NERTHUS
I’m wearing my happiest smile and a basket filled with muffins as I halt in front of a big wooden reception desk. My outfit consisting of a knee-long woolen skirt with a gray and beige square pattern, and a black pullover worn over a white blouse shouts ‘good girl’ from a mile away.
And I really hope it will give those stuck-up people a bit of trust in a total stranger.
“Good morning. I have an appointment with Mr. Johnson. If you’d be so kind to advise him that Gemma Ferguson is here.” I say in a honeyed, placated voice.
The lady at the reception smiles at me and picks up the phone. “Of course, Ms. Ferguson.”
I turn around to watch the interiors of the historic building as she announces me to the lucky fellow who doesn’t know about his luck yet.
“Ms. Ferguson?” I jump as if torn out of my staring in awe as I look at her. “Mr. Johnson will be ready to receive you in a minute. If you’d be so kind as to take a seat, his assistant will pick you up in a bit.”
“Oh, thank you very much. So lovely. Have a blessed day,” I say, and she smiles at me as I go to sit in the waiting room.
Careful to stay seated with my legs crossed princess-style, I wait for his assistant to pick me up and bring me into his office.
He is already grinning broadly as I step through the door, and he opens his arms wide to hug me. “Hello Gemma.”
“Hey, Harvey.” I chuckle, hugging him back. “How are you doing? Do you want a coffee?”
I turn to the assistant standing in the door and wave my hand dismissively while looking at her. “Oh, no. I’m fine, thank you very much.”
“Thank you, Rose,” he says, making her step out and close the door.
“Oh, I baked you and Emily Muffins. I hope you like them.” I hand him the basket, and he lifts the cute cloth above it to peek inside.
“She will absolutely love them. If they make it home.”
I laugh as he puts them down carefully on a table as I sit into a chair standing in front of his massive desk. “So, what can I do for you?”
“I really don’t know why I came here, to be honest. I guess I just needed to get some air.” I say, feeling embarrassed.
He sighs, as he sits down and flashes me a smile. “Maybe because I’m not only a trusted member of this beautiful city but also the consigliere of a certain grumpy guy.”
“That might be it.” I grimace, making him laugh.
I cross my legs, holding my knee as he plays with his pen. “If I can be honest with you, I like him. Erm… Very much.”
“I’m glad to hear this.” He grins, making me roll my eyes.
“Anyway, I don’t have to tell you that our situation is difficult. But he said something to me two days ago that has been sitting on my chest ever since.”
He purses his lips as he shifts in his seat. “Did you talk about it with him?”
“That’s it, actually.” I gesture with my hands as I clear my throat. “He thinks I didn’t understand him. But I did.”
His laughter fills the room as I scrunch up my nose. “You two are just precious.”
“Sure,” I pass my hand over my thigh as if wanting to dust off my skirt. “I don’t think that this precious does him any good.”
He sighs, crossing his hands in front of him on the table. “I knew that you might think that way. He can be an idiot, and he has surely gone too long without a proper woman by his side or even trying to be in a relationship. But I’m sure that he is doing his best and will surely improve if you give him the chance to show you that he cares.”
“I appreciate you saying this. But this is not quite it.” I grimace, and he shakes his head.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, apart from us both being absolutely toxic, there is another topic I wanted to address with you. And it sounds absolutely idiotic even in my mind. So, please excuse me if it comes out completely wrong.”
I clear my voice, as he waits for me to continue patiently.
“He has a certain status… Not only in the city but also with his company. And I would need to know if you, as his adviser, would need me to stay out of his way.” I shift on my seat as he narrows his eyes, “I don’t want to be any trouble for him. And I remember Jensen telling me that a whore would actually not fit the picture. Oh, and I totally get it, please understand that. Erm… I just want to know that I’m not making his life more difficult than it already is.”
Nodding, he taps on his pursed lips. I shift in my seat, feeling like sitting on pins and needles while he takes his time to answer me. “Firstly, Jensen can go take a hike. Also, I don’t think that Arawn is the type of person that would think about the consequences of having you by his side when he wants you by his side.”
My heart blooms at his words, and I force myself to keep myself from smiling while he leans forward. “And secondly, how thoughtful of you. Seeing the situation, I don’t think he deserves so much thought. You are both criminals. Make it a match.”
“No way, you really said that.” I laugh out loud as he grins at me.
With a shrug, he throws his pen onto the table. “And honestly, we don’t talk about business during our poker matches. It’s a rule we decided on a long time ago. So, as he started to talk about you. None of us four had a problem with you. Just Jensen. So, he was overruled from the beginning.”
“He talked about me with you?” I ask him, staring at him agape.
He shrugs, obviously not impressed by the fact. “Sure, he started with small statements before we picked up that he was talking about a woman seriously, and we got more and more information about you.”
I lean back as he suddenly cackles. “Actually, I think he was looking for advice the first time he talked about you because he thought you had poisoned him.”
“Poisoned him?” My voice reaches a higher octave as he shakes his head.
“Yeah,” he says as he loses himself in his thoughts with a big grin. “He had slept well.”
Blinking repeatedly, I try to blend out my racing heartbeat.
“See, this is what I’m talking about.” He lifts his pen, pointing it to my face. “This look on your face shows how much this makes you happy. And the same goes for him. I have known him for ages, and he never cared for a woman as much as even wasted a single thought on them. Now, he thinks about you, and not only that. He actually makes faces I have never seen before.”
Letting the pen fall onto his desk, he hits the desk with his flat hand. “What a failure would I be as a consigliere to advise you, or him, to let go. Approved!”
I laugh as he spreads his arms theatrically, making fun of me coming to him for counseling. “Il consigliere approves.”
“You are all so crazy,” I say while shaking my head with a grin.
He snorts, tapping the table. “We have to be.”
Silence is just about to fall on us, as he lifts his finger. He shakes it in the air pensively before he gets up. “If you don’t believe me. Here.”
He hands me a piece of paper that I take carefully before I unfold it by looking at him one last time before I lay my eyes on it.
Letting my fingers glide onto the letters written down in elegant writing, I feel like it is getting harder to breathe.
Nerthus Hendricks.
“It’s you, isn’t it?” He asks, making me look up at him.
My eyes fill with tears as I nod slowly, and he takes the piece of paper back. He takes a lighter out of his inside pocket and opens its lid before he sets the piece of paper on fire and lets it fall into the bin where he extinguishes it with a glass of water that he takes from his desk.
“He gave me this the first night he talked about you. The night after he thought that you had poisoned him.” He states calmly, leaning against his desk.
“Was does it mean?” I ask as he crosses his arms and ankles leisurely.
“He wanted me to take care of it. And I did.” He answers as if it wasn’t a big deal at all.
But it was a huge deal!
Immense actually!
For me.
“Does that mean…?” I try to ask further, not able to end the question.
He nods, a slight smile playing on his lips. “Yes, our contacts are worth a bit more than the ones your uncle used to get the missing person report running in the first place.”
“Oh my God,” I whisper as I lower my gaze. “You made it disappear…”
While he watches me silently, I collect myself and wipe off my hands on my skirt.
Clearing my throat, I take a deep breath and ponder over something.
A smirk creeps onto my lips as I think of something that should have been done a long time ago.
And just in time.
So that he wouldn’t have to get me.
Not this time.
“Could you help me with something?” I ask, making him roll his eyes at me.
“You two are just impossible.”