This has been posted before but I took all of my song fics offline due to the lyrical content. Now I'm reposting them without! So I apologise if you've already read this!
SHOW ME THE REAL YOU.
He caught her attention the same way he did of everyone, he demanded it without really realising. He stood out physically, but there was something other than his looks which drew you to him. He had a presence, you could feel him before you saw him, and when those sharp blue eyes rested on you, you couldn't turn away from him, you perished under his gaze.
Others had noticed it too, Hector certainly had. He'd only been on the compound a week when people realised that there was this thing about him. Almost two months and he was progressing to the top of the ranks, at what cost to himself Claudia never knew. But there he was nearing the top of the ladder, then men couldn't look away now even if they had been able to.
Hector had questioned Claudia about him once, one of the few times he allowed himself to talk about his business with her. He asked her what she thought as he had caught her watching him from the bay window on more than one occasion. Claudia had felt herself stiffen up, she couldn't tell this man, her lover, how she was intrigued by the man to a point of obsession. How she watched him when she could, intoxicated by the layers she could see through him from such a distance. She couldn't confess her need to get closer to him. He was like a drug. She'd barely had a taste of him but already she wanted more.
"He's different, isn't he. I find it amusing to see how the other men react to him. They aren't used to Americans, and they certainly aren't used to anybody impressing you and Ramon as quickly as he has. I find the situation interesting," she hoped she wasn't appearing too defensive of herself. But as she turned to face her partner she could see he was barely listening, he was drawn in his own complex thoughts surrounding the man who was the centre of their discussion.
"He is different. Me and Ramon have discussed this plenty; he thinks the man is just good at his job, something we are not used to from our men. But I don't know, maybe he is too good at his job. He has a way of drawing me in, yet at the same time demanding his distance, I just can't understand him… Maybe he's just odd, eh?" Hector laughed, knowing he would not find a suitable answer for their intrigue. Maybe it was just Jack.
Claudia nodded, looking back out onto the view their luxurious bedroom window provided. She could see Jack's figure walking across the land, he wasn't even doing anything of interest and she couldn't pull her eyes away. 'You're obsessed,' she thought to herself. "There he is Hector," she whispered, Hector moved alongside her to watch him.
"Ramon told me I am wasting too much time thinking about him. He says that he is just different, that I should let it go. It's not that I don't trust him, he proved his loyalty to us already, he passed every test we have set up and continues to impress us. I just can't understand him, I have no idea what he is thinking or how he will react to things. He is always quiet, like a sea of calm, but I sense something else behind his front, I feel as though he hides himself away and that's not good. Ramon knows it too, he just wont admit it. I think he is nervous at the thought of him, see how strange this whole thing is?"
Claudia nodded.
"I'm not doubting Jacks loyalty, but I'm still suspicious of him, I want to know what it is that makes him so different. Ramon will not act on his curiosity which angers me. Jack is coming over for dinner tonight, so Ramon can discuss his position with him, if Ramon knows I'm wasting time on Jack he will be very angry, so I want you to talk to him."
"Me?" Claudia snapped, "What can I do?"
"You can watch him as you have been doing already. If he does anything peculiar, let me know. There's something not right about him. He may have wowed Ramon but I'm not entirely convinced he is the person he appears to be. Something's not right… If I am wrong, and he is just a little quiet and has his quirks, then fair enough. I will let it drop. But until I can be sure I want you to keep an eye on him."
"You want me to spy on you're top man? The man Ramon made a partner just days ago, and is going to give equal status with you two not before long! This is insane Hector, why would he promote Jack if you thought he was up to no good?"
"Because he does the job better than anybody else. We had him bugged for a month and noticed nothing suspicious. He proved his ability to us, and his loyalty on more than one occasion. He is too good to be true and I just want to make sure this is real and not some mirage before things go any further."
"No Hector, that's not what this is, you're the one that's scared of him, not Ramon. He is too good to be true, are you worried Ramon will value his services more than yours?"
Hector laughed loudly, "Jack is an American. He has no Mexican blood in his veins. He made it to the top, that is, the highest any outsider can get. Even if we bring him up to the third position, nobody can overtake me or Ramon. He has got nothing on me, I just want to be careful is all," he finished, before moving away and leaving Claudia alone.
She looked out over their land again and spotted the figure walking to his private quarters just a few hundred yards away from here. He was even given special accommodation away from the men. She sighed as she realised Hector would be expecting her to give him an explanation for his unease, but she didn't think there was one.
After that conversation things had happened fast. She had got chatting to Jack during dinner, but it had been hard work. He was no conversationalist and any answers had to be pried from him. Nevertheless he seemed to enjoy her company and she couldn't help but find him sweet, his mannerisms were polite and shy, such a contrast to the 'wall of steel' front she had been observing since he arrived. She had been right, he was complex, and had more layers of interest than she had thought possible.
After their first conversation a relationship of sorts has progressed between them. Claudia took it upon herself to cook for him, explaining it as protocol once a ranch hand reached a position he had reached. She had been surprised with his reaction to this at first, apologising that she had to do that for all of the other men, then assuring her it wasn't necessary for him. She had been touched by his gesture, he respected her too. Respect was something she had only experienced through the eyes of Ramon and Hector until now. She had argued her case to Jack, the danger of going against Ramon's orders, how she enjoyed to cook anyway. She tried to tell herself she was only convincing him as she had to find out what made him different, but inside she was desperate to take this one step closer to him. It was more than interest now, it was pure need, she had to be near him. Grudgingly he accepted and her heart beat faster in joy.
She began to see him on a daily basis after that, at least every evening as she brought a special meal over for him. She would make small talk as he ate, and he was more than aware of how she would watch him, the glimmer in her eye as she smiled at him. He was immediately suspicious of her, but curious too, did she have a thing for him or something? He felt silly for entertaining the idea, he wasn't arrogant and could see no reason for her to like him, especially with her being with Hector, a very powerful and rich man. As he tried to convince himself it was nothing it became clearer how much it really was, and this time he was suspicious for a different reason.
'They have her watching me,' he concluded he next day. 'Send a girl in thinking they can soften me up some and I'll let my guard down.' He was filled with anger as he thought about how much he had done already for the Salazar's, just how much he had sacrificed.
The following evening he had wasted no time in demanding an answer from Claudia, why was she watching him? She tried to act stunned at first, until he roughly grabbed her arm and forced her to face him. Once those eyes were on him she could not lie, she told him why she was there with an insisting mouth, surprised and pleased to feel him returning the kiss. It seemed he either liked her or really thought she was following him because of a crush. Well he was right, that was the only reason she had been playing Hectors games.
Once they pulled apart he looked at her, questions running through his eyes. What's happening here? I know that's not the only reason you're following me, its for Hector isn't it? They weren't voiced though, and they didn't need to be, his eyes spelled out his minds queries to her. She looked away, briefly, before burying her head in his chest. This wasn't about Hector, she would tell him Jack was just Jack, this was all about him. How soft and gentle he was, a strong contrast to the cold man she had seen at work. Uncaring and empty, yet he obviously wasn't, he did have feelings and a heart. She could feel it as her head rested against him. 'This has to stop,' she thought, 'but I've taken it way too far to turn away from it now.'
That night Claudia told Hector that there was nothing about Jack. She lied as she explained how dull he was, that he was empty of spirit and how his eyes seemed dead. As she made up her words she could see the opposite in her mind, she could see him talking to her, see his eyes so confused and yet determined at the same time. She could still taste him in her mouth and that scared her. Hector was angry with her conclusion, not satisfied she had done a good enough job. She had, she claimed, but it wasn't enough. Hector would find out for himself with one last test.
He stormed out of their palace like house and headed over to Jacks own accommodated house, Claudia trailing behind him pulling at his arm, begging him to leave it. Jack was innocent of everything other than being different, she whined, knowing that eventually Hector would notice how much she was defending him. Even Hector could put two and two together and come up with four.
Jack herd the arguing voices outside and hurried to the door, in time to see Hector deliver his girlfriend a back handed slap which caused her to shriek out in pain. Hector paid her little attention as he watched Jack stood in the doorway, clearly startled by the situation before him. Hector wanted to see him get mad at the of sight of a man hitting a woman, he wanted a reaction from the man, an indication of his morals, anything which could satisfy his growing need to understand the man.
Jack stared back at him, not once casting a glance at Claudia as she ran back to their house in pain, holding her hand to her cheek. Hector had failed again.
Claudia cried herself to sleep that night, wondering why Jack hadn't helped her. He hadn't even looked at her, she couldn't understand it. He had treat her with respect and equality, then ignored her as though she was some parasite undeserving of his attention.
Maybe Hector got what he wanted after all, she thought saddened. It wasn't him, the man they had employed, promoted and treated as a brother. That wasn't the real him, she now realised. The big secret was his conscience, his personality and manners, his morals.
The hard man look was all a façade, a show to impress the brothers and it worked. He must need the money, she realised, to give so much for such little in return.
"I hope he hates himself," she cried in despair. Their had been nothing between them yet she felt like she had lost everything. She wished she had never been so intrigued, and that the interest had stayed as it was with her first impression of him. A cold hard and cruel man. But he was more than that, he was kind and sweet and…. And a liar, untrue to himself.
She knew the type she realised, of those who came to the ranch as somebody else. She felt grim as she realised what would happen to Jack, the same as what happened to all of the other hot shots who came down to Mexico as somebody else, somebody like the Salazar's. There would be no need to remember that second, inviting impression of a man she met. Soon enough he would turn in to the person he was pretending to be, and there would be no real face hiding away, there would be nothing real at all.
ENDFor the version with lyrics please see the link in my profile. All fics can be found under the folder marked FAN FICTION - CHLOE. Cheers.