by Mary Head
He stared at the small brown sack as she took it between her fingers again, knowing she was going to see her dad, bringing him his lunch like a good daughter. He took a deep drag of his cigarette, his lip curling as he exhaled the smoke, eyes still on her as she started towards the building and then stopped again, pulling her phone from her pocket.
He could just see her smile from where he stood as she read the message on her phone, and he tilted his head as he watched her. He traced the curve of her hips and the line of her legs with his eyes, frowning as he looked at her small hands, delicate fingers typing out a reply. He’d already decided she couldn’t be very strong, not with that slender little body, and he felt sure that she wouldn’t fight back very much, if at all.
He took a breath as he flicked his cigarette to the sidewalk, crushing it under the toe of his boot as his thoughts swirled around in his head. He had nothing left to lose, but knew someone who could stand to lose a great deal, and a small feeling of satisfaction swept through him.
Chapter 3
Hannah slipped her phone back into her pocket and frowned, turning her head sharply as another breeze swept through the small courtyard, gently ruffling her hair.
It wasn’t the first time she’d felt someone watching her, but now, as every time before, she saw nobody who seemed out of the ordinary, nobody who wasn’t moving along the sidewalk towards some unknown destination, and she gripped the strap of her bag in her fingers, her frown deepening.
After a moment, she shook her head and turned to make her way into the building. She passed through the security checkpoint, exchanging pleasantries with the guards before clipping her visitor’s badge to her shirt and heading for the elevators.
She emerged on her dad’s floor and made her way through the corridors, waving as she passed by offices and work stations. She’d known a lot of these agents for years, some for her entire life, and always enjoyed coming to visit.
There was a familiar figure inside one of the offices as she passed, and she backed up a step, poking her head inside to see Juliet Grayson crouching on the floor, untangling a bundle of cords. She straightened, pushing her shoulder-length brown hair behind her ears as she walked around the desk, stopping in front of the computer monitor and staring intently at the screen.
Hannah stepped into the room and Juliet looked up, her expression startled before a wide grin spread across her face.
“Hey, sweetie,” she said, stepping over to pull Hannah into a quick hug.
“Hey, Jules,” Hannah replied, smiling when she pulled away. “What’re you doing?”
“Oh, just the usual tech support lackey stuff,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “You know, in addition to my actual job.”
She rolled her eyes and Hannah laughed.
“I’ll let you get back to work; I just came by to see Dad.”
“He’s in a meeting,” Juliet replied, glancing up at the clock on the wall.
“That’s all right, I’ll wait.”
Juliet nodded as she headed back to the desk. “Lunch soon?” she asked, glancing back at Hannah.
“Yeah, definitely,” Hannah replied, smiling. “Just call me, you know my schedule.”
Juliet nodded, and Hannah moved towards the door, calling a goodbye as she exited into the hallway and receiving a distracted, “Later,” in response.
Hannah continued to her dad’s office, pushing her way inside and dropping her bag into one of the chairs in front of his desk as she set his lunch on top of his calendar.
Moving to the tall bookshelf set against the wall, she tilted her head and stared at the titles. Her dad thought she was a bit strange for finding his reference books so interesting, and always shook his head a little disbelievingly every time he saw her with one of the thick tomes in her hands.
Bending slightly, she scanned the titles on the lower middle shelves, and then reached for one on forensic psychology she’d only flipped through a couple of times. She straightened and turned, and then nearly dropped the book when she saw a young agent standing behind her. His eyes flitted to her face, and she got the distinct impression he’d been staring at her backside. She adjusted her shirt self-consciously, tugging it down over her hips before pulling the halves of her sweater together as she folded her arms, hugging the book to her chest, and a brief look of guilt flashed across the agent’s face.
“Sorry if I scared you,” he said, smiling a little sheepishly. “I just came by to get Agent Cole’s signature on this report.” He held up the folder in his hand, and then stepped towards her, extending his hand. “I’m Eli. Eli Shaw.”
“Hannah Cole,” she replied, the corner of her mouth rising as she shook his hand.
He looked at her for a moment, and then his eyes flicked to David’s desk before he looked back at her. “Cole? You’re not –”
“David Cole is my dad,” she said, giving a short laugh as she nodded towards the desk.
“Right,” Eli murmured, looking even guiltier than before.
Realization suddenly dawned as she looked closer at Eli, and she said, “Hey, I just saw you outside,” noticing how different he looked in a black suit as opposed to the blue t-shirt he’d been wearing just a little while ago.
“Hey, yeah,” he said, a slow smile spreading across his face. “You took my picture.”
It was Hannah’s turn to look sheepish, and Eli’s smile widened.
“Are you new here?” Hannah asked, wanting to change the subject. “I’ve never seen you before.”
“Yeah, I just started a few days ago.”
“You must be the greenie Dad was talking about last night,” Hannah said, grinning as she moved to replace the book in her hands.
“Greenie,” Eli murmured, smirking. “That’s a new one.”
“It’s what Dad calls new agents,” Hannah explained as she stepped back over to him, pushing the sleeves of her sweater to her elbows.
“It’s clever,” he said, nodding. “Usually I just get the terribly unimaginative ‘rookie’.”
Hannah giggled softly, and Eli smiled at her, thinking she had one of the best laughs he’d heard in a long time. They fell silent a moment, and then Eli cleared his throat.
“So, do you normally take pictures of total strangers?” he asked, grinning when she blushed.
“It was your shirt,” she said, slipping her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. “You just. . . stood out.”
“I went for a run on my lunch break,” Eli explained, and raised his eyebrows. “Can I see the picture?”
Hannah was a little taken aback, but she recovered quickly and nodded. “Sure.”
She leaned over the chair, opening her bag and pulling her camera out as Eli stretched his arm to place the file on David’s desk.
Eli stepped closer to her as she turned it on, and she could feel the warmth of his body, could feel the soft fabric of his suit as his arm brushed against hers. She took a very shallow breath as she called up the picture, holding the camera so he could see the display.
“I like that,” Eli murmured. “You’re right, it does stand out. You’ve got a good eye.”
Hannah shrugged modestly, and Eli grinned.
“Well, you made me look decent, anyway.”
“I don’t think that had anything to do with me,” she said quietly, and then looked up when Eli laughed softly, embarrassed that he’d heard her.
There was no denying that he was attractive, with his dark hair and blue eyes. They weren’t quite as vibrantly blue as her father’s, but more like the sky on a hazy summer day, blue with just a touch of grey mixed in. He was taller than her by a few inches, and even just standing next to him like this, he felt solid, and warm, and strong.
Safe, she thought, inexplicably.
Eli, too, was noticing how beautiful Hannah was, maybe the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. Her long blonde hair looked soft and silky, and his fingers itched with a sudden unexplainable urge to touch it.
Perhaps most re
markable of all were her eyes. He supposed if he were to classify them with any of the accepted colors for eyes, he would call them hazel, but they were more than that, many different shades of green and brown swirled together in her irises. He imagined how they must change in different lighting, and found himself wanting to know just how many different colors Hannah Cole’s eyes could be.
And then, before he could stop himself, he breathed, “You have really pretty eyes.”
His heart pounded hard as he looked at her, watching as her eyes widened slightly. A faint flush colored her cheeks, and then she looked down, her lips curving as she mumbled a soft, “Thanks.”
A brief silence fell between them, and then Hannah took a breath.
“Do you – do you want to see more?” she asked hesitantly, glancing up at him.
It was Eli’s turn to widen his eyes, and Hannah closed hers for a second, shaking her head minutely.
“Pictures,” she amended firmly. “More pictures.”
“Sure,” Eli said quickly, trying to ignore the low fluttering in his stomach and the sudden realization that her shirt and sweater had slipped down her shoulder enough to reveal the strap of her bra.
Hannah transferred the camera to his hands, adjusting her shirt as she showed him what button to press to advance the pictures, and he started to slowly cycle through them. There were several of the cherry trees downtown, one of a cat napping in a solitary beam of sunshine, a close up of a couple walking hand in hand down a sidewalk, and several others which ran in a similar vein. He pushed the button to move to the next picture and saw what appeared to be his new boss, at home and sitting on the couch. His feet were propped on the coffee table, sleeves pushed to his elbows as he stared intently at a report in his hands, glasses perched on his nose.
It was so utterly domestic, and he was forcibly reminded that the girl standing beside him was his boss’s daughter and that he really should not be feeling what he was feeling –
“Agent Shaw, don’t you have work to do?”
The new voice, already so familiar, cut through the silence of the office, startling Eli so badly he fumbled the camera in his hands. He would’ve dropped it if not for Hannah’s quick reflexes, and she took it from him, cradling it carefully in her hands. He stepped away from her, very nearly tripping over his own feet as he looked at the stony face of David Cole.
“A file – case report,” Eli stammered, reaching for the folder he’d placed on the desk just a few moments ago. “You need – I need your signature.”
David took the folder from him, his gaze scrutinizing as he looked at the younger agent.
“I’ll have it to you before the end of the day. Now get back to work.”
Eli nodded as he stepped quickly to the door, murmuring, “Yes, sir,” and daring the barest of glances at Hannah when David turned towards his desk.
He received a small apologetic smile and a wiggle of her fingers in a tiny wave, and his lips curved slightly upward as he tipped her a nod before exiting the office.
“Dad,” Hannah said once Eli was gone, her tone admonishing as she looked at her father.
“What?” David replied, avoiding her gaze as he flipped through the file Eli had left.
“You know what,” Hannah said, giving him a look as she braced her free hand on the back of the chair in front of her, dipping her head to try to meet David’s eyes. “We were just talking.”
“Yeah, well, he’s here to work.”
Hannah rolled her eyes and leaned down to put her camera back in her bag.
“So, what brings you here, other than chatting up my newest agent?” David asked, finally raising his gaze to her face as he shrugged off his suit jacket and hung it on the back of his chair. She smirked and shook her head, choosing not to rise to the bait.
“I brought you lunch,” she said, gesturing to the bag on his desk.
“Mmm,” he hummed, reaching for the bag and peering inside. “What is it?”
“Tuna on pita bread, an apple, and yogurt.”
David raised an eyebrow at her, and she laughed.
“Relax, I used real mayonnaise.”
“Oh, well then,” David replied, grinning as Hannah giggled.
David plucked the yogurt from the bag and peeled off the lid, licking it and dropping it into his trash can before fishing in the bag for the spoon.
“What’re you doing the rest of the day?” he asked as he raised a spoonful of yogurt to his mouth.
“Probably go back home and do some work,” Hannah replied, glancing at her phone to see what time it was. “I’ve got class at three.”
“But you’ll be home after that?”
Hannah nodded. “What about you?”
David sighed, raising his eyebrows as he dipped into his yogurt once more. “Well, I come into work every morning with the intention of leaving on time, so I may surprise you, or it may end up being the same old, same old.”
Hannah smiled and opened her mouth to speak when a sudden knock on the open door cut her off, and she looked around to see Chris step into the office.
“David, it’s the Vasquez case,” he said, sounding rushed and practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Somebody jumped the gun; the deal’s going down now.”
“Now? In the middle of the fucking day? ” David exclaimed.
“Yeah, we gotta go.”
“Shit,” David muttered, setting his yogurt down and reaching for his suit jacket.
Chris looked over at Hannah, seeming to notice her for the first time.
“Hey, Hannie,” he said, smiling broadly at her. “How are you?”
She rolled her eyes at the nickname, resisting the urge to smack his arm for it.
“Fine, I just came by to see Dad,” she replied, glancing at David as he checked his gun.
Chris’s eyes dropped to her feet and then back to her face, and her lips curved in anticipation. She knew what he was going to ask, but before he could speak, David stepped suddenly around his desk.
“Chris, move your ass,” he muttered, shoving the younger agent towards the door.
“Right, sorry,” Chris said, smiling at Hannah once more before he hurried from the office.
David stepped forward and pressed a quick kiss to Hannah’s forehead. “I’m sorry, baby. I’ll see you tonight, okay?”
She nodded and David flashed her a smile before dashing after Chris.
Hannah sighed as she reached for the rest of her dad’s lunch and the yogurt sitting open on the desk. She took the time to write him a note telling him she was putting his lunch in the break room refrigerator, then wrote his name on the bag and stapled it shut before grabbing her purse from the chair and striding from the room.
Chapter 4
After leaving the break room, Hannah started to head for the elevators, and then bit her lip as a different thought occurred to her.
Another glance at her phone told her she had plenty of time before she had to get back home to get her stuff for her afternoon class, and she deviated course from the elevators towards the mass of cubicles in the center of the main office. She wasn’t sure where Eli might be, but after a few minutes of looking around and trying to be as inconspicuous as she could, she finally spotted him.
There was a brief moment of hesitation, wondering if she should really do this, and then something inside her propelled her forward. As she drew closer to his work station, she saw him hunched over his desk, head bowed, evidently reading something. There was another small hesitation, not sure if she should disturb him, and then her hand rose to gently tap her knuckles against the edge of his cubicle. He looked up, startled, and she had to press her lips together to stifle the laugh that threatened to escape when she saw the pretzel rod sticking out of his mouth.
His eyes widened at the sight of her, and he snatched the pretzel from his mouth, dropping it to his desk and swiping a self-conscious hand across the lower half of his face.
“Hey,” he said, casting a quick glance at his shir
t as he shifted in his seat.
“Hey,” she replied. “Um, Dad just ran out on a case, and I thought maybe you and I could – have lunch or something? Maybe talk some more?”
A look of monumental disappointment flashed across Eli’s face. “I already took lunch –”
“Oh, yeah,” Hannah said quickly, giving a brief shake of her head and a slightly nervous laugh, her cheeks lightly flushed as she raised her hand to tuck her hair behind her ear.
In that moment, Eli couldn’t understand how one person could be so cute.
“We could still talk,” he offered. “I mean, it’s not the most stimulating place to hold a conversation, but I think it’s serviceable.”
Hannah giggled and nodded, moving to sink into one of the chairs in front of his desk.
“Are you from around here?” she asked to start things off.
“No, I was born and grew up in New Canaan, Connecticut. It’s about a six-hour drive. What about you?”
“Yeah, all my life,” Hannah said with a nod, and then tilted her head to the side. “Well, Arlington. Just over the bridge.”
“Close enough,” Eli said with a grin.
Hannah grinned back as she nodded again. “I do go to school in D.C., though, George Washington University. Second year grad student.”
“Oh, yeah?” Eli said, eyebrows raised in interest. “What are you studying?”
“Social psychology. I’ll save the long, drawn-out explanation for another time. Most people tend to sort of glaze over when I talk about it.”
Eli laughed. “I can’t promise I won’t do the same, but I do want to hear about it one day.”
Hannah laughed too, and then her gaze landed on a signed baseball enclosed in a glass case on Eli’s desk.
“What’s that?” she asked curiously, pointing at it.
“Oh,” he replied, giving a short laugh as he picked it up. “It’s a baseball signed by Derek Jeter.”
Hannah’s eyes widened. “Did you get it in person?”
“Yeah, um, my dad is a doctor, a surgeon, and he goes to conferences and stuff a lot, and the summer before my freshman year of high school, he offered to take me with him on one of his trips. It was just to New York, so it’s not like it was really far from home, but it was still nice to go somewhere, you know?”
