Run to You (9 page)

Chloe

  My nerves are on edge as I stand here in the lobby of Retribution, waiting for Caleb.  I must be crazy, what am I even doing here.  No, No I need to be here, I won’t let him keep me from living my life anymore.  When the elevator doors open and the man from my run in at the park steps off wearing a very expensive suit; my jaw nearly drops to the floor.

    “Ah, Chloe.  Lovely to see you again,” he smiles at me.

    “It’s you.” I say still in shock.

    He chuckles, “Yup, still me.  My apologies for not revealing all my cards the other day when we
ran
into each other.  You seemed in a bit of a hurry and I didn’t want to keep you.”

  The way his eyes are undressing me is making me even more anxious uneasy.  He looks intimidating but now because of he’s built but because of his demeanor.

    “You knew who I was that day in the park?”

    “No. I mean, well yes.  I knew you were one of the students we were scouting, and I saw a glimpse of your school ID photo.” He smiles and it makes my skin crawl. 

    “Oh, of course.  I’m so sorry, you probably think I’m crazy.” I laugh but it comes out forced.

    “It’s not a problem at all sweetheart.  I’m just happy you decided to take my advice and give my firm a chance.”  He places his hand on my back and starts to usher me toward the elevator.  “Come, let me show you to my office where you’ll be working.”

    “Your office?” I ask.

    “Oh, my sincerest apologies I had planned on allowing you to work with some of the big shots we have here but you see my secretary quit on me unexpectedly.  I was hoping you could fill in for her until I am able to find a suitable replacement.”  He smiles at me as the elevator doors close.

  Being in such a small space alone with him suddenly makes me very tense.  He must sense it because he removes his arm from my back and steps to the side slightly to give me some space.  I’m grateful he has taken the hint.  When the doors open the lights show we are on the 10
th
floor.  As we step out I notice the floor appears to be empty.

    “Where is everyone?” I ask as I follow him out.

    “Nobody works on this floor except for myself and my assistant.  I find it much less distracting for myself.  It also allows my assistant to concentrate on her job duties instead of engaging in useless office gossip.”  He states.

    “Right, I guess that makes sense.  So I’ll be what? Taking your phone calls and typing up your notes?” I ask.

    He laughs, “Oh no my dear, I have all sorts of things in mind for you to do.  I’ll keep you very busy so not to worry.”

  Busy, yes that’s exactly what I need to be.  The busier the better.  Less time for mind to wander.  Wander back to the fact that my life is in danger or the wander back to the way Travis’s smile made my heart sink.  The way his eyes pierced straight through my soul. 

    “Miss Marshall? Everything alright?” Caleb asks.

    “Uh-oh yeah, I’m sorry…it’s been a long couple of weeks.”

    “Of course, I heard about your father.  I’m truly sorry for your lose.”  He says, but he’s smiling.  

    “How did you know about that?”

    “My apologies, Mr. McGuire told me.  I’m sorry I had to inform him of your employment here.”

    “Mr. McGuire? You mean Travis! You told Travis! I thought we had a deal?”

    “Come now my dear, I had to let him know, he is my head of security.  Don’t worry he didn’t seem to care.” He shrugs.

    “He didn’t care?”  I should be angry that he broke our deal but instead I’m focused on Travis not caring.

    “He informed me your relationship was finished but that he still wished you the best.  He said you were still an ideal candidate and not to let his personal feelings toward you interfere.”

    “His personal feelings toward me? What the hell does that mean?  I’m sorry…I know it’s not your fault but I just-I guess I thought.  It doesn’t matter what I thought.  I’m thankful for this opportunity.”

  Caleb smiled at me, “Come let me show you to your desk.”

  Caleb showed me to where I’ll be spending most of my time.  He gave a folder outlining his expectations.  Apparently I’ll be organizing his meetings, keeping his files in order.  I will be in charge of making sure all the other assistants are submitting their reports on time and that they are completed accurately.  Oh, and let’s not forget answering the phone.

Travis

  The days have been dragging by, I finally decide to get myself out of this apartment.  I can’t stay in this bed anymore, her smell is gone from pillow and I need to shake myself out of this funk.  I head to the gym first, spending a few hours pounding out my frustration on a bag is exactly what I need. 

  I’ve spent the last few days searching my data bases, scouring for any information I can gather on this Cole person.  Apparently his name is Cole Anderson, and he’s missing.  Law enforcement agencies all over the state have been involved in a man hunt for years looking for him.  One of my buddies at the local police station told me that they just recently released a new update on him.  He is the one that told me Chloe’s friend, Mac, was killed.  I had to find out from him, I read the police report, saw the photos. 

  I can’t believe Chloe didn’t’ tell me, I can’t believe she’s been dealing with all this shit on her own.  According to the police report Mac had been stabbed, the weapon they found on scene matches the one that was used to stab Chloe that night.  Forensics confirms her blood was still on it.  That scares the shit out of me.  I’ve tried to call her numerous times but no answer.  I ambushed Katie, but now she’s suddenly decided to be good at keeping things.  Doesn’t help that Brian stops me before I get very far. 

  Apparently Cole’s dad hasn’t been seen in a while either, after they left Boulder Falls he ran for State Senate.  The incident involving his son rained in on that plan, he hasn’t been seen since the media had a field day with the story.  My phone rings.

   
“Hello?”

    “Hey Mr. McGuire, it’s Tony.  I just wanted to let you know that Retribution has some new hires.  Caleb wanted me to send you an email of the new roster list.”

    “Yeah, okay fine email it over I’ll look over it later.  Have the background checks already been done?” I ask.

    “Yes sir, everyone checks out.”

    “Alright sounds good.  Keep up the good work man, I’ll touch bases with you later.”  I hang up.
  Caleb already told me he was hiring some people, I don’t care about that right now.  I have faith in my men to know what they’re doing.  Caleb would personally call me himself if something was wrong.  I get back to my search.  Cole was last spotted in…wait that can’t be right, an image of him pops up on my screen.  Time stamped a month ago outside the University coffee shop but the image is fuzzy, data base shows 92% match.  Shit…I curse to myself.

Chloe

  Working for Caleb hasn’t been so bad, it’s only been a week but he is actually very sweet. My original assumption was wrong, he’s a big softie and incredibly smart and funny. He brings me a Mocha from Starbucks every morning, he never yells at me when I make a mistake.  He has just come out and sat on my desk to make small talk. 

    “That’s crazy that you’re from Boulder; I’ve been Boulder Falls.” He chuckles.

    “You’re telling me, everyone usually looks at me like I’m crazy when I tell them where I’m from.” I smile.

    “Well it is a hole in the wall, but it’s an excellent vacation town.”

  We did use to get a lot of tourists.  Usually during the winter, people wanting to see the snow.

    “So, what should we do for lunch today? I was thinking maybe the little sandwich shop down the street.” I ask him, not wanting to talk a lot about my home town.

    “Yeah, that sounds great.  How about we both go this time, instead of always eating in here.  It’s beautiful outside.” He suggests.

    “Oh…okay.  Sure we could do that.”

    “Relax, Travis isn’t back yet and besides he was fine with it remember.”  He responds, knowing what I’m thinking.  We’ve developed a pretty good relationship in the short time I’ve been here.  He’s a great boss, great sense of humor and actually pretty easy to talk to.

  I just nod in response and grab my purse.  The little shop is only a couple of blocks from the firm, Dillon’s sandwiches and more.  Nice little family owned place, checkered table cloths and very picnic like feel.  It’s quaint.  Caleb holds the door open for me and we grab a booth.  A polite older lady takes our order and brings us our drinks.

    “So, Chloe.  How are you liking the job so far?”

    “It’s great, actually.  I’m learning a ton about what it takes to own a business and I’ve learned a lot of important legal jargon.” I smile.  I’ve only met a few of the attorneys but they’ve all been really nice and willing to answer any questions I’ve had.  I think I’ve learned more from working here than I did in any of my classes.

    “Excellent.  You’ve really been a life saver.  When Trish quit I wasn’t sure I’d be able to find a replacement.  You’re a natural, you’ve managed to handle everything I’ve thrown your way without once complaining.” He smiles.  “Very refreshing.”

    “Thank you,” my cheeks redden.  “I-uh.  I’m thankful you called me, really.  I needed this.”

  Our food arrives and we eat in silence.  Once our food is finished we make our way back to the office.  “So, do you still run?” he catches me off guard.

    “Um, no not really.  I mean I want to, but I haven’t been running in weeks.”  The thought of being out there alone terrifies me. 

    “Really?  Well what would you say if I initiated a stay healthy regimen with the other employees?  I was thinking of giving everyone an hour a day to go for a walk or a run or maybe even set up a gym on site.”

    “I think that’s a great idea.  I mean I much prefer to run outdoors but a treadmill would work also.”

    “Actually I was hoping you would consider being my jogging buddy.  We could leave from here and there’s a park not far.  After a couple of laps it would be about a mile and a half.” He beamed.

  I considered him for a moment before deciding it would be refreshing to get back out there.  My legs needed it. I needed it.  “Yeah, I’d love that.”

  He smiled.  The rest of the day flew by.

  That night while lying in bed my phone rang, another unknown number.

    “Hello?”

    “Oh hey Chloe, it’s Caleb.”

    “Caleb?” I glance at the clock on the wall, “It’s kind of late, is everything okay?”

    “Uh-yeah, everything is fine Chloe.  I-uh…well I was just sorta lonely and thought maybe if you were up we could chat.”

   
“O-kay.”

    “I don’t’ have a lot of friends, job keeps me pretty busy.  Doesn’t really give me a lot of time to meet new people, woman especially.”

    “Oh, um-look Caleb you’re really nice and all but I’m not really sure that we should-I mean…you being my boss and then there’s Travis…”

   
“Yeah, I know.  Really I get it, I mean I think you’re beautiful, and smart and funny.  Amazing, actually...but I get it, you’re not ready.  I can wait.” He interrupts.

  There’s awkward silence.

     “Look Caleb, I’m actually getting ready for bed so maybe we could talk in the morning?” I offer.

    “Of course, my apologies.  I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Well that went well.  Don’t get me wrong Caleb is attractive and all but he’s not the man I want.  I can’t have the man I want. Not anymore.

Travis

  I arrive at Retribution a little earlier than normal.  I wanted to walk around and do a system check.  It was about 7:45 when I made it back to the security room.  Tony had his feet propped up on the desk, his eyes were closed.  Was he snoring?  Oh hell no.

    “Hey!” I knocked his feet down.

    “Oh, hey boss…I uh I didn’t expect to see you in today.”

    “Clearly…you’re fired.” I state.  No employee of mine was going to sleep on the job.

    “What! Come on Travis you can’t be serious, I was only out for a few seconds.”

    “It only takes one minute for something to happen.  One second for someone to slip in or for someone to steal something.  I won’t tolerate it.  Collect your things, I’ll mail you your check.”

    “Asshole,” he mumbles as he shoves past me. 

  Perfect, guess I’m taking this shift.  After calling in someone to take over in the afternoon, I start scrolling through the past few days’ footage, making sure nothing has been missed.  An image on the screen has me glued in my seat.  There smiling back at me is Chloe, those bright blue eyes I’ve been missing all this time.  What was she doing here?  And why is Caleb’s arm on her back.  I fast forward the footage, following them to the elevator and then pick back up on the 10
th
floor.  I only have cameras on the assistant’s work space, cameras were not allowed to be placed in his office.

  God, she’s beautiful.  She’s wearing a black pencil skirt that hugs perfectly to her curves.  She has a white button up blouse on that fits securely around her flawless breasts.  I would never allow her to wear something like that.  Every man in this building had to have had a hard on all day seeing her like that.

  I stared at the image for a few minutes before switching back to live view.  People should start arriving soon.  My eyes are focused now, scanning everyone that enters or exits the building.  Then I spot her.  She’s here, right now.  Wearing a coral colored dress with a white sweater draped over her shoulders.  I want nothing more than the push her into their elevator and slip that dress from her shoulders.  Her hair is up in a high pony tail, leaving her neck fully exposed.  My lips yearn to kiss their way down her soft skin.  I can still remember her sweet smell and the way her skin felt under my touch.

  I shake my head and mentally force those images out of my mind.  Why is she here?  Why didn’t anyone tell me?  I follow her, once she exits the elevator to Caleb’s floor I wait a few minutes before I call her extension.  My eyes never leave the screen as it rings.

    “Caleb Jones’ office, Chloe speaking…how may I help you?”

    I’m speechless at first, the sound of her voice, seeing her perfect face again, it’s all too much.

    “Hello?” She asks again.

    “Hello blue eyes,” I manage to spit out.  I watch her carefully.  She starts twisting the phone cord around her finger as she looks around.

    “Travis?” she asks, biting that enticing lip.  “Um, how can I help you?”

    “Really?  How can I help you?  That’s all you have to say to me.” I ask, feeling a sting of sadness at her harshness.

    “I’m sorry, Travis.  It’s just um…I wasn’t expecting to hear from you.  How have you been?” She offers.

    “Shitty,” I chuckle, “I mean you disappeared on me, scared the shit out of me and now I find out you work here and you didn’t even tell me.”

    “I know, I’m sorry.  Everything just sort of happened, and when I found out you were okay with it… I just…I’m sorry Travis, I should’ve told you.”

    “Who told you I was okay with it? How can I be okay with it if I never knew anything about it?” I’m angry now.  Somebody played me and I don’t like to be played.

    “Look it doesn’t matter…I-uh I have get back to work now.  Goodbye Travis.”  She hung up.  The look of sadness that crossed her face at that moment was all the clues I needed.  She still loves me.  It’s written all over her face.

  I quickly dial Caleb’s number, he’s got some explaining to do.

    “What the hell man?” I say as soon as the line stops ringing.

    “Ah McGuire, how are you?” he smirks.

    “Don’t how are you me…you hired Chloe and didn’t bother to tell me.”

    “Oh come on, I gave the new employee roster to Tony and instructed him to give it to you.  I figured you knew by now.” He replies.

    “Well I didn’t and it’s pretty damn shitty of you to not call me yourself.  I thought we had a better rapport than that.”

    “It was your suggestion I hire her in the first place, I really don’t see what the big deal is,” he yawns.  “She’s quite lovely, and funny too I must say.”

    “So what, you made her your own personal secretary?  What happened to Trish?” he’s starting to piss me off now.

    “She wasn’t working out…look McGuire, I really do need to be going.  I’m already running late and I wouldn’t want to keep Miss Marshall waiting any longer.”  And he hung on me, fuckin prick.