Chapter 88 - Suspicion

Twenty minutes later, Jon again appeared in the doorway of Cate’s office. He was considerably calmer now, having spoken to the Director’s legal advisor.

Christina’s questions had been relatively basic, and she had assured him that from a legal standpoint everything was in order. She must have picked up on Jon’s anxiety, because Chris had made it a point to tell him that she had handled many such projects for the Director, and that his proposal was one of the most thorough and complete she had ever reviewed.

Jon was grateful for Chris’ assurances, for they had greatly eased his worry that she might disclose the details of his plan to Cate. It was apparent from their conversation that Chris considered her work on this project a privileged communication. It had also made Jon regret even more how pissy he had been toward Cate when she apologized for her transgression with his phone.

Now he was standing outside her office, watching her ignore him. He had seen her draw in a breath and stiffen slightly when she sensed his presence, but she had continued working at her computer, pretending not to notice him.

“Cate,” Jon said quietly. She didn’t turn to look at him, but she stopped typing. She sat silent, staring at her monitor.

“Cate, I’m sorry.” Jon said gently. “I didn’t mean to snap at you. I was just … well, you surprised me, that’s all.” Jon paused, waiting for Cate to answer. She didn’t.

Jon sighed softly. “I’m not angry at you. You didn’t do anything wrong.” God… please, just look at me….

“I said I’m sorry once.” Cate said icily. “No, I said it more than once. I’m not apologizing anymore.” She still kept her gaze trained on her monitor, refusing to look at Jon.

“I know,” Jon replied, his voice soft and regretful. “I’m sorry. I was an asshole. I didn’t mean it.” Jon moved over to Cate’s desk and sat in the chair in front of it, so there was no way she could avoid seeing him. “Hey…” he probed gently. “Will you look at me, please?”

Cate turned her gaze to meet his, her jaw set, her eyes a steely blue. She blinked at him, remaining silent.

Jon sighed again. Goddamnit, she’s stubborn, he thought. He stared back at her for a long minute, his lips pressed together. He wasn’t going to say another fucking word until she spoke first.

Finally Cate yielded. “Yeah, you were an asshole,” she stated flatly.

Jon couldn’t stifle a chuckle at her response. “Fuck, Cate…” he muttered. He sighed as he gave her a little grin. “Forgive me? Or at least forget about it?” He raised his eyebrows. “You can kick the shit out of me in DTs if it makes you feel better.”

That caused Cate to crack a little smile. “I kick your ass anyway,” she replied quietly, her voice softer but still tightly controlled. She stared at Jon for another long moment, not willing to agree to his “forgive and forget” request. She was too pissed to let him off the hook. Her brow furrowed slightly and she tipped her head, giving him a searching look.

Oh, shit… Jon thought, recognizing what was coming. He tensed, knowing that Cate would be not only listening to his words but reading his body language as he replied to the question she was about to ask.

“What’s this ‘proposal’ you made to the Director?” she queried. “The one Chris is reviewing?” She raised an eyebrow with the question.

Jon took a breath before responding. “When I was at the dinner party on Sunday, Paul and I talked about the possibility of me doing some work on behalf of the Center,” he answered smoothly. “I want to do something to support the men and women of law enforcement, as kind of a thank you for my time here. We’re looking at doing a series of recruiting ads, with me as a spokesman.” He gave Cate a little smile, hoping she was satisfied with his explanation. What he had said was truthful… it just wasn’t the whole truth.

“Oh,” Cate answered. “That sounds great….” Her eyes narrowed slightly as her gaze slid over Jon’s face, evaluating his expression and nonverbals. “But why did you make a proposal for that? The Public Affairs Office usually handles that stuff.”

“Because I had to talk to my agent and to Obie, to see when I could fit it in,” Jon replied evenly. It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the real answer to her question, either. “With the movie and the album and the tour, I didn’t know how or when I could make it work. Turns out if I’m gonna do it, it’s gonna have to be right away. There won’t be time once we get the tour rolling.”

He took a breath. “And I wanted to do something a little different than the standard print and TV ads. Get a little creative, and try to play up the public service aspect. Kind of a ‘cops are the Soul of the community’ thing.”

Cate nodded thoughtfully. “Sounds cool,” she responded. She watched him for another long moment, considering his words. Jon gazed back at her, waiting for her to speak, hoping she wouldn’t press him for more details. “I’m surprised you didn’t mention it to me Sunday night.” Cate said quietly.

Jon felt his pulse accelerate. He could tell her cop instinct was kicking in, that she detected that something was not quite right with his answer. Shit.

He automatically deployed his standard defense: charm. Jon smiled sexily and lowered his chin, giving Cate a conspiratorial little wink. “Well… I kinda had something else on my mind Sunday night,” he purred softly. “You remember.”

Cate felt her temper rising again at Jon’s flirting. But she had seen his split-second panic response to her probing question; his pupils had dilated and his nostrils flared as his breathing shallowed, ever so slightly. He had certainly had an emotional response to her query, but was it because of deception or lust? She had felt her own little flush of heat at the mention of their passionate night. It was possible that Jon’s reaction had been based on the memory of their sexual encounter, as well.

Cate and Jon stared silently at each other for a long minute, she trying to read his expression and he trying to seduce her with his gaze. Finally Cate looked away, exhaling sharply with frustration. She could see that she wasn’t going to get anywhere with this line of questioning, at least not now.

She was getting tired of Jon’s continuous assault on her emotional defenses. Cate couldn’t deny that she wanted so much to just give in, to bend to his will and indulge in the fantastic pleasures of his glorious body, to pretend to believe all the pretty words he told her about a future for the two of them. But it wouldn’t be worth the pain that would inevitably follow the pleasure.

It also galled her that this all seemed to be some sort of a game to Jon. It was if he was enjoying pushing her buttons and watching her squirm. The way he had teased her so naughtily and openly on the arson range was positive proof. Cate felt her jaw clench at the realization: the way Jon was treating her wasn’t about lust or desire or some fairy-tale romantic dream of sharing future days or weeks or months together. It was about control. Just like on the range, or in DTs, or even in their sexual encounter.

If Jon could keep her off-balance, overwhelm her with his charm and his presence, he would eventually get his way. It had worked Sunday night when he had seduced her into his bed, and he had tried to do the same thing to her last night at the range.

Well, not this fucking time. This time he wanted something that Cate wasn’t willing to give away… her soul. It was as if he was the emissary of the Devil himself, ready to lead her into temptation and the hellfire of emotional torture that would eventually follow.

Jon watched as Cate slipped away from him, her expression turning stormy. Uh oh, he thought nervously. Oh, fuck, that was the wrong move…

Jon could see that he had finally pushed Cate over the line with his flirtatious response to her questioning. His heart filled with dread as he again recalled Danny’s words: “you’re gonna have to walk a fine line, and not push back so hard that you piss her off.”

The smile faded from Jon’s lips as Cate turned her gaze back to him, her eyes now a steely gray. Her voice was cold when she spoke. “We have training to do. Time to go.”

Without waiting for him to respond, Cate pushed herself up out of her chair and moved around her desk. She picked up her gear bag from where she had left it next to the door, and walked out of the office.

Jon groaned to himself and slumped in the chair, closing his eyes as his heart throbbed miserably. He had started this day full of optimism that by its end Cate would be back in his arms.

So much for that plan.