Chapter 2

On Friday Rebecca walked up the stairs to her office and rushed as she heard her phone ringing. She scrambled through her handbag to find her keys, but battled to find them amidst her lipsticks, pens and paraphernalia. She threw her hands up in the air. What the hell. Let it ring. Who could be phoning me so early in the morning anyway? It is only 7.15. But the phone continued to bid her to it and rang persistently for her attention. It stopped abruptly just as she threw herself across her desk to answer it. Damn! She sat down and stared at her computer. She sighed. It was going to be one of those days. She was so distracted lately. Perhaps it was all the tension growing inside of her. Something is wrong. Ever since she looked into those deep blue eyes, her chakras were out of balance. She could not shake the feeling, the anxiety, premonition, or whatever. Something or someone was nagging her, tugging at her and she did not know what it was about. Rebecca remembered the day well, just two weeks ago. It had been Monday. She had gone to the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development on Victoria Street to meet her friend, Jonathan Carlton, who had recently been employed there as a legal adviser. Jonathan had been excited about starting the new job because as he had been getting depressed with his private practice which dealt mostly with criminal work. When she arrived, Jonathan was busy on the phone and she had walked out onto a large terrace to get some fresh air. It was a bright, sunny day and she wanted to savour its splendour. She closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath. She relaxed, walking further onto the terrace and turned when she heard a man’s voice. He was sitting on a bench nearby, talking on his cell phone. His back was facing her and all she could see was that he had broad shoulders and very short, dark brown hair cut in a neat military style. He was mumbling and agreeing with the caller. She decided she should leave before he saw her. Suddenly he turned and faced her, his dark sunglasses sparkling at her. He stopped talking and looked at her.

Then he spoke again. “Yes, I am paying keen attention. Go ahead and impress me,” and a slow smile curled on his lips.

She wished he could take off his sunglasses, because she felt compelled to look at his eyes. She continued to stare at him and noticed that he was in his early thirties, had a great body and was definitely mocking her. She liked the light shadow of stubble on his chin and she thought it made him look like he just got out of bed. She turned to walk away when she heard him.

“I’ll call you back. There is something that I need to attend to now. Hello, are you lost? Are you looking for somebody?”

He had gotten off the bench and was standing when she turned. He was tall and his body seemed to overshadow her. He was leaning down, his dark sunglasses glaring at her. She watched his lips as he spoke, bizarrely fascinated with his perfect teeth.

“I, ur, am, ur, waiting for Jonathan Carlton. He is busy on the phone.”

“Oh? Jonathan? And what do you want with him?”

“He is friend. I will wait inside for him, thanks.”

“I think you should wait for someone else, my dear. Jonathan is a married man, did you know that?”

He sounded disappointed and disapproving. She stared at him, unable to answer and offended by his suggestion. He took off his glasses and looked at her with bright, blue eyes. Their eyes locked in confrontation and she looked away abruptly, because she heard Jonathan calling her name. She turned and walked towards him as he was coming onto the terrace.

“Hello, my princess. I thought you got tired of waiting and buggered off. I know how you hate to be kept waiting. I’m sorry. I will definitely make it up to you. Oh, hi Clayton. I didn’t see you there.”

Jonathan was suddenly aware of the tension between them. “I take it you two have met?” He smiled at Rebecca and noticed that she looked a bit confused.

“I guess. Anyway, let’s get a move on. I have so much to do today.” She tried to escape, but she heard his voice.

“No. We haven’t met. Hello, Princess, pleased to meet you. I am Jonathan’s colleague. I am Clayton Giles. Don’t forget what I told you, okay?” His eyes were smiling at her, but there was something else in them that she could not read. He seemed disturbed? He held out his hand to her and she was compelled to be civil.

“Yes, pleased to meet you. Now, Jono, we really must go. Bye.”

Jonathan was surprised at what he observed. Clayton was behaving strangely. He had that look of disapproval on his face, but he was also being unusually charming. He had little time for women and focussed most his testosterone on winning legal challenges. He hardly noticed all the pretty young women who vied for his attention and generally adopted a dismissive attitude towards females. He had not seen his old friend’s eyes sparkle like that since they were at university together. Also, he could have sworn that the two had already met before he arrived, but seemed not to know each other’s names. Rebecca had been uncharacteristically rude. She was usually lively and charismatic to strangers.

He watched Rebecca as they sat down at lunch, the distracted way she rubbed her hand, looking confused. “Rebecca, are you okay?”

“Yes, of course. I like your office. It feels welcoming and cozy, except, I am not too sure that I am happy about your secretary. Does Jackie know that she is a busty, sixteen year old blond?”

Jonathan laughed. “Yes, Jackie knows Sharon. She chose her for me. She is not sixteen. She is twenty-five and a very competent blond, I will have you know. She also has a busty, blond girlfriend. I suspect that is why Jackie chose her.”

“Oh, all right, then. I feel better already. What kind of work have you been doing so far? Have you been doing anything interesting?”

“No, not yet. Most of the work has been pretty mundane so far. I am dealing mainly with corporate contracts, or rather tender processes. The government has recently become obsessed with contracts awarded only after a lengthy tender process. So that is what I am dealing with at the moment. Rebecca, you cannot believe how stress-free it is in there. I can’t believe my luck. I even have time to go to the gym, if you have noticed. I have four attorneys working for me and they seem to know what they are doing.”

“Great. You are so lucky. I wish I had less people working for me. I am going insane with all their fights and bickering. It is pretty hectic right now. I certainly have not been to the gym in a long time. Tell me about Jackie’s new project.”

They chatted for a long time and three hours later, they made their way back to his office where she had left her car. On the way, Jonathan suddenly said, “so what do you think of Clayton?”

“I don’t know. I can’t really say. I only met him for a few seconds.” Jonathan was intrigued. Rebecca was a strongly opinionated woman. She always had a firm view of what she thought of people, especially after her first meeting. She had a strong instinct about every one and he had relied on it on many occasions when they had worked together.

“He is a great guy. Very gentle, but very assertive. I met him many years ago. He is Jackie’s friend. He is fiercely protective over her and never trusted me with women. He used to give me such a hard time if I even looked at a woman. Eventually, he accepted that I loved Jackie and relaxed a lot. Now, she complains that the two of us are bad for each other.”

Rebecca said nothing and he dropped the subject. Interesting, he thought. At his office, he gave her a hug and she went to her car. She went back to her office, unable to shake the unease that had enveloped her since she had looked into those blue eyes.

Clayton was furious with Jonathan. What is he doing having long lunches with beautiful women? Who is she anyway? He looked at his watch. It was now three in the afternoon and he was not back yet? Where is he? He looked out at the parking lot and saw them. Jonathan was hugging her and she was laughing. How dare he flaunt this woman? Has he gone mad? No, maybe I have gone mad. He realized how his jealousy was getting the better of him. He realized that he wanted her to be hugging him instead and wanted her laughing at something he had said. Those black eyes haunted him, the way they had stared at him in fascination and fear, the way they had locked him into a space he could not recognize or define. He felt like he knew her, but when she had shaken his hand, there was no familiarity there. Her hand had been warm and soft, as if needing his protection. This is ridiculous, he thought. She was just one more woman who wanted to be entertained by men. She had been very bossy with Jonathan, with her ‘I have many things to do’ attitude. He liked her husky voice, though. Clearly, she has been busy with Jonathan. Jonathan hardly ever went out to lunch, hating business lunches. He always preferred to have a sandwich with Jackie who came over regularly and chatted to him. Her decorating business was just around the corner and she often came over to their office to have lunch with her husband. Where is Jackie today, anyhow?

He went over to Jonathan’s office and found him on the phone. He was talking to Jackie and heard him say, “I only got back a few minutes ago. She said to say hello and good luck with the Fischmer project.”

Okay, so she is not his lover. He felt so relieved by this information that he surprised himself with this revelation. Jonathan noticed him and motioned him to come in.

“Yes, interesting thing happened. She met Clayton. Believe it or not, he was charming. Can you figure that?”

His eyes were laughing at Clayton and he roared with laughter at something his wife said. “I did ask her what she thinks of him. Very interesting.”

He was enjoying Clayton’s discomfort and smiled at him. “Say hello to Jackie,” and handed over the phone to him.

He walked over to the window and watched Clayton. He seemed a bit tense. He was usually relaxed and comfortable, but today he seemed like he had a wasp buzzing in his head.

Clayton eventually put down the phone.

“Your wife says you are cooking tonight.”

“Yeah, I know. She is very busy these days, so I will be cooking every day for the next two weeks. Bummer. Clayton, you look uptight, everything alright?”

“Yes, of course. I am just a little tired I guess.”

“Come over for supper on Wednesday to relax. Rebecca will be there. She loves my cooking.”

“Who?”

“Rebecca, you know, the woman you met earlier?”

“Oh, the princess. Let me see if I am available. Who is she, Jono?”

“Dear boy, you can ask her that yourself on Wednesday.”

“Is she an ex-lover of yours?”

“No. She worked with me on a number of cases. I am surprised you never met her. She is good friends with your drinking buddy, Brad Adcock. He loves her to bits. She is a bright woman with a heart of gold. Sexy too, don’t you think?”

“No, I didn’t notice. We were only there for a few seconds before you arrived. Brad never mentioned her. They are lovers?”

“I doubt it. I know he relies on her a lot for her opinion in some cases, and he is very protective over her. I don’t know if there is something else.”

Jonathan smiled when Clayton left. He did not notice that she was sexy? That was the weakest lie he had ever heard Clayton speak. He also noticed how his jaw clenched when he asked about her relationship with Brad. He went back to work and soon forgot about the interesting encounter between his dearest friends.

Clayton had not forgotten the woman. Hours later, he was haunted by the dark eyes. He remembered clearly how he had known that she was there, before he had turned. He had felt her presence and smelt the slight hint of jasmine blowing towards him. He had known that there was a woman on the terrace, but had been shocked by his reaction when he had seen her. She was standing there, as if ready to flee, a short black skirt barely touching her knees. She had great legs and her long black hair had swayed gently towards him as if beckoning him to her. Her eyes had looked straight at him and warmed him all over. She did not smile at him and he remembered how desperately he wished she would smile. Rebecca had also not forgotten the bold, blue eyes that had teased her, taunting her to combat and the strong hand that had sent shivers down her spine. She tried to dismiss these thoughts. After all, he was a good looking man. In any event, it was no use. There was nothing she could do about it. Even if he was interested, he would soon turn away, like the rest. She knew what she had to do. She had to wait patiently for the Protector. He would come soon and clear away the force that prevented her from finding love. There was no point in lusting after this man. It would be a total waste of time and the pain would be unbearable.

The night was quiet and Rebecca felt despair. She heard it, getting louder, the hissing, insistent sound, its wings flapping slowly in rhythm. The Darkness was back again. She heard a noise at her window and knew it was watching her. There was nothing for her to do but to light her white candles. She burnt the sandalwood incense and shouted.

“Away with you Darkness, there is nothing for you here!”

She chanted these words and felt its force getting weaker, until it was a faint whisper. Why has it come tonight? It only came to her when she was with a man or when she was in love with a man. It had no reason to be threatened. Why now? She pondered this question as she fell asleep. She woke up tired the next day, exhausted from the energy of banishing The Darkness. She hoped it would not plague her this week when she was so busy.

On Wednesday she dressed carefully for dinner at Jonathan’s house. She changed so many times that she could no longer decide whether she looked good or not. She eventually settled for her jeans and a t-shirt.

Jonathan and Jackie were chatty and friendly, but Clayton said very little. He seemed an elusive man and she spent a great deal of the evening avoiding his blue eyes. Eventually, Jonathan asked her to turn on the music. She went over to the hi-fi, crouched on the floor and put in a CD. Her t-shirt moved up her back and a butterfly tattoo at the bottom of her back was visible. She got up and smiled.

“There, some sophisticated music for you unrefined sods!”

Jackie was laughing. Jonathan smiled, but Clayton did not smile. His face was white, frozen in shock. He just sat there, staring into space.

“Clayton, are you okay? I told you he was acting strange this week.” Jonathan looked worried.

“I’m fine, thanks. I was just distracted for a moment.”