All The Pretty Things

by Magdon, Rae D

  "You know, that's not -" Robin started, and she looked on in surprise as Tess took a long sip. "- fixed up yet... I didn't put any sugar or cream in."

  Tess pulled the coffee away from her lips, hands still folded around the warm cup. "I take it black," she said, her voice slightly lower and huskier than she had meant for it to be.

  Robin pushed off the door jamb and ran her free hand through her short hair. It was slightly unrulier than usual, but Tess thought it added to her charm. Then, she silently chastised herself for being distracted. "So, Louph has you all set up?" she asked, walking towards the desk and setting down the tray with its two remaining cups.

  Tess nodded and took another sip of her coffee. “So he’s told me.”

  “The good news is that nothing on her computer showed signs of deliberate monitoring,” said Louph. “The harmful programs were all minor threats a person can pick up simply from scrolling over the wrong ad.”

  “Well, that’s a relief,” said Tess. She exchanged a look with Robin before glancing over at Louph. The man sat there quietly, tapping away at the keyboard without any regard for his company. Tess wanted to ask him how much longer it would take so that she could either leave him to his work or wait the extra five minutes while he wrapped things up. Also, it was difficult to think of anything to say to Robin while he occupied the same space.

  Robin released an awkward sigh before grabbing the two remaining cups. “Should I go fix up the rest of the coffee?” she asked. When neither Louph nor Tess gave a verbal response, she walked back toward the door. “I’ll be right back, then.”

  Once Robin had left the room, Louph spoke. “I should be done in a few more minutes. I know you and Robin must have some things to discuss, and I do not wish to make the atmosphere uncomfortable.”

  Tess’s face flushed. “I... I don’t know what you mean -”

  “I won’t pry,” Louph said, cutting off her weak cover-up. “Official FBI business is often like that.”

  The knot of fear loosened in Tess’s chest as she realized Louph thought they only had business to discuss. “Oh, yes,” she said, taking another sip from her coffee. Her heart rate had almost returned to normal when her cellphone rang. Tess picked it up and nearly dropped her coffee cup when she saw an unknown number on the screen. “This might be it,” she said. “What do I do?”

  "There should be a button at the bottom, next to 'Answer'," Louph said. "Pressing it will forward the call to your computer. Then, I can answer it from there."

  Tess followed Louph's instructions with a shaking hand, nearly missing the button with her thumb. Eventually, she managed to press it, hurrying around the side of her desk to stand beside Louph. He pushed over the slender black microphone that he had connected to the computer, making sure it was near Tess's face. Hesitantly, she leaned down and spoke in to it. "Hello?"

  "I have instructions for you. If you don't want to be exposed for what you are on the national stage, you'll start making daily payments."

  Tess swallowed and tried to formulate a response, desperately wishing that Robin had not left the room. Her heart pounded in her throat. "What do you want me to do?" she finally managed to ask. Her voice only shook a little.

  "I'm going to give you a list of cell phone numbers. Send two thousand dollars to each of them by tomorrow night. If you alert law enforcement, I'll release the details of your affairs to the media."

  "I won't say anything," Tess said, hoping she didn't sound too panicked. Beside her, Louph stared intently at the monitor and fiddled with his program as it tried to triangulate the cell phone's location.

  "Write down the numbers. After you've made the payments, destroy it."

  Tess moved several leafs of paper on the side of her desk to make an appropriate amount of noise, knowing that the call, and the numbers, were already being recorded. "Okay."

  "513-809-6117. 513-716-3224..."

  The numbers continued, but Tess stopped listening when she saw Robin step back through the office door, a cup of coffee in each hand. Immediately realizing what was going on, she hurried over to the desk and set them out of the way, standing close beside Tess. "Anything?" she whispered to Louph. He didn't answer verbally, but he pointed at the screen. Three circles had appeared, each surrounding a dot that represented a cell phone tower. They overlapped at one small space in the middle.

  The streets looked familiar to Robin. She squinted at the screen, trying to remember why they were so recognizable. “That’s…”

  “My office,” finished Tess. The blackmailer had hung up, and Tess stared at the screen in disbelief. She blinked and shook her head. “Someone in my office building made the phone call.”

  Judging from her trapped look, Tess was on the verge of a breakdown. Robin stepped toward her, reaching out a hand to comfort her. “Tess, this is our first step toward catching this son of a bitch. We’ll get whoever it is, don’t worry.”

  The politician stepped out of her reach. “It could be anyone,” she muttered, glancing between Robin and Louph. “They’re probably on my payroll, and they’re trying to extort more from me.” She took another step backwards. The coffee cup shook in her trembling grip. “I can’t trust them, not a single person.”

  “Probably not,” Robin admitted reluctantly. “But you’ve got me. You can trust that I’m going to help you get through this. That’s what FBI agents do. We catch the bad guys.”

  Tess still looked unconvinced of Robin’s abilities. It made Robin's heart break to see her stare with such open fear. Another second ticked by, and a knock on the door dispelled the stalemate between them. Tess’s walls went up. She retreated behind her mask, and Robin knew she had lost her for the moment. “Yes?” Tess called out, her voice betraying none of her inner turmoil.

  Brian opened the door and stepped inside. “What’s going on here? You’re supposed to be getting ready for your 2 o’clock.”

  Tess shook her head, motioning for Brian to join her behind the computer. Once he was standing beside her, opposite Robin, she put her hand over the mouse and pressed the play button. She felt the pit of her stomach drop out as she listened to the artificial voice's demands again, and her hands trembled. She clenched them to stop the shaking, letting her nails bite in to her palms.

  "Shit," Brian said, his voice a mixture of shock and frustration. "And we have no leads on this guy yet?"

  "My program managed to track the cell phone's location down to the nearest block," Louph said, pointing at the monitor. The three colored circles seemed to flash ominously as they highlighted the overlapping portion. "It came from somewhere in this building."

  Tess felt her heart trip out of rhythm. Someone was trying to ruin her. Someone in this office. She needed to leave. "Cancel my meetings," she said, her voice wavering slightly. She swallowed and tried again. "I don't care what excuse you make. Just do it."

  Brian turned, staring at her. "What are you going to do? Give this creep the money and hope he stays quiet until after Election Day?"

  "I don't know yet. I need to think." Most of all, Tess needed to be alone. "I'll be back in a few hours. Give me time. If anyone asks where I am, I had some kind of emergency meeting with a large donor. No one will ask questions."

  Without even pausing to grab her cup of coffee, Tess looped her purse over her shoulder and made a beeline for the door. She was too distracted to notice the footsteps behind her until she was halfway down the hall. Finally, she turned to see Robin standing behind her, one hand outstretched. "Tess, wait..."

  Tess stared back at Robin with tortured eyes and slowly shook her head. Someone on her staff had betrayed her. That meant anyone could. That meant Robin could. The agent already knew far too many of her secrets. Perhaps opening up to her had been a mistake. Maybe paying the money was the only way out of this. "Let me go, Robin," she said, her throat burning with unshed tears as the words escaped. Her life was falling apart around her, and all she wanted was to be alone.

  Robin let her hand fall, and she took
a reluctant step back. "Okay. For now. But you'll have to deal with this sooner or later. I want to help."

  Tess ignored the offer. Instead, she hurried away, unwilling to look back and see the disappointment on Robin's face.

  Chapter 25

  Readjusting her glasses, Tess checked the clock perched precariously on the left side of her desk, blinking to refocus her tired eyes. It was almost eleven thirty. After driving aimlessly around the city for a while, she had returned to her office, locked herself in and refused to meet with anyone. She had spent the last several hours alternating between completing all the tedious paperwork she usually ignored and staring aimlessly at the wall. None of it seemed to help. She felt lost, betrayed, and hurt. Most of all, she missed Robin, probably more than she should.

  A sharp knock at the door made Tess look away from the clock. There weren't many people who would bother staying in this late aside from her. Thinking that it might be Brian with something important to tell her, she pushed some of the papers on her desk aside. "Come in."

  A cautious face peeked around the edge of the door. "Hi Tess. Got a minute?" Robin said in her low, familiar voice. Tess tried not to think about why it had become familiar to her so quickly.

  "I'm busy." Grabbing a sticky note from a drawer, Tess scribbled a reminder to ask Mike about tightening security. If Robin had been able to get in after hours, thieves or the rival campaign's staff would have no trouble.

  When Tess did not return her smile, Robin stepped into the office, thumbs resting casually in the waistband of her jeans. She smiled when she noticed Tess's gaze fixed on the strip of olive skin between her belt and her shirt. "Listen, if you just hear me out -"

  Tess's admiring expression turned sour and she refocused her attention on Robin's face. "I don't think there's anything else to say." Robin tried not to flinch under Tess's icy glare and ignored the chill in her voice. Straightening her shoulders, she closed the door behind her and turned the lock. Tess was not the only one that could play this game.

  "Since you left me alone in that hallway this afternoon with barely a word, I think you owe me at least five minutes of your time."

  Caught off guard, Tess forced herself not to react to the blunt statement. She kept her face carefully blank. "I suppose I didn't make this clear, but I'm not interested, Robin. I want to be alone. This was a mistake. I shouldn't have confided in you, and I definitely shouldn't have kissed you. It isn't going to happen again."

  Even though this was not the argument she had expected to be having with Tess, Robin couldn't help responding from a place of hurt. "Oh, so you only date high class call girls? This isn't the nineteen fifties, you know. They aren't going to cart you off to the loony bin and give you a lobotomy for being a lesbian. I'm starting to care about you, probably more than I should, and you won't even let me help you when it's in your own best interest!"

  The politician's eyebrows rose dangerously. "I think you should leave. I have nothing left to say to you."

  Robin took another step towards the desk, unwilling to be intimidated. "Well, I've got plenty to say to you. I'm not leaving until you hear me out."

  "And if I call security?"

  "Who do you think let me in?"

  Tess was unable to hide her look of surprise. "What? Why on earth would they let you in?"

  Robin shrugged. "I told Mike that I needed a chance to get the girl I'm chasing back," she lied. "Guess he's a romantic at heart."

  "You did what?" Years of practice prevented the cold, stomach-twisting fear from escaping her chest. Her hands shook for a moment, and she gripped her knees to keep them still. "Robin, you have no idea how much this could hurt me. For all I know, Mike could be the blackmailer! Anyone could! It was someone on my own staff! How can you expect me to jump into a relationship with a woman – emotional, physical, or otherwise – when someone is threatening me with exposure over the exact same thing?" Straightening her glasses, Tess stood up from her chair, slapping her palms on the desk in frustration.

  Robin frowned.She had not known Tess long, only for a few weeks, but for some reason, she was easy for her to read. On the surface, Tess seemed annoyed, almost insulted by her presence, but beneath those emotions was something else.

  She stood quietly, observing Tess's reaction. Their eyes locked and held. Neither one of them was willing to look away first. Robin noticed the corners of her mouth tighten, the pulse jumping at the base of her throat. Tess was terrified. Terrified of her. That had to count for something.

  Daring to take another step forward, Robin approached the other side of the desk, brushing aside a pie chart and locking her elbows as she leaned forward, resting her weight on her hands and bringing her face close. "Want to know what I think?" There was no answer from Tess. "I think you're scared."

  "Scared?" Tess rolled her eyes. "Of course I'm scared! I'm running the biggest campaign of my life, and someone is trying to ruin the entire thing!" Tess pushed her chair to the left and stalked to the other side of the desk. Taking off her glasses, she clutched them tightly in her right hand as she glared directly at Robin. The FBI agent did not blink. The brightness of Tess's eyes and the stiff line of her shoulders reminded her of a cornered animal trying to drive away its attacker.

  "No. Not that. You're scared of letting anyone get close to you. Maybe you're scared of rejection, or maybe you think everyone's out to make a buck off you, but you can't live your life in isolation because you're afraid of getting hurt."

  "Get out. We're finished here." Unable to hold Robin’s gaze a moment longer, she gestured carelessly in the direction of the door and returned to her seat. Noticing the papers that Robin had upset, Tess began to organize them into a neat pile, determined to erase any memory of their encounter so that she would never have to think about it – or her – again. She slid her glasses back onto her nose and turned back to her computer, opening a spreadsheet window.

  The angry dismissal didn't faze Robin for a second. She knew exactly what Tess was trying to do, remove herself from the situation, and it was not going to work. She had seen fear in Tess's face, and if Tess had something to be afraid of, then there was still hope. Robin walked around behind the desk, looking over Tess's shoulder at the glowing monitor of her laptop. Deep brown eyes watched Tess's profile carefully as she asked, "Why won't you give yourself a chance?"

  Tess did not turn away from the computer screen. She continued scrolling through a numbered chart – budgeting or contributions, something with a lot of big numbers several times Robin's salary. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

  Robin leaned in, resting her hand on Tess's upper arm, feeling heat through the sleeve of her blouse. She did not flinch away from the touch or remove her hand. Staring resolutely at the monitor, she took a deep, shuddering breath. Almost pressed into the back of the chair, Robin's other hand hesitantly reached for her hair, letting the soft strands run through her fingers. Bending down, she brought her lips close to Tess's ear. "You do. Give yourself a chance. Give me a chance."

  Swallowing the knot in her throat, Tess's breathing came faster. Her heartbeat drummed so loudly in her ears that she was terrified Robin could hear it. The hand on her shoulder was moving in a small, rhythmic circle, while the fingers in her hair trailed down to curl around her neck, gently turning her head until they were looking at one another again.

  Slowly, Tess's own hand came up to join the one on her shoulder, tracing over Robin's knuckles with the pad of her thumb. The deliberate action made both women shiver. All of a sudden, Robin found herself on the defensive as Tess rose from her chair, curling a small hand in the soft, short hairs at the base of her neck and covering her lips in a demanding kiss. Robin was surprised, but not unwilling. Once she realized what was happening, she returned the kiss with as much honesty and passion as she could, knowing it might be her only chance to draw Tess closer before she retreated behind her emotional walls.

  A soft, low groan escaped Robin's throat and Tess felt butterflies erupt in
her stomach, a hot flush crawling across her skin. Robin's lips were surprisingly gentle, and the strip of skin below her shirt was incredibly soft as Tess's free hand roamed across it, fingertips dipping just underneath the fabric to explore more warm flesh. Her heartbeat skipped out of rhythm when the kiss ended and she began to protest, but Robin captured her mouth again, running the tip of her tongue along the curve of Tess's bottom lip.

  Slowly, Tess pushed her backwards. An urgent hand gripped her hips and held on tight, unwilling or unable to let go. Desperate fingers hooked in her belt loops, crashing their pelvises together. Somehow, Robin found her back against the wall and her thigh pressing between Tess's legs.

  Tearing their mouths apart, Robin began a line of quick, frantic kisses over the curve of Tess's jawline, nuzzling behind her ear and trailing her mouth down the column of her throat. She was terrified that the other woman would change her mind and run from what they had started.

  With her eyes closed and her breath coming in fast, harsh pants, Tess's hips jerked forward, pressing more insistently against the line of Robin's thigh. "Robin..."

  Her name. Hearing her name as it fell from Tess’s lips told her everything she needed to know. It was too much to handle. Her hands fumbled with Tess's blouse, trembling slightly as they undid the line of tiny buttons and loops. A misjudged tug sent one of the buttons rolling across the carpet, but neither of them cared. Between the two of them, they pulled Tess's arms out of her white shirtsleeves and sent the blouse flying behind them as Robin's teeth sank into the white, unbroken skin of an offered shoulder.

  One of Robin's hands moved in circles over Tess's bare abdomen, sliding higher with each pass. Her stomach muscles twitched and a loud moan was torn from her lips as Robin's fingertips traced a line just beneath her breasts, following the shape of her bra.