I want to thank Jadenanne7 by help me in the translation and adaptation of my story for English. Thanks very. Thank you very much for his invaluable help!
Lizzie arrived late to the meeting at the Post Office, and when she entered the room, Cooper spoke with irony.
"Good morning, Agent Keen, we look forward to hearing about your first contact with Sebastian Schmitz on Saturday."
She spied Red sitting in a corner, looking at her in an ironic way, and before she can have any reaction, he got up to talk to Cooper.
"Agent Keen struggled to get the attention of Schmitz, but unfortunately she had no success. The guilt is mine, I should have known that he likes women more showy and daring, and he especially likes the blondes."
Lizzie is angered by his lies, but decided to stay quiet.
"Unfortunately we could not make contact. For the next approach, I suggest that the agency uses another agent who fits the profile of what Schmitz likes. We will have many new opportunities as he has a busy social agenda," Red said, smiling slyly at Lizzie.
"If that is how it all happened, we have to revise our approach and summon another FBI agent to make contact with Schmitz," Cooper said in a resigned tone.
Elizabeth was so angry with Reddington that she barely paid attention to the rest of the meeting. She did not look at him, but she could feel his gaze on her and knew that he had not lost any of his movements.
Once the meeting ended, Lizzie left and went quickly to her room while Cooper and Red continued to talk. She sat at her desk, praying that he would go away, but fifteen minutes later she heard a knock at her door.
"Come in!" she said in an annoyed tone, knowing it was Red.
"Hope you are calmer," Red said as he entered and closed the door.
"Go to hell, you son of a bitch!" Lizzie responded. She threw a paperweight at him, but he quickly diverted it. He loved how unpredictable she was...never knowing how she was going to react...
"You embarrassed me in front of my coworkers!" Lizzie said angrily. "He likes his women more showy and daring! The way you said it made it seem like I showed up to the party in a garbage bag! You just forgot to mention your small contribution that spoiled the whole plan," she hissed furiously.
"I appreciate that you have been silent," Red said sarcastically.
"And what would I say? That you grabbed me while I was talking with Schmitz, called me your fiancee, and then kissed me?" she said, visibly upset. "You know you put me in a difficult position, knowing that in the end I could not mention any of this."
Red looked at her and gestured his hands in a peace offering. "You're right. I was not honest with you in this situation, but I do not regret it because I know it's safer for you to be away from Schmitz." He looked at her sweetly and continued to speak softly. "You may not believe this, but my first concern is your safety. I've put you in danger so often, but I regret having to do it. One day our luck could run out and something bad might happen to you," Red said in a voice so sincere that Lizzie almost believed him.
"Okay Red, let's say I believe you did all this for my welfare. So what? We still have a problem. Your attitude just left me in a predicament with the staff. Now everyone will think I am not competent at my job."
"I told Cooper that you were completely competent, but you are just not what Schmitz goes for," Red said, drawing closer to her. "You are a wonderful woman and I not was being derogatory. I just did not want you near a dangerous man like Schmitz." He reached out and squeezed her shoulders. "I do not want you upset with me. If we're going to work well together we need to work in harmony," he said, looking into her eyes. "Also...you can't imagine the power you have over men," he whispered sexily in her ear, giving her the shivers.
"Red, by any chance are you trying to seduce me?" Lizzie asked wryly.
"Far be it from me to ever try that with you," Red said cynically. "Let's go out to dinner tonight. I know a chinese restaurant where food is wonderful," he invited, hoping to restore their working relationship.
"I don't know if is safe to go out with you," Lizzie said, not missing the opportunity to tease him.
"I promise to behave like a perfect gentleman, " Red said, putting his hand on his chest as if it were an oath.
"Okay. I will go out to dinner with you," Lizzie responded, a bit uncertainly.
"Great! I'll be at your home at 6pm," Red said animatedly, and was out of her office before she could change her mind. He left the Post Office excited that he was able to convince her to go out with him after what had happened. This would be the first step in bringing their relationship to a more intimate level. However, thoughts of Elizabeth had to be set aside, because now he had a more urgent business to attend to.
Lizzie came home tired from a long day's work and looked at the clock, cursing when she realized that it was already 5:20. It was time for her to get ready for her dinner with Red. She was fresh from her shower and deciding what to wear when the phone rang.
"I'm here," Red said sensually.
"You will just have to wait. I'm running late." Lizzie hung up the phone, not waiting for Red's reply.
Finally, she decided on a black, short-sleevd dress that fell down to her knees. Satisfied, she walked down to the car where Red was waiting patiently. He eyed her dress, knowing that even though it was a nice dress, it also relayed a message...stay away. "You look lovely Lizzie, although somewhat demure," he said with a playful smile.
She ignored his comments and settled into the seat beside him. It was obvious that he had realized her maneuver, and, apparently, instead of getting annoyed, he decided to respond by mocking her. Since he seemed to be a master at guessing her mood, she pretended she did not understand his comment. "Where are we going?" she asked, changing the subject.
"To a chinese restaurant where the food is wonderful, as promised," he answered without taking his eyes off her.
Since Lizzie had decided to act reserved to keep him away, Red decided that he would go in the opposite direction. Upon arriving at the restaurant, he opened the door for her and lead her to a private table in a private area where they could be more at ease. After the waiter served their drinks, Red turned to Lizzie and stared at her with his deep green eyes. "A toast to our partnership. I told you we would form a great team," he said cryptically.
"A great team," Lizzie repeated, raising her glass.
"This team will last for the rest of our lives," he said affectionately, placing his hand over hers.
"You are going down a dangerous path, Red, Lizzie said seriously.
"Why, Lizzie?"
"You know you have an agreement with the FBI, and I ,as an employee, can't get involved with you," she said, knowing that her answer only scratched the surface of the many reasons they should not be together.
Red knew that her answer was very true, and knew how she disliked circumventing the rules. "Lizzie...I let nothing get in my way when I want something. I know it is difficult for you to get involved with me due to your job, and I do not expect the FBI to approve. But I think we need to take a chance on us, and if we feel that our relationship has a future, we will think about how to solve this later. I just hope that you do not decide anything without at least giving me a chance to prove how much I love you," Red said passionately, kissing her hand.
His statement shocked her. She thought that he wanted just a sexual relationship, so for him to declare his love was bewildering.
"Red...I don't know what to say..."
"I know dear, I've given us a lot of thought, and I thought I should take the initiative to tell you how I feel, but whatever you decide, I'll accept it," he said humbly.
"I love your company, Red. I know that we spent a lot together, but now my feelings about you are confused," she spoke sincerely. "After Tom strayed I became very wary of men...always thinking they have ulterior motives. I do not know if I will ever regain the confidence to give my love to someone else," she said sadly.
"I know how difficult it must be for you Lizzie, after all of Tom's lies, but as I told you before, you can trust me because I have never lied to you." Red spoke sincerly, never taking his eyes from hers.
" I never really know where I am with you. You say you've never lied to me, but then you will not speak the truth, I'm always in the dark, trying to find the truth with only the crumbs that you give me."
"Whatever I do, know that I do it because I know what's best for you. When I told you about your husband, you did not believe me. You had to find out the truth for yourself that your marriage was a lie." There was a sadness in his voice as he pleaded with her to understand. "Lizzie, you need to understand that you need to find the truth on your own. I'm just the light that shows you which direction to take," he said, looking at her lovingly. "You are broken now and you need to pick up the pieces. When that happens, you will be ready to understand me and accept me, for I trod this path a long time ago and I know exactly how you feel. When this happens, you can be sure that we will have a future together, because you are the only person I trust in this world and you know that you can blindly trust me, because I will never betray you."
Lizzie knew that he was right and that she did feel broken and unsure of which way to go. Red has always supported her, and she had to accept that even when she didn't approve of him, he always tried to protect her and help her in his own way. After dinner, they went to her house in silence and Red accompanied her to the door.
"I will not invite him inside because my head is a whirl of thoughts and I need to put them in order. We'll talk about all of this tomorrow," Lizzie said, looking at Red.
"As you wish, Lizzie, Have a good night," he said, taking his leave after giving her a soft kiss on the mouth.
Lizzie entered the house, knowing she had a long night of no sleep ahead of her.