The Owl and the Angel

Chapter 4

A week had passed since Parker's first day with Cox. Miss Parker met with Sydney, she met with Lyle. Cox would send flowers and the occasional note. She was surprised that he wasn't forcing himself in but was giving her space to think and process. Which she certainly needed.

Dr. Cox came into her office on a rainy Friday morning and invited her to dinner that evening. Parker was hesitant but she knew she really did not have much choice. Lyle had told her he had checked into the other names on her list and she shuddered at the thought of any of them. It was Cox or some other sociopath who definitely would not be as kind to her at this point as he had been.

So, she accepted his invitation and she knew she wouldn't be able to focus on anything else for the rest of the morning. He asked if she liked the flowers which were wilting but still in their vase. She smiled and thanked him for them. Cox smiled at her. He wanted to stay and talk but he knew they both had work to do.

Lyle came and announced that they had thought there was a lead on Jarod but it turned out to be a doppelganger that they had seen in the past. That guy really irritated Lyle. They had even questioned him several times but he didn't know Jarod. At least that's what he said. Lyle still didn't believe him and neither did she.

Regardless, they hadn't had a solid lead on Jarod in months and they were all anxious. Lyle was keeping busy with other projects and Miss Parker was working to attract new clients and keeping current clients happy. The Triumvirate was demanding results but they were not coming. Jarod had finally disappeared. Probably to marry Zoe and to have a family.

Miss Parker wished she had the balls to do that. Just disappear and make a new life. But the Centre was all that she ever knew and the thought of starting over, as appealing as it sounded, it was too frightening.

She and Cox had not spent much time together since their first date, aside from when he made sure she didn't drown in her bathtub. But that didn't count because Lyle was there. There were a lot of things they needed to discuss -living arrangements, finances, etc. She had a lot of assets and preferred not to divulge that information to him quite yet. He was still technically working for the Triumvirate even though he had been at the Centre for nearly two years.

Cox came back to her office late in the afternoon. She was finishing a report but she smiled faintly at him as he sat down. She was trying. Really. She knew what was at stake. He was earlier than she had expected but she couldn't remember if they had set an exact time. He didn't seem in a hurry or upset that she was making him wait.

Cox always had that serene look. When he wasn't looking straight through to your soul. She wondered what was going through his mind. She wondered if he would try anything tonight. She hoped not. For several reasons. But Miss Parker would deal with that when the time came.

She finished her work and gathered her things. She only knew they were having dinner but she didn't know where. She didn't want to go home and then go back out. Parker was in a mood and she knew once she got home she wouldn't want to leave.

Cox led her to his car and opened the door for her. She would say that he was certainly more of a gentleman than she had imagined he would be. And she noticed he kept his eyes upwards this evening. Maybe he wasn't as repulsive as she thought. Damn it, she was prepared to hate him, now she was second guessing herself. Get it together, Parker.

Tonight at dinner, they talked more about logistics for their upcoming union. Neither of them wanted to make a big deal of the ceremony but they recognized that their families and friends would want to be present and celebrate with them. Their deadline for the marriage itself was the end of August and they were quickly approaching the middle of July.

Cox would contact his sisters and have them help with the planning. His eldest sister was an event planner so she was well equipped to schedule and plan something like this quickly. Parker was just glad it wouldn't fall to her to plan all this in a month.

They had not talked about the other requirement. Children. Cox was hesitant to bring it up and Parker was studiously avoiding the topic. It was not something she had allowed herself to think about. Not for a long time. Parker wasn't sure how much longer they could go before discussing it.

She knew that Lyle had already arranged for his girlfriend from Africa to be transferred to Blue Cove and she had arrived that morning. For some reason he felt the need to tell his sister that he had already screwed her in her new office. And he was going to propose to her that evening. Like she cared. She had her own problems to worry about.

But Cox, as creepy as he could be, he was treating her well enough. She had no idea what his angle was with her. Did he want power? Did he want control of whatever she had in her DNA that gave her this inner sense? Did he even know about her inner sense? She wished her inner sense would tell her something about Cox but she hadn't tried to develop it since the incident with the train. It was no help in this matter.

She was on her own. Parker couldn't help that she liked the way he smiled at her as they walked along the boardwalk. It was dangerous to let her guard down. She tried to remain aloof but he was charming her and eventually she wouldn't be able to resist him. She didn't even mind when he put an arm around her shoulder as they walked along the boardwalk.

Parker needed to get a grip on her emotions before something happened. To any casual onlooker, they would appear to be a regular couple out on a date after a long week. Just enjoying the warm evening by the beach. No one would suspect they were roughly a month away from what was basically an arranged marriage or that they barely knew each other aside from what they had learned from spying and snooping.

But Cox was polite and unassuming, never taking liberties with her. He hadn't even tried to kiss her except for a chaste kiss on her hand. Maybe he was waiting for her to kiss him. How old were they that they were playing these games? They both knew what was going to happen in a few weeks, why not rip off the band-aid and get this over with?

He walked her back to the car and before stepping in, she raised her hand to his face but stopped right before she touched him. It didn't feel right yet. She wasn't ready. She met his eyes and he smiled sadly at her. He knew. He drove her back to her car parked at the Centre and made sure that she left safely. He had more work to do in his lab.

There were too many people around during the day and some things could only be done at night.