AARON
I left Robyn’s place feeling at least a little better than I had when I got there and found out what happened. I’d been so upset with her for just showing up at the New Year’s party. She just doesn’t seem to understand sometimes that life is just not always fun and games. But, no matter how upset I was with her, there was no excuse for either my rudeness or the fact that I let her leave alone. It was almost midnight and I was more concerned with ringing in the New Year with a bunch of business men than I was with ensuring her safety.
The next day when I got the message from her that “something had come up,” I assumed that she was just angry. I decided to give us both a day or two to cool down. Then on Friday morning, I went down to marketing hoping to find her in her office. I ran into Max instead. He told me about Robyn’s friend dropping off a note and that he’d called her to check in but she said she was okay. Max of course didn’t know Robyn and I were dating, he was telling me as her employer. I asked questions and Max answered them to the best of his ability.
At first, I was angry that she’d not told me what happened when she called. We were supposed to be dating. Wasn’t that something you told someone that you were dating? I went back to my office, stubbornly determined to wait until she called me before I did anything else. Max said she was going to be okay, that meant she was capable of making the first move.
I tried to get my mind off of her as I worked. I’d find myself in the midst of reviewing a contract and thinking about the soft, throaty chuckle of hers that made me want to say funny things for the first time in my life. I wasn’t normally a funny guy. I thought about how she’d shown up at one of the most exclusive restaurants in Manhattan in an elf suit. That had made me really uncomfortable. I’d called up the memory specifically trying to lose the sentimentality I was feeling. But it didn’t do the trick. When I thought about it tonight I told myself that it was so juvenile…so risky….so…damned attractive. The fact that she didn’t give a crap what any of those high society fools thought of her was such a turn on…I’d wanted to take her right there on the table. The problem was, I had to care what they thought. That was what she didn’t get. That was what ended up frustrating us both, I think.
“Janice!” I’d said into the intercom, much too harshly. She stuck her head in the office. She had her bag on her arm. She was getting ready to leave for the day.
“Get Hal on the phone and tell him I want to go over the Xiong numbers before we leave today.”
“Sir…it’s after five.”
“Did I ask for the time?”
“No sir.”
“Then don’t give it to me. Get Hal in here…now!”
When she closed the door I closed my eyes and clenched my jaw. I willed Robyn out of my mind. She had come into my life like a tornado…turning it all upside down. Work was the antidote to her power over me…it had to be. I couldn’t go on with nothing but her on my mind….my company couldn’t survive it.
Hal was in my office with the numbers within fifteen minutes. In that short amount of time, I’d decided that I was a complete ass…to Janice, to him and most especially to Robyn. I couldn’t do this; I couldn’t pretend to ignore the fact that she was hurt, no matter how minor. If I didn’t go see her myself, I’d drive everyone around me crazy over it. I pretended to go over the numbers with Hal…quickly and then I apologized to Janice and sent her home. I told myself to get some rest and go see her first thing in the morning.
Trying to rest had turned out to be pointless. Finally at five a.m. I gave it up and went for a run. By the time I got home it was a decent enough time to shower and go see her. I could only hope that she’d even let me in the door. When she did, I realized that I was a bigger ass than even I had thought.
As I listened to her story I realized that this “accident” was entirely my fault. Flowers and candy were in no way going to make-up for what she’d been through. I’d called the police department when I was in the kitchen and asked to talk to the commissioner. I told him who I was and what I wanted. Over the next two hours I got two phone calls, one from the Mayor’s assistant and one from the Mayor himself. He’d had the commissioner bump the investigation up to high priority. From the description Robyn gave them, they thought they already had a suspect. He was someone who was well-known to them for petty-theft and purse-snatching. Pushing her in front of the car was out of character if it was who they thought…but escalating behavior amongst criminals was not uncommon.
The mayor wanted to see me right away and so I told Robyn I was “arranging a surprise” for her and left. She seemed unhappy with me again, but I’m sure she’ll be thrilled when she realizes that I was intent on tracking this guy down and seeing him brought to justice.
I went straight to the police department when I met Robin. The mayor and the commissioner were waiting for me. They briefed me where they were in the investigation and told me what they were doing to find this guy.
“What’s his name?” I asked the commissioner.
“Aaron, I can’t tell you that…”
“Really? Then maybe my checks to the Policeman’s retirement fund will be smaller.”
“That’s not fair, Aaron. It’s blackmail, actually and very unlike you. You need to trust me to do my job. We’ve been friends for a long time….”
“Yes, and this is the first time that I’ve asked you for anything in all that time. You said it yourself, this is unlike me. Obviously it’s very, very important.”
The mayor and commissioner exchanged looks and the mayor finally said,
“His name is Gregor Vivaldi. But Aaron, you have to promise me you’re not going to go all vigilante on us.”
“Of course not,” I told him, “But I will have my security team looking for him. When they find him, they’ll bring him in…safely.” The commissioner didn’t look happy so I said, “I promise you that no one will be playing cop or hero. They follow my orders, very closely. Look, I know you guys are understaffed. I’m not saying you can’t do your job. I’m just saying there’s nothing wrong with a little help, right?”
He finally, reluctantly agreed. He didn’t doubt I’d find the information on my own anyways. I was pretty determined when there was something I really wanted. Before I left the station, I had the suspect’s last known address and list of know associates. I took that information directly to my head of security and told him that I wanted it to be their number one priority until the man was found. That weekend, I spent my time mostly on the phone helping them follow up on leads. The guy wasn’t at his last known address so it was a matter of finding out who his relatives and associates were. With enough money and resources you can find out anything about anyone these days.
Meanwhile, I told Robyn that I was still working on her surprise. I was talking to her on the phone, so I didn’t see her face, but I got the feeling she was very unhappy with me. I knew that would change soon though when early Monday morning I got a call from the commissioner that they had arrested him. The idiot still had Robyn’s I.D. and credit cards on him when they picked him up. I asked him to email me a picture of the guy and I went to work ecstatic, I couldn’t wait to tell her.