Bobby Meets His Match-Chapter 9
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Cathy sat staring at her reflection in the shiny conference room table. She felt a bit nervous here at Rangeman, with all these guys in black, but so far they had been very nice to her. The guy at the front desk downstairs had been polite but reluctant to let her through when she came into the building saying she HAD to talk to Bobby. Maybe he thought she was some kind of crackpot, Bobby was so handsome he probably had crazy women stalkers following him. The guy at the desk, whose name turned out to be Zip, made her wait while he made a call, and within moments across the lobby came the dark haired, handsome guy, Ranger, she remembered from that disastrous encounter in her office. When she explained that she HAD to see Bobby, Ranger hadn't been able to totally hide the slight smirk from his face. He'd asked about her ankle, and told her Bobby was out in the field on an assignment. She had to work hard to keep herself from crying. She'd been trying to reach Bobby for days, and coming to Rangeman was the only other way she could think of to find him, and now he wasn't here.
Ranger must have noticed the look of disappointment in her eyes, because he'd told her Bobby was due back in a couple of hours and would she like to wait? Ranger had escorted her into the elevator and to a fifth floor conference room, where she settled back in a thick ,comfy leather chair. A HUGE guy named Hal brought her coffee and then asked her if she had "everything she needs." She couldn't help but notice this HUGE man dressed in black, who looked incongruous carrying a small cup of coffee in his giant hands. She had noticed that ALL the guys in this place were huge, dressed in black, and each wore at least one gun. What kind of company was this?
All the guys were handsome, especially that Ranger, and there must be some requirement at Rangeman that all the guys have massive biceps, , but none of them was as handsome and sexy, or as well built as Bobby.
Cathy sat, gripping the cup, staring at her reflection and sighing. She wasn't sure if Bobby would even see her. He'd been avoiding her the last few days. To be honest, she wasn't sure what she would say to him. She really liked him, possibly more than she should, considering she hadn't known him all that long. He was strong, sweet, sexy, and solid. Except when he has a bad dream and tries to kill me, she thought. It broke her heart to think about what Bobby must have gone through to have such terrible nightmares. And she would never forget the look of shame horror and on his face when he realized what he had almost done. He hadn't hurt her, but for a guy like Bobby, the thought that he COULD have hurt her, even unintentionally, would be unacceptable. He was obviously embarrassed that she had seen him in a moment of weakness.
Cathy's ruminations were interrupted by the vibrating of her phone. She reached into her purse, looked at the number, then rolled her eyes and threw the phone back into her purse, unanswered. Damn. Her loser ex-boyfriend had been calling her a lot in the last three days. They had been broken up for almost a year and suddenly, he wanted her back. Cathy had been very clear that she was with someone else and not to call her again, but Scott obviously wouldn't listen. She hadn't answered any of his calls or returned any of the eight increasingly more agitated messages he'd left for her in the last three days. There was no way she'd even talk to Scott again. Bobby was so different from Scott, although they were both strong powerful men. The difference was the Bobby was sweet, gentle, strong, and solid, while Scott was psycho and condescending. Scott had even hit her once, right before she left him, and he hadn't even been contrite. Despite Bobby's reaction to his dream, Cathy knew he would NEVER hurt her.
Cathy grinned as yet another of the men in black craned his head to look into the conference room. Five different guys had walked past that door since she came, a couple of them twice. And they had each made a point to appear subtle as they deliberately checked her out. Like they had never seen a woman before or something. For guys that were supposed to be stealthy, these guys had the subtlety of a lumbering elephant. Apparently, she was quite the sensation. She guessed that it wasn't often that a woman came to see one of the men and was willing to wait two hours for him to return. The guys were probably wondering if she was a crazy stalker. Another guy, Ram, poked his head in and asked if she needed anything else. So subtle.
Cathy wasn't prepared for the woman that she saw through the conference room door. What the hell? It was the same dark haired woman she'd seen with Bobby in the restaurant, Pino's. She had held Bobby's hand and hugged him. Who was she? What was she doing here? Did she work here? Would Bobby have sex with Cathy if he was already seeing this other woman? Cathy didn't think so, but she had been wrong about a guy before.
Cathy watched the dark haired woman talk to Ranger, as her cell phone went off again. Damn. It was Scott. She was tired of this. She threw the phone open. " I told you to quit calling me," she said, lowering her voice when she heard it echo in the mostly empty room. "Baby, I need to see you," Scott said, again oblivious to her words. " No, I won't see you . Don't call me. Go away. I am not with you I am with someone else now. You need to move on and quit calling me."
Oh, great. The dark haired woman had poked her head into the conference room just in time to hear Cathy say, "quit calling me." Cathy quickly snapped the phone shut and looked up at her adversary.
Steph looked towards the conference room at the red haired woman sitting there. " That's Cathy? The girl that has Bobby tied in knots?," Ranger couldn't hide his smile. " She showed up downstairs, insisting that she had to see Bobby." he told her. "She's been waiting for over an hour." Steph had a bad feeling. "Did she tell you what's going on?" she asked. Ranger gave her a look. "Well, I know Bobby has completely fallen for her, but I have no idea why she needs to come here to see him." he said. "Maybe Bobby hasn't called her?" Ranger seemed amused, but unconcerned about Cathy's presence.
Steph remembered how upset Bobby had been when he'd talked to her several days ago about his dreams affecting his relationship with Cathy. "By the way, Ranger, do you know about his dreams?" Ranger gave her his blankface. She hated that. " You must know about the nightmares Bobby has. He was worried about upsetting Cathy with them. He told me you knew. Doesn't our insurance cover a therapist for him to talk to?"
Ranger's face remained impassive, but she knew he was cringing inside at the word "therapist." This was a topic none of the guys would talk about. She stared at Ranger, waiting for him to answer. He finally gave in. " Any of my guys are free to see a shrink at any time if they want to. Most of them would probably rather die than talk to a shrink." Ranger turned, obviously dismissing the topic. She grabbed his arm. " Ranger, I don't think Bobby is the only one of the guys who has nightmares. They need to talk to someone." She wondered if Ranger had them. He'd never mentioned it to her. She knew the thought that any of them might have emotional issues was unacceptable to guys like these. "Look, Steph, the guys know they can see a shrink if they want to. Beyond that, leave it alone." She sighed. She was willing to bet a truckload of Tastycakes that Bobby's dreams were part of the reason Cathy was here, frantic to see him. Bobby was so sweet , he deserved to be loved without some stupid dreams messing things up.
Steph poked her head in the conference room door to hear the redhead whispering into her phone, "quit calling me." Hmm… interesting. Probably NOT talking to Bobby. Cathy snapped the phone shut, and looked up , giving Steph an assessing look.
Steph smiled and held out her hand. " Hi, I'm Stephanie Plum. Ranger tells me you are here to see Bobby. You must be Cathy." Cathy stood up and shook Stephanie's hand, giving her what seemed like a forced smile. "Yes, I'm Cathy Jurgens."
Stephanie sat down across the table from her. "Bobby has talked so much about you. He's told me how much he likes you." Cathy just sat across from her with a confused look on her face. Why would Bobby tell his girlfriend that he was seeing Cathy?
"Um, do you work here with Bobby?" Cathy asked the question with the obvious answer.
Cathy wondered why Bobby's girlfriend was here talking to her. She saw the look in Stephanie's eyes when she mentioned Bobby. It was obvious this girl really loved him. Damn. What the hell was he fooling around with Cathy for if he was with Stephanie? She saw the woman smile. "Yes, I work here part time. Its Ranger's company and I work here a few days a week. Bobby and the guys work here full time.
Stephanie's gaze was shifting between Cathy and the shiny table. It was obvious that there was some awkward topic she wanted to bring up. Cathy just wanted to get the hell out of here, shattered that she had been so wrong about Bobby. Stephanie sighed,l ooking out the door at Ranger , and then back at Cathy.
" Look, Cathy, this is really none of my business, but I really love Bobby and I want him to be happy." Cathy's chest hurt and suddenly she couldn't breathe. Why was Stephanie telling her that she loved Bobby? Was she warning Cathy away from him? She sure as hell didn't want to talk to Bobby's girlfriend about him. She wanted to get out of here and curl up into a ball and cry.
"All the guys here, they are like brothers to me, especially Bobby," Steph was saying.
"Like brothers?" What?" Cathy thought.
"Brothers,? Cathy mumbled. "Then you aren't his girlfri…?" she stopped because Stephanie was looking at her like she had grown a second head.
" Bobby's girlfriend? No, why would you think? I'm with Ranger." Steph said.
. "Because I saw…" Cathy let her voice taper off, not wanting to appear any more of a fool than she already did. She felt her heart lighten with relief with the knowledge that Bobby hadn't played her.
Stephanie sighed. She knew she shouldn't interefere. Bobby probably wouldn't want her to and he'd be angry that Steph was discussing him with anyone, especially Cathy. But, damn it, he really liked this woman, he deserved to have her. It wouldn't be fair for Cathy to be afraid of him because of his dreams. Shit. She was never good at this type of thing. She wished Cathy would just say weather she was here because of Bobby's dreams.
"Look. You probably know that Bobby is a great guy. He's strong, caring, sweet, smart, and rock solid. He is always so calm and collected, he can handle any situation." Stephanie paused, looked over her shoulder at the guys in the main office, then back at Cathy.
" Most of the guys here are ex-military, Special Forces, most of them have been in war zones. I know they have seen people die and they have probably had to kill. I can't even imagine some of the things they have been through, some of the things they must have seen. I know a lot of the guys who make it home from war wind up having some issues later on." Cathy was just staring at her, not offering any information. God, Steph didn't think she could be more blatant without coming right out and asking her.
"Bobby is one of the strongest, sweetest, most solid, stable guys I have ever met. He always wants to take care of the people around him, but he doesn't ever think about taking care of himself. Strong guys like him never want to admit that sometimes they need to be taken care of, too." She looked into Cathy's green eyes and tried to make her understand. " Bobby deserves to have someone who will love him and take care of him, even though he doesn't think he needs to be taken care of."
Stephanie was interrupted by loud voices in the outer office room. Apparently, the guys who were in the field, presumably Bobby too, were back. Steph looked over her shoulder, then leaned closer to Cathy and whispered, as if she didn't want the guys in the office to hear.
" Bobby would never , ever hurt me., or you. He has saved me many times. I trust him implicitly, with my life. You can trust him with yours, too." Then, she suddenly got up and quickly left the room.
Cathy heard low male voices coming from the office. She was pretty sure one of them was Bobby's. She took a deep breath. She wasn't sure if he would be glad she was here, or angry. She had gotten the not very subtle hints Stephanie had dropped about Bobby. She had already decided that he was a great guy and she would help him deal with his nightmares. The real question was, would Bobby want help?
Cathy pushed aside her cup and fixed her lipstick. She saw that other guy, the guy from the First Aid class, she thought his name was Lester, walk past. He peeked in the door, waved and smiled, and walked past without saying anything.
Cathy waited there, in the silence of the conference room, for what seemed like a century.
Bobby paused just out of sight of the door to the conference room. His heart had started racing the minute Ranger told him that Cathy was there. Apparently, she'd been waiting there two hours for him. Bobby tried to calm the panic that was going through his mind. He had no idea what to say to her, what she would say. She would probably be mad that he hadn't returned her calls, and yes, he was a jerk for that. But what the hell would he say?" Sorry, I almost killed you and then ran out?" Steph was standing at the end of the hallway, and she seemed to be watching. Great. Did everyone know what had happened?
Bobby took another steadying breath. He was not a coward, he didn't run away from things. He tightened his resolve and walked into the conference room. She was sitting at the table and she was so beautiful that it hurt to look at her. Part of him wanted to grab her and hold her and not let go, part of him wanted to leave the room and protect her from the possibility he might actually hurt her. He looked into her green eyes and felt himself almost get sucked into the depths of them, then looked away. He couldn't tell exactly what he saw in those incredible eyes.
Why had she come? To tell him to go to hell? To look at him with pity, like some weakling? Or a monster? Hell, maybe something was wrong. Maybe she needed him.
" Is everything, um, are you, ..is everything ok?" he managed to stammer out. Damn. What the hell was wrong with him? He couldn't think, let alone talk when he was around her.
She smiled slightly and said, " I was actually wondering if you were ok. You know, since you didn't return any of my calls."
Bobby looked sheepish, " Yeah, I am, um, sorry about that. I've been really busy."
Then he sighed. Shit. He wanted this woman so much , he had to be honest. The hell with it, just fucking tell the truth, he thought.
" I was, um, kinda avoiding you. I didn't know what to say. I was, um, scared…" he tripped over the word, as if saying it was physically painful for him. "…of what you would say."
Shit he hated this. He wanted her so much, he wanted to bury his face in her soft breasts and just hold her forever. Shit. She looked like she was trying to decide what to say , and he knew that the next phrase out of her mouth would include the word "talk." Bobby didn't want to talk. At least not about what she wanted to talk about. He didn't want to talk about his nightmares, he didn't want to think about them, he didn't want her thinking about them.
" I came because I think we should talk…"
Bingo. There it was. He was either going to get the "you are an ass" speech or the " you poor baby" speech he didn't want either. He didn't want the woman he loved to see his weakness or see him as some violent monster.
" So, how long were you in Iraq? Or was it Afghanistan?," she asked softly.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Bobby did NOT want to talk about this with her, not with anyone. He wished he could forget what happened over there. He tried not to think about it. He sure as hell didn't want her thinking about it.
" Um, it was, um, Afghanistan. I did three tours," his voice cracked as he spoke. His chest felt tight, his heart was pounding and he couldn't breathe. Shit. Maybe he was having a fucking heart attack.
"That's what the dreams are about?" she prodded.
Bobby couldn't do more than nod. He felt like he was being ripped apart. He cared more about this woman than he had ever cared about anyone. He didn't want to lose her. But he couldn't go there. If he went there in his subconscious , he couldn't help that, but he sure as hell wasn't going there on purpose. He wasn't sure his sanity could take that.
" I don't, always have them. Usually… well… it was a new place and…, if we were at my place, in my bed, I wouldn't have them." Bobby tried to breathe, tried to get back his usually rock solid steadiness. "I'm sorry that I scared you. That I almost… hurt… you"
Cathy looked into Bobby's eyes, filled with a combination of wanting, anger, and shame. A guy as strong as Bobby would be mortified that he had shown any weakness, regardless of the fact that it wasn't his fault. This man was so strong, so steady, and yet so hurt and vulnerable.
She smiled slightly. " Well, it might have been nice if you had warned me of what might happen."
Bobby shrugged. ' I though of that, but I didn't want to scare you away. " Shit. He never had this hard of a time talking. Why was it so much harder when you were talking to someone you love? He didn't want to fuck it up any more than he had.
" I did sleep deprivation. I tried to get so exhausted that I would sleep all night. That usually works."
She nodded, and Bobby moved closer to her. He stopped when the cell phone in her purse vibrated loudly. That was the second time it had gone off.
"Do you need to , um, check that?"
She rummaged around in that huge purse of hers until she found the phone. She looked at the display and Bobby saw a tiny look of fear and worry flash across her face before she covered it. But her face had gone pale.
" Is there a problem?" he asked.