Officer Scott

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

After a few days of thinking about, I realized how stupid and dramatic it was of me to want to move. Where would I go? I'd have to start all over again. However, I wasn't entirely convinced that there were no strings attached to Caleb's offer, and that made me so nervous.

So there I was, still in that uncomfortable indecision. Should I take the visa and potentially sign myself up for some degrading contract or act he'd have me do- I couldn't even imagine? Or, should I ignore it and allow him to use my illegal status as blackmail for him to do whatever he wanted with me for the rest of my stay in England?

My dilemma kept me up late at night worrying, and at work I had a hard time focusing. Sophia noticed, but she didn't push me on it, and I didn't want to tell her. So I had this horrible pressure building up on my shoulders and in my chest, and I had no one to talk to about it.

"Hey, so Marcus is going to pick me up for lunch today! How do I look?" Sophia was parading the gifts I had given her- a tight-fitting black dress and heels. We had gone out to dinner to celebrate her birthday the night before, but today was her actual birthday, so her boyfriend was going to make the day magical. And then the next day, Saturday, Marcus rented out a bar to throw a huge birthday celebration for Sophia.

"You look amazing. He's going to lose his mind." I assured her.

"You think?"

"Yes. Maybe some lipstick?" I suggested. She nodded and grabbed her bag to go to the bathroom. I sighed and let the forced smile drop from my face. I really wanted to go to her party but I didn't think I was ready and I didn't know how to break it to her.

"Hello gorgeous," Marcus greeted me as he came in, his partner following closely behind. I felt myself shrink behind my desk in an attempt to hide.

"Sophia is just in the bathroom, she'll be right out." I said quickly. I wasn't Marcus's number one fan, but I was more afraid of the man standing behind him.

"How are you, Red?" Marcus asked me as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on my desk. Caleb stepped forward and did the same, staring at me intensely with those green eyes.

"Fine." I replied.

"Don't you want to ask how I am?" He pressed.

"Not particularly." I responded. Marcus chuckled at my rudeness, but I didn't care. This guy stood by and allowed his partner to do vile things, right in front of his eyes. He did nothing.

"Well, not that you care," he taunted, "but I was thinking of asking Sophia to move in with me. What are your thoughts?"

"Sounds great." I clicked my tongue and pretended that something serious was happening on my computer that needed my 100% attention. I saw Marcus roll his eyes, but pretended not to notice or care. Luckily Sophia came out then, so Marcus was distracted.

"Oh dear lord, how did I get so lucky?" He grinned. "Love, you are the most beautiful person in the entire world. I don't even have words." He pulled her into him. She laughed at his compliments.

I heard Caleb make a choking sound.

I would have giggled at that if anyone else had made the joke.

The couple were all over each other, but they did manage to find their way out of the office.

Leaving me alone with Caleb.

"I brought you something." He murmured, awkwardly cutting through our silence.

I braced myself.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. I took it from his large palm gingerly and carefully examined the little box. It was ceramic, with a bronze metal trim. On it was painted an intricate little scene that spread across all four sides of the box, excluding the top and bottom. The first side was of a little girl looking at shoes through a window of a grey store. On the next side, a little boy is standing in a grey alley way, watching her. The next side was of the boy buying shoes from the store. And the last side was of him giving her the shoes and her returning the favor with a kiss on the cheek.

It was beautiful, I opened the little lid and inside it was painted a navy blue, and on the lid was a small little mirror.

"It's beautiful." I whispered.

"Yeah, it's supposed to replicate a delicacy from the industrial revolution. I mean, this is a replica, but it's a little jewelry box that upper class women had in the industrial revolution." He explained to me.

"Caleb, I can't accept this." I said, for the second time in a week.

"Oh come on, please don't start again. This is really just a gift to entice you to stay in London- no strings attached, I promise."

I let out a sigh.

"It wasn't too expensive, was it?" I asked.

"It was practically free." He smiled warmly at me, lying through those perfect teeth of his. I decided to accept the gift.

"Well thank you very much. This is probably the most beautiful and thoughtful gift I've ever gotten." I responded, trying to show as much appreciation as possible.

"Really? The most thoughtful gift?" He asked me, his tone sounding a little sad. I blushed quickly, but didn't answer his question.

"Oh, and I've decided to stay in London, by the way. I'm sorry for being so dramatic the other day. I'm sorry for all of that."

"Red, would you stop apologizing?" He demanded. "You've literally done nothing wrong."

"Sorry," I apologized for apologizing too much. He laughed at me.

"I'm glad you're staying though. So you're going to take the visa papers?"

"I mean, I haven't decided yet." My good mood was instantly ruined. I was almost having fun with him.

"Well, I promise you there aren't any strings attached to that gift. It's to make up for everything."

"I-"

"Anyways, I've technically already renewed it, so it's nearly impossible to un-renew a visa." He pointed out. I bit my lip as I thought it over- I guess he was right.

"No strings?"

"No strings."

"Ok, then thank you very much for that. I really appreciate it- I don't really know what to say." I fiddled with my fingers awkwardly.

"You don't have to say anything, love." He smiled. "Do you want to grab lunch with me? I have to wait until Marcus comes back." He asked.

"Um no, sorry. I don't get to take lunch until Sophia gets back." I really didn't want to have lunch with him, and I was glad that I had an actual real excuse to get out of it that time.

"Shame. See you around then?"

"Yeah." I lied. He was awfully sweet to me that day, but it didn't change my feelings. And I hoped that I never had to see him again.

When I got home that evening, I flicked on the TV, as I usually did to create some sort of sound in my apartment, so it wasn't so lonely. I usually didn't care what program came on, however this one caught my attention.

It was the Commissioner of the London Police Department, Commissioner Scott.

He was giving a press conference.

I turned my volume up.

I could tell he was related to Caleb, he had the same intense green eyes and the same dimples. He stood tall, another trait shared with his son, and commanded his presence. I was drawn to him through the television. Also like his son, he had that little furrow between his eyebrows, indicating he was either serious or angry.

When he spoke, he used the same refined British as Caleb, and his voice also had the capability of booming and it was terrifying. He spoke about apparently heightened crime rates under his leadership, and some gossip that his cops were dirty.

He seemed furious about that accusation.

He spoke for maybe ten minutes, probably less, but the whole time I didn't dare to move or to make a noise. He was captivating, but terrifying.

Just like his son.