Author's Note |
It is TIME.
Chapter Twenty Five | Make Me Yours
Becca watched as Dad strolled back to the bar, taking a seat next to the con woman. Catlin smiled, batting her lashes at Dad.
Dad gave her the signal - dropping a napkin on the floor.
Becca breathed in and out deeply. She could totally do this.
Acting natural, she walked over to the bar, eyeing Catlin's black purse on the stool beside her.
Dad placed his hand on Catlin's shoulder and leaned in close to her, whispering something in her ear that Becca couldn't clearly hear.
Whatever it was caused Catlin to laugh. She turned away from Becca and stared at her dad.
Ugh.
To see people throw themselves at her dad was annoying. Becca could understand why; he's super rich and good looking. She couldn't understand the point of them making complete idiots of themselves over someone that clearly wasn't interested.
Becca snuck a peek around her, making sure the guy sitting at the end of the bar, who she was pretty sure was hung over, wasn't watching her.
She waited till a server passed her and then grabbed Catlin's purse.
Becca quickly shuffled through the contents, skipping past the designer makeup bag, car keys, and bag of half eaten peanut brittle.
Yuck, that stuff was disgusting. Becca thought.
It looked like Kitty, as she'd asked Nolan to call her, had a sweet tooth.
Becca found Kitty's wallet with the keycard sticking out of the front pocket.
Snatching up the card, a rush of nervousness and adrenaline coursed through Becca's body. She felt like she was on cloud nine. Like she'd just ran a marathon or hacked into the FBI.
"I got the card," Becca reported to Emily.
"Good job. Meet me upstairs," Emily told her.
"Nolan, you're too much!" Catlin laughed at something Dad had just said.
"Oh please," Becca muttered with a groan.
Catlin might have been a pro at conning people but she was terrible at flirting. Even Becca could see that and she was a total dork whenever she was around Jason.
With the keycard in hand, Becca strolled away from the purse.
She eyed a server carrying a tray of champagne walking towards her, heading to the entrance.
Becca stepped along with them, acting natural, and not like she had just committed larceny.
"Rebecca Ross?" Catlin said.
Catlin spotted her.
Becca felt the adrenaline pound like drums in her ears. Her face felt hot. Had Catlin caught her? Did Becca ruin the con?
Becca swallowed down the paranoia in her throat. She hide the keycard behind her back and then turned around to Catlin.
"Darling, you're just as beautiful in person," Catlin gushed. "You look just like your father."
Becca held back an eye roll. Ever since her paternity became public people had been treating her like she was some trophy kid.
"Oh, thank you ma'am," Becca forced a smile and walked casually towards her dad.
"Hey, Dad, who's your new friend?" Becca asked scooting closer to him till she stood right beside him.
The keycard in her hands felt like she was holding fire. She needed to get it to her dad ASAP.
"This is Catlin Tucker," Dad introduced. "She's the Founder of the CARE: Foundation."
Becca turned to face Catlin with a smile, keeping her hand with the card behind her back.
If there was anything Becca learned from her dad and Emily it was to pretend like you gave a shit, even when you didn't.
"It's nice to meet you Catlin," she forced a smile and held out a hand to shake hers. "Your charity's success is.." Becca searched her mind, looking up a word in her 'entitled rich snob' dictionary. "Noteworthy."
"Thank you darling," Catlin said. "I've read that you're applying to MIT in the fall. That's quite impressive."
"Thank you."
"You're how old now? Sixteen?" Catlin asked her in a condescending tone.
"No. I'll be eighteen in a few months," she replied flatly.
Was she seriously trying to start a conversation with her? Becca had the feeling she was only doing it because Catlin was interested in her dad.
Even though her dad was acting like he was interested. Becca knew for a fact that he wasn't.
Catlin could flirt all she wanted; Becca knew her dad would never be into a woman like that.
Seriously, the sooner Dad and Emily made their moves and said they loved each other the better all of them would be.
"My apologies. You're daughter is quite accomplished for her age," Catlin looked past Becca at her dad with a flirtatious smile.
Internally Becca cringed. How old did she think Becca was; five or something?
Becca stepped back to her dad and gestured the hand behind her back with the keycard to him.
Dad plucked the keycard from her hand in one swift motion.
Kitty was none the wiser.
"I couldn't be more proud of her accomplishments," Dad said proudly.
"What's the hold up?" Emily's voice reminded Becca.
"I'll leave you two to chat," Dad said, standing up. "I wonder where Emily ran off to."
Becca swerved around to her dad, shooting him a look, saying, you're not leaving me here with her.
Dad placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave her a sympathetic look saying sorry, good luck.
"Ems, Becca's keeping Catlin busy," Nolan replied making his way to the elevator bay. "I'm on my way up with the keycard."
"One keycard, mademoiselle." Nolan smiled, grabbing the card out of his pocket as he walked down the hall to Emily.
"Good work," Emily said, taking it from him.
Glancing over her shoulder, Nolan watched as Emily moved towards Catlin's office. She swiped the card on the reader and the little green light above the handle blinked.
Emily pushed the door open and stepped inside. Nolan glanced down the halls, making sure no one was watching, before following after her.
The blonde duo glanced around the modern office.
Emily opened her clutch, took out a pair of black gloves and handed a pair to Nolan.
Nolan and Emily snapped on their gloves.
"Let's be quick, we don't know how much time we have," Emily stated.
Nolan glanced around the office. That painting on the wall did look kind of crooked.
He tried lifting the painting up and off the wall. Setting it down he frowned. Just a blank wall.
The heavy smack of books hitting the floor made Nolan swerve around. Emily stood at a bookshelf, shifting the books on the shelf and setting them on the floor.
"Why are you looking there?" Nolan asked.
"People like Catlin always try to hide safes in obscure places," she explained.
Rounding the bookshelf, Emily grasped an edge and with a grunt tried to push it forward.
Nolan walked over to her and took the other edge of the shelf. Together they pushed it forward, being careful not to damage the tiled floor.
"You see anything on the wall behind it?" Emily asked.
Nolan glanced behind the shelf to the bare wall.
"Nope. Nothing," he replied.
"Let's keep looking," Emily told him.
"If I were a safe, where would I be?" Nolan asked himself.
He looked around the office, his eyes darted to the seating area in the middle of the room, then to a maroon cashmere rug that was curled at one of the ends.
Nolan shifted the coffee table out of the way and then knelt down pulling the curled end up.
Just a normal floor.
"So, what did you whisper to Kitty earlier?" Emily asked Nolan with a chuckle.
Blushing, Nolan darted his head up and glanced past the top of the couch to see Emily standing at Catlin's desk.
"Nothing important," Nolan replied.
"Uh huh," Emily replied not believing him.
"What, you don't believe me?" Nolan got to his feet and walked over to Emily.
"I believe you. It's just easy to get... distracted with a woman like her," Emily said, placing a manila folder she was looking through back in its drawer.
"It's like you said, she's good looking, smart, the total package," Emily continued.
Nolan hoped that Emily didn't think he thought of Catlin like that.
"I wasn't distracted," he clarified. "Besides Catlin's nice but she's not my type."
Nolan was done with the days of flirting with beautiful people at fancy parties. The only beautiful person he wanted to flirt with was standing right in front of him.
Emily knelt down, looked under the cherry oak desk, and then pulled out the drawers. She knocked on the bottoms of the drawers to make sure they weren't hollow.
Standing there, Nolan tried to find his voice, and tried to muster the courage to how he felt.
"Ems, look, there's something I have to tell you," Nolan started.
Emily stood up and glanced at him expectantly.
Looking into her warm brown eyes Nolan felt like he was on a spot light. But he kept his cool.
"Emily, I think you're pretty amazing, you're smart, and you're funny."
Emily smiled and blushed a bit. "You're not too bad yourself, Nolan."
He chuckled at her humor, feeling slightly less nervous.
"Emily...I...I..."
Emily paid attention to Nolan, with wide eyes and a warm smile.
Suddenly, Nolan noticed the painting on the wall behind Emily was slanted a bit too much.
"I found it," Nolan stated.
Emily shot him a confused look as he walked past her and up to the painting. He stretched his arms out to the painting's width and tried to heave it off the wall.
"Ems, help me with this, it's too heavy," Nolan said.
Nolan and Emily took sides of the picture frame.
"On one, ready?" Emily asked.
Nolan gripped his side of the frame. "Ready."
"Three, two, one!"
They lifted the painting off the wall and set it with a thud on the floor.
Nolan looked at the wall to see a small black wall safe.
"Found the safe," Nolan said, he turned to Emily with a grin. "What was that about obscure places?"
Emily simply rolled her eyes and playfully shoved past him to get in front of the safe.
She brought out her lock picking tools and started to pick the lock.
Nolan watched amazed at the finesse of Emily's skills. She was always surprising him. Just when he thought he knew all there was about her she'd come around and surprise him out of nowhere.
"Do you do this often?" He asked her, curious.
"Yes. If I don't use it, I'll lose it," Emily replied.
A few minutes later, the safe made a satisfying click.
"I got it," Emily smiled.
Nolan felt a jolt of anxious energy pump through him. "Let's see what's inside."
With a creak, Emily opened the safe door.
The duo peered inside, stacks of manila folders and a small red chest sat before them.
Emily rifled through the folders. Nolan opened the small chest.
"The money isn't here," Emily stated.
"What?" Becca piped in through the comm. "Are you serious? Well, what's in the safe?"
"Just a diamond ring," Nolan said looking at the ring. He closed the box and set it back in the safe.
The pieces of Nolan's puzzle suddenly didn't fit in place. If Ford's money wasn't here, then where could it be?
Nolan looked over Emily's shoulder at the documents from the safe.
"We're looking at manufacturing documents for a factory," Emily explained.
Nolan took a closer look at the document. "It's for peanut brittle. That's bad business; Northern Virginia alone has at least twenty factories."
"Peanut brittle?" Becca groaned, her voice breaking in. "That stuff taste gross. Nougat that's the good stuff."
"Who cares?" Nolan pointed out getting annoyed. "We're no closer to finding Ford's money than when we started."
He felt like a total idiot and a failure. He'd gone off a hunch and it lead them all down a wild goose chase.
Nolan sighed deeply and glanced to Emily with a worried look.
"Nolan, we'll find the money," Emily assured him gently.
Nolan felt like the twenty tons on his shoulder again. He said he could help and he'd failed.
"How Emily? That safe was our only lead," Nolan stated.
He slammed the door to the safe. Emily jumped.
"Without it we have no money. No money means Ford's in debt and can't afford to pay Catlin," Nolan explained seriously. "Which means he's stuck with a loan sharking con-woman for the rest of his days."
Emily stood, holding the same expression that Nolan felt. Despair.
"Catlin won't ease up on him, she'll make his life a living hell. Believe me, I know," Nolan stated.
He swallowed the dryness in his throat, trying to keep the memories of his childhood buried in his mind.
Becca finally had a chance to get away from Catlin.
"Hey next time, I'll crack the safe and you guys can stay talking to Miss Chatter-box," Becca complained to them over the comm.
The woman could talk. Forever.
"Seriously," Becca groaned. "It's like she doesn't have an off switch."
From Becca's spot at the bar, she spotted the con woman standing at the buffet, talking with a couple of young men dressed in Army uniforms.
Buzz Cut and Pixie waltz into the ballroom. Becca's eyes widened. She ducked down, hiding behind the passed out drunk guy, watching as they walked towards Catlin.
The three of them were talking in hushed whispers.
Becca couldn't hear what they were saying.
She focused on their lips but still couldn't make out what they were saying; she wasn't that skilled at lip reading. Yet.
It seemed whatever they were talking about turned that usual flirty smile on Catlin's face into a frown. They walked out of the ballroom.
Becca followed them out. She stopped in the hall watching as the three got into the elevator.
"Hey guys," Becca said into her comm. "Buzz Cut and Pixie just showed up and Catlin's headed up with them to her office. You guys might want to get going."
Emily snapped a photo of the documents with her cell phone.
"Why are you taking a picture?" Nolan asked.
"There must be a reason Catlin kept this under lock and key," Emily explained. "But, we can figure that out later. Right now, we need to get out of here."
They rearranged things and then snuck out of the office.
They hurried down the hallway. The elevator pinged from around the corner.
"It won't even matter. Pretty soon…" Catlin's voice was just down the hall.
Nolan stopped in his tracks, he grabbed Emily's arm. She stopped and turned to him.
"Ems, the keycard," Nolan pointed out. "She'll know something's up."
Emily glanced down the hall. Caitlin was even closer. Once she rounded the corner they'd be done for.
She turned back to Nolan with a soft smile.
"Just trust me, Nolan."
Nolan perked an eyebrow at her. "What do you mean, trust you—"
Emily grabbed Nolan by the shoulders and pushed him up against the wall. She closed the distance between them, pressing herself so close to him that Nolan could smell her perfume.
She leaned into him. Her lips inches away from his own. She giggled and smiled, ghosting her hands up from his shoulders to his face.
"We'll just need to change the shipping date," Catlin said.
Nolan's heart raced in his ears as he heard Catlin's voice so close.
Emily shot him a warm and loving smile and then pressed her lips against his.
It was quick. It was subtle. But Nolan felt it. That spark. That zing. His lips felt tingly.
Like the kiss she'd left on his cheek earlier, only this feeling shot up his spine and back again, as if an electric current was running through his body.
Nolan relaxed into the kiss. The problems and the weight on his shoulders melted away.
He moved his hands from their spot on the wall towards Emily's face. He cupping her face to deepen the kiss.
This kiss felt better than what he'd imagined.
Nolan's hands moved to her soft hair. Her hair felt softer than he'd thought it would.
For a moment Nolan forgot that they were in the middle of a con, and that any second now, they would be caught by Catlin and her goons.
"You all have one job," Catlin snapped. "One job."
He felt Emily pull away. He snapped his eyes open.
Nolan looked over Emily's shoulder to see Catlin and her goons walking towards them.
Grabbing Nolan by his tie, Emily took a step back and collided into Catlin. Sending both of their purses and their contents to the ground.
Emily swerved around to Catlin. Nolan stood up straight and fixed his tie.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Emily apologized to Catlin.
Scrambling for her keys and cell phone and makeup bag.
Dropping in Catlin's keycard to the pile like a pro.
"I believe this is yours," Emily said handing Catlin her keycard as the con woman grabbed her bag.
"Again, I'm so sorry," Emily apologized.
Catlin said nothing. Her eyes caught with Nolan's for a second and he saw a flash of jealousy on her face.
Exactly what he'd seen the first time. He realized.
The con woman spun on her heels and continued down the hallway. Buzz Cut and Pixie followed behind her shooting the blonde duo a puzzled look.
"Are you guys out?" Becca's worried voice piped in.
"Yes, we're on our way down," Emily replied smoothly.
Wordlessly, the blond duo rode the elevator to the lobby. Nolan looked up from his cell phone. He pocketed the device and glanced to Emily.
She hadn't said anything after that moment.
"Am I the only one that feels all warm and tingly?" Nolan asked her seriously.
"You're not the only one," she replied acting somewhat embarrassed.
Emily tucked a strand of hair out of her eyes and sucked in a deep breath.
"I can't believe we just did that," she glanced to Nolan with a wide smile.
Nolan licked his lips, tasting the faint spice of cinnamon and sweetness sugar from her lips. He didn't know if it was her lipstick or what, but he liked it.
He scooted a bit closer to Emily. Unsure whether or not to place his hand on hers he just stood there leaning on the railing.
He grinned, his face turning beat red. "You're a great kisser."
"You're not too bad yourself," she scoffed, blushing. "At the end you got better."
"Well, hey a little warning would have been great next time," Nolan defended. "Like, 'hey, Nolan, by the way I'm going to kiss you right now."
Emily sighed deeply, and rested her head against his chest, then she moved her hand off the railing, intertwining her fingers with his.
She felt safe and warm and at home with Nolan. Emily was glad that she'd decided to take the plunge and kiss him. She'd banished all her fears and worries and what ifs and just went for it.
Nolan put a caring hand over her shoulders and pulled her close to him.
The scent of her hair and perfume made him feel like his world was alright.
He felt like he was on cloud nine.
"What does this mean?" Emily asked after a moment.
Nolan looked at her, hopeful, "What do you want it to mean?"
"I'm hoping it means that you like me," she started uncharacteristically shy. "And that we, us, you know, can -"
Nolan placed his hands on either side of Emily's face and brought her into a kiss, silencing her rambles.
Emily felt like the butterflies trapped in her stomach had been release and were flapping their wings, making her feel tingly inside, as they excaped out of her hands and toes and lips.
She leaned into him letting herself get enveloped in his warmth. Moving her fingers, up to his hair, she played with the slightly curled bites with her finger tips.
They pulled away from each other. Needing a moment to breath.
Nolan looked at Emily with a loving expression. "Does that answer your question?"
"Yeah," she replied breathlessly, nodding slowly. "It does."
Nolan took Emily's hand in his as she rested her head against his chest. He rested his head atop of hers.
"We're so going to have to tell Becca," Nolan said. "She's going to freak out."
"She doesn't already know?" Emily asked.
Nolan grinned. "Muted our comms before we stepped into the elevator."
"I'm pretty sure she and Amanda have a betting pool for when this would happen," Emily revealed with a smile. "Amanda owes Becca a lot of money."
With a sigh, Nolan leaned his head against the elevator and closed his eyes, cherishing the moment with Emily.
Even though the case didn't go as planned, Nolan had one thing go right. And it wasn't according to plan.
Author's Note |
I felt like NOW was the time for them to come together and really make their feelings known. Sorry if you all thought it was too early/late...
This is just the beginning guys. Lots more stuff to come. Please review or PM me if you like what you're reading.
Until next time,
Nadia/DDLJ