CHAPTER ELEVEN
TAYLOR
Taylor sat patiently in the outer office of the commander. She had been medically deemed fit for duty, and it was to be her first day back on the job. She hadn’t so much as stepped foot into a police station since she’d been shot, but she felt as though she was physically and mentally prepared to hit the streets. But, as soon as Taylor did step one foot into the station, she was summoned to the commander’s office. And, there, she’d been waiting for thirty-five minutes.
Taylor was in the latter stages of boredom as she sat in the hard chair and peeled the nail polish from her nail, when, mercifully, the commander poked his head out of his office and told her that she could enter.
Taylor hopped out of her seat and entered the commander’s office. She wouldn’t sit unless instructed, so she stood in front of his desk. The commander smiled and held his hand out toward the chair facing his desk, gesturing for her to sit.
“Please, accept my apology for making you wait so long. I was on the phone with headquarters trying to figure out what to do with you.”
Taylor was confused. “What to do with me?” she asked.
“Please, Officer Montgomery, have a seat.”
Taylor sat and waited for him to explain. Commander Evans was a newly-promoted commander. So, she’d never met him before. However, she had heard good things about him. He was said to be tough but fair. She’d heard that he was a good cop back in his day and a good supervisor. He’d moved up the ranks pretty fast based on his work ethic alone. And, in his late thirties or maybe early forties, he was pretty young to be such a high-ranking boss.
“Well, Officer Montgomery, you do realize that we can’t put you back on the street, right?”
“No, sir. I hadn’t realized that at all. Why not?”
“Realistically, putting you back on the street would be a disaster.”
Taylor inhaled a deep breath but said nothing. She would wait for him to explain because she wasn’t about to ask him why again.”
“You see, Officer, from what I hear, you’re engaged to the governor of Illinois. You’ve already had some run-ins with the press, and the powers that be fear that the media would prohibit you and your fellow officers from doing your jobs without distraction.”
Taylor was no idiot. She knew that the press would be an issue. She just figured that they’d be done with her whenever the next good story came along.
“Putting you back on the street would be a public relations nightmare. The press would be all over you. Imagine everything you do and say being caught on camera.”
Shit, he had a point. Taylor wasn’t exactly the warm and fuzzy police.
“Okay, so, what did headquarters decide to do with me?”
“They told me to figure it out,” Commander Evans said with a chuckle. “They really have no clue what to do with you.”
Wow!
One would think that she was a leper.
“So, here’s the thing, Officer. Since I’m newly-appointed, I don’t have a secretary. I’m offering you the job. Whaddaya say?”
Taylor leaned back in her chair. Although the secretary to the commander was a coveted position for some, Taylor hadn’t joined the police department to be a secretary. But, alas, she ultimately had no other choice. It was either that or working in call back, doing police reports over the phone.
“I say I’ll take it. Thank you, sir.”
“Very well,” the commander said with a smile. He stood and held his hand out.
Taylor stood and placed her hand in his.
“It’ll work out well for both of us,” he said as they shook.
Taylor smiled and hoped that it would.
****
Taylor was setting the table for dinner just as Victor and Gregor entered the front door.
