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SCARECROW AND MRS. KING
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ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET...SPY!
Chapter 1
It was Wednesday again.
Being a member of the 'Friends of the Library", Amanda King always looked forward to her once-a-week volunteer job at the library.
The minute she walked through the door of the Arlington Library, she glanced up at the wall clock and smiled. Ten minutes early, as usual. Putting her purse away, she sat on the high chair behind the main check-out desk, ready to greet and assist anyone who needed help with their books.
She was fairly busy the first two hours since many people preferred to go to the library in the morning hours. She was always pleasant to everyone, whether they were asking a question, checking out books or needing help in finding research articles.
Meanwhile on that same morning, Lee Stetson looked frustrated as he arrived at the entrance of the Arlington Library.
Earlier he had needed extensive help in his research, but Francine was being her usual sarcastic, busy-with-other-stuff self. At the same time, over in research, Tricia, Kimberly and Monica were also ignoring his requests for help because...well, let's just say that going out on dates with each of them didn't quite work out as each of them had expected.
He pushed the door to the entrance of the library building and immediately noted the wall-to-wall books. It was like stepping into a world of knowledge.
Surely he would be able to find his answers here!
But where to begin?
He would need help.
As he walked towards the checkout desk, he glanced over at the slim brunette sitting behind the counter. Although somewhat attractive, he knew immediately she was not his type whatsoever. She had that wholesome All-American look about her. But still, she seemed pleasant enough and could probably help him.
Stamping a due date in a book, Amanda handed the book back to the last person in line when she looked up and spotted a tall man with a briefcase approaching her.
He appeared as though he had stepped out of the pages of GQ. Normally she wouldn't take notice of a man's attractiveness, but this man, with his perfectly layered hair, double-breasted suit and handsome features definitely stood out. The only thing that seemed out of place was his guarded look.
He looked about until he stopped in front of her. Amanda greeted him with her usual smile.
"Hello," she cheerfully welcomed him, "Do you need help with something?"
Her twinkling eyes and bright smile seemed to light up the entire room, causing a visceral reaction from Lee. But this was not a pick-up bar and again, he wasn't interested, anyway.
Nothing would distract him from his goal.
"Hi, and yes, I hope you can help me," he stated as he placed his briefcase on the ground, "I need help with a particular piece of jewelry."
She quirked a brow, "You understand that this is a library and not a jewelry store, don't you?"
He knew to take her question lightly, "I apologize for not making myself clear. I am doing research on a particular antique bracelet. I need to find out its history and value. The piece appears centuries old. I was hoping you might be able to help me since I've always found the Dewey Decimal System a bit overwhelming."
Dimples appeared outside his upturned mouth as he gave her his most charming smile. Amanda actually felt a tingling sensation go down her spine. And that voice! Confident and slightly husky.
Stop noticing him that way! she reprimanded herself, this man came here to seek help!
"No problem, Sir, I'll be happy to assist you," she volunteered.
When another library volunteer, college-aged Lucy walked by, Amanda asked her to watch the desk. As Lucy glanced over at Lee, understanding struck her and a playful smirk appeared on her face.
"Sure, Amanda, go do your stuff with this patron," she teasingly told Amanda.
Amanda shot her co-worker a warning look before she got up and led Lee to a particular wall of books, located towards the back of the library.
"You could probably find your answer somewhere in this section here," she explained, gesturing, "it's a section on ancient civilizations. If the piece of jewelry is as old as you claim, we should be able to find the answer here by comparing it to pictures of similar pieces of that era."
"Great, so how do we begin?"
"I first need to know what the piece looks like," Amanda glanced over at his case, "Do you mean to tell me that you actually brought the piece with you in that briefcase?"
"Not quite," he stated, "I have a photo of the bracelet to show you instead. But first let me first introduce myself. My name is Lee."
"And I'm Amanda," she introduced herself as she stuck out her hand.
As Lee clasped her hand to shake it, a strange thrill buzzed through his body, making him slightly scowl at his reaction. When their hands were released, the sensation immediately disappeared.
What just happened?
"Lee, are you alright?"
Amanda was concernedly watching him.
Must stay on task!
"Yes, I'm, uh, just fine," he recovered, "Guess I was feeling overwhelmed by all this wealth of knowledge."
He placed his briefcase at a nearby table and opened it. Scrounging through papers, Lee found what he was looking for and handed her a glossy 8 x 10 picture.
"I'm no expert, but that bracelet looks Grecian," Lee stated as Amanda stepped closer to him to look at the photo. The bracelet did indeed seem Grecian in origin with its panels of intricately maze-patterned gold inlaid, with what appeared to be emeralds.
She was so close to him now that Lee caught the faint scent of flowers and vanilla surrounding her. The scent was clean, yet intoxicating.
Stay on the mission...
"The bracelet's lovely," Amanda noted, and then asked, "but why do you need to know the value of this?"
Lee hadn't realized he would need a cover for a simple visit to library. There was no way he was going to tell her he was here on Agency business.
Luckily, he could think fast on his feet.
"I work for an insurance company and we plan to cover this piece of jewelry, which is why I need more information so that I will be able to appraise its value."
"Are you sure this bracelet's authentic?" Amanda asked him, "it's hard to tell from one photograph. For all you know, it may have the words 'made in China' stamped on its insides."
The side of Lee's mouth twitched, as he tried to hide his amusement.
"Believe me, 'made in China' is nowhere plastered on this piece. It's the real deal."
"If you say so, but...if you don't mind me asking," Amanda began, intent on being diplomatic, "...don't insurance companies already have special people, whose only job is to evaluate and appraise clients' possessions?"
Grrrrr. This was harder than he expected. Yet, he liked someone who intellectually challenged him.
He gave an awkward laugh to help give himself more time, "Yes, well, it's a bit complicated. Let's just say there's some client confidentiality involved. However, I assure you that we do have a professional appraiser on our premise who is also working on putting a value this piece," he then leaned in closer, causing Amanda's heart to palpitate a bit, "however, I am here because I feel I need to do my own due diligence, if you get my drift."
Amanda milled over this answer.
"I see," she acknowledged, "You're trying to see if your own insurance company's appraisal is as accurate as your own. Did I get that right?"
"Precisely," he nodded, pleased, "so could you direct me to the appropriate books?"
"Of course," Amanda stated as she turned to view the shelved books. There seemed to be a million books in front of her. She then turned back around to face him again, "however, just to warn you, there may be a lot of potential books we may have to look through. This could take 20 minutes...or it could take half a day. Do you have a deadline?"
He gave that smile that made her feel heady.
"I'm in your hands, Amanda."
She almost melted into a puddle.
*Ahem* Amanda cleared her throat, hoping he hadn't noticed her reddened cheeks, "Do you have any other additional information on this bracelet to help me narrow down my search?"
"No, sorry, I only have this one picture. This bracelet is part of a collection the owner bought at an estate sale. Some of the estate pieces came with paperwork, but unfortunately, this one did not."
"Okay, at least I know what I have to work with," she nodded as she turned around to again face the wall of books and became all businesslike again.
She searched the section and then shifted over to the next area. At last she paused when she zeroed in on the appropriate section. During this time, Amanda was constantly moving and talking, explaining her thought processes.
"...we need to find a book that would show old jewelries of similar designs...and this book here," she explained as she removed it from the shelf, "... is on European jewelry designs and their histories; that's a possibility...and here's a book on jewelry of Greece..." she stated, quickly reading different titles on the spines of the books, "...here's an illustrated book of Greek antiques...oh! here's one on regional European adornments..."
Lee followed her as he, too, was looking through the shelves.
"Welllll, this is interesting..." he announced as he stopped to read the book spines.
Amanda halted what she was doing, "What's that? You found something on Grecian bracelets?"
"Not quite. It's a book on fashionable cats, believe it or not, and oh look! here's one on the fashion influence of potatoes," he jested, "I don't have any doubt that these are real page turners...I bet they've been checked out a million times!"
Amanda attempted her best librarian voice as she put her hands on her hips.
"Try to keep on task here, please!" she lightly berated him, but inside she enjoyed that he didn't take everything so seriously.
Lee playfully stood at attention, "Yes, ma'am... no more mention of pets and vegetables, Madam Librarian!"
He couldn't believe he was actually enjoying his time in the library! When he was a boy in school, he had likened the place to being in prison.
"Heh," She gave an endearing chuckle, "I'm only a volunteer, so it's Madam Volunteer to you!"
Amanda then continued removing books from the shelves, pilling book after book after book onto Lee's arms until they were stacked ten books thick.
"Ooooof..." Lee grunted as he accepted the last book, his arms feeling heavy from holding the various books.
They walked back to the table where he had left his briefcase. He was glad to unload the many books onto the table.
"I have a question," Amanda announced when they were both seated.
He wryly asked, "Why am I not surprised?"
She ignored his rhetorical question, "If this bracelet here is authentic," she wondered, "then it's going to be worth a lot of money. And if it is, shouldn't it have been insured before now?"
Oh boyyyy, she's inquisitively smart!
But being a top agent meant he could think smarter!
"Good question," he credited her and then explained, "As I had mentioned previously, this is only one of many jewelries collected at the estate by my client. The entire collection is, therefore, covered by a blanket policy while we gather the appropriate appraisals for each individual item."
"I see."
She seemed satisfied with the answer. Thank God.
"You must be very good at your job," she commented.
"I'd like to think so, but despite my best efforts, I haven't yet been able to insure the Batmobile. Go figure," Lee claimed with a mischievous smile.
Amanda's laugh was light and pleasant-sounding.
They soon got down to business and started working on finding some answers as to the origin of the bracelet.
"Oooo, Lee, I think I got something here," Amanda announced sometime later as she viewed a book, "Looks like this bracelet could possibly have been made during the Hellenistic Period, when Alexander conquered Persia. Take a look at this similar looking piece of jewelry pictured here."
She handed the book over to him. As he leaned close to her, he again noted her fresh scent.
He scanned the picture and looked up at her, his eyes grateful, "Good find! The bracelet in this book is a mirror image of my client's bracelet!"
Amanda had to look away or she would get lost in his eyes. Instead, she pulled out another book.
"I think there's another book here that may go more into detail about the Hellenistic Period," she suggested, her cheeks feeling warm.
Just then, they heard footsteps approaching and library volunteer Lucy appeared.
"Excuse me, Amanda," Lucy said, looking hesitant to be interrupting, "but you have a phone call." She then cupped her hand near Amanda's ear to whisper, "It's Dean!"
The name brought Amanda's life back to reality. Dean was probably back in town and here she was, blushing because of another man!
"Oh!" she reacted, trying not to look guilty, "I'll take the call. Thanks Lucy."
Lucy acknowledged and then walked away.
Amanda's eyes turned ruefully at Lee, "Will you excuse me, Lee?"
Lee hid his disappointment.
"Of course, Amanda," he nodded, as he respectfully stood when she did too, " And don't worry. I think I can get through these books without having an urge to rip any of the pages out!"
She smiled.
"See that you don't," she jestingly warned him, then her expression became solemn, "Now, I know there's a lot of books here, but just take each book one at a time...After all, you know what they say about trying to read through a lot of books at the same time..."
Lee's curiosity was piqued, "No, can't say I've heard that one."
The corner of Amanda's mouth turned upward, "When one book closes, another one opens!"
He laughed.
Then he scrupulously watched her backside as she walked away.
Intriguing, he internalized, Very intriguing.
But, still, not his type...he reminded himself as he reached for another book.
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Amanda entered the private library office in order to take the call. Before she picked up the phone, however, she had to momentarily take a calming breath to allow her heartbeat to return to normal. At last she pushed the blinking call-waiting button.
Of course it was Dean. And yes, he was asking her out for dinner tonight. And no surprise here, it would be at the same restaurant they always went to. He'll probably end up ordering his usual drink and meal . Their conversation will be about work and books and at the end, Dean will tip exactly 15%, not a penny more or less. Rinse and repeat.
Amanda hung up, anxious to get back to researching the bracelet.
However, as she crossed the main area of the library, she was soon stopped by a law student who wanted information on mandatory minimum sentencing. Though it would take time to find the recommended materials, as always, Amanda was more than happy to oblige.
After the law student's questions were satisfied, Amanda eagerly set off for the table where Lee sat. When she turned the corner, however, her steps slowed as her heart dropped.
The chair Lee had occupied was empty.
She slowly scanned the room, but there was no sign of him.
And the ten books they had been using were carefully collected and placed into a nice, neat pile.
But the briefcase, along with its owner, had disappeared into thin air.
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(A/N: Yes, I know the episode "The First Time" was a perfect way to introduce the show and characters. But one thing I never was sure of was when Lee and Amanda felt the attraction for one another. In my story, they felt it immediately!)
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