Post by twingles2 on Aug 23, 2004 21:08:41 GMT -5
It won't let me post the whole chapter in one thread because it's over 10,000 char.long, so I'll break it down into 2 parts and post one right after the other:
She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not – Chapter 2
Over the next couple of weeks, Joelle had phoned Roman 4 times to tell him about another note that Kate had received, unbeknownst to Kate. Roman couldn’t decide whether he was irritated at her disregard for her own safety, the fact that she hadn’t told him herself, or just because she was so d**n stubborn. But whatever the reason, Roman decided it was time to nip the situation in the bud as it were.
The last time that Joelle had phoned him to tell him about another note, Roman had asked her to set up a private meeting with John. At the meeting, Roman briefed John on the note that he had seen and then on the fact that Kate had received 4 others over the course of the past couple of weeks, and although Roman hadn’t seen what they said, he could only come to the conclusion that they were pretty much the same as the one he had taken with him.
~~ * ~~
Kate sat at her desk buried once again in paperwork. She had gotten another note this morning, and although she tried not to show it, they were starting to get to her. “Maybe I should tell Roman,” she thought. Then as soon as that thought crossed her mind, the old habit of shooting Roman down immediately took its place. “Tell him?” she sniffed. “Why Kate, so he can go all male on you and insist on being your supreme protector? He is the role model for the most irritating man on the planet, he’s the reason that women have tried to discover for decades why the Y chromosome was even invented.”
Kate’s thoughts were interrupted when her intercom beeped, “Yes Joelle,” she answered automatically.
“Mr. Black would like to see you in his office Ms. Roberts.”
Kate glanced at the pile on her desk and then at her watch, releasing a small sigh she depressed the button again, “Tell him I’ll be there in a minute Joelle, thanks.”<br>
Kate saved the document she had been working on, dug out a legal pad, grabbed a pen and headed for John’s office. “Hold my calls Joelle,” she said when she passed the secretary’s desk. She knocked once on the door sharply, paused for a second, then opened the door and went in. She closed the door behind her, then turned and took a step into the room, “Joelle said that wanted to see me, what’s up?” she asked quickly, then stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Roman sitting comfortably in one of John’s chairs.
“What the hell are you doing here?” She asked sharply, forgetting for a minute that it was John’s office and not hers.
“Roman’s been telling me about your secret admirer, Kate.” John said easily, bringing her attention back to him.
Kate shot Roman a withering look before sitting down in the other chair in front of John’s desk. “John it’s nothing,” she started but John held his hand up to stop her.
“You call getting 5 ‘love notes’ from an un-named individual in 2 weeks nothing?” John asked sternly.
“How did you…..” Kate started and then stopped to glare at Roman again, “What did you do? Bribe Joelle?”<br>
Roman glanced down at his boot, brushed some dirt off casually, and then slowly took his foot off of his knee to plant it on the carpet. He leaned forward, leaned his forearms on his knees and fixed Kate with a look. “No, I didn’t bribe anyone. I asked Joelle to call me if you received anymore notes and she did.” Reading Kate’s thoughts as clearly as if she had spoken them out loud, he continued “And don’t get all high and mighty and go rip her head off. I made a simple request and she did as I asked. If you want someone to blame, blame me – not her.”<br>
Kate opened her mouth to make a sharp retort but snapped it shut when she heard John say, “ I don’t care who told Roman about the notes, Kate. That’s immaterial. What I want to know is why you didn’t feel the need to inform me of them to begin with.”<br>
“John, they’re nothing. They’re harmless, it’s nothing more than some guy who has way to much free time on his hands.” Kate protested.
“Kate, Roman showed me the note that he took from your office, and I don’t think they’re nothing. This person has obviously fixated on you and if you’re not going to take it seriously and worry about your own safety then I am.”
“John please…” Kate started but Roman interrupted.
“I showed the note to Doc…”
“You showed it to Marlena?” Kate asked indignantly.
“Don’t get your knickers in a twist Kate.” Roman said nonchalantly and smiled inwardly when he saw her tense, “yeah I showed it to Doc and she’s said, given the fact that the note was personally addressed to you and typed rather than hand written, not to mention the red stationary that this guy shows pre-mediation. He thought this out Kate - it wasn’t something random. I checked and you can’t just go down to the local five and dime and get that type of paper, it was something special ordered.”
“And that means what?” Kate asked. “The guy has special order stationary and types his notes? Maybe he got the paper from his sick grandmother and he has sloppy handwriting.” Kate leaned forward in her chair and placed her hands on John’s desk, “John please. Please tell me that you aren’t taking this seriously?
“Oh but I am, Kate. So here’s what we’re going to do, from now on, any note or any contact you have with this person is to be brought to mine and Roman’s attention. Roman is the point person on this, but I expect to be kept abreast of all occurrences. After we see what the situation is, we can come up with a game plan and discuss scenarios.”
“Game plan? Discuss scenarios? John come on.”
“Kate, that’s the final word. I will not have anyone on my payroll harassed in any way, and most certainly not someone whom I call a friend.” John paused and his voice softened, “Kate this is a serious situation. Until we figure out who he is and what his motives are, this is how it’s going to be. You are a friend, a good friend, and I will not have you in danger. Agreed?”<br>
Kate had no argument for kindness, and John had thrown down the gauntlet of friendship to further dispel any of her arguments, “all right.” She said finally, “if that’s the way you want it. But I still say that you are blowing this way out of proportion.”
“I hope so Kate. I really really do.” John said and stood up, “do you have the note that came in this morning and/or any of the previous notes.”<br>
Kate stood up too and doing her best to ignore Roman, knowing that he was going to have a smug look on his face, “I have the one from this morning, but the others I threw away. I suppose you want it?” she bit out and glared at Roman.
“Yeah as a matter of fact I do.” Roman said easily, determined to ignore her attitude.
“Well come on then,” she said with a wave of her hand. “The sooner I give it to you the sooner you can leave.” Kate walked to the door and turned back when she realized that Roman hadn’t followed her, “are you coming?” she snapped, “I haven’t got all day.”<br>
“Oh yes ma’m,” Roman said sarcastically and jumped up from the chair.
“Good luck pal,” John said in a low voice before Roman closed the door.
Roman glanced at Kate’s ramrod straight back as she walked away, the anger all but radiating off of her, “Thanks, I’m going to need it,” he said with a grin and shut the door.
She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not – Chapter 2
Over the next couple of weeks, Joelle had phoned Roman 4 times to tell him about another note that Kate had received, unbeknownst to Kate. Roman couldn’t decide whether he was irritated at her disregard for her own safety, the fact that she hadn’t told him herself, or just because she was so d**n stubborn. But whatever the reason, Roman decided it was time to nip the situation in the bud as it were.
The last time that Joelle had phoned him to tell him about another note, Roman had asked her to set up a private meeting with John. At the meeting, Roman briefed John on the note that he had seen and then on the fact that Kate had received 4 others over the course of the past couple of weeks, and although Roman hadn’t seen what they said, he could only come to the conclusion that they were pretty much the same as the one he had taken with him.
~~ * ~~
Kate sat at her desk buried once again in paperwork. She had gotten another note this morning, and although she tried not to show it, they were starting to get to her. “Maybe I should tell Roman,” she thought. Then as soon as that thought crossed her mind, the old habit of shooting Roman down immediately took its place. “Tell him?” she sniffed. “Why Kate, so he can go all male on you and insist on being your supreme protector? He is the role model for the most irritating man on the planet, he’s the reason that women have tried to discover for decades why the Y chromosome was even invented.”
Kate’s thoughts were interrupted when her intercom beeped, “Yes Joelle,” she answered automatically.
“Mr. Black would like to see you in his office Ms. Roberts.”
Kate glanced at the pile on her desk and then at her watch, releasing a small sigh she depressed the button again, “Tell him I’ll be there in a minute Joelle, thanks.”<br>
Kate saved the document she had been working on, dug out a legal pad, grabbed a pen and headed for John’s office. “Hold my calls Joelle,” she said when she passed the secretary’s desk. She knocked once on the door sharply, paused for a second, then opened the door and went in. She closed the door behind her, then turned and took a step into the room, “Joelle said that wanted to see me, what’s up?” she asked quickly, then stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Roman sitting comfortably in one of John’s chairs.
“What the hell are you doing here?” She asked sharply, forgetting for a minute that it was John’s office and not hers.
“Roman’s been telling me about your secret admirer, Kate.” John said easily, bringing her attention back to him.
Kate shot Roman a withering look before sitting down in the other chair in front of John’s desk. “John it’s nothing,” she started but John held his hand up to stop her.
“You call getting 5 ‘love notes’ from an un-named individual in 2 weeks nothing?” John asked sternly.
“How did you…..” Kate started and then stopped to glare at Roman again, “What did you do? Bribe Joelle?”<br>
Roman glanced down at his boot, brushed some dirt off casually, and then slowly took his foot off of his knee to plant it on the carpet. He leaned forward, leaned his forearms on his knees and fixed Kate with a look. “No, I didn’t bribe anyone. I asked Joelle to call me if you received anymore notes and she did.” Reading Kate’s thoughts as clearly as if she had spoken them out loud, he continued “And don’t get all high and mighty and go rip her head off. I made a simple request and she did as I asked. If you want someone to blame, blame me – not her.”<br>
Kate opened her mouth to make a sharp retort but snapped it shut when she heard John say, “ I don’t care who told Roman about the notes, Kate. That’s immaterial. What I want to know is why you didn’t feel the need to inform me of them to begin with.”<br>
“John, they’re nothing. They’re harmless, it’s nothing more than some guy who has way to much free time on his hands.” Kate protested.
“Kate, Roman showed me the note that he took from your office, and I don’t think they’re nothing. This person has obviously fixated on you and if you’re not going to take it seriously and worry about your own safety then I am.”
“John please…” Kate started but Roman interrupted.
“I showed the note to Doc…”
“You showed it to Marlena?” Kate asked indignantly.
“Don’t get your knickers in a twist Kate.” Roman said nonchalantly and smiled inwardly when he saw her tense, “yeah I showed it to Doc and she’s said, given the fact that the note was personally addressed to you and typed rather than hand written, not to mention the red stationary that this guy shows pre-mediation. He thought this out Kate - it wasn’t something random. I checked and you can’t just go down to the local five and dime and get that type of paper, it was something special ordered.”
“And that means what?” Kate asked. “The guy has special order stationary and types his notes? Maybe he got the paper from his sick grandmother and he has sloppy handwriting.” Kate leaned forward in her chair and placed her hands on John’s desk, “John please. Please tell me that you aren’t taking this seriously?
“Oh but I am, Kate. So here’s what we’re going to do, from now on, any note or any contact you have with this person is to be brought to mine and Roman’s attention. Roman is the point person on this, but I expect to be kept abreast of all occurrences. After we see what the situation is, we can come up with a game plan and discuss scenarios.”
“Game plan? Discuss scenarios? John come on.”
“Kate, that’s the final word. I will not have anyone on my payroll harassed in any way, and most certainly not someone whom I call a friend.” John paused and his voice softened, “Kate this is a serious situation. Until we figure out who he is and what his motives are, this is how it’s going to be. You are a friend, a good friend, and I will not have you in danger. Agreed?”<br>
Kate had no argument for kindness, and John had thrown down the gauntlet of friendship to further dispel any of her arguments, “all right.” She said finally, “if that’s the way you want it. But I still say that you are blowing this way out of proportion.”
“I hope so Kate. I really really do.” John said and stood up, “do you have the note that came in this morning and/or any of the previous notes.”<br>
Kate stood up too and doing her best to ignore Roman, knowing that he was going to have a smug look on his face, “I have the one from this morning, but the others I threw away. I suppose you want it?” she bit out and glared at Roman.
“Yeah as a matter of fact I do.” Roman said easily, determined to ignore her attitude.
“Well come on then,” she said with a wave of her hand. “The sooner I give it to you the sooner you can leave.” Kate walked to the door and turned back when she realized that Roman hadn’t followed her, “are you coming?” she snapped, “I haven’t got all day.”<br>
“Oh yes ma’m,” Roman said sarcastically and jumped up from the chair.
“Good luck pal,” John said in a low voice before Roman closed the door.
Roman glanced at Kate’s ramrod straight back as she walked away, the anger all but radiating off of her, “Thanks, I’m going to need it,” he said with a grin and shut the door.
