Chapter 28
28
T heresa stepped from the shower and toweled herself off. She dressed in jeans and a yellow t-shirt, eager to start her morning. Sleeping next to Marco last night felt wonderful. She'd slept fantastically too.
She dried her hair with a blow dryer, then pulled it up onto her head and secured it in a high ponytail. She planned on tackling the codes today, finishing her reports, and starting the new story that had been brewing in her brain this past week. She'd tell her story. Of how she had to go on the run. Throwing rocks, blowing up cars, killing people. The hate and vitriol with which the Celtics operated needed to be fully disclosed and she now knew how she'd do it.
Moving from the bathroom through the bedroom, quietly, she stopped for a moment to stare at Marco sleeping. He was beautiful. He'd likely hate hearing that. But he was. All the times she'd thought about him as they worked together, she'd never imagined this. She'd always held herself back. Watching him at work, she thought he was a heartthrob. The old-fashioned term made her grin, but he was. His strong build, broad shoulders, and rippling muscles were captivating. But, watching him relaxed and sleeping peacefully now...this was incredible.
She grinned and went out to the kitchen to pour him a cup of coffee. She quietly pulled two coffee cups from the cupboard and poured them each a cup. At least she'd set the coffee up last night and used the timer. She hated waiting for coffee in the morning.
She'd unpacked some macarons yesterday. She remembered thinking Margo had fabulous taste in food. Placing two of those on a plate, she carried the coffee and sweets into the bedroom and set them on the nightstand for Marco. Taking one last look at his peaceful slumber, she tiptoed from the room and setup her laptop on the dining room table. She pulled her notes from her laptop case and began to work.
After logging into her encrypted account, she started organizing the codes by what she now believed to be zip codes. She'd group the numbers into areas and take an area at a time to fully determine how many states were involved in this corruption. Then she'd break the states down into counties, then cities and municipalities. Perhaps one day, she'd be able to dig into each municipality and find the culprits.
She froze as she thought about that for a moment. She could have people do it for her. She could place a call to action in her exposés where citizens could report corruption. Those citizens would do the work for her. She shook her head as thought after thought bombarded her brain with the way to set this up. It would have to be private. She could set up a website. And specific information would be required for anyone to submit any tips about what was happening. She could then work on the investigation of that.
Her heart raced as she thought of all the possibilities of having boots on the ground, so to speak, helping her ferret out information.
Her fingers flew across her keyboard as the thoughts presented themselves. She'd organize them later, but for now, she didn't want to lose them.
The more she typed the more energized she felt. Excitement pumped through her veins, and she couldn't wait to begin working on this.
Marco placed a warm cup of coffee near her right hand. She looked up at him puzzled and he grinned. Ahh, that grin! She could look at that all day.
"You started working again and let your coffee get cold. I thought you may want to take a break and eat something."
She smiled and he bent down and kissed her lips. "Thank you," she whispered.
"You're welcome." He stood. "How long have you been awake?"
She glanced at the time on her computer. "About an hour."
He chuckled and grinned at her. She couldn't help but smile. "I'll get breakfast ready."
"Do you need help?"
He cocked his head and grinned. She laughed. "Right. Thank you."
He nodded and strode to the kitchen while she took advantage of the incredible view. He wore jeans that fit him to perfection. His strong thighs fit perfectly into those jeans and his muscles were perfectly outlined by the fabric.
The gray t-shirt he wore stretched across his shoulders accenting how muscular he was. Damn!
She went back to her codes, despite wanting to watch Marco cook.
She finished three pages of codes, looking up each zip code to find the state associated with it. With each completed page, her excitement grew. A few more hours and she'd know more than she did now. And she'd have the codes pinpointed. Her goal was to have them finished before the next report was released.
Marco called to her from the kitchen. "Breakfast is ready."
She picked up her coffee cup, sauntered to the kitchen, and climbed on a bar stool at the counter. Marco set a beautiful omelette in front of her complete with fresh orange slices, a banana, and a sliced apple. "It looks amazing."
He grinned. "Thank you."
He picked up a plate for himself and walked around the counter to sit down next to her. They ate in silence for a bit. Both of them were hungry, and frankly, her brain was still deciphering codes.
Marco finished his breakfast and pushed his plate away. He sipped on his coffee then broke the silence. "How are you coming along?"
"Good. It's a slow process because I have to look up zip codes as I go."
"Let me help you. I need to do something, and it'll make your work easier. We'll be finished sooner."
She turned to stare into his eyes. Not a hardship. Not at all. "Okay. If you're sure."
"Yeah. I need something to do, babe."
Babe. He called her babe. Electric currents raced through her body. Her tummy somersaulted. Her nipples pebbled. She liked that. A lot.