She sat at her desk and stared at the metal drawer on the left. Her birthday had been weeks ago, and still, she didn't dare open the delicately wrapped box from him…she just agonized over what it could be every time she had a moment to think while sitting alone in her office. He hadn't mentioned the present to her at all, probably just assuming that, in true Brenda fashion, she had opened it and got so busy she forgot to address the present situation.
If only that were the case. Her hand lingered over the metal handle before she firmly gripped it and pulled the drawer open, revealing the box. Her fingers played over the elegant wrapping and the small card with Happy Birthday! Emblazoned on the front, and she felt the pull of a smile at the corners of her mouth, knowing full well that Pope certainly hadn't wrapped it himself. She set the box on her desk and sat back as she intently stared at it, debating whether to open it or throw it in the trashcan. She heard a knock at the door and before she could move the box from her desk, the door opened.
"Chief, you got a sec…" He stopped when he saw the box.
She nervously cleared her throat.
"Yes, Lieutenant Flynn?"
"A present, eh?" He smiled at her, and she sheepishly returned his smile and shrugged.
His gaze turned quizzical when he noticed the card, but before he could comment on the fact that her birthday had come and gone, she quickly changed the subject and found herself breathing a sigh of relief as he exited her office.
It was that moment that made her decide to open it; she felt as if she were lying or trying to hide something by keeping it in her desk, and the feeling of being nervous about opening it was beginning to annoy her. She fearlessly stared hardened criminals and murderers in the face everyday, yet she couldn't bring herself to open one damn little box? It was ridiculous.
She tore into the wrapping paper and set it aside before lifting the lid off the little box.
Inside, she saw the square bottle and without even having to look at the name, she knew what it was: Ralph Lauren's Romance perfume. It was her favorite, and she thought back to the time when she had launched it at his head from the doorway of her bedroom when he announced that he was going back to his wife fifteen minutes after he had made love to her. She remembered the explosion of anger she felt inside, and aiming to hurt him as bad as his words had hurt her, she reached for the first thing to wing at him. She also remembered the way that he ducked as the glass bottle barely missed his head before it slammed into the wall, shattering into pieces, liquid dripping down the wall as she screamed at him to get out.
Even smelling it now, the fragrance made her feel…sexy. It had always had that power, and although she was never one who aimed to be sexy, it was nice to have some feeling of femininity, especially at a job where she was pretty much surrounded by men. She opened the card and read over his scribbled writing:
"A back up bottle, just in case. W." She thoughtfully sat back in her chair again, and the pictures on her desk caught her attention. Her parents, kitty, Fritz…his beautiful dark eyes and devastating good looks stared back at her. She also saw the Christmas party picture from last year with her squad, in which Pope just happened to snake his arm around her right before it was taken. The two men in her life, sitting side by side on her desk…she smirked at the irony of it.
She leaned her head back and closed her eyes as she allowed her mind to wander back to a candle lit room at two a.m., and just the thought of it made her pulse quicken. Her skin warmed as she remembered the feel of his bare skin against hers as they lay there in her bed, breathing heavily and seeing stars, sweat glistening their skin. Even then, the fragrance of her perfume lingered, and he reveled in being immersed in the smell of her. She didn't know it, but it only served to turn him on a little more when he could smell her on him, whether it was as her sweat mingled with his as he made love to her, or when he caught the brief scent of her perfume on one of his shirts while he was working.
She opened the desk drawer again, and noticed the burgundy tie as it peeked out from underneath a pile of papers. As she lifted it out of the drawer, she recognized the smell of her own perfume and the faint smell of his Armani cologne. He had left the tie in her office after one of his visits to her as she worked late, after the others had gone home. He always came by after the others had gone home, and although she knew that it was wrong, she simply didn't care. She flashed back to how the smile crept onto his face as she used her nimble fingers to loosen the tie, and the way his eyes burned into hers as she seductively slipped the tie off of him and dropped it to the ground. She glanced at the small crack in one of her picture frames. Yet another piece of evidence from his late night visits; in their lust filled haze and their frenzied need to clear the desk in her office, the picture was swept to the floor, and it wasn't until after he had gone and she was straightening up that she realized it had even been broken. Looking at the cracked frame now made her body nearly ache with desire for him.
She looked at the clock as she picked up the phone and dialed, impatiently waiting for him to pick up. When he did, she knew he would immediately recognize the low, seductive pitch in her southern drawl; it was one of her weapons because she also knew that it never failed to highly arouse him, just by hearing it.
"Dinner tonight at eight…our usual place." She immediately noticed the husky tone of his voice, and wondered if they would even make it through dinner this time. She hoped not.