Note: Hi folks! Sorry for the delay, I've been super busy! Enjoy :) xx.
Chapter 8
Sandy woke up when he felt Kirsten crawling into bed next to him. He looked at his alarm clock, which told him it was almost three in the morning, before turning around to face Kirsten.
"Hey."
"Hey." She looked tired and, unfortunately, Sandy could tell she was also upset. Kirsten was about to turn her back to Sandy to sleep when she heard him say: "Honey, can we talk about this? I'm really sorry for not being so enthusiastic… I just… It's not my thing, and I've been so busy with work. It was just so tiring."
"I know." Her reply was blunt and didn't give Sandy the satisfaction he needed. He wished she'd tell him to stop worrying about it and that she understood. Instead, she said: "I know you want me to tell you it's all good, but just think about me now. How would you feel if you would have been putting effort in something big, show it to me, and I would stand in a corner all night looking bored while drinking whiskey?"
Kirsten told him those words before moving, facing her back towards her husband as she closed her eyes. She didn't want him to answer though. She just wanted him to think. Kirsten loved her husband to death. But he seemed so off lately, working too much and coming home at the weirdest hours. She was afraid her marriage was slowly falling apart, and it scared her.
Catherine noticed the tingling feeling on her arm before she noticed the morning sun shining through the curtains. She yawned before turning around with her eyes open, looking directly into Lou's greenish eyes. "Good morning."
"Hey, good morning." Lou smiled as he watched the redhead wake up. He knew she wouldn't believe him if he told her, but he considered her to be the most beautiful when she woke up. Absolutely gorgeous. His thumb automatically moved to her cheek and caressed it lightly before he said: "So, I was thinking of going for a run down at the beach… You wanna join me?"
She smiled. "That's very thoughtful of you… I'm going to pass today though, just gonna be lazy this morning. You have fun though."
He chuckled. "Lots of fun, I'm sure. I'll see you in a bit, okay?"
Catherine nodded as he leant in to give her a kiss on her lips before leaving the bedroom, leaving her behind with a smile on her face. She kicked the sheets off of her legs and got out of bed, deciding to give Lindsey a call first. Ecklie had told her to contact people from back home as less as possible, just in case Caleb might be noticing something. She couldn't just stop talking to her daughter though; she missed her so much.
She pressed the call button as she walked down the stairs, planning on making some coffee as she heard her daughter's voice on the other end of the line. "Linds? Hey, it's me…"
Almost an hour later, Catherine had taken a shower and was dressed, ready for another day in Newport. She wasn't sure what exactly she should do though. The case she and Lou were working on hadn't exactly been progressing. She hadn't told Lou yet about Caleb's offer of working in his company. Perhaps it was good way to get closer to the man, though it probably would be a bit difficult considering her lack of knowledge on marketing, which she was supposed to be a pro in.
When she heard the door close with a bang, she started smiling. Her smile grew even bigger when she saw Lou in front of her, sweating but with a grin on his face. Catherine bit her lip and couldn't resist saying: "If we had actually been on a date.. Or more than one, actually.. I would've gone up to take another shower with you."
"You're mean…" Lou stepped closer to her but she stepped back, chuckling as she said: "Don't. I'm clean and dressed, and if you're gonna touch me again I'll be all sweaty again. And no, that isn't going to make me take a shower with you. Go take one yourself, I've got some stuff to talk to you about."
Lou raised his eyebrows. "About the case?" Catherine nodded. "Okay, I'll be back in a bit."
He stood in front of her fifteen minutes later again and said: "Okay, spill."
"Okay." The sat down on the couch as Catherine said: "So, I talked to Caleb last night… There weren't that many interesting things coming out of his mouth, but he did tell me I could call him if I wanted a job. Maybe that would be a smart thing to do? If it's a job I could actually do, of course. Probably gives us a bit more insight on the company."
Lou nodded, while in his head debating on whether he liked that idea or not. He had to admit that it was probably a good thing for the case, as long as it wouldn't endanger Catherine. "I guess it's a good idea.. Why don't you go talk to Kirsten? Maybe she can give you some advice on the kind of job you could do?"
"Yeah, that's a good idea. You know, I'll walk over and see if she's home in a bit. Like I said last night, I spoke to Julie's daughter… Pretty girl. She seemed sad though, not too happy with her mom either."
Lou chuckled. "I can imagine, poor girl. How old is she?"
Catherine shrugged. "Not sure.. Sixteen, seventeen? I felt bad for her."
The two were quiet for a while, as Catherine thought of Marissa. It made her sad to realize that the girl actually reminded her of herself. Lou didn't give her that much time though, as he pulled her closer and said: "You know, you should head over to Kirsten… What do you think about going on that date tonight?"
Catherine turned her face so she could see his and said: "I like that thought. You know what, you go think of our perfect date tonight and I'll go talk to Kirsten." She pecked his lips lightly and walked away, leaving Lou slightly stunned behind. Perfect date… That wasn't going to be easy.
Kirsten was surprised to hear the doorbell ring, not expecting anyone to come over that day. The kids were out and she didn't expect them back for hours. She was happily surprised when she found Catherine in front of the door. "Catherine, hi!"
"Hey! I'm sorry to just drop bye like this, is that okay for you?"
Kirsten smiled. "Yes, of course, please come in… You and Lou enjoyed yourselves last night?"
Catherine decided to not tell Kirsten that in fact, she wasn't too fond on all the people and the amount of money they spend on a night like that, and said: "Yeah. I really appreciated the invitation, it was a perfect way to get to know some more people." She looked around the house while saying so, admiring the beautiful architecture once again. "I adore your house Kirsten, it's incredible."
"Thank you. Would you like some coffee, or tea?"
"Tea please."
Kirsten walked Catherine outside to the pool area, where they could sit in the sun and said: "I'll be back in a bit."
She was indeed, and put two cups of tea in front of them as she said: "So, how are you doing? Are you feeling home already?"
Catherine shrugged, deciding to be honest as she said: "I have to admit it's kinda tough. I like this place a lot, but it's difficult. And, I don't know, I just feel… Bored, a lot of the time. I was used to working a lot and now I've got so much time to fill, I don't know what do with it."
"I can imagine… You don't want to find something hear, then?"
"Well, that's what I wanted to talk to you about, actually. Your father offered me a job at the Newport Group… At the marketing department. You think I'd fit there?"
Kirsten was surprised. Her dad had offered Catherine a job after talking to her for a few hours. It seemed kind of odd to Kirsten, knowing her father. She did however would enjoy having her new neighbor as a co-worker. It would be a delight to have someone like her in their business. Kirsten smiled and said: "I think it would be great to have you there, you'd be a wave of fresh air in the business. I definitely think you should."
Catherine smiled, appreciating the kind words Kirsten'd said. They both enjoyed their tea for a moment, when Catherine noticed the sudden change Kirsten's face had. "Kirsten, you're okay?"
Catherine turned around and found Sandy in the living room, waving at the two women as he was still talking on his phone. When Catherine looked at Kirsten, she was surprised to not find the woman smiling at her. Or her husband. "Kirsten… Is something wrong?"
The blonder woman sighed, watching Sandy walk away as she said: "I'm not sure.. Sandy and I… We're having some slight issues going on, I guess."
She received a sympathetic look from Catherine, who was debating on what to say next. Catherine was afraid of getting too close to the people in Newport. She had to lie about everything; her entire Newport life was fake. Well, almost. But Kirsten almost felt as a friend. Her hand instinctively found Kirsten's as Catherine said: "You wanna talk about it?"
Lou missed having Catherine around, even though she had only been away for twenty minutes. He felt like a love sick puppy. He figured taking a walk would take his mind off of things. Well, off of Catherine. The case was something he still had to think about. They weren't going anywhere with the case at this point, and even though Lou was perfectly happy with living so close to Catherine, he wasn't sure if they could actually find out more than the department could've. Caleb Nichol seemed to be a smart man.
He spotted some Newport women, making their way towards a beautiful big house while probably gossiping. They were staring at him as he walked bye, but Lou didn't even notice. Lou was absorbed by the view of the beach and the pier. He walked into the direction of the pier, enjoying the glistering, blue water as he did.
When he stood still for a moment he heard a distinct voice he couldn't quite place. As he looked around, he found an almost bald man in a suite, wearing sunglasses, standing not too far away from him. It was Caleb. Lou pretended to enjoy the view as he tried to listen to the man close to him.
"No… Listen, we're not going to do this that way. It's my decision….. I don't care about those men, you do whatever you need to do to get rid of them…. This can't become public, Joe, you know that… I have to go, we'll talk later. Remember what I said."
I hope you liked it! X
