Chapter 4

Rick made several more attempts over the next few weeks trying to get face time with Judge Beckett again. He used every opportunity he had on the days he was at the courthouse to flirt with her. Most times he got rebuffed, but he felt like he was making progress and was having fun in the process.

Through this endeavor, he discovered bits of information about her routine and personal preferences. He learned that she typically arrived at the office at 7:30 AM and, like a true caffeine addict, always had to have a coffee to start off her day. Her coffee order was a grande skim latte with two pumps of sugar free vanilla. She sometimes went out for lunch at a local restaurant, calendar permitting, often frequenting the Asian restaurants that were just a few blocks away from the courthouse. She particularly liked the pork banh mi sandwich from Saigon Café in Chinatown.

In the process, he also struck up a friendship with her secretary who was always genuinely happy to see him whenever he came by. Jenny had been especially invaluable in helping him learn her schedule and idiosyncrasies. He was pretty sure Jenny had caught on to what he was trying to do after the third or fourth unexpected visit, but she never questioned him or his motives further.

Rick swung by one Wednesday at noon, hoping to catch Beckett for lunch. He was carrying a takeout bag with food from a certain Asian restaurant in one hand.

"Hey, Mr. Castle," Jenny greeted cheerfully as he wandered up to the reception desk.

"Please Jenny, it's Rick," he gave her a charming smile. "Is she in?"

Jenny grimaced regretfully at him. "Sorry, but no. Her hearing ran long, so I think she's still stuck in court."

"Oh, darn." His face fell with slight disappointment, his bottom lip jutting out in a pout.

"Well, I brought her lunch," he held up the brown paper bag. "Could you give it to her next time you see her? I wouldn't want it to go to waste."

"Sure thing."

He carefully set the paper bag on the counter. It crinkled as Jenny took it and placed it on her desk for safekeeping.

"Just, ah, maybe don't tell her it's from me," he added bashfully, averting his eyes.

"Why not?"

"I'm not sure if she likes me all that much," Rick admitted, shrugging a shoulder.

Jenny looked at him sympathetically. "She just takes some time to warm up to people. I'm sure she'll come around. I'm rooting for you," she encouraged.

Jenny was genuinely hoping her boss would give this guy a chance. He seemed so sincere and persistent and obviously highly interested in her. She'd hate for all his efforts to be for naught.

Rick grinned innocently. "I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about."

His co-conspirator giggled but didn't elaborate further.

"There's a sandwich in there for you too," Rick informed.

"Thanks, Rick. That was really kind of you."

"No problem. I'll see you around, Jenny."

He adjusted the satchel on his shoulder as he departed from the area to continue on with his day.

After getting out of court, Kate checked her watch and saw that her lunch hour was almost gone. She really didn't have enough time to go out and get food before her next appointment. Her stomach grumbled audibly. Her diet of coffee and vending machine snacks really wasn't cutting it for these long workdays.

Sighing, she contemplated her options for procuring something to eat. Kate made the familiar trek back to her chambers, passing by the reception desk on the way.

"Hey Jenny, you know I hate to do this, but would you be able to pick up a sandwich or something for me from Katz's Deli?"

"For lunch?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah. I don't have time to grab anything, and I'm booked solid for the rest of the afternoon," Kate explained fretfully. She usually tried not to use Jenny as her errand girl for personal matters, but she really did need to eat something.

"Actually, there's no need. Someone already brought you food."

Jenny lifted a paper bag emblazoned with the Saigon Café logo into her line of sight.

Kate eyed it curiously. "Who is this from?"

"Um, I'm not supposed to say," Jenny blushed.

Jenny, bless her heart, was a terrible liar. Kate wouldn't press her for information, but she could venture a guess as to who the mysterious benefactor was.

"Oh. Well thanks, Jenny. Must be my lucky day." She took the paper bag from the counter and headed to her chambers.

"And will you let me know the next time Mr. Castle stops by?" Kate called back to her secretary, just before pushing her door open.

"Will do, Miss Beckett. Enjoy your lunch," Jenny giggled.

Kate sat down at her desk and dug into the brown paper bag. Finding an oblong object inside, she took it out, unwrapped the parchment paper, and began eating the sandwich. His incessant flirting these past few weeks had ranged from amusing to mildly annoying. She figured this silly game would end soon and he would find the next pretty girl to move onto. But she couldn't deny that the banh mi was delicious, and just happened to be her favorite sandwich in the area.

Kate wondered who was plying him with personal information about her. Lanie, most likely.

I'll let it slide this time, Kate decided as she munched on the delectable sandwich.

Kate ran into Castle a few days later in the elevator as he was embarking on a lower floor at the end of the workday. Both of them were leaving the courthouse for the evening. His face lit up in a smile when the doors opened to reveal the lone occupant of the elevator, recognizing the judge immediately.

Kate tried to hide the involuntary flush of her cheeks at being the focus of his handsome, goofy smile. She had to tamp down the strange sensation that suddenly flared up in her belly from being alone in such close quarters with him.

"Ah, Mr. Castle, I'm glad I ran into you," she said politely as he entered the steel box.

"As am I," Castle said. "Always glad to run into you."

Kate made no comment to that either way. "I wanted to thank you for buying me food the other day. I usually prefer the pork banh mi, but the chicken is tasty as well," she explained, keeping her eyes trained forward.

Rick gasped with exasperation. "I asked them for the pork one!"

A devilish smile split across her face. "So it was you."

Oops. Busted.

"Uh… guilty as charged," he said sheepishly. "How did you know it was from me?"

"It was hardly a mystery. I don't have that many suitors lining up to do this type of thing," she said off-handedly.

"Gorgeous woman like you? Please. You must have guys lining up around the block to get time with you," He scoffed. Rick thought briefly of Josh Davidson, but didn't bring him up. Maybe he was winning after all.

Kate rolled her eyes and chose to ignore his comment. "How did you know that this banh mi is my favorite sandwich?" she asked.

Rick grinned cheekily. "I have my sources, which shall remain unnamed. I'm sworn to confidentiality. Attorney-client privilege." He drew a little 'X' over his heart to emphasize the pledge.

"Mhmm," Kate eyed him skeptically. "Be that as it may, I feel obligated to remind you that bribing a judge is illegal," she said with her best stern face.

Rick got flustered, his ears turning pink. "Oh no, it's not a bribe. I just wanted to buy you lunch. But since you won't go out with me, I figured I would bring the lunch to you," he rambled.

Kate watched him intently, chuckling at his blathering. She liked to watch him squirm.

The elevator dinged, indicating that they were at their destination of the ground floor. As they disembarked the elevator, Rick decided to make his move again.

"How about next time, we grab a bite to eat in person?" he asked casually as they strolled through the rotunda.

Kate's heart skipped a beat in her chest at the invitation. She turned towards him to consider his proposition, gnawing at her lip as she appraised him up and down. "Look Castle, I appreciate the offer, but I'm not exactly looking for anything right now," she said gently.

"It could just be lunch between coworkers," he brushed it off, trying to reframe the offer casually.

"I think it would be unprofessional for me to fraternize with anyone directly working on one of my active cases. I don't want it to appear as if I'm favoring either side." She felt a touch of disappointment settle in her own stomach as she declined his offer gracefully.

Rick nodded. "Understood. Maybe next time, when we're not working the same case?" he asked hopefully.

She rolled her eyes, but couldn't contain the smile playing on her lips. Always the optimist. It was kind of cute.

"I'll see you in court, Mr. Castle."

She turned and sauntered away with a little more sway in her hips than usual for his benefit. He couldn't help but stop and stare at her retreating figure as the day turned to dusk.