C.J. sat in the coffee shop with Chris where they both headed after they finished a major startup project back at their new headquarters. She had to stick to herbal tea instead of a latte while Chris doubled her espresso to smooth out her rough edges from having to deal with a ton of paperwork. But she didn't lose a step and cut right to the chase to an old and familiar topic.
"So why aren't you two hitched already?"
C.J. just leaned back in her chair and looked at her.
"Excuse me…you're going to bring that up again?"
Chris looked at her coolly over her espresso.
"Yeah…I'm going to ask," she said, "Everyone else just antes up money in the pot for the big wager."
C.J. narrowed her eyes.
"Wager?"
She wondered if she was going to like the sound of it.
"What wager?"
Chris smiled.
"The one going on in the office about whether you two are going to tie the knot sometime within this decade."
C.J. felt herself bristling. She wondered why the office had become so caught up in what was going on between the two of them. Of course, there obviously had been something given her current condition but then they hadn't been hiding it either. How she and Matt handled it wasn't any of their business. Still, she knew that Chris cared about the both of them as immensely, as if they were family. They were family to the former farm girl from the Midwest who'd left home to make her dreams along the way and like most people, saw them change into something much different.
"C.J…it's no big deal…you know how corporate officers are like bull pens…"
That might be true but she still felt exposed…there were still parts of being pregnant that still felt so new to her. Not to mention her relationship with the man who'd been her best friend forever and now…her lover and the father of her baby.
"I know it isn't to them but it is to me and to Houston," she said, "We're both trying to figure out what to do with the changes and this whole vendetta that Elizabeth has going against Houston doesn't make it easier."
Chris made a face.
"God that witch…and that crazy friend of hers," she said, "the one who owns the gossip rag…they both just need to move on with their lives."
C.J. couldn't argue with that but damn, she knew that Elizabeth believed that she and Matt belonged together and wanted it so badly, she'd blackmailed him with his company. When he'd refused to cave, she'd moved in to take it away from him thinking it'd destroy him or at least get him to reconsider.
She didn't do it alone but they still had no idea who the silent partner, the individual or cartel of them pulling strings behind the scenes, just who or what they might be. Someone who might have a grudge against Matt or her and the means to do something about it.
"It doesn't matter with the new company now," she said, "Houston's never going to surrender to treats or blackmail…but she seems more determined than ever."
Chris snorted.
"I read in the trade sheets that Houston Enterprises stock is falling like a rock so how good can she or her partners be at keeping it afloat let alone a success?"
"Maybe that's part of the plan…to have the company fail until it's driven into bankruptcy but then that wouldn't make any sense would it? Not if she sunk some of her own capital into it."
Chris frowned.
"Wasn't all her millions tied in with organized crime…or terrorism?"
C.J. sighed.
"Some of her family members yes…but no one could ever prove she was tied to it and she almost died for it."
Chris nodded.
"Yeah…that's what triggered Matt's need to save her in the first place," she said, "Then of course he thought he had to marry her."
"He wanted to marry her Chris…Houston believed he was in love with her and she was his soul mate…and all that. Maybe they would have married if she hadn't been so scared of his life."
"You mean his investigative agency…"
"Same thing…what most people don't realize is his investigative work is his life," C.J. said, "It all goes back to his kidnapping as a little boy. He never wanted anyone to live with that feeling of helplessness and terror that he did most of his life."
Until they'd finally caught up with the "Nightmare Man" as Matt called him. He hadn't even realized how consumed his own life had been by a man who'd remained in the shadows of it until last year when he'd finally faced those demons. His romance with Elizabeth came not long after that episode and perhaps she'd met some innate need he'd had.
But at any rate, it hadn't lasted.
"But you share that too don't you?"
C.J. had thought about that a lot especially when she thought he might walk away from it after marrying Elizabeth until he tried to reassure her otherwise.
"Yeah I guess I do…I know what it's like to lose someone I love to violence…"
Meaning her father who'd been a prominent federal prosecutor and had died in a car bombing while prosecuting a high ranking capo in the Mafia. That had led her to go live in Texas as a little girl before she met Matt.
"So when you have this baby, will he still be as involved in his cases?"
C.J sipped her tea thoughtfully.
"I don't know…."
She couldn't answer that question though she knew what she wanted the answer to be. But she knew how powerfully driven Matt was to solve the cases that came his way. A pit bull had nothing on him when it came to grabbing hold of something hard until he'd been done with it. It made him the most in demand PI in all of Southern California but what would it mean now that he was going to be a father?
Oh, in a matter of months since they'd…no need to think too much about that. Even as tight as they were, they had so much still to learn about each other.
Matt looked over at Elizabeth who'd shown up at the restaurant where he'd been picking up some Italian cuisine for Roy and him while they did a stakeout of a nearby jewelry store. They were hired to keep an eye to see how some prized jewels had managed to walk out of the store without anyone knowing…much to the horror of the owner.
It'd been pretty quiet though with the two of them talking about baseball scores and he thinking about C.J. who'd been working on a major project with Chris.
He'd talked her into doing it because of her legal skills but truthfully at least part of it was to keep her from working too damn hard. Yeah, she'd told him that just because she'd gotten pregnant didn't make her weaker but he still fussed over her making sure she ate when she wasn't tossing her cookies in the mornings and that she got plenty of rest.
Elizabeth glided into the store while he'd been waiting for the order to be finished. She smiled at Matt as if they were old friends. Not like she'd just taken his company away.
"Oh Matlock, you're looking very good….of course not as good as when we were together but still good enough."
He looked at her warily. It wasn't her that worried him so much but her silent partner. He still had no idea who he was dealing with here. The man or woman left no trail behind.
"Hello Elizabeth…."
She looked disappointed.
"That's the best you can manage?"
He sighed.
"Under the circumstances, anything else would seem inappropriate don't you think?"
She tilted her face.
"I didn't do it to hurt you," she said, "You do realize that don't you…it's just that I love you so much and when you walked away from me…"
He shook his head.
"We both walked away from each other and for good reason…we're just two very different people and it never would have worked. Best to have parted as friends…"
Only it hadn't been enough for her and she hadn't been all that friendly… She pursed her lips.
"So how's your….assistant? Being in the family way…"
Matt wondered what she was getting at now.
"I mean I heard about the visit she made to that murderous ex of hers Robert Tyler," she said, "You don't suppose…"
He tried not to act surprised, not wanting to give her any edge.
"I'd heard about conjugal visits but how sordid can you get," she continued, "not that C.J. doesn't have her rough edges from her lack of breeding but…"
And that's when they heard an explosion from outside that shook the building. Matt grabbed Elizabeth and pulled her to the side against the wall as they heard alarms starting to go off.