In Your Shadow (3 page)

“I’m John Taylor,” He said as he moved to the stool next to her and held out his hand.

He had a deep voice with a slight hint of seduction. She was rendered speechless as a few moments passed before she answered.

“Katie Jackson.”

She took his hand and gave it a small shake. He had strength in his grip as he held it tight. She could tell he could hurt someone if he really wanted to. He held it for a moment before letting go. Her skin started to tingle as she felt the heat coming from his hand. Her heart lurched in her chest, looking into the face in front of her. It was like a picture out of a modeling magazine. Power build and mischievous eyes.

His eyes were deep blue, piercing, sexy, so beautiful they were sinful to look at. Those eyes were powerful enough to reach down into your soul and consume anyone. With eyes like diamonds glistening as his smiled. She shifted in her seat as silence came between them. He smells wonderful, mix of sandalwood and musk, exotic. It was impossible to identify the cologne.

“So what are you doing in this place? “the low seductive voice spoke that was very flirtatious.

His eyes never left hers. Probing her with such an intensity that made her swallow hard as heat rushed through her body.
Her heart pounding as she
watches a slight smile come on his face.

“I’m with a friend,” her voice sexy and low.

Just looking at him she felt like she was drunk as if the alcohol had a chemical reaction in her brain. She couldn’t believe he had that effect on her he was a complete stranger. He was kind of intimidating as well with his confidence and inflated ego. She held her breath, as her hands slightly shaking.

“I am so not ready to acknowledge this sexual tension between him right now. It sure would be nice to know what his lips taste like.” She thought as she blushed.

“I can tell you don’t come in places like this often.”  Smiling at her as his eyes lit up like fire.

“How do you know that?”

“One thing is your composure and these other women here are almost drunk your drink has hardly been touched.”

John smiled with a hint of danger that lurked in his grin. She wonders if he was a stalker and if she was his next prey. He is dangerous he wasn’t just eye candy he was pure paradise. He was so handsome she could stand there and
stare at him for hours
on end. Her internal heat level is raising fast.

“
You are pretty observant, just what is your occupation. A stalker, are maybe a detective.” She asks with a slight grin on her face.

John laughs as he nods his head still staring into her soul. He leans in towards her with the perfect position for kissing. So close he could feel the heat from her face and see the color change on her cheeks.

“I am neither one.” He paused just staring into her eyes.

“I own my own business” He answered with a slight giggle.

“
Oh, we all do,” she giggled.

That was the first sign of trouble and she knew it. This is the first time she showed interest in anyone in a long time. He was so intimidating she was trying to kept her cool staring down at her drink. Not showing him that he made her nervous as hell.

.……

John has seen Katie standing on the balcony as he walked in the door of the bar. She sparked something in his interbeing.

He didn’t do the bar scene at all, this was his first time in here. If it wasn’t for meeting a few friends here to discuss business, he wouldn’t have come. When he saw her she was so different than the rest of these woman. She stood out like a red rose in a field of lily’s. She
was five, five and a nice figure but hide behind her clothes. He almost dismissed the fact to talk to her until he noticed she was alone. After he introduced his self he fell into an easy conversation. She seemed to be smart and secretive. Looking at the way she was constantly pulling at her dress he could tell she wasn’t here to pick up anyone. In any case, she was a very beautiful woman. She definitely didn’t belong here. Her wondering deep blue eyes that could melt anyone’s heart. She wasn’t just a one-night stand she was something totally different. He could feel his body wanting her with just the touch of her hand.

As he looked over her shoulders he seen his friends coming closer to him. He turned back and looked at her with his over powerful eyes. He laid his business card down on the table hoping she would pick it up.

“
If you will excuse me my friends are here, it is so nice to meet you Katie, maybe I will see you again.” He said as he got up and walked over to the couple of guys that were standing at the edge of the stairs. 

“Nice meet you.” She said has he was walking away.

She watched him walk over to the men.  She could see they staring at her, looking her up and down. They were wearing dark pants and a dark shirt. None of them looked like they even belonged here either. Katie turned back around and noticed a business card lying on the bar. She picked it up and it had his name and number on it. She turned back around and he was gone. She walked over to the balcony and watched them walk out of the front door.  He turned as he was leaving and looked up at her with a slight smile. It sent chills down her arm
.

“
What was that all about? Who was he?” she thought.

Katie turned as Olivia was coming through the crowd with some tall gentleman holding her up.

“Hey,” Olivia said.

“Hey, sounds like you had a few,” Katie answered.

“Yea I did. Oh, I am going to leave with Philp. Are you going to be alright? “Olivia said trying to stand without losing her balance.

“Well I am headed home so I guess I will be. Are you sure you don’t want to come home with me?” Katie answered.

“Yes, I am sure I will see you in the morning, be careful.”

Katie walked with Olivia to Philp’s car. The night air was cold and crisp as it hit her face.

“Good night Olivia,” she said as she watched them leave.

Olivia was raving at her through the car window as they pulled away. Katie wrapped the scarf around her neck and started walking home. She didn’t live but a few blocks from the bar. The streets were still crowded with people. Corners were full of couples hugging each other. She continues to walk at a fast pace, trying to hurry and get home, the wind was bone chilling cold. Katie could hear someone walking behind, it really sounded to close. It started to give her an uneasy feeling. She turned around and it was a few couples walking to their apartments and a gentleman sitting on some steps. This was the first time she walked alone at night. She didn’t like the creeping feeling it gave her.  Katie continued until she reached her townhouse and unlocked the door and went in.

“I am glad I am home.” She thought to herself. This was her safe zone where she felt secure she never went anywhere at night alone are without her driver. She dropped her keys on the table after locking her door. Her mind was still on John at the bar.

“That was a strange encounter.” She thought. She had never reacted to anyone like that before. Trying to shake the thought of him from out of her head.

Looking down at her messages she turned the machine on and listened. Katie still used the old message machine of her mother’s it made her fill like a part of her was still with her. She had a few business messages and one from her father.

“Great a party, I will have to call and arrange a date. I just hate these parties. I need to fly away before Christmas comes.” She thought.

Katie walked in the bathroom and washed her face and but her hair into a twisted knot, she was trying to get the thought of him off her mind. She changed her clothes and climbed into bed. Her mind still on John, she had never had that reaction about anyone.  Finally, she drifted off to sleep.

Her body tensed as she tried to focus on the figure in front of her. Her vision blurs, as she gasps for breath. His arms were opened reaching out to her. She tried to move her body frozen. Her heat racing as she looked down the hallway. It was hazy and the air was heavy, it was almost like you were being smothered. Looking down at the dark figure on the floor, it was Mitch flat on the ground covered in dark ooze with his eyes staring at her. She tried to scream but couldn’t, no words would come out. Tears ran down her face as her heart beat hard, the figure walked closer and closer to her. She closed her eyes and trying not to breathe, smelling the odor of stale blood. Finally, she screamed so loud that it woke her up.

Trembling in the state of fear she opens her eyes. Her body was covered in moisture from her sweat. Tears were rolling down her cheek, grabbing her pillow she buried her face in it and covered her body with her blanket. At this point she went into an uncontrollable sob. When she couldn’t cry anymore she removed the covers and walked to the bathroom. Her eyes were puffy as she applied a warm cloth to them. She was drained like she hadn’t had any sleep.

“What’s with theses dream?” she thought.

Wiping her face with the cloth trying to calm her body down. She looks over at the clock hanging on the wall it was four thirty. Walking back to her bed she laid across her covers and fell back to sleep.

John finished his meeting and looked at his watch it was almost midnight. He got back to his apartment and leaned his shoulder against his large window that offered a breathtaking view of Manhattan. Everything was still lit up. John is itching to see her and find out more about her. Her blue eyes have haunted him since the first time he laid eyes on her. Even in his dreams her face appears.

“Why is it so hard to find a woman who wasn’t interested in his money, why couldn’t he have a love his parents had for each other?” All these thoughts are going through his head. The holidays always made him fill lonely like he was missing something in his life.

His mind going back to what his father told him about when he met his mother. They met on a train ride and as soon as they saw each other they clicked, and the next thing they knew they were married and happy even to this day. It was because of his parent’s love for one another he didn’t give up on finding it himself. John dated many women but none that he had any feelings for at all.

John stood there staring out his window as his thoughts went on Katie at the bar.

“What was a woman like that doing there?”

She impressed him with her elegant looks and her smile. He could tell she was from money are had money because was just different from the rest of the women he knew. John was lost in his thoughts as he continues to stare out the window into the night skies. He couldn’t get this woman out of his head. What was so special about her. Her face was etched in his memory, all breath left his body when he saw her face. It was like lightning bolts shot up and down his body. He decided to pull her name up on the computer so he could at least know something about her.  He put her name Katie Jackson into Google and it came up with a dozen articles complete with pictures of her and her business. Jackson construction and Daniel Enterprise had joined together. The article stated that she was the successful owner of Jackson Construction founded by her father of Daniel Enterprise they had merged together and become one. He continued to click through links that had come up in the search. There was a lot that showcased her and her father but none that showed her with anyone besides her father.

“I knew it,” he said to himself.

He put in her name again and an article came up with the name Mitch Jackson under hers. It was obituary about him. He pulled up the obituary and stated she was his wife of two years. He looked closely and it was six years ago. John read on and couldn’t find the cause of death. He went back to google search and put Mitch Jackson name in.  An article from the paper came up with his name. He pulled the link up in the newspaper and read it. It said he was in a home invasion and died at the hospital hours later. No arrest had been made.

“I find that kind of odd,” he thought.

John sat there staring at the scene not believing what he had just read.

“Well that explains why she was never in any pictures with anyone but her father, but it had been so long ago. It’s hard to believe she never got involved with anyone. “What’s up with that?” He thought.

He went back to Google and put her name back in and it only talked about the company and her. It seems that she is the only child it never spoke of any siblings. As he made his way through the links, he found many pictures of her and then found another article about her mother Katherine Martin. This was another obituary she had died suddenly.

“Wow, both deaths were very close together.  This explained why she never smiled in any of them she looked lost and distance. This woman had too much grief at one time but she has had time to get over it.

“Why didn’t she.” He thought.

There were more articles calling her hard and driven by grief.  John set the lab top aside and sit back in his chair.

“Hard huh she didn’t seem that way to me she may be heartbroken but not hard. It has to be more to her then working. What is it about this woman that still haunts my memory?” His thought completely on her.

He needed a distraction, and right now the only distraction he wanted was Katie. He walked away from the computer and poured himself a drink and sat down with his thoughts. Until finally he finds himself in a deep sleep.

Katie rolled over and looked at the clock, it read 530 am. There was just a little light coming through the window. It felt like she had just laid her head down. She hurried and dressed and called her driver and headed to work. She was a few minutes late when she got out of the car she told her driver she would call him when she was ready. She turned and almost bumped into a medium size dark hair man with air all over his face, standing a few feet from her. He looked very familiar like she had seen him before but she couldn’t place him. Katie didn’t have time to go down memory lane so she hurried in the building. It was a huge tall skyscraper building. Her office was on the top floor. She steps in the elevator for the ride up as she listens to the music on the intercom. Her mood was flat and distance like always. Her mind was still on the stranger she had met

Katie walks out the elevator as her receptionist was standing at the threshold of her office door.

“Morning Ms. Katie” she hands her a cup of coffee.

“Morning Susan, any messages,” She asks

“Yes, I laid them on your desk.” Susan walks back to her desk.

Katie opens her office door and sets her purse down on the desk as she walks over and stares out the window at the Manhattan skyline. She was restless as she stood there and just stared into the gray clouds overhead. It was cold and breezy day it looked as if it was going to snow. She frowns as she realizes she has to make the call to her father. She turns as she looks at the messages on her desk and two contracts that needed her attention. She picks up the phone and calls her father.

“Hey, dad you called.”

“Hello darling, I have left two messages for you. Are you alright, you know I worry about you living in the middle of town with no protection.”

“I know dad. I have been busy. Oh, I have been looking at a house outside of town. So I will be moving out of the city soon. You won't have to worry so much about me here.”

“I am so glad to hear it, the reason I called the Christmas party is this weekend. I would love it if you would come. Don’t forget our New Year’s Eve party. I know you can take off. Please Katie,” he said with a low tone.

“Okay dad, I will be there.” She didn’t want to break his heart so she agreed.

“Great I will see you at 7. You have a good day dear and don’t work so hard. I love you.”

“Love you too daddy, I will see you then.” She hung up the phone.

She hadn’t seen her father in a few weeks. It wasn’t because she didn’t love him. Katie hated her stepmother. She was a ruthless money grubber and she knew it.

Katie picks up the phone and calls Rebecca the escort service.

“Good morning, this is Rebecca.”

“Hello Rebecca this is Katie, I have a formal dinner party to attend to Friday night at 6, do you have someone available. “

“Yes, of course, Katie.”

“Yes, could you send the same person you sent before?” Katie asks.

“I will see if he is available.”

“Thank you, make sure they are here around 5:45 and dress formal please.”

“I will see to it.”

Katie hung up the phone nodding her head.

“Why can’t I be like other people instead I have to hire a date. Well, at least, it isn’t no hashes are drama.” She thought.

Katie noticed three calls from Zoe her realtor. She dialed her number and she answered on the first ring.

“How are you Zoe, what did you find out about the house we looked at.?”

“They will take 165,000 thousand for the house. It needs a few repairs.”

“If they will do the repairs on the house I will buy it,” Katie told her.

“Are you sure,” Zoe asks.

“Yes, I am sure. I love that house.” Katie had agitation in her voice.

“Well okay, I will keep you informed.”

“Good we will talk soon” Zoe hung up the phone.

“I will be glad when I move in the country, maybe my father will get off my back about the city. It won't be near as noisy” She thought.

“I will, we will talk soon.”

After that call, Katie poured herself into her work trying to work her frustrations off. She didn’t understand why she felt agitated. Her cell phone started to ring as she reaches down in her purse to grab it and a card fell out on the floor. She reached down to pick it up and she noticed it was John’s card.

“What a strange card, no business card ever had just a name and number it normally states the title of your business.”

Her thoughts go to them deep blue eyes that haunted her memory. She broke her thought as she answered her phone.

“Hey Katie”

“Hello Olivia, I am glad you are still breathing.”

“Oh yes, had a great time.”

“I can tell. Listen I am really busy I will call you when I get home.”

“Just calling to see of you made it home, we need to do it again this weekend.”

“Oh no not this weekend I have to go to my father's party. I want be here. I will call you when I get home I have a lot of work to do.”

“Sure thing, don’t work so hard. We will talk soon.”

Katie hung the phone up and glad she made it home. Olivia knew no danger and that worried Katie some. That was who she was always lively. She opened her files and got to work on her contracts and finished out her day. She looked up and notices it was getting dark outside. She had been so busy time went by quickly. She walked outside her office and noticed everyone had gone home for the evening except Susan. She was gathering her things to leave. She called Shane her driver to pick her up.

“Have a good night Susan.”

“You to Ms. Katie” she turned and walked to the elevator it opened quickly. The music over the intercom was so depressing she couldn’t wait to get off. There was no one left in the office’s downstairs it looked deserted, almost spooky. The car was waiting in front of the glass doors. It didn’t take her long to get home. She arrived at her house a few minutes after that, unlocking her door she looked back and the driver was waiting for her to go in before he left. That gave her a little sense of security. She drops her purse and keys on the table and worked on her contracts until later and finally she got sleepy enough and went to bed. Dreading to close her eyes, she drifted off into a deep sleep.