So let's see what's next... oh right, a conversation at the beach. Enjoy?
The next few days were rather uneventful, and to Chris's delight, Street doesn't actually appear to be in the building either. He had assigned himself the shifts in front of the monitors and in the vehicle for a few days.
The next rotation, he would be in Molly's apartment, and something told him that it wouldn't be fun.
After the girls' evening, he had seen on the monitors that Chris was a little distraught and sad, but everything was okay again the next day.
He also knew now that the two women usually went jogging together in the morning and that his people weren't always able to keep up. As a result, he had agreed to let the twosome go running alone. Molly's argument, when he had tried not to, had been: "You also allowed the evening together on the grounds that Chris is an excellent bodyguard!" At that point, he had conceded because anything he could've said would've been bad.
Jim enjoys the fresh breeze, and his run on the beach, the rhythm of the waves dictates the rhythm of his steps, and it's good to work out in the morning.
When he takes a short drinking break, he feels something damp, cold on his cheek and at first thinks of rain until a rough tongue licks his cheek. He turns to the side, confused, and sees a panting Luna standing in front of him.
"Where did you leave your mom?" he asks softly and briefly strokes the now very trusting dog.
A dry voice behind him answers, "at home." Immediately, Luna withdraws and growls softly.
Chris pulls a water bottle from her fanny pack and a small dish. She fills the bowl for Luna, and the dog drinks gratefully.
Chris drops into the sand a few meters further. Was Molly right after all? Should she try to talk to him again?
But what was the point of that? He would be gone soon anyway.
While Chris is still sitting in the sand, pondering what to do, and drawing circles in there, she suddenly hears a growl from her side. She turns her head and sees Street carefully straightening up and brushing the sand off his clothes.
Luna must have felt that Chris was feeling a little uncomfortable, and by the growling, she gave it away. Street looks at her sadly but understandingly.
"I'll ... " he says and simply points his hand back towards the promenade.
Chris grimaces and then quickly rushes out: "Maybe we could talk, I mean, if you have a little time still."
She looks down and has to admit she doesn't know if that was a good idea, but she just had to take the chance. This moment seemed like a gift, and it was an opportunity to at least try and solve this mess.
Jim scratches the back of his head, a little unsure what to do at first, but then drops back into the sand again.
He briefly sucks in air sharply. Somehow, he's suddenly scared. What would she say now?
Slowly and carefully, he looks up and tries to read the expression on her face. But no chance. Chris had hidden her face behind Luna's neck. Almost immediately after he sat down, the dog had turned to Chris and almost begged for pats.
He had noticed this several times in the past few days. Whenever Molly or Chris seemed agitated, the dog would cuddle up to the two of them and give them their full attention, but also demand the same from them.
He starts to speak anyway. "Chris? What do you want to talk about?"
Yes, asking is a good idea, he tells himself until Chris looks at him and he knows immediately that it was not a good question to ask.
"Why?" she says harshly, and Luna whines briefly, startled. "Why did you just leave LA without saying a word. Why didn't you answer calls and messages anymore? Why did I have to find out from Luca?" It gushes out of Chris, and he hears very clearly that she is still hurt. But she had to understand ...
Chris hides her face in Luna's fur again while she waits with bated breath to hear what Jim has to say.
"You had already decided ..." she can't hold back the tears when the accusation comes, and Chris doesn't hear the rest either. She only perceives that suddenly steps are moving away. He was gone again, and nothing was resolved.
The reminder of her SmartWatch tells Chris that she has to hurry to drop Luna off at home and she must have a shower in the HQ because it will probably be too close if she wants to be on time for her shift. She runs back completely in a daze, though, trying to work out what had just happened. In the entrance area of the apartment building, Luna doesn't run directly to Molly as usual but stays by Chris's side.
Molly is a little puzzled, and when she sees the dried tears on her friend's face, she worries.
Without hesitation, she pulls Chris into a hug. "What happened?" she whispers, but Chris doesn't answer.
"I have to go. I'm already running late." Chris just presses it out between pursed lips.
Molly looks briefly at the bodyguard, and he takes a few steps away, then she turns back to her friend. It's unusual for Chris to cry so easily, so she assumes something terrible must have happened.
"Chris, you can't go to work like that. What happened? Talk to me!" she says again and holds out a handkerchief to Chris.
"I," sobs Chris "I, we ... Street." That is all she manages to say, looking desperately for up to stop the tears.
Molly takes her in her arms again, and Luna now sits down next to Chris, whimpering and licks her knee over and over again.
At some point, Chris has recovered a little and smiles gratefully. "I should really be going now. I'm way too late," she says in a fairly firm voice and wipes her face again with her sleeve. "And you must go too." she nods in the direction of the handbag Molly already has with her.
"Yes, and no. I have to stop by HQ today because of a few files. And you can spend the day with me today. My father will surely have no objection to it. It was a case that your team was working on anyway. So you get to brief me now, "she winks briefly, and Chris looks surprised.
Molly pushes her towards the entrance. "Go! Shower. And then we'll talk in peace again."
While Chris disappears into her apartment, Molly writes a text message. "Tonight, I want some answers, and don't you dare change the roster. Then I'll question Chris in front of your employees!"
After Chris is ready, the two women take Chris' car to HQ, and Molly knows that Jim was informed with certainty about it. It's a change of plan, after all, if she doesn't take her car. But she wanted to make sure they were alone in case Chris wanted to talk. As unlikely as the thought was, it should at least be possible.
The day itself is relaxed, albeit exhausting. Molly digs through the mountain of files with Chris's support, and the other team members take care of them. Luna is sent jogging with the recruits and is therefore fully occupied.
As Chris and Molly say goodbye in the hallway, Chris pulls the lawyer into a tight hug. "Thanks. For just being there today." Molly smiles and nods. "Sure, and whenever you want to talk ..." Chris looks briefly at the bodyguard. "Maybe if you have no more shadow." and then she goes to her apartment. Luna whimpers briefly because she has not received a goodbye but then follows Molly without hesitation into her apartment. Sometime later, at the change of shift, Molly almost expects the door to open and someone else to come in, but it is actually Jim, to her surprise. After saying goodbye to his co-worker, he stands a little unsure of himself in the room. All-day long, since the encounter on the beach, his thoughts have also been on a rollercoaster. He knows that his hurt feelings might just destroyed the little progress he and Chris had made, and he can only imagine what Molly has heard today. He knows from his staff that the two women were alone all day. Molly looks at him seriously and puts a hand on her hip. With a movement of her head, she gestures for Jim to sit down and then takes a seat in the armchair.
"Can you at least explain to me what happened today? I understand why you don't want to talk to me about last year. However, that shouldn't be a reason either. I always knew that you two are very close. Others might even say soulmates. But I don't see any of that anymore. I only see two broken people and hearts. " Molly says everything so gently and understandingly that Jim inevitably has to look up to make sure he didn't imagine the tone of her voice. He has to swallow deeply. Did Chris really tell her everything? What did Molly really know? And why was she so understanding?