3. Noah
NOAH
It’s her. I can’t fucking believe it. She’s here.
Her last name is different now, but I know it’s her. I’ve had Monty run her info through multiple age-progression software programs so that if we ever came across her photos in the news or databases, we wouldn’t miss her. But I always knew I’d never forget those eyes.
Those deep, forest green eyes that have haunted not only my memories, but also my dreams and every waking thought I’ve ever had has always been consumed by her.
She still has the same soft strawberry blonde hair that looks like she’s never dyed it.
Fuck. I wanted to reach out and run my fingers through it, just to make sure this wasn’t a dream.
My little rabbit has finally come home.
“So, Miss Bennett…”
She jumps at the sound of my voice as I slowly lead her through the office to the back wall of windows and the third conference room. It’s the biggest. The one my father uses to intimidate the fresh blood interviewing to be in our firm.
“Yes, Mr. Ander…I mean, Noah.”
She was so confident in the hall when I questioned her about being here for an interview. She stood her ground and stared me down like I was nothing more than the scum she wants to interrogate on the stand. I loved it. But now, in my zone, she’s showing just how nervous she truly is.
It's one of the reasons I always called her little rabbit back then.
She was skittish. Afraid of everything, even her own shadow.
She would hide behind me out on the playground, keeping herself separate from the other kids.
When she was nervous, she would bounce her leg or tap her foot anxiously, just like in the elevator.
I don’t know why I thought she would remember me the second she saw my face. We were kids back then. I was nine, and she was eight. And after everything she went through back then…how much pain she suffered. She must have suppressed that entire part of her childhood. I know I would have.
“Where are you from? Your accent isn’t from around here,” I ask.
I read her resume and cover letter when my father placed them on my desk last week.
I know she moved here from Texas. Graduated top of her class from the University of Texas, then again when she transferred to Wayne State to complete her Juris Doctor degree.
She passed her bar exam in July with 322.
Amazing. She is one of the youngest lawyers we will have ever brought on board besides Jeremy and me, at only twenty-three years old. She’s magnificent and so fucking smart.
“No, it isn’t. Well, I mean, I was born here, but I moved away when I was a kid. I moved to Texas to live with my grandparents.”
She was in fucking Texas this entire time. I swear I checked her family records, and there was nothing linking them to Texas. There was nothing linking them to her in general. It was as if after the incident, she just…disappeared.
“Texas. Very cool. So you were born here in Michigan and spent some of your childhood here, then? Where at?”
Her body tenses next to me as we turn the last corner. Hmm, interesting.
“Oh, just up in the thumb area.”
“Hmm. Well, here we are.”
I open the conference room door to find my father on the phone.
He’s pacing back and forth along the wall of windows.
He glances over, notices Willow and me, then holds up a finger for us to wait.
I gently pull her arm until we’re back in the hall and shut the door. It looks like he’s dealing with a case.
“Sorry about that. It must be something to do with a case right now,” I apologize as I lean against the wall and pull out my phone.
“I understand. So, have you always lived here?” she asks, and I so desperately want to scream, ‘Remember me’, but I can’t.
I need to find out what happened to my little rabbit and why she doesn’t seem to even recognize my name…
Or maybe she does, and she’s just pretending not to remember the childhood crush we shared.
Why would my little rabbit come back here after all these years to apply for a job at my family's law firm if she didn’t remember me.
One that’s been in the family for over four generations, mind you.
Why did she even become a lawyer herself?
Was it to seek out the justice that she was never able to get?
Or was it something else? Something more magnetic drawing her soul to mine like two halves finally being joined together again.
“Yep, born and raised. We moved closer to the city when I was thirteen.”
“Oh, where did you live before…”
“Sorry about that.”
The door opens fully and out steps my father. His tie is slightly loosened, and I can see the sweat on his forehead. Something is definitely wrong with one of our cases.
“That’s all right, Mr. Anderson. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Sir.”
She holds her hand out to my father, and he takes it firmly, trying to rattle her before the interview, but my little rabbit stands tall and returns his force.
A grin I know far too well slowly forms on his face; he likes her already.
He doesn’t know who she really is, though.
To him, she was simply a name in a stack of applications.
He wouldn’t have made the connection based on her first name.
He wouldn’t have remembered those eyes as I did.
No, she’s just another one of the many who apply to our firm every year.
We represent some of the biggest names in Michigan for everything…
from petty lawsuits to murder charges. We do it all.
“Likewise, Miss Bennett. And please, call me Nathaniel. If you’d like to have a seat, we can begin the interview. Noah, care to join us?” he asks, but the look he’s giving me is anything but welcoming.
“No. I have some paperwork to catch up on for the Daremy case.”
My father glares at me for even speaking one of our clients' names in front of her, but he’s going to learn really fast that she isn’t just one of the many who cross our threshold only to go running within a month.
She’s here, and she intends to stay. I have a feeling my little rabbit will do whatever is necessary to lock in a spot at this firm.
“Very well. Lunch later?” he asks, but I glance down at Willow, completely ignoring him.
“Actually, I was going to ask Miss Bennett if she’d like to go to lunch and get a tour of the Ren Cen. What do you say?”
“I unfortunately already have plans for this afternoon. Maybe another time. Thank you, though, Mr. Anderson.”
“Noah,” I correct her, and she smiles before repeating my name.
“Noah. Another time then.”
“Another time.”
Without another word to my father, I turn and head off to my office.
I do have some paperwork to catch up on, but more importantly, I want to be able to watch through my hidden cameras as my little rabbit works her charm on my father without me hovering.
I want to see just who Willow Parker has become now that she’s Willow Bennett.
Who has my little rabbit become?