Author's Note: Ok, this is a short one. I intended to make it longer but I couldn't keep you waiting any more so here is the next part.
Many thanks to my two faithful readers and reviewers mynameispinky and godavari.

Chapter 44

"Kazuya. Wait!" Lara called after him.
For a moment they stood opposite each other in silence. Then Lara took a step closer to him and began kissing him. He returned her kisses while she tried to pull his jacket off over his broad shoulders. The door opened and Bryce stepped inside.
"Lara. He has left his new phone number..." Bryce began but then took in the situation. "Oh, sorry."
"How often do I have to tell you to knock at the door?" Lara said angry.
"Won't happen again." Bryce said and left the room.
Kazuya looked at his watch.
"Oh, I am sorry, but I have to go soon. I have a meeting in 45 minutes."
Lara put her arms around his neck and whispered "I don't want you to leave."
"I have to, this is important. Don't expect something of me you are not willing to give yourself. You will go to Egypt soon and I cannot stop you. "
Lara was quiet, she knew he was right.
"I will come back after work." he continued. "This might be around seven."
"Oh. You have to work till seven? I was hoping you had a day off. And I have kept you from lunch."
"But how could I eat when you are mad at me?"
Lara looked at him and frowned.
"Ok, I have gone too far."
"I was just about to say that you can be very romantic."
"I feared that."
Lara kissed him again but he broke the kiss quickly.
"I don't want to disturb you or anything, but it's a thirty minute drive to where I meet the guy."
"You've got a Porsche."
"True, but it's no use in heavy traffic. Besides, if I don't go now I won't go at all." he added grinning.
"Then get out of here, damn it." Lara replied with a smile.
He grabbed his jacket. Then he pulled Lara towards him, gave her another kiss and said goodbye.
"I will call you."
"Ok, but don't break your phone again."
"Don't worry, I've got two spare ones."

With a smile on her face Lara threw herself onto the bed. She was glad that he had come to see her. The telephone episode was just one huge misunderstanding and she was glad that they got it out of the way. Slowly the smile faded from her face. Why did it have to be like this? Every time she met someone something turned out to be wrong. Possessed by the devil, that was indeed a tough one. She knew that fear was very reasonable in this situation, so she wondered why she hadn't been afraid of him when he had been here. All she had wanted was kiss him, be close to him, without thinking about possible consequences. She caught herself thinking about cancelling her trip to Egypt, then she would miss her chance to find something she had been interested in for an eternity. No, she couldn't do that, she had to leave on Monday. She pushed the thought aside. She would enjoy the rest of her stay here and then she would return to her every-day-life.
Lara got up and left her room, she walked to Bryce's room and knocked at the door. He opened just a moment later.
"Hey, Lara." he greeted her. "Alone again?"
"Yes, he has to work." she said in a sad voice.
"Found yourself a workaholic?"
"So it seems. Anyway, I wanted to ask you if you want to do anything today."
"How about shopping?"
"Again?"
"Well last time I didn't get to see anything."
Lara clenched her fist and punched Bryce lightly on the shoulder.

This time it was Bryce's turn to drag Lara through the shops he wanted to see. Lara was in kind of a dream state all day and didn't really care where she was going. All she cared about was that the day would be over soon. She didn't want to wait for the clock to strike seven any longer. In the mall Bryce went into a computer store and Lara sat down on a bench outside to wait for him there. Her phone started ringing. A glance at her watch told her that it was shortly past three. She picked up.
"Hey Lara, it's me." came Kazuya's voice. "I am on my way back to the office."
"So how long do you think you'll have to stay there?" she asked.
"That's something I can't answer till I get there. There was not much to do in the morning but I am certain something will have come up during the day. I called Natsumi and she promised me some work. There are a few things I have to sign and probably read first. With any luck I might be out of there by five. But I never have any luck so I still think seven is a good guess."
"I miss you." These words escaped Lara's lips before she could stop them, she hadn't said them in a long long time. Actually she couldn't recall the last time she had said them at all.
"I'll try to hurry." he promised. Suddenly it sounded like the connection was breaking down. "Ok, I am entering the garage now, I guess I will lose the connection any moment. I'll see you later." he finished and then the line was dead.

Lara sighed. Bryce came out of the shop and towards Lara.
"So what's going on?"
"Nothing." Lara replied grinning.
"Ok, forget I've asked. Can we go back to the store we past twenty minutes ago?"
"Yes, sure." Lara said and followed Bryce back to the mentioned store.

At five o'clock they were back at the hotel. On the way back Bryce had told Lara what he had found in the computer store. She had tried to listen to what he was saying but from time to time she caught herself with her thoughts drifting away. And now she and Bryce were sitting in her hotel room.
"I think I'll go down to the pool." Bryce suddenly said. "Care to join me?"
Lara had a look at her watch and then decided that this sounded better than doing nothing for the next two hours. So she said to Bryce she would meet him down by the pool. She rummaged in her bags for her swimsuit and towels.

Lara had just placed her towel on a chair and jumped into the water when her phone rang. She climbed out of the water and walked back towards where she had placed her stuff. She picked up and found Kazuya on the other end.
"Hey Lara. I am done here. Where can I meet you?"
"Typical. I have just jumped into the pool."
"Ok, then I will keep myself busy a while longer."
"No way. Get over here now."
"Uh, that sounded like an order. Ok. I'm coming, but don't tell anyone that I listen to your orders. This might ruin my reputation for ever."
"Ok, then I will see you soon."
"See you in a minute."