Blind Side Of Love (28 page)

She took a seat opposite my desk.
Shit, here we go!
“I don’t mind at all. I told you before, I love Becca, but have you made any progress with what we had discussed previously?”

“Liz, you know I love you, but can you just butt out of this one?”

“So, I’m taking that as a ‘no’.” I looked at the computer screen, not wanting to respond to the question that she clearly already knew the answer to. “Okay, what time and where?” she finally relented.

“You tell me.”

“Hmm….let me get back to you on that one. I’ll text you later.” She got up from her chair just as Agent Knox came walking into the office. “Agent Knox, sir, how are you?” Liz asked, standing at attention and removing the sarcasm that was normally second nature from her voice.

“I’m doing well, Agent Diaz.”

She nodded and wasted no time making an exit.

I immediately stood up and extended my hand. “How are you, sir?”

“Well, that depends,” he responded as he took Liz’s now empty chair. “Have a seat please,” he said, trying to be as informal as possible. “You know it’s no secret that I want you for Johnson’s job.”

“I’m aware of that, sir.”

“Well, I’m getting mixed stories through the channels. Do you want it or not?”

Talk about being put on the spot.
“Well, to be honest, sir, I’m not sure. It’s a lot to think about. I mean, you should know first-hand; you were an undercover for well over fifteen years before you came into the office. ”

He raised his eyebrow and ran his hand over the side of his face. Crossing his leg and leaning back in his chair, he intertwined his fingers and rested them on top of his bald head as if he were deep in thought.

“I do know, very well, and you remind me so much of myself when I was your age, it’s scary. You have the same drive that I had, the same ability to take charge and remain cool in any situation. I listened to many of the wires that you have worn and I have to say, I was quite impressed with how you handled some of those situations.”

“Thank you, sir.” I nodded.

“But the time to come out of the field is before you get burnt out. Don’t be like me and have nothing left in your personal life when you do finally decide to take your life back.” I furrowed my brows in confusion. “I’m fifty nine years old. I have an ex-wife who hates me. Two kids who are like complete strangers to me because I was never around to raise them, and three grandchildren who are even more foreign.” I looked away for a minute, not knowing what to say. Agent Knox was a hard ass and to hear him spilling his heart and soul out to me made me feel a little awkward.

“I know you’re still a young guy, but don’t let this job dictate how you’re going to live the rest of your life. This is a great opportunity for you and I think you would be a natural at it because you know everything that the people working under you are going through. Take time to think about it.  Does a month sound fair?”

I nodded. “Yes sir, very fair.”

I stood up at the same time as he did and shook his hand once again before he exited. I took a deep breath, knowing I was going to have a lot to think about throughout this next month. I was broken from my trance when I saw Becca’s name flashing on the caller ID. If there was one person that could be the determining factor in this whole decision making process, it was the girl on the other end of that phone.

Becca and I walked into the restaurant and I immediately spotted Liz and Natalie sitting in the bar area. I took Becca’s hand and led her over.

“Hey Becca! How are you!?” Liz said in an overly friendly voice that was so unusual for her.

“Hi, Liz. How have you been?” Becca asked.

“Uh, okay I guess,” she replied, sounding more like herself. Natalie stood up, waiting for an introduction. “Becca, this is Natalie, my partner, fiancé, girlfriend, take your pick.”

Natalie took Becca’s hand in hers and shook it. “It’s so nice to meet you, Becca,” Natalie said.

“And you as well.” Becca smiled. I pulled out the bar stool for Becca and she sat down, immediately jumping into conversation with Natalie. She was so enthralled by Natalie’s job as a social worker and the time that she spent volunteering at the women’s shelters that I had to ask her three times what she wanted to drink before she finally answered.

“Well, it looks like Natalie’s trying to steal away your girlfriend,” Liz teased.

“Not a chance,” I said.

“So what did Knox want today?” Liz asked as the two of us started up our own conversation while Becca and Natalie continued theirs.

“To talk about that promotion.” I took a sip of my beer and looked straight ahead.

“And? What are you going to do?”

“I got a month to decide.”

Liz nodded and looked over at Becca. “Or does
she
have a month to decide?” she asked, raising her eyebrow at me.

“Liz, don’t start up with that again.”

She held her hand up in defense. “I’m not. Just thinking out loud.”

“Well, quit thinking, okay?”

I looked over at Becca. She was unable to wipe the smile from her face and every now and then I would hear that beautiful laugh of hers come from deep within. Liz was right in her assumption once again. This decision was going to be solely based on Becca. I knew I was going to have to tell her the truth by the time the month was up. If she would be able to accept it and want a life together as badly as I did, then I would take that job in a heartbeat. I just wanted her to realize who I was without me telling her. I wanted her to feel that connection to me, the same one we had all those years ago, even though I knew that once she did I could lose her forever.

“Oh Becca, if you would do it, that would be so awesome!” Natalie exclaimed. I stood up and wrapped my arm around Becca’s waist.

“Do what?” I asked.

“I would love to have Becca be a guest speaker at one of our meetings for women of domestic violence. If these women could see how much she has achieved without her eyesight then maybe it would empower them to become stronger as well.”

“Well, ummm…..that sounds like a great idea, but…..”  Becca said.

“But what?” I asked.

“Well, I’m just a little nervous about it.”

“Becca, you have nothing at all to be nervous about. You’ll do fine,” I said.

Natalie shook her head and her smile became wider. Becca took a deep breath like she was deep in thought. “Well, I suppose I could.”

“Ah! I love you!” Natalie screeched, throwing her arms around Becca.

“See that, the first pretty girl that comes around and she’s already in love,” Liz joked, lifting her drink up to her lips as we all began to laugh. I could just sit and watch Becca for hours as she talked to Liz and Natalie. Every time I was with her, I could see her becoming more and more comfortable with herself and with me. I was seeing so much of the old Becca tonight, the way she would throw her head back and laugh or move her hair completely to one side and twirl it around her finger. The way that her warm, soft skin felt underneath my fingertips as I stood by her and gently caressed the back of her neck. She leaned her head back into me and I breathed in her perfume, making me wish that we were all alone instead of a restaurant full of people. Liz ordered another round of drinks for everyone and held her glass up. “To Mason and Becca, for getting all sixteen indictments in the Mueller case.”

“They’re only indictments, Liz, he hasn’t been found guilty yet,” I said.

“Are you saying that you don’t have faith in this beautiful prosecutor here to get the convictions?” Liz asked.

“Nope. I have all the faith in the world in Becca.”

Becca smiled widely and Liz lifted her glass up once again. “Well then, like I said, to Mason and Becca….the perfect team!” Liz looked at me and winked before we clinked our drinks together.

I leaned down and whispered in Becca’s ear, “I forgot I have a reward I need to claim.” She grabbed my hand and began to giggle loudly. Liz shook her head in defeat and chugged down her drink, but not before giving me a huge smile.

Becca unlocked her apartment door and wrapped her arms around my neck. “Now, about that reward…” She grinned.

“I’m listening.”

Her hands swept down my face as she stood on her tiptoes and placed a gentle kiss on my lips. “Well, here’s what I was thinking. Maybe it shouldn’t be just one set prize. Maybe we should leave it up to our imagination and see what happens.”

I bent down and moved her hair from her neck, unable to resist planting gentle kisses along it. “That sounds like a great plan,” I whispered in her ear.

“On one condition.”

“What’s that?” I asked

“You have to spend the night.”

“I agree to those terms.” I smirked. She let out a loud laugh when I picked her up and carried her through the doorway, more than willing to take whatever reward that she wanted to give.

The week was flying by and I was spending every single free minute that I had with Becca. I had just got off the phone with my sister, who informed me that she had planned a last minute party for my parents’ fortieth wedding anniversary. I had been crazy busy at work with all of the drug busts that were going down, but I knew I had to try and get a few days off to fly down there or I would never hear the end of it. I waited for Becca to answer her door when a thought came to me.

“Well, hello gorgeous.” I smiled upon seeing her standing there looking just as sexy as ever in her cut off shorts and tee shirt.

“I’m sorry, is there someone standing behind me to which you are speaking?” she joked.

“Nope, it’s all you, Baby!” I pulled her close and stuck my tongue in her mouth as Lilly sat by my feet, waiting to be pet. Once I got done giving her owner the proper greeting, I bent down and gave Lilly some attention.

“She’s trying to butter you up. She wants to go for a walk,” Becca said.

“Well, then let’s take her. It’s a beautiful day out.” I grabbed Lilly’s leash from the hook and put it on her, taking Becca’s hand in mine and heading out the door. I gave Becca the leash once we got outside and we began our walk, letting Lilly lead the way.

“That is just so amazing. How she is so well trained,” I said, looking down at Lilly who was completely focused on the task at hand.

“She is my lifeline. I seriously don’t know what I would do without her.”