Chapter Nine
Tess was in her office starting her day when Helene knocked on her door. She called for her to come in.
“Judge O’Brian just made an appointment. It sounded like she really wanted to meet with you this morning, so I agreed for her to be here in just a few minutes. I hope that’s okay. Then you have Simon Huffington scheduled a bit later.”
“Thanks, that’s fine,” Tess replied as Helene closed the door.
Tess sat back in her chair. Bree…what in the world could she want?
She’d just been in this office last night.
They’d kissed, a superb kiss that Tess knew she’d initiated and fully participated in.
Afterward, she’d gone home and taken a long shower.
Crawled into bed with Thelma and Louise.
Let herself feel depressed. She was pathetic, wanting a woman who wasn’t ready to want her in the way she wanted Bree.
And so many reasons why she shouldn’t want a workplace romance either.
Just thinking about the situation that she found herself in made her eyes moist. So, was Bree’s visit going to be personal or professional?
A few minutes and she’d find out. She headed into her private lavatory to splash a little cold water on her face.
It wouldn’t help her makeup, but the wetness she’d just wiped away had already started to ruin that.
She quickly layered on a fresh application.
It wasn’t three minutes after she’d settled back behind her desk that there was a knock on the door.
Tess looked down at the motion on her desk that she’d been trying to work her way through.
She kept her head tilted down as she called out, “Come in,” but she let her eyes shift up to take in the doorway under a half-lidded gaze.
Helene opened the door and announced Bree’s arrival, then stepped back as Bree came into her office. Bree looked tired, but still so appealing. Tess couldn’t prevent herself from straightening and locking gazes with her. Helene shut the door, and it was just the two of them.
Tess nodded at the chair and considered that less than twenty-four hours before, she’d been kissing this woman. Her pulse thrummed, and her unwelcome libido tap-danced between her legs, but she schooled herself to appear as stoic as she could manage. She was on the job.
“Judge O’Brian.” Tess had no idea what to say, so she decided to let Bree lead.
“Can we talk?” Bree blinked a few times. She appeared stressed, and that elevated Tess’s own stress levels. Last night, she’d thought they’d parted with an understanding of where things stood, even if her heart kept telling her that she wanted to find out if they could have more.
Tess nodded. “Go ahead. I’m listening. Part of my newly acquired position. Bench-worn judge listening to newbie.”
“After our encounter last night—” Bree started to address that topic, but Tess cut her off by holding up her hand, palm out.
“I agreed with you last night, about getting ahead of ourselves. I understand the concerns.” That didn’t mean that Tess wasn’t fighting every emotion that was swirling inside.
It was practical, but she’d had a moment of foolishly entertaining visions of finally muffling those echoes of inadequacy she’d dealt with for a lifetime.
Bree had managed to generate hope that this could be different, but those echoes were back with a resounding roar. Tess refused to let them be heard.
Now it was Bree’s turn to hold up her hand, stop-sign fashion. Her brow was furrowed, and Tess acknowledged that something was really bothering her. She hoped she hadn’t caused that level of anxiety in Bree.
“Tess, I’m not here about last night. At least not about what happened here.
I came to talk to you in your professional capacity, as the presiding judge of this court.
Even if you didn’t vote for yourself,” she quietly added, “I voted for you without hesitation.” Bree’s final statement was a whisper.
Tess fought the pleasure she felt at Bree’s declaration. She nodded and waited. Tess watched Bree gather her thoughts and compose herself. Her blue eyes calmed and her soft pink lips relaxed. Tess acknowledged how sexy Bree was, stressed or not.
“As I started to say, after our encounter last night I stopped at Maria’s Café to pick up a salad, and when I came out there was a man waiting by my car.
Low baseball cap layered with a cinched hood, and fairly poor lighting.
I could see little of his face. He had a solid build, and he was wearing gloves—I’d bet to avoid fingerprints. ”
This was not even close to what Tess was expecting. And of course it had upset Bree. It would have upset her too. Tess pulled herself together and did everything in her power to focus. “Is that it?”
“No. He tried to hand me a bag. I didn’t take it or look inside, but I’m assuming it contained money. He let me know it was a welcome-to-town gift.”
“Did he threaten you?” Tess already wanted to lock the bastard up.
Bree shook her head. “Not outright. His last comment was for me to be careful. It struck me as an effort at intimidation, like something could happen if I don’t comply, but that could just have been my fear. I wouldn’t swear to it.”
“The bag could certainly be interpreted as a down payment to entice you to do something, and the be careful a threat if you don’t.” Tess’s alarm level kicked up another notch. “That’s all you can tell me about him?”
“He was on foot as far as I can tell, so no vehicle info. He had a distinctive, deep raspy voice with a bit of a Southern accent. And he was light-skinned from what little I could see.”
Tess nodded. “I’ll need to write this up.” As she thought about it, she added, “There’s no proof of a crime, but I’ll notify the police chief. She’ll talk to the county sheriff if she needs to.”
Bree hesitated before she dipped her head in agreement, then tapped her knuckles on Tess’s desk. “Thanks, Tess. I’ll go, then.”
“Okay.” Tess didn’t want Bree to go. She searched for something else appropriate to say.
Bree’s expression softened and her eyes did that engaging dance that Tess had come to know at Tahoe.
“I can think of a few things more dangerous than some dude hiding under a jacket hood and carrying a bag full of welcome greetings.” Bree raised her eyebrows and her lips twitched as she looked directly at Tess.
“Dangerous.” Then she grew serious again.
“There’s no telling what’s going on, but something… ”
“Be careful, Bree.”
“You need to be careful too.” Bree closed her eyes a moment, then added, “Tess. Take this as a warning that something seems to be going on. I don’t know what, and I’m not sure if or how it might be related to your shooting, but be careful.” She slipped out of Tess’s chambers.
The entire incident did bring back memories of her shooting, and that scared Tess.
Then she thought again about herself and Bree.
She had enough to deal with here at work, and she was still trying to figure out how to put Bree into that same box where she’d managed to put all her other coworkers, and most everyone else she encountered if she was being honest, except for Flo and Alice.
She had two middle-aged felines waiting at home in her personal life, if only for their bowls of gourmet cat food.
She needed to accept that as sufficient. So why couldn’t she?
It was bad enough that she’d kissed Bree here in her office—with the door wide open—but so much worse was that she’d let herself be so foolish when she absolutely didn’t want that kind of pain.
She had an important job to do that compensated her very well in every professional way.
But even with all the reasons for not becoming romantically involved, there was no denying that there was something between them.
Helene’s knock on the door and entry pulled Tess out of her thoughts.
“What can I do for you, Helene?” Tess asked.
“I just wanted to let you know that I have you signed up for that in-person continuing education presentation in Monterey that fulfills the presiding judge orientation you need to complete.”
“Good. Would you give me those exact dates again so I can put them on my personal calendar?”
“Next month. The week of the sixteenth.”
“I’ll need to get my friend or my aunt to do cat duty. Or I can probably hire someone to cat sit if it comes to that.” Flo had promised to help when she’d talked Tess into the rescue adoptions. And Alice was always happy to assist her.
Helene made a notation in the iPad she was carrying. “I’m following through with helping all the judges complete their required CJE. Making sure everyone has their required training so there won’t be any issues, and so I can plan out the court calendar.”
Tess nodded. “Thanks. Do you know if there have been any updates on my shooting?’
“Not that I know of.”
“Well, would you please forward me the most recent update? Bree was here about an incident last night that appears to be related to her role as a judge. It’ll need some follow-up.”
Helene gave her a look that was hard to interpret, then nodded as she made a note. “Just the most recent report? And what type of follow-up?”
“Let’s start with that most recent one. If I want others, I’ll let you know.
” Tess marveled at Helen’s professional demeanor, but there was probably an entire book she could write of all the issues she’d encountered through the years.
“Huffington is due anytime. After I see him, I want to make sure there’s a written report and that the proper parties are made aware.
The police chief, the office, the other judges… ”
Helene nodded again, then they both heard the not so quiet arrival of Simon Huffington and so she left to escort him in. Tess braced herself for whatever he was going to say. She hadn’t seen him since she’d been elected as the presiding judge.
Huffington entered and sat down. He was certainly looking older than his sixty-four years.
“Hi. What can I do for you?” Tess asked.
“I’m just here to touch base.”
“Okay.”
Huffington scowled. “You’re not going to make this easy, are you, Theresa.”
“I’m not trying to make it hard. I didn’t solicit this position. I’m just trying to do it now that it’s mine.”
“You should know that it can be challenging. You’re probably in way over your head, so just be aware.” Huffington sat back and crossed his arms.
“Are you’re talking explicit issues or a general warning? You need to clarify.” She wasn’t in the mood for his bullshit.
“Just letting you know it’s a lot of responsibility. Lots of things depend on how you perform the job.”
Could the guy be any more vague? Was this his normal bluster or something more? “So why are you here? To offer me advice?”
Huffington shook his head in a clear show of disgust. “Just a heads-up…you’re not nearly as savvy as you think.”
“I didn’t try to take your job,” Tess replied. You lost it all on your own. “And I don’t consider myself to be all that savvy.”
He slowly rubbed the side of his shirt over his left clavicle, and Tess wasn’t sure if it was an intentional reminder of her shooting. She tried to ignore his actions.
He continued, “I’ve thought about things since the vote and decided that I’m retiring next year, so just assign me my cases, and we’ll do fine.”
Tess nodded. “Helene’s doing her job and overseeing the random assignments for me, unless there’s a good reason to place a case with someone or make a change.
Anything else?” He needed to walk away with his pride, and Tess decided there was no reason not to try to offer him that.
“I can already see it’s a hard job. We all appreciate your years of service.
I hope you enjoy your remaining time without so much pressure. ”
Huffington grunted and stood up. “Just don’t say I didn’t try to tell you that it’s no cakewalk.”
“If it’s as hard as you indicate, I undoubtedly won’t have the perseverance to dedicate as many years as you have. Thanks for dropping by.”
After he’d headed out, Tess silently congratulated herself for surviving the encounter relatively unscathed.
Then her thoughts returned to Bree. To not just the parking lot incident, but what she’d done last night, being the aggressor and instigating the kiss.
That kind of risk was way out of character for her.
Maybe it was this yo-yo state of her emotions, but whatever it was, Tess suddenly decided to throw caution to the wind and go for broke.
She needed to follow up on reporting the parking lot incident, and she could certainly justify the proposal she was going to make to Bree as professional.
She told Helene where she was going and headed to see if Bree was in her office,
“How can I help you, Judge Fairchild?” Bree asked when she looked up and saw Tess standing in her chambers doorway.
“Did you eat your salad?” Tess maintained a neutral tone. Presiding judge appropriate.
“What?”
“Your salad last night—the reason you were at the café. Did you eat it?”
Bree tilted her head in question. “No, I was too upset.”
“Would you care to meet me at the scene of the incident tonight? I’d like to see it firsthand. And maybe get dinner salads. We both need to eat dinner.”
Bree gave her a skeptical look, but Tess was prepared with an indifferent expression and a cool professional gaze back.
Even with her heart in her throat, she wasn’t going to give anything away, except maybe in that return gaze.
It was almost impossible to control those traitorous windows to her soul.
“You’re proposing a cordial dinner in the name of professional duty?”
“I might up that label to amiable.” Tess maintained her detached demeanor.
“What if I want friendly?” Bree asked.
Tess clucked her tongue. “We don’t always get what we want.” I ought to know, she thought.
“Okay. I can see the reason for having you check the parking lot out. I’d also like to get some photos because I was too rattled last night.”
“Good. I’ll need to go by the house first and feed the felines so they don’t starve.”
“Cat lady duties?” Bree asked with a chuckle.
“Yes. And proud of it. We cat ladies help hold the world together.” If all she was going to have in her personal life were two cats, she was going to make the most of it.
“So why don’t you go home after you’re done here and take care of Thelma and Louise, and then I’ll come by and pick you up?” Before Tess could object, Bree added, “That way neither of us will end up out in the café parking lot alone.”
Tess’s infernal yo-yo emotions were on the ascent, and she told herself they had no right to be. This was a work-based mission, and it would solve her dinner dilemma—she’d hadn’t eaten much today. This was perfectly practical and certain to garner Marnie’s meal approval.
“Okay, I can make that work.” Tess realized they’d never shared addresses and cell numbers, so she pulled out her phone and so did Bree. They exchanged information.
“Is seven o’clock okay?” Bree asked.
“I can make that work,” Tess repeated. She walked to the door before she suggested or agreed to anything else.