A/N: Sorry for the delay. I got sidetracked with an idea for a RockNRolla fict and had to start writing before I forgot anything.
I'm not exactly happy with the first part of this chapter, but I guess it helps things move along. I did throw in a hockey reference here; if you don't understand, that's okay...I get really nerdy with anything that has to do with hockey. Just know that Detroit is totally the better team here. LOL.
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Ian and I were both silent during the ride, so I turned on the CD player just to have some noise. The CD was a compellation of Pink Floyd. I kept it low in case one of us decided to start talking.
When we reached the warehouse, I parked my car around the back next to Ian's Saab and killed the engine.
"Glad to see it's in one piece." I heard Ian mumble, looking over to his car.
"Yeah, did I mention that I also kept an eye on your cars while you all left me here?" I said, also looking over to it, a small smirk playing on my lips.
Ian turned his head to look at me, then opened the door.
"I guess I thank you for that, too." He said.
I nodded with an eye roll, then also popped the door open and got out. Looking over the roof of my car, I saw that Phil's Audi and Viktor's Land Rover were parked there as well. Then I saw Shaw's Corvette and had a thought.
"Hey, Ian?" I asked, staring at the car.
"Yeah?" He replied, walking around my car, and starting to walk to the front of the building.
"What're you gonna do with Shaw's car?"
I saw him freeze mid-step and his back go ridged. Maybe bringing up Shaw was a bad idea at the moment.
"Uh, you know what? Nevermind. Sorry I brought it up." I then muttered to myself: "Way to go, dumbass."
He sighed, not turning around, but talking to me over his shoulder. "No, it's okay." His tone made me think otherwise. "I guess we'll just have to sell it."
I nodded, then followed him to the front of the building. When we got to the front door, Ian went to turn off the security system, but it was already off. Whoever was the last one in didn't re-alarm the place. We stepped through the door (which Ian held open for me), then went upstairs to wait for Shippen and to say 'hi' to the other two.
Ian immediately went upstairs and made a beeline for his office, saying a short 'hello, we need a meeting when Shippen gets here' to Phil and Viktor.
As soon as I reached the top of the stairs, I went over to my desk to drop off my bag and start up my computer. Almost as soon as I hit the button on my monitor, Viktor called a hello to me from his desk at the far end of the floor. I called back with a wave and a laugh, then sat down in my chair.
"Hey, Phil." I said, while blowing out a lung-full of air.
"Hi, Jack. How were things around here?" He replied, typing something, but looking at me.
"Pretty boring actually. I didn't have anyone to toss paper airplanes at." I grinned cheekily.
Phil laughed, then went back to concentrating on typing.
About a minute later, I heard footfalls on the stairs. Looking over to them, I saw Shippen appear at the top.
"Hello again, Ship. Ian says we're going to have a meeting soon, so don't get too comfy." I said when he saw me.
"About yesterday?" He asked, stepping up to the side of my desk.
"I think so...and a few other things." I replied.
Shippen nodded, then went over to his desk.
When I looked to the back of the warehouse, I saw Ian had noticed that Shippen arrived. He gathered up a piece of paper, then headed out of the door.
"Down stairs. I have a few things to go over with all of you. Jack, bring a pen and paper." He announced, closing his door behind him.
I nodded, then shuffled some things around on my desk to find my small pad of paper that I used for our meetings. When I finally found it, I snatched a pen out of an old mug I used as a pen/pencil holder, then stood up and waited for the men.
When they passed by my desk, I followed them down the stairs, then sat myself in one of the dark blue, squishy chairs in front of the plasma television. Ian sat in the chair across the coffee table from me, Shippen and Viktor sat on the couch, and Phil sat on the arm of my chair. I didn't mind, as long as I could still write and he didn't topple onto me.
I assumed that this was a normal meeting between all of us, so at the top of the paper I wrote the date then waited for Ian to start talking. When he did, I wrote down the main points of what he said…just as I normally did.
Ian only talked about three main things: what to do with Shaw's car, the fact that he was staying in my apartment for a few days until he felt it was safe to return to his loft, and that Collins wanted me...basically. Shippen already knew that last point, but the other two didn't.
"Just keep your eyes open for anything suspicious for a while. And be wary if Collins starts calling or showing up." Ian said, looking at each of us in turn. After we all nodded, he continued. "All right. That's all I have. Anything else?"
The four of us shook our heads, then we all got up and went to where ever we wanted to go. I headed to the small alcove towards the back of the first floor, where we had our 'kitchen' (which just had a sink, a mini fridge, a coffee maker, and cabinet…we had a microwave, but someone, named Phil, broke it). Going into the mini fridge, I pulled out a bottle of water and took a long drink, leaning against the sink.
"Hey, you mind getting out of the way, so I can make some coffee?" Viktor said in his thick, Russian accent from the doorway.
I turned to look at him and rolled my eyes, then moved away from the sink and stepped out of the alcove.
"Just watch it when hockey season rolls around. I think Detroit might take the Cup this year." I said, lightly hitting his arm.
"Oh, no. Washington has it. Come on. They have Ovechkin." He argued.
"They may have Ovechkin, but Detroit has both Osgood and Howard between the pipes, not to mention so many veterans they could fill a whole All-Star team with all that talent." I argued back, grinning. "Besides, Ovechkin practically IS the team and that's just sad."
He was left speechless.
Yes, I knew what I was talking about. When I'm not busy at the warehouse, I check the scopes online for which teams will be the best in which sport. And hockey just happened to be my specialty.
"That's what I thought." I said, then walked towards the stairs with my bottle of water.
When I got back to my desk, I tossed the pad of paper on the corner, then sat in my chair. My screensaver, a slideshow of photos of my past and present, was on and I ended up staring at it, smiling for a few moments. I then shook my head and glanced back towards Ian's office. Why? I have no idea, but I did. I saw that Ian had glanced up from his desk at the same time I did and our gazes locked for a brief second, where I saw the ghost of a grin on his lips.
A blinking light on my desk made me look away from him and down to the light. It was the answering machine for the warehouse. I frowned as I grabbed a spare sheet of paper and another pen. As I picked up the receiver, I vaguely remembered hearing Viktor come back up the stairs, grumbling that the coffee was too hot at the moment. Listening to the messages (there were three total), I wrote down who it was for, who it was from, and what it was concerning. The first and last messages were for Ian and the second one was for Phil...from some woman.
I stood up and was just about to deliver the messages when I heard footsteps on the stairs again. I surveyed the floor and saw that all the guys were there. When this person came around the corner, my eyes widened.
Standing before me, and grinning, was Tom Collins...at least that's who I thought he was from the description I gave Ian of the driver in the Cadillac. He was wearing sunglasses.
My heartbeat sped up, and I took a step backwards running the back of my legs into my chair. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Phil stand up from his own chair and look my way.
"Hello. I'm Tom Collins. You must be Miss Ferdinand." He said, extending his hand to me as he flipped his sunglasses to the top of his head.
"I am." I said, hesitantly taking his hand.
I was expecting a handshake, but he lifted my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles. Quickly, I pulled my hand back and subtly wiped the back of my hand on my pants. It seems that my reaction made him grin wider and he looked me up and down, his eyes lingering on the V of my shirt.
Feeling very self-conscious, I turned my head quickly to see that Viktor and Shippen were now standing. I also noticed that Ian was on high alert, staring at us, too. Wanting to get out of this very uncomfortable situation, I opened my mouth to speak.
"I assume you're here to speak with Mr. Howe." I stated more than asked.
"Hmm, yes." Collins paused for a moment. "But he can wait." He had lowered his voice to a seductive tone that was not affecting me whatsoever. He took another step closer to me.
"He really can't, actually. We're a little behind in our work because of the last few days." I tried to keep my voice civil again while talking with this man. "As you can see, his office is straight back." I paused and took another look back to Ian. He was standing from his desk and heading to the door. "And it looks as if he's ready to see you, so you can head on back."
I just wanted the creep away from me.
Collins 'humphed' then looked me over once more before heading back to Ian's office.
I kept my eyes on him until he went into the office and Ian closed the door. When I saw both men sit down, I plopped down heavily in my chair. I then crossed my arms on my desk and rested my head on them.
"Fucking prick." I mumbled into my arms.
I heard one of the guys push a chair around, then more footsteps around the floor. Another few, short moments later, one of them was next to my chair.
"You all right, Jack."
It was Shippen.
"I'm not sure, Ship." I said, turning my head to him, but still resting it on my arms. "I will be, though...when he leaves."
Shippen kneeled down next to me. "I don't like him either." He was looking back to the office.
I grinned. "Aww, Ship. Are you looking after me?" I joked.
"Of course, Jackal." He grinned. "You're like a little sister to me."
"Gee, thanks." I laughed.
He shrugged, still grinning, then stood, patted my shoulder, and went back to his desk. I saw that Phil and Viktor sat back down behind their desks.
After a deep, mind-clearing breath, I picked up the paper with the phone messages. I took a long swig from my water bottle, then headed over to Phil's desk.
"Hey, Phil, there was a message for you on the answering machine. It was some woman." I said.
"Did she leave a number?" He asked, looking up at me.
"Yeah." I then gave him the number.
"That's my cousin's number. Did she say why she called?"
I looked back at the paper. "Something about you calling her about some surprise party…?"
"Oh, shit. Okay, Jackal. Thanks." He smirked, knowing I hated the nickname.
Grumbling, I went back over to my desk, since I wasn't about to give Ian his messages at the moment. Sitting back in my chair, I turned to my computer and pulled up the internet. I checked on my friend's paintings before checking my e-mail to see if any of my other friends had contacted me.
A few minutes after checking my e-mail, I heard the door to Ian's office open. Looking up, I saw Collins walking out of the office. Ian stood in the doorway, watching him. I was more than a little nervous when Collins stopped in front of my desk.
"Miss Ferdinand. I apologize for my actions earlier..."
Bull fucking shit.
"I hope you don't think me improper."
I do.
Here, he lowered his voice and leaned over my desk, slightly. "But when I see a beautiful woman, I can't help myself."
I'm pretty sure my mouth dropped open as I just stared at him. I really wanted him away from me. I didn't want to hear that from him either.
Tightening my jaw and waiting for my heart to slow its rush of blood to my head, I tried to think of a way for him to leave. I didn't have to think of anything, though, when he continued after setting a business card on my desk in front of me.
"Call anytime. Day...or night." He ended even more quietly and grinned seductively before standing up straight and going down the stairs.
After listening closely to hear the front door open and close, I almost fainted in my chair. I was close; I saw the spots on the edges of my vision. Grabbing my water quickly, I took a sip. Once I set the water back down, I saw the card sitting on my desk and picked it up in between my thumb and index finger. Scanning over it, I saw at least three different phone numbers on it: one for Collins' office, one for his home, and one for his cell phone. I almost threw the card over my shoulder to forget about it…temporarily. Instead, I crumpled it up angrily and threw it in the trashcan, then spat on it.
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A/N: Please reivew. And thanks to all of you who have read, reviewed, favored, and alerted!