Under Arrest

Chapter 23: The Meeting

      Morning.

      At present.

      The following day.

      Carlos got loose from Sharee’s cuddle as he tried to get out of the bed. He’d get no work done if he remained a second longer.

      “Stay,” Sharee opened her eyes and stopped Carlos.

      “You know I want to,” he stood up before Sharee’s charm got the best of him.

      It was 3:11 in the morning, a little early for commuters, but not for them. Carlos had work, Sharee on the other hand had a routine to maintain.

      She got out of bed as well and took a quick shower. When she returned, she gave him his shirt which he forgot in the bathroom yesterday. Carlos was still in her room when she got back, waiting for her so he could say goodbye.

      “I hope your coming here is not an excuse to skip Sunday,” said Sharee as they got locked in an embrace.

      “Of course it’s not. I came here because I missed you,” he reasoned.

      Leaving her, she heard his steps take him towards the door and into his car. It was her cue to jump into her jogging pants, but a thought prevented her from doing so.

      She sat on the bed and looked at the calendar on her phone.

      Yesterday was Dante’s birthday.

      Her enthusiasm drifted away. She lost the desire to put her legs in motion on her daily run. Instead, she buried herself under the sheets. Carlos’ scent lingered in her bed but it wasn’t enough to erase Dante from her mind. Pressing her head against the pillow, she forced herself back to sleep. It shouldn’t have been a big deal, but every little shard of her past relationship had the ability to gather the whole past and make her know how much it hurt.

      She felt she was about to dream when she was startled by her phone. Vibrating violently, she picked it up. The phone was already on her ear before she realized that the caller was the unknown number from before.

     What could he possibly want at this hour?

      “Hello…?”

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      Arriving on a black limo, an attendant reached for the door and assisted a man as he stepped out of his luxurious service. The man looked to be in his late twenties, but still had the vices of a kid as he was frequently seen roaming around town from bars to party places. He wore long black sleeves folded up just below his elbows and shades which he took off as he got out of the sun.

      “Have it washed. No scratches,” he signaled the chauffer to take care of his baby.

      Catching up, his secretary walked beside him. She had three main jobs, excluding being a human coffee maker– remind him of his daily schedule, answer his calls, and wear provocative clothes. She’s the second one said that he’s had affairs with behind locked office doors, sometimes on office hours. The first one got fired for getting pregnant.

      Pure business.

      “…Are they all here?” the man asked the smart-looking lady beside him as they made their way to the conference room while he raised his arm to see his watch. She wore the type of glasses that make people look nerdy.

      “Ah…a…all except one, sir. Prosecutor Moroveza couldn’t make it,” she nervously answered as she pretended to look over something on her clipboard.