Gwen awakened in the master bedroom, at first disoriented, and then she remembered sobbing in Troy’s arms. Was her torturer American? Everything was jumbled. She climbed from the bed and remade it.A glass of iced tea sat on a coaster on the bedside table with a note.
Gwendolen,
I needed to go into the office for PT. I’ll see you for dinner. I’m proud of you. You and I can spend some time together later.
PS: Your clothing is hung in my closet. Tonight, my bed becomes your bed too. My bed is a king. And my bathroom is big enough for ten. If I overstepped, we will talk.
TB
Gwen smiled, then slipped into Troy’s shower and dressed. After stepping out into the hallway, she wandered toward the kitchen where Tim was sitting watching Fani and 3-Romeo’s Elias making spanakopita.
Elias wiped off his hands and turned to Gwen, stepping to parade rest. “Miss North, is there anything you need?”
“No, I’m good. We haven’t met.Please call me Gwen.” She stepped closer and extended her hand.
“Thank you, Miss North. I’m Elias Speras, 3-Romeo Alpha Squad.”He returned the handshake.
Gwen couldn’t help noticing the scowl on Fani’s face. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a videocall I need to make. I’ll be in the office if anyone needs me.” As she left the room,she heard Fani speak in Greek. By her tone, she knew it wasn’t pleasant.
She had a few minutes before her meeting with the level-one supervisory staff. Russ cleared her for desk work if she worked with another senior executive or first deputy in case she got winded. Janice offered to join her on the call. She sat at her desk and rested her head in her arms. She remembered when Boyle and Stacy interviewed her. They’d been cold and patronizing. Troy asked her painful questions,yet she felt cherished.
Gwen worried about his quietude. Had he truly made peace with what happened to him and who he was growing to become? Or was he hiding things? She couldn't wait for her next counseling appointment. Unlike Troy, she could not separate her professional and the personal life well.
Picking up her head, she opened the system. A pursuit. He didn’t tell me.According to the executive mail feed, six men had been arrested for what happened earlier that morning. Four were in the hospital suffering from bullet wounds. All requested an attorney, which meant no one was talking. They had a big goose egg. Disgusted, she pulled up her agenda for her meeting as her phone rang.
“Hello, Miss Gwendolen, it's Verna. How are you feeling?”
“Much better, thank you.”
“I have a Major William Cook waiting to speak with you. Should I put him through to your voicemail, or are you up to speaking with him?”
“Thanks, Verna, you can put him through. Also, I apologize, could you look through the administrative assistant applications and pick out the top five you'd be interested in working with? Kendrick Valentine looked good on paper, but I’d like to know why he’d want to lose his cushy position. Well, Troy wanted to know. No sense in creating difficulties.”
“Well, doll, I like you more every day. I’ll let you know. Here comes Major Cook.” The sound of the phone transfer echoed in her ear.
“Hi, Will.” Gwen held on to the desk to make sure her voice sounded strong.
“Gwenny, it was really good to see you the other day. You’ve always been a stunning woman.”
“Is that the reason you called me? I'm working,” Gwen said coolly.
“Gwenny, please. I don’t want to argue. Can we meet? I have something you will want to see,” Will Cook whispered.
“Where and when?” she asked through gritted teeth.
“If it would make you feel better, I'll come to you. And, Gwenny...” Will's voice trailed off.
“I'm going into a meeting now. How about Monday at 1400? Report to the reception desk at Chase headquarters.” She shifted in her chair and ended the conversation, “Bye, Will.”
“Bye, Gwenny.”
What did Will want to show her? Every time he called her Gwenny, she felt a knife in her heart. She could still hear her own screams.
She’d worked efficiently and precisely for years without a blip. Now, her past was interfering with her life. And her present, she felt more alive and cherished with Troy than Will had ever made her feel, and all they’d done was kiss.
A beep drew her attention. She opened the meeting.“We will start as soon as everyone signs in.”
* * *
