Noble Sun Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Kalinda woke up with goose bumps. It was not because of Lana’s parting words. They both knew that she could never stay with anyone forever. The longest she has ever been with a woman was when she went out with Donna, and that ended tragically, when she was made to act against her nature.
The previous night, Lana went home with her after a few drinks from a pub. They initially met at a hotel, but have changed venues after. The FBI agent going home with her should have been a big deal for some, but she worked on making it as meaningless as possible. However much she tried, she also knew that Lana might read into everything she was doing.
Compared to Sophia, Lana was available. If she were the second Donna, it would be okay - at least she was not attached. And unlike Donna, Lana was more adventurous, open-minded. She wouldn’t be someone who would make Kalinda more domesticated… no, she wouldn’t ask her to commit.
This made Kalinda breathe easily.
It wasn’t because Kalinda was against commitment. It just had to take someone really special to tame her. Thus far, it was only Alicia who has made her consider being monogamous and loyal.
When things went south after the revelation of her sin (of omission), she was left to deal with the aftermath.
As far as moving on and moving forward, Lana was her best bet, her perceived savior. She initially thought it would be Sophia, but having found out that the woman was married, she severed ties with the blond investigator. She still needed someone to get her groove back, and Lana was it.
The goose bumps may be the omen she was looking for in that she would associate to her impending rehabilitation. Alicia might have just been an addiction. So she shook it off, and carried on to start her day.
-o-
The night before, Lana flirted with the Lockhart-Gardner investigator mercilessly, but a change in Kalinda’s demeanor made the FBI agent realize that she might be dealing with a different Kalinda. She cared for the East Indian investigator enough to allow her to be the way she was, but not enough for her to admit it to the other woman’s face. The change in Kalinda’s demeanor might eventually mean a relationship. Lana knew it would be short-lived, and she couldn’t ask for anything more.
The kisses they shared did not escalate to something more physical.
It bothered the FBI agent initially, but she immediately saw it as a challenge, a mystery - something she needed to uncover. Add the fact that she has always wondered what it was like to be with Kalinda, (she dared not use “committed” as that word was Kryptonite to Kalinda) she couldn’t resist ending their night with a hint towards what she wished.
Kalinda responded in her typical manner-unsatisfactory but not totally useless. That was, in the good agent’s opinion, a start.
-o-
At work, her erroneous conclusions were proven wrong by a revelation. Although it came in the form of an inkling, the idea was more plausible compared to her original deduction.
Will called her in to brief her about a new case. She obediently took down notes, and as they were about to wrap up, Alicia came in with a precursory knock, not bothering for a response.
The silence was pregnant with meaning as the female lawyer saw her. Will unconsciously adjusted his tie to busy himself. The awkwardness was so thick it would have fogged the office and hidden them in seclusion for years.
Sleuth-sense heightened, Kalinda could only attribute the behavior to what she had seen in the camera that was resting peacefully in her bag.
Acknowledging herself to be the outsider, Alicia excused herself, mumbling her apologies.
“Sorry. Needed to see Kalinda… Another case… Maybe later...”
A few seconds after Alicia left, she walked out of the partner’s office, and back to her own to start searching for leads.
Her productivity was hampered by her thoughts that went curiously back to Alicia.
She could have spoken to me after I have gone out of Will’s office.
She rummaged through her bag and found what she was looking for: a thin, rectangular, digital camera that she acquired using her wiles. She knew the contents of the camera, regretfully by heart, as she studied its previous owner before successfully procuring the gadget.
She was trying to stop Will from accidentally opening up.
She reached out for a sticky note and wrote her message. She stuck it across the lens and walked towards the office of the person she intended the message for.
-o-
The previous, fateful night, she called Lana Delaney to ask her to hang out. Unlike her old idea of hanging out, her invitation was simply a way to catch up. She made sure her tone was casual-professional, and that the venue was well-populated, but new.
A new place she defined to be any accessible establishment that served overflowing liquor and most importantly, Alicia (memories)-free.
She entered the hotel’s bar breezily, as though she belonged. It wasn’t until an hour from the time she arrived that the esteemed FBI agent was to arrive. She took a seat for two at a relatively secluded spot - to protect, more than anything, their anonymity.
Kalinda ordered scotch on the rocks, just to stop the waiter from ogling her. She brought her laptop with her - just in case.
They have just wrapped up a major case, and though she didn’t have anything new to investigate (a rarity, in her otherwise busy schedule) having her laptop around has saved her from losing her mind because of boredom.
Upon finishing her first glass, she waved at the waiter to order some more. The appearance of familiar faces led her to drop her arm abruptly.
A beautiful, slender woman in silver dress walked in, giggling as a man in suit followed her.
She knew that face from afar. And it almost made her freeze on the spot.
Apparently, I have been replaced.
Will now was Alicia’s drinking buddy, and however close they were sitting against each other didn’t matter. The hair behind Kalinda’s neck stood on its ends, like a watchdog in attention. It was because of jealousy she wouldn’t admit to herself at that time; jealousy that she ignored as she tuned in more clearly to her surroundings.
They had to be having so much fun.
Alicia’s laugh lines crinkled to mock the voyeur that was Kalinda. To add insult to injury, Will appeared to be having equal amounts of enjoyment as he smiled and laughed with the female lawyer.
This is bad.
Peter had just won the elections, and Kalinda knew that Alicia would be a target for gossips and scandals. Her initial impulse was to protect the female lawyer. Will, her employer, was just an incidental recipient of this gesture.
Around them, men and women were minding their own businesses: men doing their best to flatter their dates to get lucky; women striving to be mysterious so as to guarantee a second date. It was because of this predictability that Kalinda was able to see the lone stranger who was deep in thought with something he was seeing in his camera. It went off for more than a minute, until he saw the man pointing the barely visible lens of the camera towards Alicia and Will.
Her ears pricked, elf-like, protective instincts kicking in. She waited for several more minutes as the paparazzo took more pictures until her boss and her lady love stood to go somewhere.
Kalinda saw her chance when the man waved at the waiter to get his bill. She did the same, unbuttoning her top in the process. A slender, bespectacled waiter came to her.
“Hi,” she called out to him. “Listen, my best friend is totally in love with that guy,” she covertly pointed at the unknown paparazzo. “She wanted me to send him a message. I was wondering,” Kalinda used her arms to squeeze her breasts together as she leaned in. She made sure her cleavage was more visible, “if I could deliver his bill, so I can send him that message?” She smiled sweetly, extending a hundred dollar bill at the tip of her fore and middle fingers.
The waiter did not even pay attention to the note trapped between Kalinda’s fingers as he said, “Sure. Let me help you with that.” In a split-second, the man approached the counter, holding two leather-bound booklets. He made his way to Kalinda, smiling sheepishly as he pointed to the closed booklet to his right.
“This one’s for your bill, the other one’s for your friend’s friend.” Kalinda flashed him her sweetest smile as she said her thanks. She slipped the hundred-dollar note into her booklet containing her bill, stood up and took the other to the paparazzo.
“Sir,” she looked at him through her lashes. The man looked at her, enamored. Before he allowed himself to question the new waitress who came to him, Kalinda was able to adeptly switch his camera to a different one.
It was by sheer luck that Kalinda owned the same camera. Advances in technology nowadays made people own smaller and more useful gadgets. This particular camera was able to capture things from afar without compromising quality. It could also absorb light faster than a high-end digital SLR. It cost her nearly half a month’s salary, but considering the underlying circumstances the cost became immaterial. Not a single iota of regret overcame Kalinda as she as good as squandered her recently-acquired gadget.
The man busily looked at his bill, fished out twenty dollars and inserted it in the spine of the booklet. He looked at Kalinda and smirked, in what he thought to be a seductive manner.
“The bill will have my number on it. Call me.”
And with that he stood up, gathered his things (including Kalinda’s newly relinquished camera) and walked away.
As the paparazzo disappeared, Kalinda handed the booklet to the waiter. She made her way back to her seat while letting a sense of accomplishment wash over her. She didn’t care about anything else. She had the camera that possibly contained incriminating photographs, and that was all that mattered. Switching memory cards would’ve taken longer, and her decision to give up her own property came in last-minute.
She reached her seat and turned towards the hotel bar’s doorway. To her surprise, Lana was standing at the threshold, talking to the paparazzo she just stole the camera from. The man appeared to have shrunk in the presence of the FBI agent. To a seasoned investigator like Kalinda, that kind of behavior meant one thing: he was a neophyte who had yet to find a steady clientele.
The man left quickly, and the FBI agent was left searching for her. She fanned her lithe fingers towards Lana as she collected her things to meet her at the bar’s entrance.
“I thought we were going to meet here?” Lana asked suspiciously, her voice more mischievous than it was serious.
“And so we have,” came Kalinda’s reply.
“Did you have other plans?”Lana inquired, eyes twinkling.
“Maybe…” Kalinda tugged her outside, away from the populated bar. “Away from men, perhaps?”
Lana laughed.
“Oh baby. Don’t tell me you were jealous? He was just some inexperienced PI who hit jackpot.”
“You being the grand prize?” Kalinda feigned suspicion.
Lana laughed some more.
“He was paid an amount he didn’t deserve by someone who asked him to spy on someone else. “
“If you say so,” the East Indian investigator said distractedly.
Who could it have been?
She tried to commit the man’s features to memory. Blond. Hair parted in the middle - high school boy cut. Fair and bony. Sticks out like a sore thumb. Stupidly tall and annoyingly square - plaid shirt and khaki pants.
Easy to remember.
-o-
Before she had the chance to stand up, Alicia Florrick entered her office, avoiding her eyes. She looked at the lawyer quizzically, to ask what she needed; to ask, more importantly, why she looked nervous.
“I need the files. The witness is in the board room, and I only have an hour to prep her,” the older woman said levelly.
Apparently, she had just imagined the nervousness. She extended her left hand that was already holding the manila envelope, almost jumping in surprise when Alicia’s fingertips brushed against her knuckles.
She didn’t need to say something to address that. She didn’t have the time - as soon as her hand released the files, the lawyer turned away and hurriedly walked towards the boardroom.
Kalinda sniffed the air about her for emphasis: the putrid scent of anger had evaporated; its previous presence washed away by the stench of secrecy with overtones of guilt.
Once more, Kalinda reached out for the compact digital camera, stood up and walked purposefully to Alicia Florrick’s office.
She already knew what happened, without even having witnessed the palpable awkwardness of the lawyer’s energy.
Her forefingers rested lightly on the camera’s power button, debating whether to turn it on and be washed over by a tide of emotions she didn’t want to deal with, or leave it off and be haunted by images she regretfully memorized.
The first time she reviewed the pictures after Lana had left, her limbs turned cold and her guts felt like it was being twisted into balloons. It was jealousy she had no right to feel, of course. It was also the shattering of her world as the finality of her hopeful dreams slammed against her constricted pupils.
Who am I fooling, really? She made it clear she didn’t want to have anything to do with me.
While Alicia remained to be Peter’s wife, Kalinda felt a sense of sick comfort knowing that the lawyer of her esteem belonged to someone before she even fell head-over-heels in love. But seeing Alicia with someone else other than her - just seeing - she knew her grave had been dug and her body ached to lie in the hollowed earth.
And she knew she wouldn’t feel that way any longer as she had taken the measures to regain her old self back. Kalinda took a deep, calming breath and pulled herself together; pulled herself further in.
A few more seconds and she reached the desk of the woman who came to her office, not five minutes ago. She carefully placed the camera on a pile of paperwork, and walked away as fast as she could; the ghost of the images chasing her with every painful step.
-o-
On her way back to her office, she saw a tall blonde guy in plaid shirt and khaki pants walking towards the reception area of Lockhart-Gardner. Senses heightened, she approached the office nearest to the receptionist to spy on the man. Choosing a well-hidden location, she strained to hear what the man was saying.
“I was told I could find Eli Gold here?” the man had an uncharacteristically deep voice - deeper than the voice he used at the hotel bar.
“Who may I say is asking for him?”
“Carl.” He dug his hands deep into his pocket as he waited.
Kalinda stilled as she heard Eli Gold’s name, conjectures forming in her mind. She quieted her thought as soon as she heard the publicist’s booming voice.
“Carl! Good to see you! How is my niece’s husband?”
She could hear the panic rising from Eli’s voice. He led the blond man into the corner office he temporarily used for his in-house campaign.
She moved towards the weakest spot on the wall to listen in further.
“You didn’t have to be nervous, Mr. Gold. I am untreaceable.”
Kalinda almost laughed at the pompous claim.
“And more importantly, because there’s nothing to report.”
The bastard lied. She smiled at the throwaway excuse for having been one-upped. She heard a sigh, possibly of relief, probably coming from Eli.
“Thank you. But please, Carl, never approach me in public, in broad daylight.”
“I am sorry, Sir. I thought…” the man spluttered.
The door opened, Eli’s exceptionally enthusiastic and blatantly fabricated tone reverberated along the corridor.
“Well, just remember to give my love to Cristina, and the little one.”
Finding her moment, Kalinda stepped away from her position and approached the two men by the elevators.
With unusually chirpy voice, she called out, “Eli.”
The well-dressed man arched his eyebrows up in recognition, the famous smile spreading across his face. The man beside him turned pale as he recognized Kalinda.
“Kalinda! This is Carl, my niece’s husband. Carl, Kalinda - Lockhart-Gardner’s in-house.”
She flashed a winning smile to the blond man who was losing more color to his face. She extended her hand as the pitiful investigator mechanically accepted her greeting.
“I hope you don’t just give away your number to strangers, being the married man that you are.”
The man yelped in surprise as the elevator doors pinged. He entered without a moment’s hesitation leaving a confused Eli Gold in his wake.
She smiled knowingly.
“Mr. Gold,” enunciating each word for emphasis. “Next time, you can just ask me about what’s going on, instead of paying a novice.”
Eli opened and closed his mouth uselessly.
“And don’t worry,” Kalinda placed her hand on Eli’s shoulders. “Nothing will happen. Ever.”
Eli swallowed, a nervous smile appearing on his face.
“Th-thank you. How do you know?”
“I am a seasoned, well-paid investigator,” she said matter-of-factly.
And if you see Will’s heartbroken look each time Alicia passed by, you’ll know. You’ll know even with the lie that your investigator fed you.
Eli nodded curtly, accepting his mistake.
“Well, next time, I know who to approach.”
Kalinda smiled and started walking away.
“Oh, and Mr. Gold? When the time comes? I think you need to apologize.”
“O-of course.”
Times like these, Kalinda didn’t have to think.
She would protect Alicia.
Kalinda woke up with goose bumps. It was not because of Lana’s parting words. They both knew that she could never stay with anyone forever. The longest she has ever been with a woman was when she went out with Donna, and that ended tragically, when she was made to act against her nature.
The previous night, Lana went home with her after a few drinks from a pub. They initially met at a hotel, but have changed venues after. The FBI agent going home with her should have been a big deal for some, but she worked on making it as meaningless as possible. However much she tried, she also knew that Lana might read into everything she was doing.
Compared to Sophia, Lana was available. If she were the second Donna, it would be okay - at least she was not attached. And unlike Donna, Lana was more adventurous, open-minded. She wouldn’t be someone who would make Kalinda more domesticated… no, she wouldn’t ask her to commit.
This made Kalinda breathe easily.
It wasn’t because Kalinda was against commitment. It just had to take someone really special to tame her. Thus far, it was only Alicia who has made her consider being monogamous and loyal.
When things went south after the revelation of her sin (of omission), she was left to deal with the aftermath.
As far as moving on and moving forward, Lana was her best bet, her perceived savior. She initially thought it would be Sophia, but having found out that the woman was married, she severed ties with the blond investigator. She still needed someone to get her groove back, and Lana was it.
The goose bumps may be the omen she was looking for in that she would associate to her impending rehabilitation. Alicia might have just been an addiction. So she shook it off, and carried on to start her day.
-o-
The night before, Lana flirted with the Lockhart-Gardner investigator mercilessly, but a change in Kalinda’s demeanor made the FBI agent realize that she might be dealing with a different Kalinda. She cared for the East Indian investigator enough to allow her to be the way she was, but not enough for her to admit it to the other woman’s face. The change in Kalinda’s demeanor might eventually mean a relationship. Lana knew it would be short-lived, and she couldn’t ask for anything more.
The kisses they shared did not escalate to something more physical.
It bothered the FBI agent initially, but she immediately saw it as a challenge, a mystery - something she needed to uncover. Add the fact that she has always wondered what it was like to be with Kalinda, (she dared not use “committed” as that word was Kryptonite to Kalinda) she couldn’t resist ending their night with a hint towards what she wished.
Kalinda responded in her typical manner-unsatisfactory but not totally useless. That was, in the good agent’s opinion, a start.
-o-
At work, her erroneous conclusions were proven wrong by a revelation. Although it came in the form of an inkling, the idea was more plausible compared to her original deduction.
Will called her in to brief her about a new case. She obediently took down notes, and as they were about to wrap up, Alicia came in with a precursory knock, not bothering for a response.
The silence was pregnant with meaning as the female lawyer saw her. Will unconsciously adjusted his tie to busy himself. The awkwardness was so thick it would have fogged the office and hidden them in seclusion for years.
Sleuth-sense heightened, Kalinda could only attribute the behavior to what she had seen in the camera that was resting peacefully in her bag.
Acknowledging herself to be the outsider, Alicia excused herself, mumbling her apologies.
“Sorry. Needed to see Kalinda… Another case… Maybe later...”
A few seconds after Alicia left, she walked out of the partner’s office, and back to her own to start searching for leads.
Her productivity was hampered by her thoughts that went curiously back to Alicia.
She could have spoken to me after I have gone out of Will’s office.
She rummaged through her bag and found what she was looking for: a thin, rectangular, digital camera that she acquired using her wiles. She knew the contents of the camera, regretfully by heart, as she studied its previous owner before successfully procuring the gadget.
She was trying to stop Will from accidentally opening up.
She reached out for a sticky note and wrote her message. She stuck it across the lens and walked towards the office of the person she intended the message for.
-o-
The previous, fateful night, she called Lana Delaney to ask her to hang out. Unlike her old idea of hanging out, her invitation was simply a way to catch up. She made sure her tone was casual-professional, and that the venue was well-populated, but new.
A new place she defined to be any accessible establishment that served overflowing liquor and most importantly, Alicia (memories)-free.
She entered the hotel’s bar breezily, as though she belonged. It wasn’t until an hour from the time she arrived that the esteemed FBI agent was to arrive. She took a seat for two at a relatively secluded spot - to protect, more than anything, their anonymity.
Kalinda ordered scotch on the rocks, just to stop the waiter from ogling her. She brought her laptop with her - just in case.
They have just wrapped up a major case, and though she didn’t have anything new to investigate (a rarity, in her otherwise busy schedule) having her laptop around has saved her from losing her mind because of boredom.
Upon finishing her first glass, she waved at the waiter to order some more. The appearance of familiar faces led her to drop her arm abruptly.
A beautiful, slender woman in silver dress walked in, giggling as a man in suit followed her.
She knew that face from afar. And it almost made her freeze on the spot.
Apparently, I have been replaced.
Will now was Alicia’s drinking buddy, and however close they were sitting against each other didn’t matter. The hair behind Kalinda’s neck stood on its ends, like a watchdog in attention. It was because of jealousy she wouldn’t admit to herself at that time; jealousy that she ignored as she tuned in more clearly to her surroundings.
They had to be having so much fun.
Alicia’s laugh lines crinkled to mock the voyeur that was Kalinda. To add insult to injury, Will appeared to be having equal amounts of enjoyment as he smiled and laughed with the female lawyer.
This is bad.
Peter had just won the elections, and Kalinda knew that Alicia would be a target for gossips and scandals. Her initial impulse was to protect the female lawyer. Will, her employer, was just an incidental recipient of this gesture.
Around them, men and women were minding their own businesses: men doing their best to flatter their dates to get lucky; women striving to be mysterious so as to guarantee a second date. It was because of this predictability that Kalinda was able to see the lone stranger who was deep in thought with something he was seeing in his camera. It went off for more than a minute, until he saw the man pointing the barely visible lens of the camera towards Alicia and Will.
Her ears pricked, elf-like, protective instincts kicking in. She waited for several more minutes as the paparazzo took more pictures until her boss and her lady love stood to go somewhere.
Kalinda saw her chance when the man waved at the waiter to get his bill. She did the same, unbuttoning her top in the process. A slender, bespectacled waiter came to her.
“Hi,” she called out to him. “Listen, my best friend is totally in love with that guy,” she covertly pointed at the unknown paparazzo. “She wanted me to send him a message. I was wondering,” Kalinda used her arms to squeeze her breasts together as she leaned in. She made sure her cleavage was more visible, “if I could deliver his bill, so I can send him that message?” She smiled sweetly, extending a hundred dollar bill at the tip of her fore and middle fingers.
The waiter did not even pay attention to the note trapped between Kalinda’s fingers as he said, “Sure. Let me help you with that.” In a split-second, the man approached the counter, holding two leather-bound booklets. He made his way to Kalinda, smiling sheepishly as he pointed to the closed booklet to his right.
“This one’s for your bill, the other one’s for your friend’s friend.” Kalinda flashed him her sweetest smile as she said her thanks. She slipped the hundred-dollar note into her booklet containing her bill, stood up and took the other to the paparazzo.
“Sir,” she looked at him through her lashes. The man looked at her, enamored. Before he allowed himself to question the new waitress who came to him, Kalinda was able to adeptly switch his camera to a different one.
It was by sheer luck that Kalinda owned the same camera. Advances in technology nowadays made people own smaller and more useful gadgets. This particular camera was able to capture things from afar without compromising quality. It could also absorb light faster than a high-end digital SLR. It cost her nearly half a month’s salary, but considering the underlying circumstances the cost became immaterial. Not a single iota of regret overcame Kalinda as she as good as squandered her recently-acquired gadget.
The man busily looked at his bill, fished out twenty dollars and inserted it in the spine of the booklet. He looked at Kalinda and smirked, in what he thought to be a seductive manner.
“The bill will have my number on it. Call me.”
And with that he stood up, gathered his things (including Kalinda’s newly relinquished camera) and walked away.
As the paparazzo disappeared, Kalinda handed the booklet to the waiter. She made her way back to her seat while letting a sense of accomplishment wash over her. She didn’t care about anything else. She had the camera that possibly contained incriminating photographs, and that was all that mattered. Switching memory cards would’ve taken longer, and her decision to give up her own property came in last-minute.
She reached her seat and turned towards the hotel bar’s doorway. To her surprise, Lana was standing at the threshold, talking to the paparazzo she just stole the camera from. The man appeared to have shrunk in the presence of the FBI agent. To a seasoned investigator like Kalinda, that kind of behavior meant one thing: he was a neophyte who had yet to find a steady clientele.
The man left quickly, and the FBI agent was left searching for her. She fanned her lithe fingers towards Lana as she collected her things to meet her at the bar’s entrance.
“I thought we were going to meet here?” Lana asked suspiciously, her voice more mischievous than it was serious.
“And so we have,” came Kalinda’s reply.
“Did you have other plans?”Lana inquired, eyes twinkling.
“Maybe…” Kalinda tugged her outside, away from the populated bar. “Away from men, perhaps?”
Lana laughed.
“Oh baby. Don’t tell me you were jealous? He was just some inexperienced PI who hit jackpot.”
“You being the grand prize?” Kalinda feigned suspicion.
Lana laughed some more.
“He was paid an amount he didn’t deserve by someone who asked him to spy on someone else. “
“If you say so,” the East Indian investigator said distractedly.
Who could it have been?
She tried to commit the man’s features to memory. Blond. Hair parted in the middle - high school boy cut. Fair and bony. Sticks out like a sore thumb. Stupidly tall and annoyingly square - plaid shirt and khaki pants.
Easy to remember.
-o-
Before she had the chance to stand up, Alicia Florrick entered her office, avoiding her eyes. She looked at the lawyer quizzically, to ask what she needed; to ask, more importantly, why she looked nervous.
“I need the files. The witness is in the board room, and I only have an hour to prep her,” the older woman said levelly.
Apparently, she had just imagined the nervousness. She extended her left hand that was already holding the manila envelope, almost jumping in surprise when Alicia’s fingertips brushed against her knuckles.
She didn’t need to say something to address that. She didn’t have the time - as soon as her hand released the files, the lawyer turned away and hurriedly walked towards the boardroom.
Kalinda sniffed the air about her for emphasis: the putrid scent of anger had evaporated; its previous presence washed away by the stench of secrecy with overtones of guilt.
Once more, Kalinda reached out for the compact digital camera, stood up and walked purposefully to Alicia Florrick’s office.
She already knew what happened, without even having witnessed the palpable awkwardness of the lawyer’s energy.
Her forefingers rested lightly on the camera’s power button, debating whether to turn it on and be washed over by a tide of emotions she didn’t want to deal with, or leave it off and be haunted by images she regretfully memorized.
The first time she reviewed the pictures after Lana had left, her limbs turned cold and her guts felt like it was being twisted into balloons. It was jealousy she had no right to feel, of course. It was also the shattering of her world as the finality of her hopeful dreams slammed against her constricted pupils.
Who am I fooling, really? She made it clear she didn’t want to have anything to do with me.
While Alicia remained to be Peter’s wife, Kalinda felt a sense of sick comfort knowing that the lawyer of her esteem belonged to someone before she even fell head-over-heels in love. But seeing Alicia with someone else other than her - just seeing - she knew her grave had been dug and her body ached to lie in the hollowed earth.
And she knew she wouldn’t feel that way any longer as she had taken the measures to regain her old self back. Kalinda took a deep, calming breath and pulled herself together; pulled herself further in.
A few more seconds and she reached the desk of the woman who came to her office, not five minutes ago. She carefully placed the camera on a pile of paperwork, and walked away as fast as she could; the ghost of the images chasing her with every painful step.
-o-
On her way back to her office, she saw a tall blonde guy in plaid shirt and khaki pants walking towards the reception area of Lockhart-Gardner. Senses heightened, she approached the office nearest to the receptionist to spy on the man. Choosing a well-hidden location, she strained to hear what the man was saying.
“I was told I could find Eli Gold here?” the man had an uncharacteristically deep voice - deeper than the voice he used at the hotel bar.
“Who may I say is asking for him?”
“Carl.” He dug his hands deep into his pocket as he waited.
Kalinda stilled as she heard Eli Gold’s name, conjectures forming in her mind. She quieted her thought as soon as she heard the publicist’s booming voice.
“Carl! Good to see you! How is my niece’s husband?”
She could hear the panic rising from Eli’s voice. He led the blond man into the corner office he temporarily used for his in-house campaign.
She moved towards the weakest spot on the wall to listen in further.
“You didn’t have to be nervous, Mr. Gold. I am untreaceable.”
Kalinda almost laughed at the pompous claim.
“And more importantly, because there’s nothing to report.”
The bastard lied. She smiled at the throwaway excuse for having been one-upped. She heard a sigh, possibly of relief, probably coming from Eli.
“Thank you. But please, Carl, never approach me in public, in broad daylight.”
“I am sorry, Sir. I thought…” the man spluttered.
The door opened, Eli’s exceptionally enthusiastic and blatantly fabricated tone reverberated along the corridor.
“Well, just remember to give my love to Cristina, and the little one.”
Finding her moment, Kalinda stepped away from her position and approached the two men by the elevators.
With unusually chirpy voice, she called out, “Eli.”
The well-dressed man arched his eyebrows up in recognition, the famous smile spreading across his face. The man beside him turned pale as he recognized Kalinda.
“Kalinda! This is Carl, my niece’s husband. Carl, Kalinda - Lockhart-Gardner’s in-house.”
She flashed a winning smile to the blond man who was losing more color to his face. She extended her hand as the pitiful investigator mechanically accepted her greeting.
“I hope you don’t just give away your number to strangers, being the married man that you are.”
The man yelped in surprise as the elevator doors pinged. He entered without a moment’s hesitation leaving a confused Eli Gold in his wake.
She smiled knowingly.
“Mr. Gold,” enunciating each word for emphasis. “Next time, you can just ask me about what’s going on, instead of paying a novice.”
Eli opened and closed his mouth uselessly.
“And don’t worry,” Kalinda placed her hand on Eli’s shoulders. “Nothing will happen. Ever.”
Eli swallowed, a nervous smile appearing on his face.
“Th-thank you. How do you know?”
“I am a seasoned, well-paid investigator,” she said matter-of-factly.
And if you see Will’s heartbroken look each time Alicia passed by, you’ll know. You’ll know even with the lie that your investigator fed you.
Eli nodded curtly, accepting his mistake.
“Well, next time, I know who to approach.”
Kalinda smiled and started walking away.
“Oh, and Mr. Gold? When the time comes? I think you need to apologize.”
“O-of course.”
Times like these, Kalinda didn’t have to think.
She would protect Alicia.