The job offer came right after New Year's Eve. The recruiter who contacted her apologized for calling during the holiday season, but mentioned that the NFL had received a glowing recommendation about her from one of Sharon's former commander at Internal Affairs for the Chief of Security position and that they would be happy to consider her for the job. Unsure how she felt about retiring from the LAPD, Sharon scheduled an interview for the following week, giving her time to consider this potential offer more thoroughly. She hadn't interviewed for a job in thirty years, and her only workplace before the LAPD was sorting books at the public library and that didn't require any unique skills. Undoubtedly, this position would be a step up from Major Crimes.
The morning of the interview, as she studied her reflection in the mirror, she wasn't sure if she even had the will to start anew. Major Crimes was a comfortable spot for her, suitable to her skills and needs. As tantalizing as this change was, it could also disrupt the security she'd worked for years to acquire.
"You look fancy today," Rainie said as she passed by Sharon's door. "Do you have a special event at work today or something?"
Sharon decided not to tell Rainie or Andy about the offered position. She wanted to attend the interview first and see for herself if the job was a feasible option for her before she let them know about it.
Sharon sounded an uncommitted hum.
Rainie shrugged and wished her a good day before she left for school.
Three hours later, as Sharon strode out of the NFL Los Angeles offices and towards her car, she was convinced that the interview didn't go well, yet she didn't feel regret. She loved her job at the LAPD, and she didn't need to look toward something better. It was true that the opportunity found her, but it didn't mean she had to take it.
However, Sharon was a self-aware woman, and she knew that she rarely reacted well to the possibility of significant, destabilizing life changes. She remembered how four years earlier when she was offered to take over Major Crimes, she was reluctant to take it, and how she struggled to make a decision that had already been made for her. It was only Chief Pope's promise to make her Commander – a promise he did not keep – that convinced her to fill that position. Even though that job brought massive life changes, she didn't regret it, and she truly enjoyed putting her brain to work in a different capacity than she did before. Big changes could be good, but there was no use dreaming about working for the NFL, since she was pretty sure that she didn't impress anyone at the NFL human resources department enough to give her a second thought.
Therefore, when she received a call only two days later asking her to do another interview, this time on Skype with one of the NFL executives from their headquarters in New York, Sharon was shocked. The recruiter also laid out details of the salary and benefits package Sharon would receive if she took the job. The salary was three times higher than the LAPD's and the pension plan was lucrative. She wasn't easily seduced by money, but she couldn't deny that it was a great offer. Plus, she loved football, and she was sure that making money off a hobby was an added benefit of the job. Now that she knew that she had a real chance of getting the job, she could no longer dismiss her fears as she had before.
Knowing that this was an opportunity that would affect her life and relationships, Sharon knew that she had to tell Andy and Rainie about it. Since it was a Friday night and Rainie was supposed to be out with Heather, she decided to wait until Saturday morning, until both Rainie and Andy would be home.
Sharon was setting the breakfast table when she felt Andy's arms slip around her waist from behind and pull her to him.
"I love this color on you," he whispered against her neck.
She hummed and angled her head to kiss him. "Good morning, handsome."
"It's always a good morning when I see you," he replied, prying the plates from her hands. "Here, let me help you."
Sharon returned to the kitchen to get the jug of freshly squeezed orange juice and a placed it on the table.
"Coffee?" she offered and Andy nodded. "Could you please go and ask Rainie to join us?"
Andy's eyebrows quirked up. "Is there anything going on?"
"I just need to talk to the both of you," Sharon explained.
"Uh-oh. Did we do something wrong?" Sharon could tell that Andy was only half joking.
"No, honey. It's nothing like that." Sharon motioned towards the hall and Andy took the hint and went to get Rainie.
They returned a few moments later, both looking clueless and a bit anxious.
"Morning, darling," Sharon kissed her daughter's cheek. "How was your date with Heather last night?"
"It was cool. We went to a frat party. I've never been to those before."
"Sounds like fun." Sharon smiled.
Rainie hummed, eyeing her mother as Sharon sat at the table .
Andy and Rainie joined her and filled their plates.
"So, um, Andy said you wanted to talk to us about something." Rainie brought a forkful of bacon to her mouth and grimaced when she realized it was actually tempeh.
"What is this?" she mouthed to Andy, who shrugged apologetically.
"Yes, I did," Sharon replied, amused by the exchange about the bacon. "I received a job offer, and I'm seriously considering it."
"A job? Where?" Andy tried to be calm about it, but failed miserably.
"The NFL. They're considering me for Chief of Security," Sharon said.
"The NFL? That's amazing, Sharon. What are they offering?"
Sharon explained in detail the salary and benefits, and noticed Andy's eyes becoming shinier with every word that she said.
"What do you think, Rainie?" she turned to her daughter whose response she couldn't decipher.
"It sounds terrific, Mom. It's gonna be a great opportunity for you." Sharon could tell that her daughter was excited for her.
"There's a lot of traveling involved. It means I will be away a lot. What do you think about that?" Sharon asked.
Rainie shrugged. "You'll still be living in LA, right?"
"Yes."
Apparently the response provided Rainie the assurance she needed. "Then I don't see any problem. You're gonna rock. I know it."
Sharon smiled and softly patted Rainie's hand. Despite Rainie's front, Sharon still wasn't convinced of Rainie's blessing.
"So when's your interview?" Andy asked.
"Next week, and if I pass that, I'll have to fly to New York City for one final interview," Sharon explained.
The conversation at the breakfast table did nothing to assure Sharon that this might work out. While clearly supportive, Rainie was not oozing with enthusiasm at the prospect of not having her mother around, and Sharon worried about being away from her as well. Adding that to the fact that she genuinely enjoyed her job at the LAPD, Sharon was less than sold on the NFL position. The Tamika Weaver murder demanded that Sharon redirect her attention towards the investigation, and she had to postpone the interview in order to handle the high-profile case.
Three days into the investigation, as Sharon was clearing her breakfast off the table, Rainie approached her and said that she needed to talk to her about something serious. Pouring herself another cup of coffee, Sharon sat back at the breakfast table and listened to Rainie tell her that Gary, her biological mother's "good-for-nothing" boyfriend followed her and confronted her about finding Sharon Beck. Sharon was even more shocked to discover that the incident happened several days ago and that Rainie did not come to her sooner. Rainie explained that she had told Buzz and Provenza about it only after discovering that Gary was involved in a liquor store robbery and that her mother could either be involved or in danger.
Knowing of the abuse Rainie endured from Gary in her childhood, Sharon felt concern spread through her body like radiation.
"Honey, meeting Gary… are you okay?"
"He didn't touch me. We were in public. And I think he was more worried about finding my mother than harming me," Rainie replied.
"I meant emotionally," Sharon clarified.
"I'm disappointed in myself. This man took so much from me, and seeing his face – seeing my rapist's face – I wanted to run away. I wanted to go somewhere safe, but more than that, I wanted to get revenge. I wanted to take away from him everything that he stole from me."
Sharon listened to her daughter courageously dissecting her emotions, and her fingers curled into fists. That man deserved to rot in hell but until that could be arranged Sharon would ensure that Rainie receive the justice that she deserved.
Once they found her, it didn't take long to convince Sharon Beck to give away all the information she had about Gary, and it was even easier to arrest Gary and bring in him for questioning. Gary waving his rights made everything so much simpler for the police.
As Sharon sat in front of him in the interview room, she tried to ignore the nausea. Facing the man who raped her daughter spawned a venomous hatred that coursed through her veins.
"For something lesser than three strikes, I can identify my accomplice," Gary said as he turned to look at Sharon. "I mean, I know who you are. You gotta be interested in seeing that crazy bitch put away, right? Don't you wanna see Sharon Beck where she can't hurt your daughter again?"
Sharon's blood boiled at Gary's audacity. After what he did to Rainie, after all the damage he caused, after the trauma he inflicted upon her daughter, he dared pretend to care about Rainie?
"Mr. Lewis, when did you develop this touching concern for Rainie's welfare?" Sharon spat. "Was it just after you stopped molesting her and abandoned her at the zoo?"
"I never touched Rainie. Her Mom pimped her to other men," Gary replied.
"Is that so?" Provenza asked.
"Well, I know she told you it was me. Poor girl, she was young, she didn't know these men, and I was a constant in her life. It was probably easier to blame it all on me."
Sharon used the last of her self-restraint trying not to suffocate this monster. With that in mind, she decided to leave the room and handle Mark Hickman and the Tamika Weaver murder, leaving Provenza to finish this unsavory job.
When she trudged into her condo that night, she was thankful to find Rainie asleep. Sharon's emotions were too raw and she needed to process them before she could confront Rainie with Gary's claim, false as it was. Rainie needed to hear what Gary said in his interrogation from Sharon, not some other way.
Sharon poured herself a glass of red wine and took it to the bathroom, where she filled the bathtub and shed her clothes. The warm water that lapped against her skin and the wine that slid down her throat unlaced her emotional knots, and before she realized, tears started falling from her eyes and wails of sorrow escaped her mouth. She brought her knees to her chest and buried her face between them, her upper teeth scrapping the skin of her knees to muffle the sound of her sobs.
Her eyes were still damp after she crawled into bed. She stared at the ceiling and took deep breaths, trying in vain to calm down. When her phone vibrated, she smiled at the sight of Andy's name on the screen.
"How are you doing, babe?" he asked.
"It was a tough day," she admitted.
"Are you crying?"
Sharon sniffled loudly and hummed the affirmative.
"Do you want me to come over? I'm not far."
"No," Sharon sighed. "It's been a long day for you too. You should go home and get some rest."
"Can we Facetime? I want to see your face, make sure you're alright."
"Sure," Sharon sniffled again and pressed on the Facetime icon.
"Hey babe," Andy said warmly. She noticed that he was standing in his kitchen, wearing an apron.
"Hey." Her voice shook uttering the single syllable. "You lied about being nearby."
"Sorry." His soft smile and shy shrug made Sharon's heart constrict painfully. Having someone who would drive for nearly an hour to comfort her was not something she experienced before. Andy never failed to amaze her.
"You're making dinner?"
"Yeah, I needed a meeting so I came home late," Andy replied. "Your hair's wet. Did you just get out of the shower?"
"I had a bath," Sharon replied. "This is nice, how come we never do this?"
"We'll probably Facetime more often if you decide to take the position at the NFL," Andy replied.
"About that –" Sharon knew that he'd be disappointed with what she was going to say. "I'm not going to reschedule the interview."
"Why not?" The look on Andy's face confirmed his disappointment.
"It's nice to be considered, but I can't imagine having to be away from Rainie and you. And also I don't want to leave the LAPD. I may not have intended to become a cop, but my job gives me a sense of purpose. I'm not sure it's something I can get from the position at the NFL."
"So no free tickets to games, huh?" Andy teased.
"We'll have to pay for them, just like everyone else," Sharon confirmed with a smile.
"If we must." Andy sighed dramatically, but his demeanor almost immediately sobered. "Are you sure this is what will make you happy?"
"I'm sure."
"Then that's what you should do," he replied. "I love you, Sharon."
"I love you too, honey."
After they ended the call, Sharon felt better. She couldn't take Rainie's pain away, but she could get justice for her daughter. The LAPD would not be able to charge Gary of child abuse or sexual abuse, because of the statute of limitations, but they could and would charge him of armed robbery.
As they sat for breakfast the following morning, Sharon explained to Rainie what Gary had said in his interrogation.
"That's bullshit, Mom. My mother did not sell me. It was Gary who came to my bed every night. There were no other men until Gary and my mother abandoned me. He's lying."
"I know, sweetheart. I believe you. But the bigger problem is if Gary holds to his story that your mother planned the robbery –"
Rainie argued that her mother was the worst planner in the world, explaining that she couldn't even plan a meal or think anything ahead. "He can't go free, Mom," Rainie said and stared into her bowl of cereal for a long moment. "I want to confront him. Can you make that happen?"
"Confront him? Rainie, that might not be the best idea," Sharon replied.
"It's my rape. I get to choose how to handle it."
Sharon flinched at the complicated truth. "I can't get you into the interrogation room with him, but you can pay him a visit at County Jail. But Rainie, understand that he cannot be tried for rape."
"I know what the law says, Mom. I'm doing this for myself. Not for you or for my mother," Rainie explained.
"Be careful, love. And please call me as soon as you're out of there," Sharon said.
Sharon was surprised to receive a recorded admission from Gary on planning to rob a liquor store and frame Sharon Beck for it by the end of the same day. Rainie's brave move to go and confront Gary with the facts and tell him in his face what she thought of him helped bring closure to the case. Sharon knew that Rainie's confrontation with Gary did not heal the wound in her soul, but it seemed to bring the girl some solace.
As she thought of the day she had, Sharon realized that her ability to help Rainie obtain justice was one of the things she was most proud of. Days like this were why she loved her job and why she was glad that she rejected the offer from the NFL.
-TBC-