Page 53 of Degrees of Innocence
Message:Almost done?
Reply:Almost… about 20 minutes or so.
Message: Trying to decide on your punishment in the event I don’t see you in less than 20 minutes.
Reply:Anyone ever tell you that you are totally overbearing?
Message:I think you also said it makes you hot.
Reply:I am never going to get done if you keep messaging me!
Message:Ironic, then I would need to punish you…..
I laugh and decide not to respond to the last text. I finish compiling the last of the documents and find him in his office. “So did I make it?” I ask.
“Barely, in a couple more minutes I would have been forced to haul you into the bedroom and have my evil way with you,” he says, eyes alight with amusement.
“Hmm, maybe I should have waited a couple more minutes,” I tease.
“While I would love to scoop you up and take you to my bedroom, I made reservations at the Noor House for this evening. They have excellent food and the views are the best in the city. I need to sign into one more call, though. I’ve had a dress and heels delivered for the evening. If you don’t like them, we can always do an exchange.” As I walk into the bedroom, I see the package immediately. It contains a short strappy little black dress with sequins and heels to match.
The shower is invigorating and I apply a generous amount of coconut oil as a moisturizer, liking the sheen it gives my legs before I put on the dress and slip into the heels, amazed that they fit perfectly. I sigh at my hair, unruly as ever, falling past my shoulders in a mass of curls and waves. I decide to go with a straight look for the evening and spend time with the blow dryer and hot iron. A little dusting of face powder, some mascara, colored lip gloss, and I feel ready.
Chase glances up as I walk in. “Baby, you look hot… and those legs. I almost don’t want to take you out in public,” he says, eyes dark and smoldering.
“I hardly doubt anyone will be looking at me.”
“Baby, there’s not a man alive that won’t be looking at you. You’re stunning,” he says, lifting my face to kiss me. “Jay’s going to pull the car around and we’ll drive to dinner ourselves.”
“Will they be with us?” I ask.
“Why do you ask? Are you nervous?”
“Not really. I think the stuff that happened on the island was probably random misfortune, it’s just we haven’t gone anywhere without them since we’ve been stateside,” I say.
“You think two attempts on your life were random misfortune? Forgive me if I don’t take your optimistic view and instead ensure that we get to the bottom of it before leaving your life to chance. The security teams will always be with us, even if they are not in the same car. Jay will have a team in front of us and one behind us this evening. They’re excellent at what they do,” he says.
Matt pulls up in the Jaguar and gets out of the driver’s side.Chase opens the passenger door for me and I slide into the amazingly soft leather seat. The front dashboard looks like a cockpit lit up with navigational controls.
“So, you do think someone is targeting me,” I counter as he slides behind the wheel and closes the door.
He sighs. “Katarina, it can’t be coincidence. Although we don’t know why, we can’t rule out the possibility that someone is intentionally trying to harm you. It’s a precaution and a necessary one.”
“I have to admit, I do feel better knowing they are with us,” I say.
“I’m very glad to hear that. The iPad in front of you is synced into the stereo system, so if you want to listen to something on iTunes or Internet instead of the radio you can select what you wish to listen to.” A phone rings and he answers it as we pull away.
“Go ahead, Jay. I’ve got you on speaker.”
“Do you have an update on your plans?”
“Katarina and I still need to discuss the logistics for tomorrow. Most of my work can be done remotely, but I’ll let you know a little later about plans once we’ve had a chance to discuss it.”
“Jay usually drives you around, doesn’t he?” I ask once he’s disconnected.
“He does most of the time. I usually get a lot of work done while traveling, but I felt like driving tonight. The team is with us and the car is completely secure. All of the Jaguar XJL Ultimates come standard with a 510 horsepower, 5.0 liter supercharged V8 engine and we had a custom security package designed for this one,” he says.
“Of course you did. I know absolutely nothing about cars, but am duly impressed by the sound of a supercharged engine and custom security package,” I say, trying to suppress my smile as he turns to narrow his eyes at me.
