Chapter 3
"What the f…..! What was this woman playing at?" Kate wondered as she stood in her office, her dishevelled blouse still open and her emotions fluctuating wildly between anger, frustration and bewilderment.
"Well, whatever it is, I'm not about to join in," Kate muttered sternly to herself as she went about picking up the things that Caroline had swept onto the floor, replacing them back on her desk in an orderly fashion. She also located the three buttons that had been torn off, in the hurried throes of lust, from her blouse. She put them in her the pocket ready to sew them back on later. Kate then put the £200 that Caroline had left, in her cash box.
When Kate was satisfied that her desk was sorted, she locked the front door and went up the stairs to her flat, determined to do whatever it took to get Caroline Elliot out of her mind. As she trudged up each step, Kate tried to recall if she had a sufficient supply of red wine on hand.
In her bedroom, Kate took off the blouse that was now stripped of most of its buttons and slung it over the back of the single chair that was in the room which is where it would remain until she had the urge or the need to mend it. In its place she put on her favourite, well-worn sweatshirt.
Kate went into the kitchen, turning on the television on her way, more as a distraction than out of actual interest and then headed directly for the cupboard where she kept her stock of red wine. She was dismayed to see that her supply had dwindled down to only two bottles. She selected one of them, took one of the larger wine glasses down from the shelf and proceeded to pour into it a generous amount of the red liquid, hoping that it would help quell the whirlpool of emotions she was experiencing.
Kate then rummaged in the refrigerator for any leftovers that could be loosely called 'dinner'. Eventually she took a roast beef sandwich and her glass of wine into the living room where she sat cross-legged on her well-used sofa in front of the television and ate, all the while attempting to keep the afternoon's events from hammering inside her head.
It was as Kate was topping up her wine glass for the second time that, to her surprise, there was a tentative knock on her door. Leaving her glass on the kitchen bench top, Kate took the three or four steps needed to get to her back door and opened it. For the second time that day Kate found herself peering into the blue depths of Caroline Elliot's eyes.
"Hello Kate….Can I come in?" Caroline asked hesitantly.
Totally caught off balance by this woman's unexpected appearance, Kate said nothing. Instead she let out a quick sigh of defeat as all the feelings she had been trying to suppress came rushing to the surface.
"I can say it on the doorstep," Caroline said anxiously.
Getting only a frown from Kate and still no words of encouragement, Caroline reluctantly said, "Alright….I'll go."
As the woman turned to leave Kate gathered her wits about her.
"No…come in…come in,” Kate finally said as she stepped aside and beckoned Caroline into her tiny kitchen where she offered her a glass of red wine which Caroline gratefully accepted.
Kate reached down a second wine glass from the cupboard and poured, all the while uncomfortably conscious of those blue eyes observing her every move. When both glasses contained a large splash of red wine Kate led Caroline to the small dining table and invited her to sit down and then took the seat opposite for herself. Both women sipped their wine as each collected their thoughts.
"Why are you here? Kate eventually asked with an undisguised abruptness as the hurt from the afternoon's desertion was still raw.
Caroline stared pensively at her wine glass for a moment while her fingers fiddled with its stem before looking up into Kate’s stern face.
"I've come back to say that I'm sorry that I left in such a hurry this afternoon…..I feel awful that I didn't tell you that I had to leave," Caroline began, obviously at a bit of a loss for words to explain her actions.
Kate stubbornly refused to help her out. Instead, she sat silently indicating with a raised eyebrow that she was waiting for Caroline to expound further.
"While you were upstairs Lawrence, my son, called me….John was supposed to pick him up from rugby training this afternoon but he hadn't turned up and Lawrence couldn't contact him so he rang me….everyone else had gone home and he'd been waiting almost an hour."
"That's fine, Caroline, but why didn't you tell me that you were going?" Kate asked unconvinced that Caroline had given her a full explanation.
"I guess I just panicked….I panicked about Lawrence…..I panicked about what was potentially happening with you and me…I won't lie to you, Kate. I am very attracted to you," Caroline continued nervously, "but I don't …I can't do casual relationships…sex. Sometimes, like this afternoon, I wish that I could…but, being me, I can't. I'm still married after all, albeit to a complete jerk, but to me that means something and I have to think of the boys."
Kate gave Caroline a wry smile.
"So let me get this straight…you're in charge of a rather prestigious public school and have the welfare of more than 850 students in your hands on a daily basis, or so I read this morning, and yet what happened this afternoon made you panic and take off without a single word to me," Kate stated incredulously. Caroline's eyes dropped to stare at her wine glass once again.
"Yes," she replied simply.
"So why start something you can't finish?" Kate asked with a tinge of annoyance in her voice. "It was you who started this…It was you who kissed me first if I remember rightly. Why lead me on like that?"
Embarrassed, Caroline confessed, "As I said, I am attracted to you…you're very pretty and you're kind… I'd had a couple of drinks so I was feeling brave…I thought it would be harmless enough."
Kate began to feel a little foolish as she realised how hard she had fallen for this woman in such a short time when obviously she had been reading far too much into Caroline's actions.
"It was harmless, Caroline," Kate lied, "but I think it's best if we keep it strictly business from now on."
"Yes, you're right," Caroline agreed reluctantly.
She was struggling to keep the disappointment out of her voice as she recalled from the afternoon the feel of Kate's smooth, brown skin against the palm of her hand and Kate's full lips pressing against her own.
As Caroline took the last sip of wine from her glass she said to Kate, "I should probably get going. John will be wondering where I am."
"Do you have to go?"
Caroline looked at Kate curiously.
"It's just I'd like to start working on your case tomorrow," Kate clarified, "but I need some more details…John's routine, his itinerary for the next few days and so on, so if you could stay a bit longer I could get the information I need to begin."
Caroline looked at her watch. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to stay a little longer."
Ideally Kate would have liked to have dashed down to her office to retrieve her computer to record the information on but she had the ominous feeling that Caroline might disappear again if left alone so she settled for a notepad and pen which she found on the small desk in the corner of the living room. Kate returned to the table via the kitchen as she fetched the second bottle of wine and refilled their glasses then she proceeded to ask Caroline some relevant questions about her errant husband. She wrote down details about John's daily activities and timetable, places he was likely to visit, favourite restaurants and cafes, friends' names as well as details about his car and registration number, all the while, acutely aware of the disturbingly pleasurable effect Caroline's presence was having on her but obstinately maintaining her business-like persona.
It was another half an hour before Kate was satisfied that she had enough details to begin her task.
"I think that's all I need for now, thanks, Caroline," Kate concluded as she closed her notepad and set it aside, "I should be right to get started on that first thing tomorrow. I'll probably contact you about the middle of the week with a progress report ….sooner, of course, if there are any significant developments. Here's my business card should you need to contact me with any new information."
Kate reached over and handed Caroline one of her cards, their fingers touching lightly as the card exchanged hands.
"It might be an idea to keep that card out of sight," Kate added, "we don't want John catching on to us."
"Of course," Caroline agreed as she stood up to leave. "Thank you."
Kate walked Caroline to the door and opened it for her.
Before Caroline made her way down the steps, she turned to Kate and said once again, "I really am sorry about running out this afternoon….it was a bit cowardly."
Kate dismissed it with a wave of her hand.
"It's forgotten," she said.
Caroline gave her a beaming smile as she said softly, "Are you sure?"
Caroline had stayed that one second too long and the smile had been the final unravelling of Kate's willpower. She cupped the blonde woman's cheeks in her hands and drew their lips together in what rapidly became a fervent kiss as Kate gently but firmly pressed Caroline up against the door. Kate had half expected Caroline to object but her enthusiasm was as ardent as Kate's. She stealthily slipped a hand under Caroline's blouse and ran it wantonly over any bare flesh she could find. She then moved her hand up to Caroline's breast and gamely ran her thumb across Caroline's already firm nipple.
As suddenly as Kate had begun the kiss, she ended it as she stepped back, removing her hands and her lips from Caroline's body.
"I'm sorry, Caroline….that wasn't very business-like," Kate apologised, her face flushed with embarrassment and arousal.
"No, it wasn't," Caroline replied still a little breath-taken but with the hint of a smile on her lips telling Kate that the kiss was entirely consensual. "I'd better go."
Kate nodded.
"Goodnight, Caroline."
Kate watched from the doorway as Caroline’s figure descended the steps and walked along the side of the building, the clip of her heels distinct on the cement surface. Once she was out of sight, Kate closed the door and moved over to the large windows that overlooked the street below so she could watch as her client got into her car and drove off. Kate ran her fingertips absently over her lips as she thought to herself, "It's going to be another restless night."