Chapter 2
Once the initial shock wore off, Laura reacted pretty much the same way that Remington had figured she would. There were a lot of shouting at first, parred with a few choice words for him. He in return tried to offer an explanation along with repeated excuses, which was easier said than done with Laura being so agitated.
After what felt like forever, she finally calmed down and watched in silence as Remington picked up the candlestick and put it back in its place, trying to sort though all the emotions she was feeling at that moment. Part of her strongly wanted to physically hurt him in every imaginable way, while another part of her felt immense joy over seeing him again. She abruptly disregarded that last thought and forcefully closed the door before marching into to the kitchen.
"So, you still hasn't answered my question," she said. "What are you doing here? I mean, not even so much as a phone call in the past two years, then all of the sudden you show up at my door?"
"Would you believe me if I said I was in the neighborhood?" Remington said, turning around to face her.
"At this point, I wouldn't dare to believe a word coming out of your mouth," Laura replied cooly.
Remington studied her in brief silence, taking the opportunity to admire her beauty. But also realizing that aside from feeling guilty, he most certainly still felt as strongly about her as when he had left.
"Laura, I am truly sorry for what I've put you through," he said. "At the time, I was hurt and angry and not thinking straight. I figured it would be better for all parties involved if I just left. But my feelings for you has never changed, Laura, and there hasn't been a day since that I haven't deeply regretted how I handled things. Which must be very hard to believe at this moment, but nevertheless it's the truth."
"You think you were the only one angry and hurting? I woke up the next morning, finding out that you had skipped town and had to explain your sudden absence to our clients and Mildred. As usual, you left behind a complete mess and as usual, I had to clean it up. While comforting poor Mildred, I still had cases to that needed to be solved. The work didn't stop just because you left. But when the head of an agency is nowhere to be found, people start to take notice and pretty soon decided to take their business elsewhere. Which was the beginning of the end for Remington Steele Investigations and everything I worked my butt off for! Years of hard work, simply gone to waste because you had your feelings hurt?" Laura exclaimed furiously, all that anger bubbling up to the surface once more. She had worked so hard to put all that behind her and move on, but it all came flooding back.
"You were the one that ended things between us, Laura, not me!"
"Oh, don't give me that! We both knew it wasn't working out! I was just doing what needed to be done! You were the one that left! You left me, Mildred, the agency! Because of you, I lost everything! And now you expect me to forgive and forget?"
"I left because I couldn't bare the thought of a purely professional relationship after what I had just lost! There was simply no going back and all I could think about at that time was to get away. Away from Los Angeles. Away from you. Away from everything that caused me pain."
"I caused you pain?!"
"At the time, yes! I wasn't thinking straight. Hell, I wasn't thinking at all! I simply reacted, in the worst possible way, to something as horrible as losing you and I ran."
In the strained silence that followed, they stared at each other while somewhat calming down. Laura loosened her grip on the kitchen counter, running a hand through her damp hair. She had against her better judgement fantasied about Remington's return too many times to count over the past two years, going over in her head how she would react if he showed up again.
As usual, he was saying all the right things that she had longed to hear but things were different now. She wasn't the same Laura anymore, mostly because she had been forced to re-build the walls around her that he'd completely shattered and she refused to let him, or anybody else for that matter, do that to her again.
"Well, regardless of the reason, you still made the decision to leave. So I suggest you keeping doing what you do best, because I'm better off without you," Laura said, doing her best to keep her voice steady.
"Do you really mean that?" Remington asked, staring intensely at her.
"Yes," Laura replied with a heavy sigh, slowly turning and walking over to the door. "Now please leave."
Remington watched in silence as she slid the door open, standing there with a determined look upon her face. He'd known that it would take a lot more than a heartfelt apology to undo the damage caused but in that moment it was hard to remain hopeful that things would get resolved.
Laura Holt was one of the most stubborn people he'd ever met and that was usually very endearing, but in this case it meant that he had his work cut out for him. But she was also a very reasonable person and Remington reminded himself that he wasn't one to give up so easily. Especially not when it came to her.
"As you wish," he said and reluctantly made his way over to the door, stopping momentarily in front of Laura. Being so close to him again after all that time, she unwillingly felt her heart skip a beat and silently cursed him for still having that affect on her.
When he stared at her with that all too familiar look in his eyes, she almost forgot about all the pain he'd put her through. Her determination wavered for a split second before she came to her senses.
"Goodbye," she murmured and Remington lingered for a moment longer before slowly stepping out into the hallway. Before he had a chance to turn around, Laura quickly pulled the door shut. She leaned back against it, a sudden gasp escaping her and she could no longer hold back the tears.
The previous night's unexpected visit had triggered a lot of unwanted emotions. Despite feeling utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally, Laura had hardly slept at all. She'd tossed and turned in her bed all night, frustrated with herself for what she was feeling about Remington. Frustrated that a part of her still wanted him just as badly as before. It was as if all that time she'd spent getting over him didn't matter at all now that he was back.
Laura had eventually given up on sleep and climbed out of bed at dawn. After a so-called breakfast consisting entirely of coffee, she'd gotten dressed and headed out for her morning run. For the past two years, Laura had gone on runs every weekend morning. It was the perfect way to clear her head while working off some of that pent-up energy. Although she usually liked to sleep in on the weekends and never headed out this early, the circumstances called for it this time.
She decided to take the long route this Saturday which took her through some of the different environments of Los Angeles. From starting off running along on the sidewalks of her industrial neighborhood, to eventually ending up in the nearest park and deciding to do a few laps around it. Since it was still very early in the morning, Laura was pleased to have the park almost entirely to herself. She started circling the park, passing the occasional dog walker or fellow jogger.
Despite the initial morning chill, Laura had opted for a T-shirt and shorts, knowing that she would soon work up a sweat. Each time she passed the big oak tree, a new lap started and her speed increased. Pretty soon, she had to stop and catch her breath. She normally kept up a steady pace but no matter how fast she ran, she still couldn't outrun the turmoil going on inside of her this time. Laura did one last exhale before deciding to start heading back home, exiting the park the same way she entered.
Feeling unexpectedly sore already, she chose to walk back. By the time she was closing in on her neighborhood, the sun was high in the sky and people were heading in and out of the local stores that had recently opened for the day. Laura decided to do a little window shopping as she passed by. She stopped to look at some books and caught a glimpse of a silhouette across the street, standing in the shadows underneath some trees.
Laura felt that uneasy feeling from last night returning and slowly moved on, stealing glances at the store windows along the way. From what she could tell, the person were heading in the same direction as she was. Laura abruptly stopped outside a café and pretended looking at their menu in the window while confirming that the unknown person had also stopped across the street.
Just as she was contemplating heading over and confronting whoever it was, a bus startled her as it drove past in the street. Once it had passed, the dark figure was gone. Laura quickly turned around and couldn't see anything suspicious. She stood frozen in place for a moment, unable to shake the distinct feeling that someone was indeed following her. Which meant she really needed to go through her cases and not just the current ones.
With that in mind, Laura continued heading back to her loft in a brisk walk and eventually broke into a jog. The thoughts were tumbling around inside her head as she weaved through the crowds of people on the sidewalk, barely aware of her surroundings until she realized she was outside her apartment building. When she walked up to the main entrance, she noticed a certain someone waiting outside.
"Still staying in shape, I see," Remington said, unable to hold back a smile.
He leaned against the wall next to the entrance, casually dressed in a shirt and jeans topped off with a pair of sunglasses. Aside from not wearing a tree piece suit, he looked almost exactly the same as Laura remembered. Which also meant he still looked just as handsome, much to her annoyance.
"Still deathly allergic to leg work, I see," she said sarcastically and took a few steps towards the entrance, before suddenly stopping and turning to look at him.
"By the way, what are you doing here? Or more specifically, why are you standing around out here for?"
"Despite what you might believe, Laura, I did come back to make might things right between us one way or another. And seeing how we left things last night, I was hoping to continue our conversation once we both had had a chance to calm down," Remington said, removing his sunglasses. "As for my seemingly strange timing, it was purely coincidental that I noticed you heading back just as I arrived."
"Uh-huh, so you mean to tell me that you haven't been following me?"
"You think somebody is following you?"
Laura studied his face for a moment, looking for any sign of deception. When it came to Remington Steele, she was somewhat of an expert in telling when he wasn't being truthful.
"Maybe. I don't know," she finally said and headed into the building with Remington following behind.
"Well, what makes you think you're being followed?" he asked, sounding genuinely concerned as they made their way up the stairs.
"At first, it was just a feeling. Then, on my way back from the park a few minutes ago, I caught someone following me from across the street. But I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman. Whoever it was, they were gone before I got a good look at them. And now I'm not entirely sure what to think."
"If it's one thing I've learned, it's to trust your instincts."
"Well, they've been wrong before."
They walked together in silence up the stairs, both unsure of what to say next. When they entered the loft, Remington hesitated for a moment before entering. He watched as Laura headed straight for her bedroom to get changed as he closed the door behind them.
"So, you have no apparent idea as to why someone would be following you?" he asked, glancing around the apartment.
Once upon a time, he had spent many late nights there with Laura, even before they became romantically involved, and a part of him was sad to see the apparent changes made to the place. The walls had been re-painted in a light grey hue and the living room furniture had been replaced, as well as the kitchen appliances.
As Remington hesitantly took a seat in of the armchairs, it dawned on him that this new version of her home clearly represented the version of Laura that had emerged in the wake of their break-up and his disappearance.
"Nothing that comes to mind right now," Laura called back from the bedroom. "It does however seem like an awfully big coincidence that this coincides with your sudden return."
"Since we've established that I'm not the one doing the following, one might draw the conclusion that it's related to a case you're working on."
"Have we?"
"Have we what?"
"Established that you're not the one following me around? I mean, it wouldn't be the first time."
Laura came down the stairs from the bedroom, dressed in a pencil skirt and blouse with her hair cascading down her shoulders, momentarily distracting Remington.
"Besides, I've already gone over all the relevant cases and none of it seems to be connected," she said with a pensive look, leaning against the kitchen counter.
"Hmm? Oh, right! Yes, well, we should probably go over those cases once more, just to be on the safe side," Remington blurted out and Laura looked straight at him, unable to hide her skepticism.
"We? Just what makes you think I need your help?"
"Fair point. Look, it could hardly hurt to have an extra set of eyes on this, Laura."
Laura hesitated, knowing full well as to why she shouldn't allow Remington to get involved. He had left her behind without any warning or explanation, making it clear he no longer wanted to be part of her life. Now, when it suited him, he wanted another chance at trying to be the hero that he thought she needed.
Laura knew that she should tell him to get lost, but he seemed surprisingly sincere in wanting to help that she couldn't deny the obvious upside to his assistance. Especially since she didn't want to involve Rick in something that could very well turn out to be nothing.
"Fine," she sighed. "But don't think this gets you off the hook."
"Of course not," Remington said as he stood up, flashing that charming smile at her.
"Come on, we need to head into the office to go over all the case files," Laura said, grabbing her purse off the counter and heading for the door.
"Isn't the office closed during the weekend?"
"I have a key."
"Of course you do."
Remington savored the small victory of Laura actually accepting his help with going through her case files. It brought back fond memories of their time together at Remington Steele Investigations, and he hoped some small part of her felt the same.
At least they had moved past the screaming part and were able to act civilized around each other. Laura occasionally shot Remington a displeased look across the desk whenever he either made a unsolicited comment or inquiry regarding her private life.
Even though she kept the conversation strictly business, he could sense that there was something she was deliberately withholding from him. Considering the circumstances, Remington knew that he had no right to details about Laura's life anymore but that didn't stop him from being curious.
"So, I take it you spend quite a lot of time here at the office?" he asked nonchalantly while pretending to read the case file he was holding.
"What gave you that impression?" Laura said, looking up from the the case notes she had been reading.
"Well, you have a spare key. Also, you seemed awfully chummy with the security guard downstairs."
"Mr. Sterling was the one who offered me the key and just because I'm on a first name basis with Alfred doesn't mean we're chummy."
"Given your little conversation with him when we arrived, I'd say chummy is the correct term."
"All I did was ask him about his granddaughter's recital!"
"No need to get defensive, Laura. I think it's sweet that you take such interest in Alfred's granddaughter's extracurricular activities."
"Fine! So I spend a little extra time here some nights and weekends. What's it to you?"
"Don't you do anything else besides working? I mean, your work ethic has always been admirable, Laura, but there's more to life than work."
Laura leaned back in her chair, staring intensely at Remington until he looked up to meet her stare.
"May I remind you that it was because of my admirable work ethic that Remington Steele Investigations reached the success that it did? That same work ethic also made me one of the top investigators here at The Sterling Agency in record time. Sure, there might not be much time left over for fun but that's how I like it. And you of all people have no right judging me for enjoying my job. Or at all for that matter."
"I'm not judging you, Laura. I'm merely concerned that you might be missing out on life."
"The only life I've missed out on was the one we had which ended when you left. So you don't get to sit here and act concerned for my well-being now."
"You're right and I apologize for overstepping."
"I'm already starting to regret letting you help me."
"Don't be. I promise I will behave from now on."
Remington flashed a disarming smile at Laura and she in response narrowed her eyes at him.
"Uh-huh. Consider yourself warned."
"Duly noted. Now, how about lunch? I'd say we've both earned it."
Laura glanced at her wristwatch and let out a reluctant sigh.
"Fine. I know a place nearby. But if this is another attempt of yours to–"
"Laura, it's only lunch. Nothing more, nothing less. I promise."
"Somehow I don't quite believe you."
"We could always bring Alfred along if you'd like?"
"Don't push it."
Lunch turned out to be just what Laura needed. Between her lack of both sleep and breakfast, she was running on fumes by the time the food arrived. Remington was surprisingly well-behaved and they were actually able to have polite conversation with their lunch. The small restaurant was relatively empty during their visit and that's what Laura had counted on.
She knew plenty of people from work frequented the place during lunch on the weekdays, but the chance of running into anybody she knew on a Saturday were slim to none. Having to explain the sudden return of the great Remington Steele to any of them was something Laura wanted to avoid, especially since she was still processing the situation herself.
"Laura?"
Laura abruptly looked up from her plate and realized she had drifted off in mid-conversation.
"Hmm?"
"Are you okay?" Remington asked and Laura could tell that he was genuinely concerned.
"Just a little tired," she said with a weak smile. "You were saying?"
Remington knew better than to currently press her for more details and moved on with the conversation.
"I was wondering if you've kept in touch with Mildred? I went by her place earlier but apparently she doesn't live there anymore."
"After the agency closed, she decided to retire down to Florida. We talk occasionally on the phone, but I think it hurts too much for her to be reminded of the past. And I'm not saying that to be hurtful."
"I wouldn't blame you even if you did," Remington murmured, visibly taken by the news. "Poor Mildred. I really made a mess out of everything, didn't I?"
For all the times Laura had wanted to see him hurt for what he'd put her through, she still couldn't help but feel sorry for him at that moment. He did seem to take actual responsibility for his past actions and upon seeing his vulnerable side, some of that hate and anger Laura had been harboring dissolved.
"Well, to be honest, I don't think the mess was yours alone. We both could've handled things better."
"Maybe so, but I certainly made things worse by running away," Remington said, sighing. "Which I thought I was done with, but apparently not. At least not back then."
"And now?" Laura blurted out before she could stop herself, realizing that she wanted to know the answer to that question. That a small part of her wondered if he actually came back for her.
"This time I'm staying, no matter what," Remington said, staring at Laura with such intensity that she found herself having to look away.
"Good to know," she said with an awkward smile and glanced out the window, suddenly spotting someone watching them from across the street. This time, Laura could clearly see that it was a man and he didn't seem in a hurry to get away even after they locked eyes.
"Laura? What is it?" Remington asked and turned his attention out the restaurant window, noticing a man across the street. It was obvious that he was staring back at them and Remington got the distinct feeling that it was hardly a coincidence.
"It's not just me, right? You see him too?" Laura asked and looked back at Remington.
"How could I not? The man is hardly trying to be inconspicuous."
"Exactly! It's like–"
Laura stopped talking mid-sentence when she realized that the man was suddenly gone. She quickly left money on the table before rushing out of the restaurant, Remington following closely behind. Once they got outside, Laura looked around but didn't catch a glimpse of the mystery man anywhere.
"Well, one thing's for certain," Remington said.
"What's that?"
"You're definitely being followed."
"I liked it better when I was imagining things."
TO BE CONTINUED...
