Morning His watch, his damn watch. The one his Mother had given him, passed down from his Grandfather, hidden from his father. And in his opinion bloody ugly, despite its obvious family and not to mention it�s antique value. He wore it for comfort though, always trusted his Grandfather, believed in him and it was somewhat reassuring to have some part of him nearby. Anyway it was the watch that had saved his skin, she had stolen it, as suspected, along with a few other choice items from his bedroom. A few carefully chosen words from Lennie, a friend indeed, and the rumours and newspaper appearances ceased. Another claim for fame attacked and reduced to shambles. He was in the clear, albeit a tiny article in the local circular confirming the girl�s suspect as a petty criminal. Only one person stood in his way when it came to clearing his conscience, the one who mattered, what a joke, it�s always the one who matters. Jack swung his long legs out of bed and rubbed his forehead. It had been a good few weeks since the matter had reared, and still they couldn�t talk to one another on civil terms. Still the anger in her eyes when she spoke to him and worst of all the coldness - the distance. Gone was the jovial early morning chitchat and the reminiscing over a Brandy last thing at night. Despite the fact he�d proven himself as the victim, and was the victim for that matter, he couldn�t escape the feeling he�d done something terribly wrong and ruined so many things � yet again. Late Afternoon Jack spotted Richard hanging around Nora�s office as soon as he stepped off the elevator. He considered turning around and jumping back in but too late he�d been seen and was being homed in on. That terribly too-sure-of-himself smile cutting through him. He shouldn�t be jealous, had no right to be, Nora wasn�t his and he hardly knew Richard � but still there was something not quite simple between the two of them and it bothered Jack. Richard held out his hand. �Jack heard you�ve had a spot of bother � I saw the paper.� Jack grimaced, cut short by the man who was lucky enough to have her� �Richard, what are you doing here?� Nora appeared startled as she emerged from her office. He leant forward and kissed her cheek. �Come to take you out for dinner haven�t I, thought you deserved it.� �I can�t�� She mumbled glancing at Jack. �I have to work late, things to finish.� �What? Again.� She grabbed his arm and turned him away from Jack. �I�m sorry, listen why don�t you go alone, out with friends or something. I�ll try and be in before you go to bed.� Jack felt sick at the thought of her sleeping with this guy, overly romantic and far too caught up in his own self-importance to truly care for her. He folded his arms as he observed them negotiating their way through their relationship. �Did you have to stand and watch Jack?� She snapped when she turned to face him. �He approached me. And I�ve just had about enough of this�� She nervously glanced around her. �Not here, in my office.� He marched past her and into her office. �Won�t you sit down?� �I�m fine standing. Look you may have the right to pass judgement over my life but he doesn�t!� She wearily rubbed her forehead, dropped a pile of files on her desk and leant back on it as she removed her glasses. �What?� �Have you spoken to Richard about me?� �What do you mean Jack, I�ve already got a headache.� �I don�t like the idea of him laughing at me�� �Richard? He wouldn�t.� ��or worse you laughing with him.� He collapsed onto her couch and she was silent, watching him, struggling to find her next words as he struggled to find his. She calmly slid off her desk and knelt down in front of him and took hold of his hands. �I�d never laugh at you Jack.� She whispered. He lifted his head up to respond but she caught his lips with hers and kissed him. For the first time in her life she was doing something she hadn�t thought about, hadn�t analysed it and yet she wanted it. She moved back slightly to look at him but his eyes were still closed so she returned to his mouth, deep and slow and full of love. And for a few brief minutes she forgot where she was and what she was doing, but she knew who she was with and that made it that little bit more intoxicating. It was the sound of him moaning her name that caused her to freeze. She stopped and pulled back and disengaged herself from his arms. �Nora�� He breathed suddenly cold at the loss of her touch. �God what an idiot I am.� She leant forward on her desk and closed her eyes muttering to herself. �Why? It wasn�t wrong, was it?� He was behind her now, his hand reaching to rest on her shoulder. But she moved away. �I can�t allow this to happen, not after everything you�ve done�� �What! You can�t possibly still think.� �Of course I think that Jack, you�re a womaniser, you always have been, you always will be. Yes that girl set you up but on the reverse to you she was just another one nightstand. And there I was thinking all the time we were spending together, all the attention you were paying me was important, that it mattered.� �It does matter, I don�t understand why you�re so angry over my past.� �Because I actually thought�I considered changing everything for you, giving Richard up for you.� �Nora, I wanted�� �Don�t try and tell me it will be okay because it won�t. I trusted you, I believed that your feelings for me were real.� �They are.� �So you do this to the people you care for right. Your nothing but a liar Jack, a damn good one I�ll admit that, you�ve had me fooled on more than one occasion.� �I�m not fooling you, please just listen to me.� �Why the hell should I?� �Because you�re too angry.� �Then get out and leave me alone.� �Don�t be ridiculous.� �Get out of my office!� Early Evening The office was empty now, dark and quiet and the view from Nora�s window was magnificent. The stars, clearly visible from here, were bright, the sky clear. She�d been standing here for what seemed like an eternity, watching the traffic, counting the stars and replaying the evening�s events. It wasn�t that she didn�t want it to go further; it could have, she would have been more than happy for it to go further. But she didn�t trust him that was the bottom line, not when it came to relationships. Sometimes she forgot that she�d known him for many years, she�d seen him at his best and at his worst. She fancied the ass off him while he was married and flirted shamelessly with him at many a dinner party. Then she�d been the supportive friend through the divorce and a confident for years to come. And what was she now? A polite firm boss, a close friend, a possible lover or another easy one nightstand? She was on the verge of Richard proposing to her she knew that, and he was everything Jack wasn�t. Stable, thoughtful and secure, she knew how he felt about her and she didn�t doubt it. But something was missing, something not quite completely fulfilling about it. Review Home |
| Disclaimer: Cos Nora's cute and Jack is sexy and they just HAVE to get it together - ok writers!! |
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