The Secrets Duet

by Brownell, Rachael

  She opens the door and motions me in. I step past her and my jaw hits the floor. Every available surface of the desk, shelves and windowsill are covered in roses. Dozens and dozens of them. Taylor. Jessica gasps behind me when she finally takes in the room. I have a feeling she had no idea these would be in here. Surprise!

  “Well, I better get back up front.” There’s that voice again. I need to figure it out. Her tone screams hatred, but there’s an undertone of sorrow or maybe jealousy which she’s trying hard to hide.

  “Thanks for everything.” I am sincerely grateful for her help this morning, but when I turn around to make sure she heard me, I find that she’s gone. My gratitude was wasted.

  I walk around the massive space slowly and take it all in. The color is awful. The furniture is awful. The setup is awful. The overall view, though, is beautiful because all I can see right now are the roses. Every color imaginable.

  The phone on my desk starts ringing and I freeze as I’m about to pick it up. What’s the appropriate way to answer the phone here? No one’s told me yet. I’m going to have to wing it. It rings again and I pick it up off the receiver.

  “Mr. Taylor’s office, this is Maggie. How may I help you?” My voice is shaking. I’m nervous. No one responds. “Hello? Mr. Taylor’s office.”

  I hang up when no one responds. It starts ringing again. “Mr. Taylor’s office, this is Maggie.”

  No one.

  I’ve been repeating this process for the last ten minutes. The phone starts ringing the second I hang it up. I’m annoyed. I want to tell whoever is on the other end of the line to fuck off, but I don’t. Instead, I take a seat in my uncomfortable new chair and use the speaker button while I open Taylor’s envelope.

  I can’t help but giggle at the first line on the first page.

  The phone rings again and this time I know who’s on the other end and how to get them to talk to me.

  “Thomas Taylor’s office, Magdelyn speaking. How may I help you today?”

  “You look frustrated Maggie. Anything I can help with?” The teasing in his voice is more than a little annoying. This was a test. I would have passed it sooner had someone given me time to open the envelope before calling me multiple times.

  “No, sir, but thank you for offering.” I try to sound professional and unaffected by him, but the sound of his voice triggers a reaction in parts of my body I can’t control.

  “Magdelyn. Please do not call me sir again. I won’t ask nicely next time.”

  Well, if hanging up on him is pushing button number one, then calling him sir is pushing button number two. I wonder what button number three will be.

  Instead of apologizing I start asking him questions about what I should be doing while he’s away. We chat back and forth for about ten minutes before I contemplate pushing button number one on accident. I better not. He may not be here, but I have a feeling there will be consequences for my actions once he returns. Plus, I really shouldn’t be playing games with him, or attempting to.

  “I’ll be back on Thursday and we can redecorate your office then. How does that sound?” How did he know I didn’t like my office? “I’m assuming Jessica decorated according to her taste and not yours since you haven’t said anything about it.”

  “It’s not really me, but it will work just fine.” Why did I lie to him? If he wants to let me redecorate this ugly room I should let him. I’m the one who has to stare at it all the time.

  “That’s not what I said. I asked if Thursday will work for you. We are going to be redecorating your office since you will be the one spending all your time in there or in my office and I don’t plan on letting you redecorate my office.” His voice is firm. If this is how he negotiates with everyone I can see why people give in to him so easily. I now understand how he bought my apartment building on a Sunday morning.

  “Thursday is fine. Thank you.”

  “On that note, you have your directions for the next few days. I’m going to go back to work here. I will see you soon, Maggie.”

  “I’ll see you then, Mr. Taylor.”

  He hangs up without saying good-bye. I’m getting used to that. I have a feeling he doesn’t like that word very much. I have yet to hear him say it.

  I flip through the rest of the papers which are in the envelope from Taylor and when I come to the last page I find myself smiling again. I shouldn’t be. I need to remind myself I shouldn’t be letting him get under my skin or inside my heart.

  Go home, take a bath and relax. I’m sure today was challenging for you. I’ll see you soon.

  T

  Taylor

  “Branch. I need for you to hook up the live feed into Magdelyn’s office for me. I have to leave town for a few days and I need to be able to keep an eye on her.”

  I know he can hear how frustrated I am, but I don’t give a flying fuck. I wanted to be there this morning for her first day. I hate relying on other people to run things, but this can’t wait. My informant finally came through for me so I had no choice but to leave.

  “It should go live here in a few hours. I put the envelope on her desk for you. Jessica has everything ready for her this morning already.”

  “Good. She should be arriving any minute. Text me when the feed is live. I want to see what Jessica did to her office. I have a feeling Maggie isn’t going to like it.”

  “Sir… Maggie?” Branch’s hesitation speaks volumes about what he just heard. I’m losing my shit and she’s not even in the same time zone as me right now. Damn it!

  Time to pull rank and change the damn subject. Branch needs to be put back in his place and not ask these kinds of questions.

  “Just text me when the feed is live, Branch. Don’t worry about anything else right now. Once that’s finished, start scanning all her documents into the computer and email them to me. I want to look them over again. After that, go back to what you were working on last week. Find a buyer, Branch. That’s what you need to focus on right now.”

  I have to hang up on him or else I’ll explode.

  I toss my phone in the passenger seat of the car I rented this morning and grab the binoculars from my bag in the backseat. I adjust the setting and focus in on the front window of the house. Nothing. No movement. I try an upstairs window, but there’s no movement there either. She should be here.

  I wait over an hour, but there are no signs of life in the house. I do the only thing I can think of to distract myself. I call the flower shop near my office and buy all the roses they have on hand and have them delivered to the office. I give specific instructions to bypass the front desk and use the service elevator. I text Scott and tell him to meet the delivery guy and to let them into Magdelyn’s office.

  He doesn’t question me like Branch. I guess he knows better.

  I get the text from Branch when the feed is live and I watch as dozens and dozens of flowers are arranged around Maggie’s office. I’m just about to change the feed to the conference room when I see movement out of the corner of my eye. There’s a car pulling into the driveway. I drop my phone and grab the binoculars.

  There she is. Even more beautiful than the last time I saw her. This time, I won’t lose sight of her. This time, I’ll follow her wherever she goes. She won’t get away from me. Not this time and not ever again. I don’t care who she’s married to. I don’t care who her dad works for. Courtney will be mine and if I can’t have her, no one can.

  I spend my afternoon watching Court and Maggie. Once Maggie finishes her paperwork she leaves the conference room, but when I change the feed to follow her to the lobby she disappears. I change the feed again and I still can’t find her on the cameras. I go back to the conference room and she’s making herself a cup of coffee.

  Where the hell was she ten seconds ago and why couldn’t I find her? I’m going to have to review all the video when I get back.

  Jessica appears and leads her to her office. The look of surprise on both Maggie and Jessica’s face is apparent when they see all t
he flowers around the room. Maggie’s smile is contagious and I find myself smiling. Jessica’s face turns a slight shade of red and the evil glint in her eyes tells me she is going to become a problem. We need to keep her around or else I would have taken care of her before I even came back to the city. She’s our eyes and ears on the inside.

  I watch as Maggie views the room with disappointment in her eyes. Jessica did a horrible job with her office. I should have known better than to let her decorate it. Her taste is unique. Nothing like the elegance which Maggie would prefer.

  It doesn’t matter. I will take her shopping personally.

  I wait as long as I can before calling her office. She hesitates for a second before she answers. I was hoping she would get it right the first time, but she doesn’t. She hasn’t opened the envelope yet. I hang up and call right back. I see I’m frustrating her yet her voice is calm and collected.

  She finally takes a seat and opens the envelope. The second she reads the first page she smiles to herself. I dial her office again and she nails it. I love the sound of her voice and the way she says her full name. I’m getting turned on just thinking about it.

  Once things are settled with her, I hang up and go back to watching Court for a few more hours. I watch as her husband comes home. I watch as they move about the house. I watch as they get ready for bed and then the house goes dark. It’s pitch black outside now and I still need to find a place to sleep tonight.

  I make my way to the nearest hotel and check in for a few nights. I figure I’ll be able to find a way to get to her by then. Plus, I told Maggie I would be back to take her shopping on Thursday. I don’t want to break my promise to her. I’ll go back to Court’s first thing in the morning and make a plan. Her husband can’t protect her all the time.

  I sleep like crap and wake up earlier than I had planned. It’s only a little after six and I’m already sitting in front of Court’s house, waiting for Cameron to go to work. It doesn’t look like anyone is awake. There’s no movement coming from inside the house.

  Around seven I realize no one is home. My informant said Cameron goes to work at seven, on the dot, every morning. He leaves at the exact same time, travels the exact same route, every single day. His movements are predictable because they occur like clockwork.

  I wait until eight before I decide to make myself known. I start the car, drive around the block for a few minutes and then pull directly into their driveway. I don’t want their neighbors to be suspicious.

  I knock on the front door and listen. I don’t hear anything. I knock again and then attempt to look through the glass panels. I cup my hands around my face, but I can’t see through the frost. It doesn’t matter, no one is inside.

  She’s gone. Again.

  Someone must have spotted me last night. They must have run. When will she realize she will never be able to run far enough to get away from me? She has to know, deep down, that I will always find her. No matter what.

  I head back to my hotel room and start making calls. I need to get someone looking for her before they get too far away. Cameron has to stay somewhat close for work. I’m assuming Court is sick of running at this point. I know her, she hates being trapped. Right now, she has to feel like I have her trapped and that will work in my favor. She’ll make a mistake.

  I drive around town, looking for her, looking for him. They have to be here somewhere. They couldn’t have traveled far in the last few hours. I was gone for less than eight hours.

  I stop at a little diner for lunch. I’ve been to a place like this before. If you know what to look for here, you will find it. This place is going to be my first lead to Courtney.

  I pick a booth in the back and face the door. I watch as unsuspecting families come and go. I watch as undercover cops meet with informants. Then, after about an hour, I see who I’m looking for, but he doesn’t see me. He takes the booth in front of me and sits facing the door as well. I pull the hood of my sweatshirt up and stare down at my coffee to conceal my face.

  I hear the door chime, but I don’t look up. I hear him sit down in the booth and they begin to whisper. I focus on his voice, trying to pick up any part of the conversation I can.

  “Fine – safe – together – him – I know, but she refuses to go. I can’t make her. She’s an adult now. Cam’s trying to get her to change her mind, but she’s being stubborn.”

  I was thankful when he became angry and his voice rose above the noise surrounding me. Courtney isn’t going anywhere. I knew she would put up a fight. I’ve been chasing her long enough to know she’s tired of running. I’ve known her long enough to know she can only be pushed so far.

  I toss some money down on the table. I need to get out of here before they see me. I stand, turning my back to them, and stretch my arms over my head. I breeze by them, hoping I haven’t drawn attention to myself. I don’t stop until I’m in my car and peeling out of the parking lot. As I drive past the front window of the diner I see them both staring out at me.

  I make eye contact with Agent Martin and wink. He flies out of his seat, but I know I’ll be back on a plane and in the air before he can catch me. He’ll never catch me unless I let him and I don’t plan on doing that.

  I grab my bag from the hotel and drive straight to the airport. I’m on the plane and in the air less than thirty minutes after I had left the diner. The fact he saw me, that me knows I was there looking for Courtney, will ignite a fire under him to find me.

  Good luck, Agent Martin. Good Luck!

  7.

  Maggie

  “Becker,” I say as I lock my apartment door. When I turn around, I stop dead in my tracks.

  Cameras. When did they have cameras installed in the hallways? Isn’t that some violation of privacy unless all of us consent? It has to be. I’ll have to talk to Taylor about it.

  “Are you there?” Montgomery sounds especially irritated right now. He was fine when I checked in last night.

  “Yeah. I just noticed they put up cameras in my hallway. It caught me by surprise.” I keep my voice calm as I walk towards the elevator.

  “Great. Now he has eyes on you at home too. You need to make sure all of your documents stay in your safe at all times. Your service weapon, too. And change your combination. I know it’s probably something easy to figure out.”

  “Yes, sir. Is something going on? You sound angrier than normal.” I don’t want to further upset him because he already sounds like he’s at his breaking point.

  “He’s here, Becker. He was sitting outside my house when I got home last night and I have no idea how long he had been sitting there. Kat didn’t notice the car when she came home, but she also wasn’t paying attention.”

  “So that’s where he went on personal business.” I need to ask him about Jessica, but I’m not sure if now is the right time.

  “Yeah and I have no idea why. I mean, I know he’s crazy and has been looking for Kat, but I have no idea why. They dated, a long time ago, before she went into the program. He should be over her by now.”

  I let the line go quiet for a minute while I think. There has to be something about her, or what happened, that Taylor’s not over. “So, how does this change the plan?”

  “It doesn’t. He’s on his way back to you right now. Agents Davis and Martin just saw him outside a diner they were having lunch in. We know he’s headed to the airport since he’s been spotted. He won’t make it easy for us to catch him.”

  “So, basically you want me to go to work and wait for him. He told me he was coming back on Thursday. Do you think he’ll show his face before then?”

  “I do. We tapped into the video feed at his office building yesterday and know he has cameras installed in your office. He was probably watching you from outside my house.”

  Seriously? Wait! He said something about how I looked. What was it? He said I looked frustrated. He watched me struggle with answering the phone. He watched me take in the room. He could see my reaction to how it was decorated. Tha
t’s how he knew I wasn’t happy with it. He could see everything.

  I take a calming breath as I start my car. I look around before backing out to make sure there are no cars and I scan for cameras at the same time. I spot at least two of them. Hallways and parking garage. I’m going to have to check my apartment too.

  “There are cameras in the parking garage too, Montgomery.”

  “Don’t say my name. Are you trying to blow your cover?”

  “I’m in my car. Calm down.”

  “Look, Becker. He’s going to be watching you as much as he can when you least expect it until he’s certain you aren’t working against him. Lay low, play along and be extra friendly for a few weeks. Make sure you’re doing your job well, for us and for him, and there shouldn’t be a problem. He’s paranoid and he has every right to be. We are going to get him this time. He has to know that.”

  “What about Jessica?” Shit! I wasn’t going to ask about her.

  “His receptionist?” He sounds confused. Not going to fly. If he wants to keep things from me he’s going to have to try harder. I’ve already figured this one out.

  “Yes. The receptionist you were talking to on the phone yesterday while I was finishing my paperwork.”

  I’m met with silence. Two minutes and still nothing. I pull up to a red light and look down at my phone to make sure the call is still active. It is. I wait another two minutes before I clear my throat. That doesn’t entice him to start talking.

  Finally, I get the nerve to break the ice. This could go on for hours I’m guessing. Every time I upset him it seems to take longer and longer for him to calm himself down.

  “Look, I’m about to pull into the garage at work. I need for you to be honest with me now or it’s going to have to wait until later. If you have information which will help me, make my job easier or help us bring him down, you need to share it with me now.” I keep my voice level yet stern. I know I shouldn’t be talking to him this way, but the fact I’m certain he’s hiding something important from me pisses me off.