Chapter 11

I looked at my phone after we had hung up and I had to chuckle and shake my head. Hana was adorable in the best way possible, and sexy in a way that made me forget that I didn’t have a claim on her, that I would never have it. The moment I had answered the call I was happy I was alone in my office. If she had called me ten minutes earlier I would have been in the car and she would have made me plough into oncoming traffic. I wondered if she was naked underneath the cover she had pulled up over her. In my mind she was. In my mind I was in her bedroom with her, tucking the tousled hair behind her ear before tugging the comforter off her. I would spend time kissing her plump lips and then follow the comforters trail down her voluptuous body, taking time to worship every inch of the pale skin. In my mind I would finally hear her ragged moans as I brought her to the edge using my mouth. Her sleepy blue eyes would hood over as she succumbed to the passion, her tiny hands, weaving into my hair.

There was a knock on the door that jerked me out of my private heaven. I swore, took a deep breath and scooted my chair closer to the desk to hide the state I was in.

“Yes?” I called out. My assistant opened the door and smiled at me.

“Sorry boss, I tried to buzz you but you didn’t pick up. I have Mr Smith on the line for you,” she said.

“Thank you. You can put him through,” I said to her. I took another deep breath when she left to try and refocus. The call with Tom was over in no time. I gave him Hana’s name, told her the basics he would need to know about her to find her an interesting candidate and explained she was a client of mine and I preferred for her interview to be handled remotely. Tom got the point, he was an old client that had hired me after his wife had been killed and he and his daughter were being threatened. He told me he would ask his HR department to set up an interview with Hana as soon as possible. After we hung up I leaned back in my chair and turned it around to face the big window that was overlooking the city. I needed to do something or I would end up in another daydream about what I wanted to do with Hana. I needed to get a grip on myself, she wasn’t mine to daydream about and not only was the age difference larger than most people would think acceptable, she was my son’s ex. That should place her well outside my pool of people to jump into bed with. I sighed over my own inability to limit my feelings toward her to client and friend. I turned to my computer to distract myself with emails. John, one of our investigators, had sent back his findings. My investigation the other night of the apartment I thought Simon was staying in. I had seen a couple entering the apartment and they stayed all evening and night. John’s research into the place confirmed that it had been recently rented to the couple. That meant I had one last hunch of where my son would be. As I turned off my computer and got my jacket I contemplated what I would say to him if I found him. I was worried about him but I was also royally pissed. At this moment I was just as likely to hug him as I was to punch him in the face. I was waiting for the elevator when Jason walked up to me.

“My contact has arranged a meeting,” he told me. He didn’t need to clarify with whom he had arranged the meeting. His expression told me everything I needed to know. I nodded.

“Terms?” I asked as the elevator’s doors opened. I ignored them and looked at Jason.

“Three people, the location is ‘The garden’ and she needs to be one of the three,” he told me.

“Not acceptable,” I said before I had a chance to think about it.

“Non negotiable,” Jason said.

“Fuck. Fine, give me a time and we will make it happen.”

“I will finally get to meet this mysterious ex wife of your son’s,” Jason told me with a smile.

“I guess so,” I agreed. We both knew this was a mission we would handle personally. Me because I couldn’t see myself letting Hana walk into a situation like that without being the one to protect her. And Jason because he knew I would insist on being one of the three and he therefore made sure he was the third. “He needs to agree to a truce until the meeting,” I added. “Hana will stay where she is and not run. He and his men will stay away from her.” Jason nodded and then walked away. I pressed the button to the elevator again and I was irritated that it seemed to have been taken by someone else.

I was sitting in my car, watching the gated community where I suspected my son was living. My phone buzzed and I picked it up to find a message from Hana.

H: Thank you for arranging an interview for me. The person that called me sounded really nice and the information they have sent is very interesting.

Me: You’re more than welcome. I know you will do amazing in your interview. When is it?

H: I hope so. It’s tomorrow after lunch.

Me: I will be sending you my well wishes around that time.

H: Thank you, I will need all the advantages I can get my hand on.

I was still smiling as I put my phone away. I tended to do that when I talked to Hana, it was a bad habit. I looked at the guarded gate and stopped smiling. Time to start unravelling this fucking mess. I used a fake work order to get through the gate, the security looked good, but was a joke. They didn’t even phone the owners of the address I said I was hired to work on to check if I was telling the truth. I could be anyone, I could be someone that spent half an hour putting together a fake work order from google and word. Wait, I was that guy. They were just lucky I didn’t have the intention to harm anyone. I drove to the house my son's step-father owned and parked on the side of the road. For a moment I sat in the car and tried to compose myself. I still hadn’t figured out which emotion was most prominent in me. As I sat there looking at the house a car pulled up its driveway and a woman stepped out of it. She was short but slender, her height was altered by sky high stilettos which made her legs look longer. They went well with the small piece of fabric which was used as a skirt and the top that left most of her upper body naked. As she walked to the house, she fluffed her hair. Maybe I had been wrong, maybe this wasn’t where my son lived, I thought seconds before the front door opened and Simon walked outside. He smiled at the woman and drew her in for a passionate kiss with far too much pawing of body parts for it to be appropriate in public. The whole scene looked cheap and out of place in the neighbourhood we were in with its perfect lawns and neatly kept houses. Somewhere in the neighbourhood Karen was clutching her pearls. Me, I just found myself mostly pissed off. I tried to calm myself and by the time I had my anger in check, Simon and the woman had gone inside. I walked up to the house and knocked on the door. Simon opened it and just looked at me in utter surprise.

“You,” he said.

“Hello to you too, son,” I said.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. He was almost as tall as me, but he had inherited more of his mothers looks than mine with his blond hair and brown eyes.

“Aren’t you going to invite me in? I don’t think this is a conversation to be held on the doorstep,” I told him. He looked at me, then looked behind me to take in the road and his neighbours.

“Fine, come in. But it would have been nice if you had called to let me know you were coming,” he said with suppressed anger.

“I would have if you hadn’t abandoned your old phone number and not registered a new one. How was I supposed to reach out? Smoke signals?” I asked as we both walked inside.

“Fine, I get your point,” he sighed and took me into the living room where the woman was sitting on the couch. She gave me an assessing look and I felt like a prime piece of meat with how her eyes undressed me. She met my gaze and smiled what she probably thought was a flirtatious smile. To me it looked more like a hungry piranha flexing its jaws.

“Well hello. Simon, baby, you didn’t tell me we would have company,” she said in a purring voice that sent unpleasant shivers down my spine. The woman was a walking cliche. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?” she then asked with a pout as she caressed Simon's arm when he sat down next to her. For my own safety, I sat down in an armchair.

“No, this has nothing to do with you. Go and wait in the bedroom until I’m done talking to him,” Simon told her.

“But baby,” she tried to whine.

“Now, Jess. Don’t make me tell you twice,” he said and looked at her with hard eyes. Jess stood up and walked away, earning a slap on her ass from Simon as she walked past him. My insides were a mess of revulsion and guilt. How did I have a son that treated women like this? How had I not known this?

“You should be more respectful,” I told him. He just glared at me.

“I’m too old for you to try and parent me,” he said. He wasn’t wrong, but someone needed to.

“Fair enough,” I agreed. “So let’s get to the point of why I’m here.”