Okay, so here is part 2 :) I've kept it on the same story as it ties in with the title. Enjoy! x
Chapter 29
Christine Johnson reclined back in her leather chair, allowing herself to enjoy the feel of the warm spring sun that managed to make its way through the window. It had been a long and stressful day, but she was satisfied none-the-less; her hired hackers had finally managed to crack their way into the ARCs computer system, and now she would be able to monitor their goings on without interference from the Minister. The less he knew about her great plans, the better. She had only let a few people in on her plans to take over the ARC; one of them being the man, Leek, whom she had planted in the ARC staff a long time ago, and the other being Captain Wilder, who had proven himself many a time to be a faithful and supremely loyal head of security whom she could trust with her most intimate secrets. She suspected he would prove to be very useful in the not-so-distant future. He was a soldier after all, and she doubted whether she'd be able to pull of this coup without his expertise in fighting.
James Lester wasn't going to know what's hit him.
Jenny Lewis was sweating and panting as she struck another blow to the punch bag, feeling exhilarated as her heart hammered hard against her ribs and her muscles ached from the constant training.
"Good Jenny," the kick boxing instructor said with an approving nod as he passed her. "Excellent form."
Sean was her training coach, and had been since she had begun staying at this luxury hotel two months ago. The best one in the South of France – or so she had heard. Sean however was not French, but an American. He also happened to be a twenty-something six-foot-two dream boat, and she would be lying if she said it was only restlessness that got her out of bed early every morning to have a workout with him.
"But if you stand more like this . . ." Sean continued as he came up behind her. He placed one hand on her waist and pulled her hip back, and put his other hand on her arm to alter its angle, making her racing heart skip a beat. ". . . you'll have more of a follow through with each punch. Okay?"
She turned to look at him over her shoulder and nodded, flashing him a dazzling smile. He returned her smile with one of his own, before stepping back.
"Give it a try," he grinned, his olive eyes watching her keenly.
She turned her attention back to her punch bag, and took a deep breath, holding the position he had taught her. In one swift motion, she punched the bag hard; so hard in fact that it swung out and hit another woman who was practising on her own punch bag next to her.
"Sorry," Jenny mouthed to the disgruntled-looking woman.
Sean laughed as he steadied her punch bag. "See? Much better," he smiled. "I wouldn't like to meet you in a dark alley late at night."
She laughed herself, and pushed her newly-cut fringe out of her eyes.
"Then again," he added in an undertone as he stepped closer to her. "Maybe I would."
"In your dreams," Jenny retorted with a sweet smile.
Sean laughed again, seemingly uninterested in teaching any of his other students. "I certainly hope so," he said, his dark eyes twinkling. "I've noticed you like to train a lot. Any particular reason?"
"I like to know how to take care of myself," she shrugged, unwilling to admit that she trained mainly to keep her mind occupied.
"Very sensible," he nodded, still in a very close proximity to her. "Well if you ever want any extra tips, I'd be happy to do some out-of-hours training with you."
"Well I might just take you up on that," Jenny replied as she unstrapped her boxing gloves, still breathing hard. "And by the way, your class ended two minutes ago," she added, nodding up at the clock on the wall as she pulled her gloves off.
"Oh crap," he muttered, glancing around at the clock also. "Okay girls!" he added loudly to the room, clapping his hands together to get all of their attention. "Great work today! Now go and get some breakfast and I'll see most of you tomorrow at the same time."
There was a general murmur of agreement as the woman started making their way towards the exit, talking with their friends and pulling their gloves off also.
"You having anything nice for breakfast?" Sean asked Jenny before she could turn to leave.
She shrugged as she moved over to the side bench, picking up her bottle of water. "A large vodka probably," she replied before she took a large gulp.
He laughed again as he followed her over, clearly thinking she was joking. Oh how little he knew her – especially the new her that had seemed to manifest itself since . . .
Don't think about that, she told herself immediately, as she did the same way about ten times a day.
"You intrigue me Jenny," he said fondly, his face still crinkled in amusement.
"Oh?" she said, replacing the cap of her water. "How so?"
"Well you've been here for two months now," he said, his hypnotising eyes studying her face. "I've never seen you with anyone else. You don't wear a ring, so I assume you're not spoken for - "
"Ah, so you're admitting you're watching me then?" she smiled, raising her eyebrow.
"Well," he shrugged, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. "I'd be rather hard not to, if I'm honest."
She exhaled slowly, and looked him up and down for a moment, taking in his tanned and muscular physique more than just visible under that tight white top. "Goodbye Sean," she said eventually, shouldering her gym bag. "I look forward to getting all hot and sweaty with you tomorrow," she added, being purposefully flippant as she turned to leave.
"Well we can do that whenever you want," he called after her, halting her as she was about to push open the door. "We don't need a formal class to do it. Just name the time."
She turned, studying him for a moment, still keeping her palm pushed against the door. "Okay," she shrugged eventually.
He narrowed his beautiful eyes, looking confused. "Okay . . .?"
"Okay," she repeated, blinking innocently. "Meet me in my room in half an hour. Room 203. I'm assuming you'll be able to find your way?"
"Well . . . well yes . . ." he stammered, looking completely awestruck.
"Good," she smiled, pushing the door open fully. "See you in half an hour then," she added before she left, letting the door fall shut behind her as she walked off back to her hotel room.
Panting harder than any exercise regime would have managed to produce, Jenny relaxed back onto her enormous four-poster bed as Sean lay down next to her, sweat trickling down his own brow.
"Wow," he exhaled, sounding thoroughly out of breath. "You're amazing."
"You weren't too bad yourself," she remarked, closing her eyes as tiredness enveloped her.
"God . . ." he continued, sounding positively elated. "I think I could actually sleep for a week now."
"Well you can go and do it in your own bed," Jenny said, not even bothering to look back around at him.
"What?" he said, sounding bemused. "But I thought - "
"Well you thought wrong," she cut him off, growing impatient. "You can leave now."
"You're not serious?" he gaped, his voice indignant.
She turned and fixed him with a withering stare, hopefully conveying that she was not joking. He looked at her for a moment, his mouth opened in shock. Then he let out a dry laugh, before rolling over and getting to his feet. Jenny turned on her side, hugging the duvet to herself as she heard him dress.
"Will I see you at class tomorrow?" he asked her as he moved towards the door.
"I doubt it," she replied coldly, her eyes still fixed on the wall opposite her.
He let out a small exhale of incredulity before she heard him stomp off towards the door. She only looked back around when she heard the door slam. Getting out of bed with a deep sigh, she pulled on her nightgown and padded off to the mini bar. After examining the refilled contents for a few moments, she selected a miniature bottle of vodka and took it over to the window. Taking in the familiar view of the beautiful and tranquil swimming pool below, she unscrewed the bottle and swiftly took a large gulp. The liquid burned as it trickled down her throat, but Jenny welcomed the feeling; indeed, she relished any feelings that she had, because she seldom experienced any these days. That was why she had really taken up kickboxing; that was why she had really allowed herself to bed a complete stranger – because she was sick of feeling nothing but numbness. It had been months since she had felt any pleasant emotions, and she had thought that sleeping with a stud like Sean would be sure to ignite something inside her.
But it hadn't.
In fact, she was left feeling emptier than she had done before. Taking another gulp of her drink and shuddering at the taste, her mind suddenly slipped onto someone that almost made a smile appear on her face. Putting her half-empty bottle down on the table and picking up her mobile phone, she made her way back over to the bed, and lay down as she flipped it open. She scrolled through a good few pictures before she landed on the one she so often found herself staring at. It had been taken a few months ago . . . she remembered the day well. Letting out a deep frustrated sigh, Jenny touched her finger to the screen as though making contact with the fuzzy image on her phone would make her feel closer to the real thing.
"Nick," she whispered softly, feeling herself well up with longing.
Cutter lay on his couch, staring up at his ceiling without actually seeing it. It was a Sunday afternoon, but the day was filled with none of the pleasant relaxing feelings a Sunday usually brought. It had been two months now. Two bloody months, and not one word from Jenny. She had just vanished; he had no clue where on earth she was and neither, it seemed, did her family judging by the persistent phone calls Lester had been getting off them, demanding to know her whereabouts.
It would be an understatement to say that Cutter was worried. When he realised that Jenny was leaving, he assumed she would be back in a week or two, still grieving of course, but having worked through most of the issues she had with herself.
But nothing.
He knew she had broken things off between the two of them, but he had thought she would have had the curtsey to call and tell him she was alive at the very least.
He was angry with her. He knew he shouldn't be considering what she had been through and the guilt she was feeling. But to not get in touch with anyone for two months? Not to answer her phone when he called? It wasn't right! He didn't even know if she'd ever be back. What if he never saw her again . . .?
Letting out a deep frustrated groan, he fished for his mobile that was wedged in his jeans pocket. Flipping it open, he fiddled for a moment until he brought his stored pictures up. He didn't have many on his phone, but he didn't care – there was only one on there that he was interested in. As he opened it, he felt his chest convulse with longing. He stared at the beautiful pale face for a few moments, wanting to scream with the pain of how much he missed her. Touching a rough finger to the screen, wanting to feel her, he sighed deeply.
"Jenny," he murmured gently.
