Riley's Reckoning

by Claire Britain

  It was Alex’s turn to blush after Joanna’s admonishment, but she smiled seeing Joanna’s face turn from stern to kind concern.

  “I’m sorry, I’m fine and you’re right, I probably wouldn’t be in this mess if I had put on my vest. The captain was none too happy either and he’s already discussed my light duty assignment with me when I get back to work,” Alex replied, rolling her eyes. “In fact, I wanted to discuss that with Riley, if you have some time,” Alex said, gesturing toward the visitor’s chairs.

  Joanna sat down in one of the visitor’s chairs and when Riley went to do the same, she flinched when her tender backside made contact with the chair.

  “Oh, sorry, kiddo, looks as though your punishment has already been delivered, maybe I shouldn’t concern you with mine?” Alex said with a sympathetic wince.

  “No, I for one would like to hear what you have in mind, Alex. And I think Riley will be more than willing to help out under the circumstances, won’t you, my love?”

  “Yes, I’d like to help, Alex, I feel pretty responsible for what happened so whatever I can do,” Riley replied.

  “Well, hear me out, then you can make a decision. I’ve been assigned to the weekend work program. Normally this is run by the Department of Corrections. In a nutshell, small crime offenders can be sentenced to spend a certain number of weekends on a work program as opposed to completing their sentence in jail. It’s a good program in as much as it allows individuals to pay their debts to society without going to jail, while they still maintain gainful employment. It also eliminates the expense to the taxpayers to house these individuals in detention facilities. Unfortunately, more often than not, we are seeing some of the same offenders repeat the program. Mostly drug- and alcohol-related crimes but for the most part they are nonviolent offenders. The state allows them through the program twice, but after that they go to jail, where most of them lose their jobs. It becomes a vicious cycle, often leading to more serious crimes.”

  Riley saw Alex shift uncomfortably then grimace in pain as she tried to adjust one of her pillows. “Are you okay? Here, let me do that.” Riley said, propping up the pillows behind Alex.

  “Yeah, I’m fine, just a little uncomfortable, now where was I? Oh, yeah, we’ve got the part down about making the inmates work, but it’s the education piece we’re missing. I have a new group starting next week, all women, all first-time offenders. Statistically over sixty percent of them will commit similar crimes again.

  “I’ve asked the captain for classroom time with these women. They are serving ninety-six-hour sentences. I’ve been given eight hours. It can be a whole day, two half days, either way, it isn’t very much time. Now, I can stand up there and give them crime stats and tell them scary stories about jail and bad guys but I need someone to help me sell it, really drive it home, make them never want to repeat their crimes. The women might connect with you since you just helped us catch the killer. Tell them your story, the good and the bad. Gain their trust and they will listen to you. You think you can help me, Riley?”

  Riley was a little hesitant but at the same time, she had an excited spark inside her. “I think I can put something together that won’t bore them to death if you give me some stats.” She looked over at Joanna, who was beaming at her. “Yes, I think I can help,” Riley announced enthusiastically.

  “It will be a six-week commitment, we can talk about how you want to break up the hours but you’re mine for six weeks starting next Saturday. A new group cycles through every week, so you’ll be on the hook for all six weeks.”

  “Yes, ma’am, I can do that!”

  “Well, I think that’s settled then,” Joanna smiled. “Alex, when do you think they will let you go home?”

  “I’m hoping tomorrow. Riley, there’s one more thing. The mayor wants to do a thing at city hall, think you’re up for that?”

  “What do you mean, a thing?”

  “Well, seems you’re quite the hero, helped catch the killer after all. He’s off the street and behind bars largely because of you.”

  “Not sure that’s appropriate; you’re in here largely because of me too,” Riley scowled.

  “Yes, and you’re not sitting comfortably and you’re mine every Saturday for the next six weeks, remember, so how ‘bout we move on? The mayor asked me to ask you. I don’t like it much either but Carl and I are getting recognized too. I’m stuck with it, maybe you should be too!” Alex said, winking at Joanna.

  “What do you think, Jo?”

  “I’ll leave that up to you, Riley. I’m a little torn about it honestly, but I’m sure the mayor wants to sell his story, doesn’t he?”

  “Yep, he does, and this one is a win for the city and the police department,” Alex conceded. “There won’t be any details since he hasn’t been tried yet but you know how the headlines will read.”

  “Well, can I think about it?”

  “Sure, Riley, no pressure, just let me know what you decide.”

  “Alex, we’ll let you get some rest, is there anything we can get you?”

  “No, I’m great, Joanna, thank you. Just keep this one out of trouble, can you?” she smiled, gesturing to Riley.

  Joanna looked over at Riley, who was grinning from ear to ear. “Well, as a matter of fact that’s exactly what I intend to do. Riley agreed to marry me yesterday!”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Come on, Jo, I’m leaving without you if you don’t get a move on. I have things I need to prepare for the interns,” Riley said in frustration.

  “Darling, I know you’re excited about getting back to work but the interns will be tied up with HR and security for at least a couple of hours, and it’s only, let me see, six-thirty! Riley, what the heck, they are not even scheduled to arrive until eight-thirty. Now, young lady, I suggest you calm down.”

  Riley took a breath and admired Joanna, who was still snuggled in their king-size bed. A morning person she was not, and Riley knew it. A mischievous twinkle was in her eye as she gently grasped the top of the comforter.

  “Young lady, if you are even thinking of relieving me of my cozy comforter, you’ll find yourself over my knee for a rude wakeup call!”

  Riley just smiled and rolled her eyes at Joanna, who was peeking at her through a slit in one eyelid.

  “I’m already awake, thank you, which I can’t say for you. I’m leaving in an hour and I know how long it takes you to get ready in the morning. I’ll get you some coffee.”

  “Okay, honey, thank you, I’ll be ready. I’ll meet the interns with you and Helen. Then I have to leave for a few hours to take care of something, but I’ll be back this afternoon.”

  “Oh, where are you going? I thought you might want to keep an eye on me, my first day back to work in over three weeks and all.”

  “Indeed, but not to worry, my little wild one, Helen will be in all day and you will be too busy to get into any trouble.”

  Just as Joanna stated, she was ready in an hour, donning an elegant tailored suit and her favorite red-soled heels.

  Riley looked at her fiancée appreciatively. “Mm, mm, I could eat you alive, Ms. Armstrong.”

  “Maybe later, darling,” Joanna smiled back. “Let’s go.”

  The drive to the office took about the same time it would to walk, during the Manhattan rush hour, but since Joanna needed the car, Helen, Joanna, and Riley piled in Helen’s Jag for the short journey to the office building.

  Riley smiled to herself, reading the firm’s name on the wall, as she walked in the front doors to the reception area.

  “Riley, welcome back, are you okay? You’re quite the hero, you know,” Helen’s assistant, Cathy, said warmly, getting up to hug her.

  “Thanks, Cathy, but not really. I got my detective friend shot in the process. She’s going to be okay though.”

  “And what’s this I hear about a proposal?” she asked, smiling, looking from Joanna to Riley.

  Riley couldn’t help but look at Joanna and grin. “Yes, I still can’
t quite believe it, but Jo asked me on Saturday.”

  “Well, congratulations! It’s about time we had a wedding around here,” she said, hugging Riley then Joanna. “I’ve been harping on Helen to make a decent woman out of Kate for years!”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Helen dismissed. “Any messages, Cathy?”

  “No, but your interns are here, they’re badging with security at the moment. I’ll come and find you when they’re done with HR.”

  “Damn, I wanted to be here to meet them. I told Jo they would be early!” Riley frowned. “I’ll go find them and take them to HR when they are done with security.”

  “Riley, bring them to my office first, I’ll arrange for some coffee and bagels,” Helen replied, looking at Cathy.

  “Already done, Helen. I knew the interns were starting and Riley was coming back, so I took the liberty of catering a continental breakfast in the conference room so they could meet the staff. Should be here about… now actually,” Cathy replied, looking at her watch.

  “Did I give you a good bonus this year? You are the best, Cathy.”

  “Yes, you did and yes, I know!”

  Joanna and Helen headed for Helen’s office while Riley made her way to security to find her interns.

  “There you are, I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you arrived, Riley Carrington,” she said, offering her hand to the tall, preppy looking intern, who had on a short, light blue collared dress, cinched at the waist by a thin light brown belt, and a navy blazer. At the end of her long nyloned legs was a pair of beige pumps. “You must be Andrea?”

  A perfectly manicured hand reached out to take Riley’s. “Yes, I’m so pleased to meet you, Ms. Carrington, and I’m super excited for this incredible opportunity.”

  “Please, it’s Riley, and you must be Parker, right?” she asked, turning to the shorter girl with light strawberry blonde mousy hair that was stylishly messy and dark eyes that seemed darker with her dusky shadow and liner.

  “Yes, thanks for remembering, it’s nice to meet you, Riley,” she answered in a thick Irish brogue.

  Riley noticed a colorful tattoo peeking out from under the sleeve of her stylish but simple shirt and her short fingernails that were obviously the victims of nail biting. Her black hip-hugger slacks had a masculine air about them and the small heel on her black boots put her just a little over her five-foot-three frame.

  “Did you get settled in your apartments okay yesterday?” Riley asked, as Andrea was getting her picture taken for her ID badge.

  “Yes, thank you, it’s lovely,” Andrea replied.

  “Yeah, it’s fecking great, ain’t it!” Parker said enthusiastically, before a horrified look appeared on her face when she realized what she had said. “I mean, sorry, yeah, it’s great and mine has some excellent graphics on the walls, same as some of the ones here on the office walls. They yours, Riley? Are they from the Bencom account? The stuff we’ll be working on, yeah?”

  Riley chuckled in amusement at the young Irish girl; she certainly was a little rough around the edges, but Riley took a liking to her instantly. “Maybe, that used to be my apartment.”

  “They’re great, I can’t wait to learn from you.”

  “Jo wanted me to ask you if you needed parking access to the garage. She will get you a parking spot if you need one.”

  “Jo? Oh, Ms. Armstrong, silly me,” Andrea replied. “Well, I wasn’t planning on driving around Manhattan, since the office is so close and I hear the subway is very accessible and can take you all over the city?”

  “Yeah, but you want to know the city a little better before you start hopping on trains. I got a little lost myself when I first got here, found myself in the dodgy end of town on more than one occasion.”

  “Yes, Parker’s right, the subway is great but just ask one of us before you start venturing off at night. What about you, Parker, you have a car, do you need a parking spot?”

  “Nah, I just have my bike.”

  “Well, a bicycle in New York seems very sensible, I may have to do the same,” Andrea smiled.

  “Nah, it’s me motorbike. I parked it in the garage, followed some bloke in yesterday, but is there a code for the gate or something?”

  “Oh, well, I won’t be getting one of those, I can assure you of that!” Andrea scoffed, looking at Riley with raised eyebrows.

  Riley smiled at the young Irish intern. “Sure, we can get you a fob for the gate, mine is the dark purple, almost black Shadow. What do you have, Parker?”

  “Bejaysus, she’s a beauty, I was admiring her yesterday. I parked next to you, mine’s a cruiser too, but not half as nice!”

  “Well, I wrecked my old one, so this one’s courtesy of the insurance settlement!”

  “Excellent!” Parker replied with a big grin. “We’ll have to go for a ride.”

  Andrea was looking a little bewildered, hearing the conversation between Parker and Riley. “Sorry, I hope that didn’t sound rude, I just don’t know anything about motorcycles.”

  “It’s okay, you’re either a bike person or you’re not. We’ll try not to hold it against you, right, Parker?” Riley teased. “Well, are you ready to meet the bosses?”

  “Yes,” the girls said in unison, before following Riley to Helen’s office.

  “They’re waiting for you,” Cathy said, nodding to Helen’s open door.

  Riley gave a little knock on the door before escorting the girls inside the office. “Ladies, may I present Helen Klein and Joanna Armstrong.”

  Helen and Joanna both stood to greet the young interns.

  “This is AJ Parker,” Riley started.

  “AJ, Alice, isn’t it?” Helen inquired with a smile.

  “Uh, yes, ma’am, that’s what me mam calls me but I go by AJ, or Parker if you like, no one much calls me Alice anymore,” AJ said shyly.

  “Very well, AJ it is, and you must be Andrea,” Helen said, extending her hand to the taller of the two interns.

  “Nice to meet you, Ms. Klein, nice to meet you, Ms. Armstrong.”

  After the initial introductions, the five women sat down around Helen’s conference room table. Andrea was all smiles while Parker sat stiffly, awaiting instructions from her new bosses.

  “So Andrea, how is Princeton? We share the same sorority, you know,” Helen announced.

  “Yes, I know, you were president from ninety-seven to ninety-eight, I’m in the same house on campus!” Andrea beamed excitedly.

  “Oh, so you’ve done your homework. Helen and I were there all four years, some good memories in that house!” Joanna replied enthusiastically.

  Riley found herself rolling her eyes at the exchange until she caught the covert warning look from her fiancée. She gave a strained smile in return.

  “And AJ, what part of Ireland are you from?” Helen asked.

  “Little town outside of Dublin. I’ve been going to school at Trinity College until I was accepted to NYU last year.”

  “And what about New York, do you like it? Little different from Ireland, I’d imagine,” Riley laughed.

  “Ah, sure, it’s grand, if I can get my H4 visa I’d like to stay and work here after Uni’s done.”

  “Well, we will help in any way we can, AJ,” Joanna said with a smile. “So, I think Riley probably explained that she is the lead on the Bencom account and you’ll be working closely with her for the duration of your stay with us.”

  “I am? I mean, yes, I am, and you’ll get a chance to meet David Lannister, the CEO, he’s going to stop by for the meet and greet,” Riley replied.

  “Splendid, then we have a few formalities with HR, then we’ll put you to work. I think they’re ready for us in the conference room.”

  Riley could tell AJ was a little nervous, as they gathered in the conference room.

  “David, so glad you could drop by, I’d like you to meet AJ Parker and Andrea Jamison, Ladies, this is David Lannister, CEO of the Bencom group,” Helen announced as the handsome CEO arrived.

  “Ladies, very
nice to meet you. You both submitted some impressive designs in your packets. I’m looking forward to seeing what you can bring to Bencom. With the ‘Next Generation’ devices, we will be releasing in the fall, there is a lot to do. You ladies will no doubt be in the product introduction meeting next week. Lots of cool new stuff, I can assure you.”

  “I gotta tell you, Mr. Lannister, I’ve heard a little about the new one with the voice command interface, it looks amazing,” AJ said enthusiastically. “And the social media masking feature is pretty nice!”

  “You’ve done your homework, AJ, I’m impressed,” David smiled.

  “Okay, everyone, if I could have your attention for just a couple of minutes, Joanna and I would like to welcome our two interns who joined the firm today. As you know, Riley came up with the idea for the program and David has graciously helped fund the program so we were able to secure two positions for the summer. Riley, would you like to do the introductions?”

  “Absolutely, thank you, Helen,” Riley said, addressing the twenty-five or so employees who had gathered in the conference room.

  “This is Andrea Jamison, she is studying at Princeton, and her home town is Athens, Georgia.”

  “Hello,” Andrea said, giving a small wave and a smile to the group.

  “And this is AJ Parker, she goes by AJ or Parker and she is an exchange student from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. She’s finishing her master’s right here at NYU. I’d like to welcome them both to the firm and look forward to working with both of them. So please, enjoy the breakfast, and come and introduce yourselves.”

  The meet and greet lasted for about thirty minutes, until one by one, the employees dispersed from the conference room and AJ and Andrea were taken to do the HR formalities.

  “Riley, can you lay low for a little bit? I can’t take many more scares from you. What would I do without my chief marketing guru, huh?” David teased, as he gave Riley a hug.