Page 34 of Caleb
“You are playing with fire.” She takes a long drag. I do the same. “If Aaron would’ve seen you …” She shakes her head and blows out a cloud of smoke to the side. “What the hell were you thinking? Hugging her? What if her father decided to show up?”
Highly improbable. But she’s making a solid point.
“So you’re not telling on me?” I ask simply.
“Depends,” she replies, taking in my frame as if trying to find the answers written all over me. “Tell me what happened.”
I’m not feeling very enthused about explaining to Annette what she saw exactly and why, but I’ll do it if it means it’ll keep her quiet and off my back. But first, I need to know what her silence will cost me.
“So I tell you what happened, and you forget what you saw?” I feel so naive asking this question because the truth is, she’ll always hold this card against me. I’ll trust her word on it if she chooses to keep my secret. But this means my job will forever be in the hands of a woman I fucked a few months ago. And I’m the only one to blame. I crossed a line with Miss Murphy yet again. And I hate that I put myself in this vulnerable position with Annette.
She twists her lips to the side and nods once, prompting me to talk.
“It’snotwhat you think it is,” I say as an opening statement in my futile defense. “She was crying. And embracing her was the humane thing to do.”
“How charitable of you,” she scoffs. A trace ofsomethingI can’t put my finger on lingers in Annette’s gaze. Is it … jealousy? She doesn’t seem like the type to care about the guy she slept with after a one-night stand. Besides, she’s back withthe bastard, and we’ve been friends for the past four months. But there’s something there I’m not seeing.
“Would you rather have had me ignore you the day I saw you crying over your bastard that day in the lounge?” I remind her. I need to make her think that trying to be kind to sad beautiful women is more of a general weakness of mine. A hero complex, rather than a specific thing going on between Miss Murphy and me becausenothing’sgoing on and never will.
“Stupide petit garçon.” She takes one last drag of her cigarette.
“Yes,” I say, placing my hand on my chest in an apologetic way. “Thisgarçon… verystupide.”
She chuckles and flicks her cigarette away.
“She’s sixteen, for crying out loud,” I tell her, taking the opportunity to remind myself of the fact. “She’s just lonely and terrified of going out. I’m sure you’re aware of this.”
“I am very much aware of Miss Murphy’s age and her emotional evolution after her mother’s death,” Annette says, looking almost guilty. She surely suffers from the same ailment as I do: Knowing the truth and not being able to share it with her. If Annette’s been working for Ambassador Murphy for so long, and she’s part of his inner circle of trust … she knows everything.
After a long moment of us staring at each other, she finally speaks again. “Be careful,garçon,” she sings, her voice a friendly warning, but a warning nonetheless. “You don’t want to know what Ambassador Murphy is like when it comes to his daughter. You were lucky that it was me who saw you this time. Who knows what would’ve happened if Aaron had been the one to see you hugging her like that. I know you’re friends, but he is loyal to Ambassador Murphy.”
“And you’re not?” I hate to provoke her like this, but it’s necessary. I need to know she’s not going to turn on me if she wakes up one day feeling like it.
“My loyalty lies with Ambassador Murphyandhis daughter.” She winks at me.
Got it.
That’s all the confirmation I need. With that, Annette lets me know she sees Miss Murphy’s pain, sadness, and loneliness too. And even if she thinks I was out of line and disapproves of me getting close to her like that, she didn’t mind that Miss Murphy had someone who could comfort her in a moment of emotional distress.
“Merci,fille.” I muster a smile.
“Of course.” Her lips upturn in a flirty little way. “Besides, if they fire you, who’s going to cheer me up and give me vodka whenever I run out of wine?”
“There’s plenty more where that came from,” I tell her. Annette and I share a few secrets by now. Some incriminate me. Some incriminate us both. But it seems like we’ve reached an understanding. We’re in this together. I want to keep my job, and I’m sure she wants to keep her reputation intact. Not that I would ever tell anyone we had sex, nor would I use that as leverage, but she’s a smart girl, and most important of all, she has Miss Murphy’s best interest at heart.
For now.
Nostupide petit garçonshere.
Red
A FEW HOURS LATER,we’re back at the Residence. Miss Murphy was diagnosed with a Grade 1 ankle sprain and came out of the ER with a bandaged foot and a splint to immobilize it and aid in reducing the swelling. This covers the C in the R.I.C.E guidelines the doctor suggested for her: rest, ice, compression, elevation.
She refused crutches, betting the medication would help with the pain while walking. But I can see Miss Murphy is struggling to even stand on her two feet once I help her out of the car. So Aaron and I serve as her human crutches and assist her while she skips toward the front door on one foot.
Aaron’s phone vibrates as he slides the door open. “Excuse me.” He pulls out his phone. “I really need to take this. It’ll take me a couple of minutes, and then Cohen and I will help you up to your room.”
“Of course,” Miss Murphy says with a tired smile. Aaron takes the call and walks away. She looks ready to head to her room and rest for what’s left of the day. “It’s so funny Aaron insists on calling you Cohen when he’s heard me calling you Caleb. He’s so stubborn.”
