by Raina Wilde
“I know that. ” Natalie nodded and placed her hand on his once more. “I spoke with Commander Barkley…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Chris was on his feet.
“You did what? ” His shout echoed through the room. “You had no right to do that. ”
“I know, ” she repeated. “If you’ll just let me explain…”
“I think you’ve done enough. ” He moved toward the door but Natalie rushed past him and stood in front of it.
“You need to let me finish. ” Her voice pleaded but it fell on deaf ears.
“I don’t need to do anything. Get out of my way, Natalie. ”
She pulled the last page from the file and held it out for him.
“Just read this. ”
His grabbed the paper from the air, crumpling it in the process. He held the page at his side. She could see that he had no intention of reading it.
“Please, Chris. Read it. ” She implored him to understand, she needed him to see that she had not meant to betray his trust. “I kept my promise. I didn’t tell anyone the truth. That is still your choice, but please, please don’t shut me out. ”
He waited in silence as he stared at the door, jaw clenched, waiting for her to move. She did, and he slipped through the door without a backward glance.
Natalie sunk into the plush cushions of the couch as her heart exploded with agony. He would never forgive her for speaking with his commanding officer. He would probably never read the report that she had compiled. Either way, she doubted that she would ever see Chris Ryker again.
Natalie refused to cry. The tears would come later, when she was in the safety of her own home, but for now she simply closed her eyes and gasped as she tried to settle the pounding of her heart. She had only been trying to help. She truly thought that she could help him, but all she had seen in his eyes was betrayal. Anything that they had shared before, that they might have shared in the future, was gone. He would never trust her again.
An hour passed, maybe less. It seemed like days to Natalie as she sat at her desk staring at her case files but not really reading them.
Her secretary entered and announced her afternoon appointment. Natalie swore under her breath. She searched for her calendar to check her schedule. She had forgotten about the appointment. She was unprepared and would have to improvise through the session.
She had just smoothed her skirt and attempted to arrange the tousled hairstyle that had been wrecked by the constant running of her fingers through it since Chris had left.
When she looked up she could not have been more surprised at what she saw.
Chris stood in the doorway with a tentative grin, clutching the crumpled file.
“I’m an ass, ” he said before she could speak. Not that she could find the words in the first place.
“No, ” She shook her head. “I should have consulted you before going to your commanders. ”
He released a short laugh. “I would have stopped you. ”
“I know. ”
He took a few steps into the room and held the paper between them, where it hung like a lifeline.
“Is this really possible? ” She could hear the hope in his voice. Yet, at the same time, an unwillingness to believe that it was true.
She nodded. “It’s rare, and legally complicated, but yes… Your Commander Barkley thinks that it will be approved unanimously. That is, if you choose to go forward. ”
The document outlined a complex legal process in which Chris could provide a closed testimony to his superiors. Not only would they be restricted from revealing his story, but they would then stand as witness to clear him of all charges outside of a trial. Only three of his commanders would have access to the full story, and Tony Pomerretti’s family would never know the full details of his downfall. The case would be locked and Chris could move on with his career.
“How did you manage this? ” He seemed dumbfounded. “How can the case be closed without them skewering Tony, and digging through his life for signs that he was a loose cannon? ”
“They’ll still need to investigate that, in order to study and prevent similar occurrences, but they will do so in a way that will keep his family from suspecting. Most of that interrogation will come through you. You’ll need to submit to a full debriefing. ”
“I didn’t see it coming, ” Chris admitted.
“That isn’t your fault. ” Natalie needed him to understand that no one could have foreseen what Tony would have done. “In hindsight, could you recognize changes in his behavior? ”
He shrugged. “A few, maybe. ”
“Good. ” She took a step toward him. It seemed as if the tension in the room had deflated. For the first time, Chris seemed willing to collaborate with the investigators.
“There is one other thing…” she was not sure how he would take the last piece of information. “Part of this process requires that you go through an extensive counseling program, to ensure that you have no repercussions from the event. Especially, if you intend on returning to active duty. ”
He nodded. “I don’t like it, but that makes sense. If that’s what it takes, I will. ”
She tried to swallow past the lump in her throat. “I understand if you don’t wish to continue your session with me…”
“I don’t. ” His assertion cut her off before she could finish. His tone was final. He had no intention of working with her. She felt as if a vice had closed around her heart. Even after he had realized that she had found a solution, he still wanted nothing to do with her.
“I understand. ” She could hear the tremor in her voice and she wished that she could control it.
“Do you? ”
She nodded. She needed him to leave. The tears that she had held back earlier threatened to flow and she wanted him gone immediately.
She started to walk toward the door, to let him out, but he snaked a hand around her elbow.
“Natalie…” His voice was smooth and soothing. It made the ache even worse. “I think it would be a conflict of interest if I’m dating my therapist. ”
A strangled sob crept from somewhere inside of her but it still took a moment longer for his words to sink in.
“What? ” She turned to him with a look of complete confusion.
“That is, if you aren’t done with me yet. ” His hand cupped the back of her neck and he pulled her gently against him. “I know that I’ve been quite a handful so far. ”
Natalie pressed her forehead against his chest and allowed the tears to fall. Though, suddenly she felt overwhelmingly happy.
“I’m sorry that I spoke to your commander without permission. ” Her voice was muffled against his shirt. She could feel the deep rumble of his laughter against her cheek.
“Even I can admit that I’m wrong sometimes. ” His hand smoothed her hair as she wiped the tears from her face. “I’m grateful for what you did. I would have never found this solution otherwise. ”
Natalie turned her face up toward his with a wide smile.
His mouth settled over hers with a gentleness that she would have never expected from him. Natalie threw her arms around his neck and allowed him to pull her closer.
“I love you Natalie Barnett, ” he whispered against her lips.
“I love you too, ” she confirmed.
“…now that you know that I’m not a murderer? ” His teeth pulled at her lower lip and his hands splayed across the generous curves of her hips.
She laughed. “I always knew that you were innocent. ”
He tilted his head and raised one eyebrow. “Did you? ”
“Well…” she wrapped her arms around his waist, “I might have wondered a few times. Bikers can have a bad reputation, you know. ”
His deep laughter was infectious. “I think it was the Harley that won you over. ”
“That might have had something to do with it. ” She winked. Natalie knew that their shared interest had opened the door to their relationship, but sh
e knew that even without it, she and Chris were about to share in something special, something that would last a lifetime.
THE END
Taming the Wild Snow Leopard
Marla never thought making a living in New York would be so difficult. She had known that as a struggling actor she wouldn’t exactly be living the high life, but she never thought she’d get this close to outright destitution. With no money, no friends, and no future, Marla feels as if she’s living on nothing more than a hope and a prayer.
Until the day she answers a mysterious ad in the paper: CARETAKER WANTED. No experience necessary. Must live in.
Turns out, this is one wild job. Her new eccentric billionaire boss has a pretty major secret with a scary and unpredictable nature. Will Marla be able to handle him?
Chapter One
Marla was used to living in pretty unusual circumstances in this apartment – but waking up to the sensation of being pelted with old popcorn was pushing things a little too far. She sat up from where she slept on the couch, swiping her hands in front of her face to prevent any further hits.
“Whoa; seriously? ”
The blanket she'd been sleeping under fell to her lap, where a bunch of kernels that had missed their target had pooled together. She scrubbed at her face with the heels of her hands in some vain attempt to wake up faster, head still scrambled from the sleep cycle cut short, and one hand running through her natural afro hair.
This was not what she'd been imagining when she'd left for New York City.
“Time to get up, ” said AJ, putting the bucket of stale popcorn back down on the table and rubbing her hands together. How long had she been doing that? More’s the point, how long had she been planning that? “It’s past eight thirty. Paper’s here. ”
Hands still scrubbing at her eyes, Marla felt the light weight of the paper landing on her legs. She knew before she looked that it would be open to the jobs page – and sure enough, there it was. What good this would do her, she didn't know; both she and AJ knew exactly what the employment market was looking for right now, and it wasn't exactly a mirror reflection of Marla. No matter how much she wanted to be able to get hired and pay the rent, it just wasn't happening for her.
Hence why she'd been kicked out of her room in this apartment, so AJ could get somebody else in who could pay. Hence why she woke up in such dehumanizing ways every morning, to have the paper thrown at her.
What a life. She dreaded calling home every time in case her mom could hear it in her voice. The very last thing she needed right now was to hear her mother say 'I told you so'.
“You know, ” said Marla, squinting down at the jobs columns, “if I had to go to an interview after having my sleep interrupted like this, I probably wouldn't get it anyway. ”
“Go to bed earlier, ” suggested AJ – which was a fairly cruel suggestion, considering that the apartment was pretty small, and Marla could only go to bed when AJ and her new room-mate did. Otherwise, the couch wasn't really available for sleeping on… unless you could sleep through Terminator 2, of course.
That being said, she couldn't be too harsh on AJ, as much of an asshole as she was turning out to be. At least she hadn't kicked Marla out.
Either way, there was no point in arguing with her. All she could do was show that she was looking through the job pages, and hope that AJ got off her back soon. Of course, as usual, there was nothing – nothing she had the qualifications for, anyway. Given that she could still feel AJ's eyes on her from across the room as she finished the last column, she felt compelled to show that she was still reading, and turned the page to the Situations Wanted ads.
This was a section she tended to avoid. She’d looked at it in the past, and all she saw were prostitution ads – or rather, ads for 'intimate companions’. While she had no problem with the concept of other people having sex for money, the thought of doing it herself had always made her distinctly uncomfortable. Admittedly, a large part of that was the fact her mother had always told her it was a risk of moving to New York. She really hated proving her right, probably more so than the idea of sex work itself.
Today, however, one of the ads wasn't quite worded like that. In fact, she wondered for a moment whether it had been printed in this section by mistake.
CARETAKER WANTED, read the ad. No experience necessary. Must live in.
Maybe she'd been making a mistake by skipping these ads for all this time. ‘No experience necessary' was sometimes a bit of a misnomer; you'd call up and they'd start asking you questions about what you'd done that was relevant in the past, and you began to realize that it had just been a buzz phrase to add to their advert. Even so, what kind of experience could a 'caretaker' realistically need?
Besides, 'live in' was pretty promising. As she'd just experienced for the hundredth time with the popcorn-flavored wake-up call, AJ wasn't exactly the easiest housemate. She hadn't been even back when Marla could still afford rent. She took up a lot of room, she had guests over uninvited, and… well. She watched shit like Terminator 2 late at night. Hanging out with her was not how Marla had pictured her grand move to the Big Apple, even with her own room included in the deal.
Perhaps this advert – or one like it, if this failed – would be her key out of this shitty apartment.
“If you're going to be a hooker, you can do it at your clients' houses, ” said AJ, finally turning away to walk into the kitchen. “I’m not having a bunch of fat old pencil-dicks streaming in and out of my apartment all night. ”
Marla rolled her eyes behind her back. Trust AJ. She couldn't imagine the clientele for a prostitute would be particularly thrilling either – but did she have to say it like that?
In any case, the ad didn't have a great deal more information in it – just a contact number with a Manhattan area code. At this point, however, Marla didn't really care. She could call up and find out. If it was a bust, then she hadn't lost anything by trying.
“Did you hear me? ” said AJ, moving some pots and pans. “No fucking people for money on that couch. ”
“Yeah, yeah, AJ, ” said Marla, tuning her out as she dialed the number on her cell. “I hear you. ”
Although hopefully not for much longer.
Chapter Two
Much like the advert itself, calling up the number hadn't really yielded much information. Marla had only answered a few basic questions before being given an address, and told to arrive at that address as soon as she possibly could for an interview.
She was exhausted. As she'd said to AJ, waking up after too little sleep on an uncomfortable couch was bound not to put her in the right frame of mind for an interview – but right now, she didn't have much choice. The person on the other end of the line had not given her an opportunity to reschedule, or even to respond; the line had gone dead almost as soon as the instructions had been delivered.
With a sigh, she stood up from the couch and stretched. AJ had disappeared back into her room, and goodness only knew where the other girl was. As such, at least she knew she'd be able to take a shower before she left.
It didn't take long for her to be ready to leave the apartment, and before long she was on her way through the streets of New York City. Though she had been living here a few months already now, its effect on her had not yet worn off. She still felt she was part of something huge and incredible every time she set foot out of the front door. It was so vastly different from the life she was used to back home. Even looking up and seeing concrete instead of empty skies was a novelty.
Granted, you didn't have to deal with the subway back in Close Bay, Indiana – but the strong smell of piss and overbearing heat seemed a small price to pay for living in the world's capital.
When she emerged from the subway, however, she quickly realized that Tribeca really was worlds away from the parts of the city she was used to. In front of her stood the kind of apartment building people dreamed of. The neighbourhood around it was free of the usual trash and graffiti, and splashes of green in
the form of trees, bushes and flowers decorated the sidewalk. If this place looked like this, then Marla wasn't sure she'd fit what they were looking for.
All she could do was make her way up there and try.
Even to reach the call box, she had to state her business to a doorman. Marla didn't think she'd ever been anywhere with security this tight before, and it forced her to wonder – what kind of person would live in a place like this? What were they protecting?
She recognized the voice that rang out from the speaker – once the doorman permitted her near it, that is. It was the same older man who had answered her phone call. Was this her prospective employer?
“Come up, ” said the voice, leaving Marla no room to say anything other than a cursory greeting. “One of the doormen will show you to the elevator. ”
Marla hadn't even realized there was more than one, but sure enough, another thick-necked man stepped from the shadows of the lobby to escort her over to the appropriate set of doors – the floor beneath her feet decked in marble, and the walls lavish with modern art. What the hell was this place? She felt like she'd walked into Fort Knox. Surely there was nothing in this building that she was qualified to take care of. She was willing to bet any square foot of this place cost a hell of a lot more than her combined worldly possessions.
Before she could think about stepping back, though, she'd been guided into the elevator, and the button had been selected for her. With only a polite but cursory nod, the security guard stepped out, and the doors shut cleanly behind him.
The mechanism had to be as well-oiled as a racing car, because Marla hardly felt any movement as the elevator glided upwards to the penthouse. In fact, the only real sign she was moving at all were the lights that changed above the doors – but sure enough, when the doors re-opened, she faced onto a completely different part of the building.
She wouldn't have said it was possible until right this second, but this floor looked even more luxurious and opulent than the lobby. Whoever lived here had a serious bank balance, without a shadow of a doubt – and it suddenly struck Marla that this could be her home, too. If she secured this job, she would be living here.
