Chapter 11
The next day at Navcom, she was on her way to her department when she heard a voice from the past behind her. A shiver ran through her body.
"Kate?"
She stopped and turned around slowly, "Yes Mike…..sir?, she asked seeing the four captain's bands on his shoulder boards.
"Kate how are you?", he asked approaching her.
"I'm fine sir", she answered politely.
"Well, it's been a long time, isn't it?"
"Indeed sir".
How's your Intelligence Department doing?", he asked.
Kate raised an eyebrow, "Good sir, but how do you know that?"
He beamed at her and shrugged his shoulders, "As a commanding officer you must know what your people are doing, right?".
"Uh? Are…are you…?", Kate answered baffled.
"Yes, I'm the new second in command of the naval base", he said smiling.
"Ah, I see. So it must have been rather quick?"
"Yes, I started this morning. They needed a replacement urgently, you see".
"Okay, I understand", Kate replied coldly.
"What do you think? Shall we catch up after the office hours? With dinner?", he suggested.
Kate, incredulous, raised an eyebrow and shook her head, "No thank you sir, I don't think it's necessary. Excuse me, please, my department is waiting for me", she said pointing with her finger to the direction she was heading in.
"Yes, of course. Duty first huh. No worries, we'll talk later. Have a nice day", he said before turning around.
Kate continued her way in a foul mood.
She entered her department without greeting her employees and entered her office. She slammed her briefcase on her desk, immediately regretting this, because her laptop was inside.
Irritated, she tossed her hat on the low cupboard, but she did so with such force so that it fell on the ground.
"Fuuuck", she grumbled and she picked up the hat and slammed it on the cupboard again.
"Good morning ma'am. Having a bad day?", asked her assistant, Lieutenant Harry Wilson,.
She looked daggers at him, "Drop the good, morning is enough Harry. Just a personal matter", she replied, looking for her spectacles in her briefcase. She put them on and took a deep breath. "What do you have for me?", she asked trying to seem normal.
"Oh, just the normal stuff ma'am. Politics, bad language from some anti-government parties in Indonesia, another strong statement about Kim Yong Un. And we are going to have a new second in command", he said and was surprised to see his boss frown upon hearing his last sentence.
"Mike Flynn. Yes, I ran into him on the way here", she answered laconically.
"Oh! Interesting. You've ever met him. Do you know him? ", the lieutenant asked.
"Honestly? I don't know if I want to know him Harry. Anything else?", she said.
"Uh…no ma'am. Then I…", he said motioning with his finger to the door.
Coffee! And quick!
She headed for her espresso machine and made herself a cup.
Kate sat down at her desk and took a sip.
This can't be true. Mike still above me as commander. That means I have to see his face again and on a daily basis. And not to mention his attempts to take me to lunch or dinner or worse. He barely saw me and he already wanted to dine with me. He's not lacking in audacity! What an unscrupulous bastard!
She took another sip.
That evening, Kate was extremely quiet at home. She barely said a word.
"Mum? Is there something wrong? You hardly said a word", Duncan asked.
She sighed and looked at him, "Sorry dear, I just had a horrible day".
"What happened or aren't you allowed to tell me?"
"No, nothing with work, but I saw the man I was married to for less than a day before he cheated on me", she said bitterly.
"That Mike guy?"
"Precisely".
"Did he hurt you?"
"No. But I saw him and he's my commanding officer. That's bad enough".
"Ouch".
"Yeah indeed, ouch. How's your homework going?"
"Oh fine. I'm almost done".
Later that evening, Duncan was in bed and Kate was pacing in her living room. Finally, she poured herself a glass of whisky. The spicy liquid briefly warmed her and calmed her down. She sat down on the couch, grabbed her smartphone and called Rebecca.
"Hey Kate, I'm glad to hear from you. How are you?", Rebecca joyously answered the call.
"Hey Becca. I'm happy to hear your voice because I need it", Kate sighed.
"Ouch! Is there something wrong? Duncan?", she asked worriedly.
"No, no, not Duncan, it's me. I feel awful".
"Wha…what happened? Are you sick?"
"No. You'll never guess who I saw today".
"No…?"
"Mike".
"No?".
"Yes, he stopped me this morning in the hallway while I was on my way to my department. He acted like nothing happened. Can you imagine? He asked me out to dinner to catch up!", she said desperately.
"My gosh! The bastard. How dare he ask you that? I hope you made him understand he can go to the hell?"
"Yeah of course. I'm not crazy, not anymore! When I finally built my own life and settled here with a good job, then he shows up and opens old wounds!", she said.
"Kate, just get him out of your mind. It's not worth it. Tomorrow, he won't be there anymore. Go on with your life. You have Duncan", Rebecca tried to comfort her.
"That's going to be a hard task, not to say an impossible case because he's not only the second in command of the base but also my boss. I'm going to see that bloody bastard every day!", she spat, wiping her eyes.
"Oh shit. This sucks".
"Yeah, sorry about my emotions, Becca, but I had to tell someone otherwise you'd had to scrap me off the ceiling".
"I understand, but what are you going to do now?"
"Pfft, I dunno yet. I'm going to try to get a good night's sleep and this glass of whisky will help me and tomorrow I'll be clear in my mind", Kate said, raising her glass.
"Now go to bed Kate, if you stay awake, it will get worse and you will be able to say goodbye to your sleep", Rebecca advised.
"Yeah, you're still the medic and you're probably right. Thanks for listening to me, Becca", Kate said and they ended the call.
The next day, Kate played Duncan's joyous mum until he left for school. Then a frown of anxiety appeared on her face.
She entered Navcom and walked through the hallway to her department feeling like she was being followed. She expected Mike to pop up from one of the offices to ask her something like a devil coming out of a box. Relieved she reached her office and plopped down on her desk chair.
Lieutenant Harry Wilson entered her office with a file under his arm, just like every day. He raised his eyebrows when he saw his boss slumped on her chair.
"Good morning ma'am, are you sure you're okay?", he asked.
Kate took a deep breath, sat upright picked up her spectacles, "Yes Harry, good morning. I'm fine. Don't worry. It's just a personal matter".
"All right ma'am, I've got the usual stuff here…", he began.
Later on, when Kate was her normal self again, the Skype application mentioned an incoming message. She frowned. Mike.
Hey Kate. Do you fancy a coffee break?
She grimaced and typed, No thank you. I have a meeting here.
Okay. And how about lunch? 12:30 ?
Kate closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.
No, thank you. I don't think it's necessary.
Everyone needs food. So?
No. Sorry. Too busy.
Okay, maybe tomorrow?
"Damnit you!", she cursed, throwing the mouse on the desk. A few people outside her office looked curiously inside wondering why their usually calm chief was suddenly irritated.
Sighing, Kate stood up and made herself an espresso.
At 11:00 am, there was a general meeting with all the team leaders of the base. The second in command, Captain Flynn, made his official appearance and refreshed the values and targets for the coming months. Although there were nearly thirty senior officers present and Kate had taken place in one of the back rows, she was convinced that he was constantly looking at her. As soon as the meeting was over, she managed to leave the room among the first to prevent him from intercepting her.
The lifeline was her espresso machine. Eyes closed, she was enjoying a hot cup of coffee.
What can I do? It took me a long time to get over all of this. I have a life with my son and now he's reappearing, opening old wounds. He's almost stalking me. No, he's stalking me! Could I ever get rid of him? Get rid of him? Or get away from him?. Yes, that's it.
She picked up her laptop and logged on. She checked to see if the head of the Human Resources department was free and booked a meeting in his diary from 2pm.
At 2 pm, Kate called Captain Hogan, head of the Human resources, at the Navy headquarters in Canberra.
"Hogan speaking", the man said.
"Good afternoon sir, you're speaking with Commander McGregor of the Intelligence Department at Fleet Base East".
"What can I do for you commander?"
"Sir, I would like to ask you if you would have another posting for me".
"Huh? All of a sudden? You're taking me by surprise. I know the majority of senior officers, especially you, the ADFA golden girl with the maximum ratings", he replied.
"Yes, I'm sorry sir to be so direct, but I really need it. Can I have another posting?"
"You seem quite convinced. Give me a minute. I'll get your file", Hogan said.
"Yes sir".
"I see. It's a nice file. You sailed, you got a shore posting for your child and I also see that you requested another posting. Kate, why would you want yet another posting? As far as I know you're doing an excellent job".
Kate sighed, "A personal matter sir. With the commanding officer. I can't work with him".
"Do you mean Captain Flynn?", he asked.
"Yes sir, himself".
"Hmm, I read that you were married to him, but you got divorced two weeks later", he said and she could hear astonishment in his voice.
"Sir, let me tell you that I was married less than eight hours. He cheated on me at our wedding party", she said bitterly.
"Ouch, it's nasty. Did he approach you? Or did he intimidate you? You know, the Australian Defense Forces are very strict about this. We do not tolerate our female members being bothered. If it is, we will open an investigation", he said.
"No, it hasn't been so far, sir, but he tried to contact me and not for professional reasons. He wants to catch up and that's certainly not what I want. I want a life without him. He humiliated me once and that was enough. That's the reason why I would like another posting, away from him, outside his command group", she said.
"Uh-hu, I understand. But, Kate, you have to understand that your request is not easy. If you were a NCO or a lieutenant, we could always find a posting. For a commander, it's more difficult", he said.
"I know sir. I hope for the best. Anywhere is good for me as long as it's not in the same area as Captain Flynn sir".
"Kate, I can't promise, but I'll investigate the situation and keep you informed."
"Thank you sir", Kate said and they ended the call.
To be continued
