strange, however, I hope my blue body fitted jeans, black tank top and brown leather jacket looked good; either way, I hope it did, and I wanted that handsome man to like it. Very, very strange for me to want that.

“Welcome Miss, please you may sit,”

The Deputy’s voice brought me back to reality once again, I had never in my life been in a situation where I’d space out in the midst of two men, what was going on with me? That wasn’t a question I could answer, at least not now, not inside this office. I walked briskly and grabbed the other seat next to the man I wished would become my partner, stealing a glance at him as I made myself comfortable; he wasn’t even looking at me, instead it seemed the scotch had hypnotized him as he was staring at it like his life depended on it.

“This woman is going to be your partner, Dawson, it’s either you chose her or you leave the case; it’s the best I can do,”

The Deputy’s voice confirmed my dream. He was going to be my partner after all, the butterflies in my belly jumped for joy, but my other stubborn side shut them up immediately. Why am I getting so excited, I shouldn’t be, when did I become this vulnerable. What was this man doing to me? We barely knew each other, I mean we even just met. All these couldn’t be happening so fast, the worst part was, it was affecting just me alone.

As soon as the deputy finished speaking, the man he called Dawson, turned his head over to look at me, oh God!  I think my blonde hair was a mess, I had to rush down to the station when the deputy called, and I didn’t have lipstick on. Gosh! I was overreacting, I was going to be a detective again, all those make ups wouldn’t be necessary, but somehow, I wanted them to appear on my face as soon as this man looked at me, but unfortunately he was looking at my natural face.

“You had this planned all along, didn’t you?”

Dawson spoke, after one quick glance at me, he returned his gaze to the deputy, his stare looked furious, and he wasn’t my partner just yet, from what the deputy said, he had two choices. I hope mine was the better one. As much as I hated that I was loving everything about him, I wanted to work with him.

“I knew you wouldn’t agree to my decision just like that, so I prepared a backup plan. Miss Jane Johnson here would be your partner, she’s a skilled detective with field experience of over a decade. I am sure she would be of great help in finding those who murdered your sister.” The deputy explained, introducing me to Dawson on my behalf.

Now I understood why our handsome man was acting all gloomy, the poor man just lost his only sister, and I was being appointed to be his partner, so we could work on his sister’s case together. It sounded cliché, like one of those New York bestselling novels. I just hope he will be able to get along with me.

“Stop the act Donald, you want to monitor my movements with this woman and make sure I don’t go overboard,” Dawson shrugged, standing up from his chair, he gulped down the scotch he had been staring at and shifted his gaze to me. I felt my heart leap again, his blue eyes felt as if they could see through my clothes. I had to quickly move my gaze towards the deputy, who was in turn staring at me also; adding to my already frightened self.

Instead of countering Dawson’s word, the deputy poured himself a drink instead; which confirmed that what Dawson just stated could be true.  

I wanted to chirp in something but Dawson cut me short; “Guess I don’t have a choice then, welcome to my team detective Jane,” he scoffed and started towards the door.

I and the deputy watched him leave the room, but I was the only one engulfed in joy. I could feel it, although I didn’t want to claim it….