The Perfect Catch

by Shania Tyler

  “And how did that go?” the woman asked with a raised eyebrow, looking at me as though she thought I was involved.

  “He told me that I could have some information if I agreed to go on a date with him,” she explained, and I felt my heart skip a beat. The thought that she had gone on a date with this sicko just to get hold of me made me feel even worse. I began to feel as though this was all my fault.

  “And you agreed to this?” the officer asked, all the while writing down information in her notepad.

  “Yes, I was desperate.” Ruby shrugged, and I tightened my grip on her hand for comfort when I saw her cheeks flushing red. “I needed to find a coach quickly or my team would have no chance in the Super Bowl. They couldn’t train without a coach.”

  “And so, I assume you’ve been on the date?” the officer asked. “What happened there?”

  “Scotty asked me if I would take him back,” Ruby explained, and I felt anger at that. The thought of her taking back such a man made me want to shake her for being so stupid. “I assured him that there was no way on earth I would ever take him back.”

  “And how did he take that?” the officer questioned, still writing. She turned the page in her little notepad and continued to write.

  “Obviously not well because I found a note on my office door telling me that if I didn’t go on another date with him, he would give everybody more information about my relationship with Major.” Ruby glanced at me and I felt the guilt growing at the thought that he’d been able to use me against her. I should never have allowed myself to get so close that she could have something like that used against her.

  “And did you go on another date?” the officer asked as she glanced at me again. “What is your relationship with this man?” She pointed at me and I felt as though I was a fly on the wall, as though they were talking about me as though I wasn’t really there.

  “Yes, I went and met him again,” she admitted, and her voice shook as though she hated to even think about it. “Major and I aren’t in a relationship. I employed him and that’s it, but everybody seems to think that there is something going on between us.”

  I couldn’t help but notice the way that the officer glanced down at our interlinked fingers. Our holding on to each other contradicted what Ruby was saying.

  “And what happened when you went on this second date?” the officer asked.

  “I told Scotty that he couldn’t blackmail me and that if he tried to, he would wish that he hadn’t,” Ruby explained and then she began to sob again. “Oh, god, I basically threatened him and dared him on, didn’t I?”

  She turned to look at me with wide eyes as though she was looking for some comfort, and I reached around and wrapped my arm around her shoulders, pulling her into me. “Any sane man would simply listen to you and let you go,” I told her, “This isn’t your fault.”

  I then turned to the officer and asked, “Do you have everything you need? I’d like to get Ruby home, so she can calm down.”

  The officer glanced over her notes for a moment and I wondered whether she was going to try and stop us from leaving. Then she nodded and gave me a guarded smile. “I think I have everything that I need for now.”

  With that, she pushed her hand into the breast pocket of her jacket and handed Ruby a card with a number on it. “If you think of anything else that you think might be useful information for us. please don’t hesitate to give us a call. We take incidents like this very seriously.”

  “Thank you.” Ruby took the card and pushed it into the pocket of her dress. “Are we all right to leave?”

  “Yes, I shall escort you off the premises.” The officer gestured us toward the door, and Ruby slipped her hand from mine so that she could reach for her handbag.

  When she turned back to me with a fearful look on her face, I wrapped my arm around her shoulder again and gave her a quick squeeze. “Come on, kid, let’s get you out of here.”

  The usual fiery boss Ruby would have probably scratched my eyes out for calling her kid, but this Ruby was subdued and scared and she simply smiled at me.

  “Take me home?” She said the words as though they were a polite, probing question and I nodded, giving her another squeeze.

  “Of course,” I told her with a smile and we began to head out of the office. Ruby quickly locked the door behind us and then began to make her way down the corridor as though she couldn’t walk fast enough. Several times, I was sure she would rock right off her heels, but she kept her balance like a pro and even I struggled to keep up with her as I kept my arm wrapped around her shoulder.

  We were just about to turn the corner in the corridor when somebody stepped out in front of us and a small squeal escaped Ruby’s lips. She began to shake, and I held her closer to me.

  “It’s all right, it's only me,” the male police officer spoke up and just from looking at him and his sour expression I could tell he’d had no luck in finding Scotty. I held my breath as I waited for him to break the news to Ruby. I knew she would have felt much better if he had been able to find him.

  “Have you gotten everything we need?” he asked his partner as though he wasn’t sure the woman could do her job properly before she sent us on our way.

  “Of course,” she replied, giving him a look that said, ‘I dare you to question me again.’

  “Right, well, I’m afraid there doesn’t seem to be any signs of anybody else on the premises but I have asked the security team to get me all their security footage, and we will do whatever it takes to find this attacker of yours.”

  “How long do you think that will take?” Ruby asked, and she looked from the man to the woman as though she hoped that she might get better sympathy from her, “Will you be able to find him from what I’ve told you?”

  “I’m sure we will be able to get him by the morning,” the woman assured her. “Especially if his face is on the footage.”

  “It was dark when he attacked me,” Ruby protested. “There was a power outage.”

  “I spoke to the security team about that. One of them checked it out and found that the switches had been tripped. Whoever attacked you clearly wanted it to be dark when he did so,” the male officer explained, and Ruby began to shake worse than ever.

  “He planned this,” she sobbed and when she turned her face up to look at me, her eyes were filled with horror. “He really wanted to hurt me.”

  “But he didn’t get the chance,” I reminded her. “And you don’t need to worry. He isn’t going to get anywhere near you. I’ll die before I let that happen.”

  “Can we just go home?” Ruby suddenly deflated as though she was tired and couldn’t bring herself to stand up straight anymore. “I just want to go home and forget any of this ever happened.”

  “Let’s get you out of here,” I told her before I glanced at each of the police officers to see if either of them would protest. They didn’t try to stop us as I began to lead Ruby toward the lobby.

  * * *

  28

  .

  .

  .

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  .

  Ruby

  I was about to get into my car when Major sighed. “Ruby, what are you doing?”

  I turned to look at him to see that he was scowling at me with a look that said, ‘are you a crazy woman?’

  “What?” I asked him with my hand on the handle of the driver’s side of my sky-blue Mini.

  “You are not driving tonight.” He shook his head and stepped up to place his hand on the door to stop me from pulling it open.

  “Then how am I supposed to get home?” I frowned at him and shook my head.

  “I’ll drive you home,” he told me, and I felt my stomach flip at the thought of sitting in a car with him again. I remembered how things had ended the last time I’d been in his truck, and I wasn’t eager to have that happen all over again.

  “I am not going to bite,” he assure
d me, and I couldn’t help but smile back at him. “You are not driving after the trauma you’ve been through and I don’t want to leave you alone.”

  “I’m not a child, you know?” I sighed. “I can take care of myself.”

  The truth was that I didn’t want to be alone either. The last thing I wanted was to be alone behind my steering wheel with the thoughts rushing around my head and nothing I could do to take my mind off them, but I was too independent and too stubborn to admit that to Major.

  “I would feel a whole lot better if you would just let me drive you home,” Major assured me, and I was slightly relieved that he hadn’t let the subject drop and let me get behind the wheel. “I’ll even give you a lift to work in the morning if you feel up to coming in.”

  “I can’t afford not to,” I shrugged. I needed every pay check that came in for my little apartment and I could only imagine what the board would think if I didn’t turn up because I was being stalked by my ex-boyfriend. That was the last thing I needed.

  “Well, then, let me give you a lift,” he told me. “It’ll save you some gas.”

  When he winked at me, I couldn’t help but giggle at him.

  “You know you are an idiot, right?” I told him and as he smiled, I found myself looking at his lips, remembering how he’d kissed me before. “You sure you want to come back to my place because if you do, you are going to have to explain yourself.”

  “I promised you I would,” he said. “Come on. Let’s get you home and settled. You look like you are freezing.”

  For the first time, I realized that I was shivering, and I couldn’t help but smile when Major shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders.

  “You know my dress isn’t ripped this time, right?” I glanced down at my dress, half expecting the front to be ripped away as it had been when I’d been groped at the Black Orchid.

  “Can I not simply be a gentleman?” Major asked me as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and began to lead me toward his truck.

  “I wasn’t aware that word was even in your vocabulary,” I joked and Major gaped at me feigning a look of shock.

  “I have never been so insulted,” he scowled at me and I rolled my eyes at him.

  “I’m sure you’ve been insulted far worse in your time,” I told him. “You seem like the type who gets offended easily.”

  “Oh, how you wound me.” Major pressed the palm of his hand over his heart and I couldn’t help but smile. I had to hand it to him, Major definitely had a way of taking your mind off things. He knew how to keep a conversation going and keep you talking.

  “Your chariot awaits,” he told me as he pulled open the door of his truck and gestured me inside. I pushed myself up into the truck and he made sure that my arms and legs were inside the vehicle before he slammed the door shut behind me. I was instantly relieved to be inside the truck. It smelled like Major, almost like he was wrapping his arms around me and holding me himself. I closed my eyes and imagined it for a moment until I felt him slip into the driver’s seat beside me and slam his own door closed.

  “Seat belt on please, Miss Bowman,” he told me as he clicked on his own belt. I reached around and pulled mine on as he pushed his key into the ignition and the truck roared into life. As soon as I clicked the seat belt into the lock, he smiled at me. “Good girl.”

  My entire body shivered at the tone of his voice and I felt heat pool between my thighs. For a moment, I was able to forget that he was my employee and just imagine that we were simply a woman and a man together, heading home for the night. I imagined all the things that could happen in such a situation and my entire body lit with desire. I closed my eyes again, able to imagine his hands trailing all over my body, touching areas that were aching with need already.

  “Are you all right?” Major asked as he pulled the truck out of the parking space and began to head in the direction of my apartment building.

  My eyes flew open again and I realized that I’d had them closed a lot longer than I thought.

  “Yes, I’m fine,” I told him with a quick nod and turned my attention to the road ahead in the hopes that he wouldn’t see what I had been thinking about in my eyes. He glanced at me and sighed, and I was almost sure that I hadn’t looked away from him in time for him to miss it.

  “You don’t have to play brave with me,” he told me and when he reached over to place his hand on my knee, I felt my entire body begin to shake with need. “You’ve been through the wringer over the last few days. It’s all right not to be all right.”

  “I’m fine,” I insisted. “Can we just pretend like none of it has happened?”

  “I’m not sure that’s the best way to handle it but if it makes you feel better then fine.” Major shrugged and I was pleasantly surprised when he didn’t remove his hand from my leg. He squeezed my thigh gently as he drove closer to my apartment and I simply sat back, enjoying the feel of another human’s touch. Something felt so right about it that I couldn’t help but sigh with relief.

  “Here we are.” Major pulled in front the apartment building and I gestured toward my apartment’s designated space.

  “You can park there,” I told him, and he smiled at me as though he was pleased.

  “I’m honored,” he laughed as he pulled the truck into the space and I couldn’t help but tap him on the upper arm playfully.

  “You should be,” I insisted. “I don’t let just anybody park in my space.”

  “Is that an innuendo?” Major raised an eyebrow at me and my breath caught in my throat at his meaning. I began to blush instantly as I thought of him parking his ‘truck’ in my ‘space’.

  “You are not coming upstairs until you get those thoughts out of your brain,” I warned him, and Major began to frown. A look of anger crossed his face for a moment and I wondered whether the anger was aimed at me or himself.

  “I’m sorry.” He shook his head and sighed. “I sometimes forget who I’m talking to.”

  “It’s all right, I am only joking,” I told him, and I gave his upper arm a quick squeeze. “Let’s go up.”

  “Do not move a muscle!” Major yelled suddenly as I reached out to take hold of the door handle. I paused instantly, stiffening up, “What is it?” I gaped at him. “Is it a spider?”

  The thought that there was a creepy crawly climbing all over me made me shake and I struggled not to begin wriggling around like a mad woman to get it off.

  Major suddenly jumped out of the truck and rushed around to my side, pulling open my door with a smile. “Sorry, the gentleman in me couldn’t resist.”

  He winked at me, and I slapped him on the upper arm again. “You had me thinking I was about to get eaten by a massive spider!”

  Major simply smiled at me devilishly as he held out his hand to me. I placed my hand in his and allowed him to help me out of the truck.

  “I’m sorry,” he apologized when I stood in front of him, and I was surprised when he leaned down and pressed his lips to my forehead. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  I held my breath for a moment, holding on to the sensation that tingled on my forehead where his lips had been. Then I began to smile.

  “What was that for?” I asked him.

  “I felt like it.” He slammed the door closed and took hold of my hand. “Let’s get you inside and out of this cold.”

  As soon as I found myself on the couch with Major at my side, I knew it was a bad idea having him in the apartment, yet I couldn’t bring myself to ask him to leave. He had been so kind to me, looked after me and made sure that I was all right. He’d even made me a coffee before we’d settled down to watch some television and it all felt so right. It felt as though we had known each other forever and everything had simply fallen into place. I found myself leaning in toward him when he placed his arm on the back of the sofa and we watched television like a couple who had been living together for months.

  “Ruby, there is something I need to tell you,” Major said after a while and I f
elt my heart sinking. I couldn’t help but think that he was about to shatter the peace I felt deep inside and a part of me wanted to tell him to be quiet so that I could simply enjoy being close to him for a little while longer. Yet the other part of me was intrigued to know what he had to say. I was almost sure it had something to do with the way he had kissed me earlier.

  I pulled away from him and turned in my seat to look at him. “Go ahead.”

  Major leaned forward and placed his coffee mug on the table in front of him before he shifted in his own seat to look directly at me. “I’ve been fighting this since the first moment that I saw you but I don’t think I can do it anymore. There’s something drawing me toward you and I don’t know what it is but I can’t ignore it anymore. This is more than just about sex. I thought maybe after one time, I’d get release and it would be over but it’s just… not.”

  I felt my heart begin to swell as I realized that I wasn’t alone in my feelings. I had felt drawn to him from the moment I met him. Even when I thought I hated him for his arrogance and stubbornness, there had been something drawing me to him. It had been a big enough draw for me to hire him.

  “I…”

  I didn’t give Major a chance to finish what he was saying. I didn’t need him to. Instead, I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. For a moment, he tensed up, and I thought that he might try to pull away from me as he had in the bathroom at the mention of my attacker. Then his hands came up to cup my face, and I felt him begin to kiss me back. His tongue stroked against my lips and I opened them to allow him access to my mouth. My own tongue came up to dance with his and I placed my hand on his chest. His muscles rippled beneath my hand as he moved to push himself against me. His body forced mine back into the back of the sofa, and my entire body began to shiver as his hand dropped down onto my thigh and began to stroke upward toward my sex. My blood pounded so hard in my ears that I could hear it, and I felt desire overwhelm me as I realized where this was going.