The Bodywoman - Chapter 19

Sarah wipes the tears running down her cheeks and tries to ignore the leaden feeling in her limbs. No good can come from this fascination with her client. She must do her job and do it well. Everything else is irrelevant, at least according to her brain. Her heart, however, may have trouble accepting the logical reasoning.

She craves exercise to expel the exhaustion and depression weighing her down. Through the window, the lights of Johannesburg blink on, signaling the end of many people's workday. Trains of headlights on the freeway seem to flow without end in both directions, their occupants eager to get home either to their families or to a place they call their own.

With a sigh, she closes the curtains and kicks off her shoes. Drawing from all her reserves, she battles to conjure up her normal enthusiasm about the exercise routine. She controls her breathing and slips into the semi-unconscious state needed. Half an hour later and lost in her own world, she pushes her body to the limits of her endurance.

Two hours later, showered and full of her normal energy, Sarah forwards a list of current and prospective employees to Megan and walks to the living room. Ben sits in the twilight with his eyes closed and soft Mozart music floats through the room. He senses her presence and opens his eyes. Sarah's heart stops and starts painfully again. Lines of fatigue crease his mouth and dark circles rim his eyes.

"Dinner is ready." His voice sounds tired as he rises from the couch.
Sarah follows him to the dining room and stops, mouth agape at the door.

The table is set for two with pink candles casting their soft glow over the silver serving dishes and small bouquet of miniature white roses. On the side of the table, a bottle of Pinotage breathes its fruity aroma into the air. Ben pulls out a chair and calls her over. She sits down and he hurries to the kitchen, returning with several silver platters, which he sets down on the serving dishes.

The silence becomes unnerving and although the soft Mozart music provides a calm backdrop to their dinner, Sarah stares at the food, unable to think of a single word to break the uneasy silence. Her throat constricts and she doubts she would be able to swallow one mouthful of the delicious food. Ben takes her hand from around the stem of the wineglass and brings it to his lips.

"To the most beautiful woman in the world who saved my skin today." The huskiness in his voice grates over Sarah's raw nerve endings and a slow steady hum fills the air. Ben throws his head back and laughs.

"You're right, that sounded tacky." He releases her hand and passes her a serving dish.

"I guess what I want to say is thank you. I should have realized a long time ago Gareth wouldn't hire you if you're not capable of doing an excellent job."

Sarah doesn't trust her voice and nods. She hides a cough in her hand and mumbles a soft 'you're welcome'.

Halfway through dinner Sarah starts to relax. Ben goes out of his way to put her at ease and keep the conversation non-threatening. Deep down Sarah wonders if he somehow senses her confusion and dilemma. She decides to place her doubts on a backburner and enjoy the evening.

After dinner, they move to the living room and Ben changes the disc to some soft popular love music. He throws two oversized pillows on the floor and

Sarah snuggles up to the under-carpet heating. For the first time she notices how often he uses his hands to illustrate a point he makes and her mind involuntary recalls those warm hands on her body inside the tent. Heat spreads to her cheeks and she focuses on his mouth, trying to recall what he just said.

"...not so bad after all."

Right, now how to figure out what he said before those few words. Her mind whirls. The possibilities are endless and she gives up.

"Sorry, my mind drifted." She shrugs her shoulders in apology.

Ben smiles. "I thought you were miles away. You didn't miss anything spectacular, though. I said at least my shoulder hurts less than I thought."

Sarah's mind focuses. She forgot about his injury and although not serious, she needs to clean the wound and make sure infection doesn't set in.

"Take off your shirt so I can take a look."

Ben's eyes twinkle as he slowly unbuttons the shirt. "Why don't you give me a hand? I'm sure we could make this a lot more interesting."

Heat suffuses her face and she averts her eyes. "Just get the shirt off. I'm going to fetch the first aid kit." Sarah jumps to her feet and hurries from the room while Ben's soft chuckle caresses her ears and static electricity hums in the air around her.

She rinses her face under the cold water and catches her reflection in the mirror above the basin. An alien face stares back at her - a face with flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes. Softness and vulnerability replaces the usual efficient indifference in her face. She squares her shoulders and lifts her chin. She prided herself on her professionalism, and now is not the time to let it slide. When she is satisfied she resembles the old Sarah again, she strides towards the living room.

Ben's bare chest almost destroys her newfound resolve, but she concentrates on the job at hand. After a couple of minutes, her hands stop shaking and the constriction in her throat clears. She can do this. She can act normal around him without her hormones ruling her mind.

Sarah cleans the wound and applies some anti - inflammatory salve. There are no signs of any redness around the edges of the wound and it should cause Ben little to no discomfort in the next few days. She replaces the first aid kit and takes a seat opposite Ben, who remained quiet during the whole process. His next words reveal his mind at least was busy.

"Your turn. Let's see the wound on your arm." Sarah smiles at his obvious attempt to get her shirt off.

"Nice try. You should have tried last night. I'm all healed."

Ben's eyes trace the outline of her breasts through her blouse and the treacherous peaks react painfully, straining against the constraints of the bra. Sarah sighs and rises from the chair.

"I have work to do and I presume you have too. Please, as I said before, don't leave the apartment without telling me and call me if anything is wrong." She doesn't wait for his answer and hurries to the bedroom. Once inside she leans her back against the door and closes her eyes. She needs the old Sarah back.

The message icon on her laptop flickers and Sarah opens the mail from Megan. As usual, Megan's research is thorough to the point of getting boring, but experience taught her something which seems insignificant could be the difference between finding the culprit and leaving empty handed.

Of the thirty background checks she requested, Megan flagged six and Sarah opens them first, checking the reasons for the flags. The first three Megan flagged for financial difficulties, but none would benefit from Ben's demise or from the stopping of the distribution of the medicine. Most would find themselves facing a crisis should Ben decide to terminate their services. Sarah moves them to the maybe folder after perusing all the information. Nothing jumped out at her, nothing triggered a response.

The forth one flagged is Anthony Sutherland. Frowning she opens the file.
Megan made a note of the sexual harassment charges, stating in her summary that he would benefit from Ben's demise. Nothing new here. She turns to his personal profile and photo's of his family. The woman in the picture looks vaguely familiar, and annoyed, Sarah finds that she can't remember where she saw her.

Sarah enhances the photo and peers at the screen. Although the quality of the photo is good, the face of Anthony Sutherland's wife is smudged.

Enlarging the photo even more, Sarah inhales sharply. Someone tampered with the photo. Someone went to great lengths to hide the woman's physical features. The rest of his file contains no new information and Sarah moves the file to the possible candidates.

Hours later, she opens the last file after finding nothing significant in any of the backgrounds of the employees. Ben's secretary is last on the list and Sarah doesn't expect to find anything untoward there either. For the sake of thoroughness, she reads the contents.

Alicia Somers started working for Ben about two years ago after his secretary of eleven years died in a car accident. An independent company verified her background and they vouched for her credentials as a personal assistant and secretary. She holds a diploma in office management and according to the personnel records, her work is exemplary.

Sarah turns to the family history and frowns. Very little is known of Alicia's past and current family life. She has two children, but no information about her husband, if she is married, is available. The children are small, but no pictures of them are available or any further information. The only photograph available on file is the one taken during the issue of her security card and Sarah's frown deepens.

Again the features seem familiar, but once again the photo is blurred and the physical appearance unclear. The one thing visible is the woman's premature gray hair. She needs to have a chat with the photographer to make sure he or she takes care with the photos. Sarah turns to her work report for the last couple of months. Somehow, the file causes unease in her mind and Sarah starts searching for the reason. Nothing apparent jumps from the file and Sarah tiptoes to the kitchen.

She carries the mug of coffee back to her room and starts afresh with Alicia's file. Something bothers her, but she can't seem to find it. By three o'clock Sarah gives up and falls into bed for a restless two hours sleep.

Ben sniffs at the coffee brewing in the percolator as he walks into the kitchen. He should have known Sarah would be awake before him. Even on the tour, the woman slept very little although she tried her best to hide it from him. The kitchen is empty though and he pours the dark liquid into a clean mug from the dishwasher, twisting his shoulder to test the mobility. A slight stiffness and some bruising causes only mild discomfort. The full impact of how close he came to an early demise only hit him in the early morning hours while he listened to Sarah pounding away at the keyboard. Once again, Gareth saved his life.

Sarah appears in the doorway dressed in a black and white suit. His eyes travel from the plaited brown hair downwards, lingering on the full mouth for a second or two. How he would like to taste the sweetness of those lips again. Ben moves in his chair to accommodate the sudden swelling in his lower region, but continues his perusal.

A formal, oversized, black jacket covers a white lacey blouse. The black skirt stops halfway down her thigh while black stocking - clad legs end in stylish shoes. Ben swallows and shifts again. If he didn't need to finalize the last minute adjustments before collecting Gareth and Anne from the airport, he would've allowed his bodyguard to protect his body in a completely different way. Instead, he meets her eyes and gestures to the coffee machine.

"Help yourself. You didn't get much sleep did you?" Hell, his voice sounded whiny. He grinned. Must be the pain of sitting down while every fiber in his body, at least the lower region, is achingly erect.

Sarah seems oblivious to his discomfort and bends over to retrieve a mug from the cupboard below the machine. Ben's hand jerks and the coffee scalds his fingers. Damn it man, get a grip. He starts to rise from the chair but a quick glance downwards has him sitting down with a thud. The coffee spill remains unattended on the table while Sarah sits down opposite him.

"Morning. You know, I never figured you to be grumpy in the morning. Is your shoulder bothering you?"

"Just a little stiff, but nothing I can't live with. You on the other hand, might be a problem."

He meets Sarah's startled eyes and the discomfort grows again, the embarrassment fuelling his temper.

"Why do you dress this way? No one in his right mind would take you serious as a bodyguard if you dress in those short skirts." His voice is gruff in the morning silence.

"You know, Ben, you are the first client who bothered to notice how I dress. But the answer is quite simple. If I can do the job dressed like this, which I by the way like, why should it make a difference? I can still run, carry my weapons and look and feel good in the process." Sarah opens her jacket over the Beretta and with a twinkle in her eye, she inches the miniskirt upwards, revealing the Baby Browning strapped to her thigh. Ben's discomfort turns painful at the sight of the suspenders holding the black stockings in place and his mouth dries to sand. Time to change the subject... and fast.

"Hmm. We have to meet Gareth and Anne at the airport tomorrow morning at five." The pressure starts to ease and Ben shuffles around the table, careful to keep his back to Sarah.

"I'll inform the cook and butler. Anything else or are we ready to go?"
"No, we're good to go."

Apprehension washes over Sarah when Ben tells her about Gareth and Anne's eminent arrival. Gareth would demand an explanation on how Ben managed to be injured and Anne... well she made no secret about the fact she doesn't like Sarah. Suppressing a sigh, Sarah focuses on the immediate task of arriving at the factory in one piece.

She leaves the cook and butler notes to do additional shopping and prepare rooms for the guests and makes her way towards the garage. Although she senses no threat, the previous two days taught her to use special precautions in addition to her normal instincts. She checks the alarm panel in the garage and finds the tiny hair she placed in the panel, intact.
"All clear." she shouts.

Ben trudges down the three steps, slings his briefcase on the backseat and climbs into the car in silence. They arrive at the factory without incident and Ben hurries to his office. Sarah grabs his arm as his hand hovers over the keycard lock of his office.

"Ben, don't be stupid, stand aside." She shoves him against the wall and keeping her body out of the line of the door, Sarah glides her card through the lock. The light blinks to green and the door clicks open. She shoves the door open with her foot and slips inside, her back to the wall.

The office is clear, nothing appears out of place, and after checking the bathroom, she waves Ben inside, his lips compressed in a thin line. Sarah bites back a smile. Men can be so predictable when you challenge their testosterone levels. She waits for Ben to settle behind his desk before she continues.

"Where is Alicia? I haven't seen her since we returned to the office."
Ben frowns and his hand stops in mid-air. "You haven't met her yet?"
"No, her desk is empty every time we go past."

"Must be co-incidence. She's been at work since I flew over from the States. In fact, we were on the same flight. I'll tell her to make sure she introduces herself." Ben lowers his head over the reports on his desk and Sarah clicks the door shut behind her. She steps around the secretary's empty desk and perches on the leather chair.

The hair at the back of Sarah's neck jumps upright and her eyes narrow. Suddenly she can't wait to meet Ben's secretary. Her instincts scream red warning lights at her and excitement and anticipation courses through her veins causing the overhead light to blink.

Sarah suppresses the urge to laugh aloud. She'd forgotten the thrill of the chase, the battle of wits and the rush of victory. Guarding rich clients has its advantages, but mostly the work is boring and monotonous. Nevertheless, if her instincts are right, the chase is on.

Ben emerges from his office moments later and they make their way to the lab. During the course of the day, Sarah returns to Ben's office often, but every single time Alicia is nowhere in sight. Her mood deteriorates and the presence of the sleazy Anthony doesn't help. When he brushes past her and slips his hand across her backside for the fourth time, Sarah's temper snaps and Anthony finds himself flat on his behind a couple of feet away from Sarah.

She glances around the room, but Ben appears to be the only one who witnessed the incident. Judging from the grin on his face, he quite enjoyed watching the encounter. For the rest of the day, a subdued Anthony takes care to avoid Sarah. As Sarah leaves the lab to pay Alicia another unexpected visit, she watches Anthony pick up the internal telephone and make a call just as the doors close behind Sarah.

Once again, Alicia is absent and after checking in Ben's office, Sarah perches on the empty desk. Fifteen minutes later Ben strides into the room, his excitement evident. He pins Sarah's extended legs between his and places his hands on the desk beside her, forcing her to lie back. The overhead light blinks and a subtle crackle fills the air. Ben leans closer and whispers.

"We need to get out of here. I'm in the mood for a long calm dinner and a soak in the tub." He leans even closer and catches her lips in a gentle kiss. Although the kiss lasts only a couple of seconds, the overhead fluorescent light loses the fight and explodes, raining a barrage of glass against the plastic hull.

In the twilight, Ben ends the kiss, grabs Sarah's hand and pulls her against him. "Let's go home and enjoy the solitude before my family arrives."
Incapable of speech, Sarah nods, retrieves her handbag and follows Ben towards the exit. Her mind only returning to normal at the sight of the Mercedes standing at an odd angle. Flat tire. She crouches next to the wheel and runs her hand over the inside of the wheel. Seconds later, she finds the cut close to the body. Alert now, she shoves Ben back into the building and calls security. Twenty minutes later, they are on their way.
Sarah sighs with relief when they pull into the underground parking. Opening the door, a wave of cold dark evil flings her against the door.

"Stay in the car" she shouts at Ben, while she struggles to breathe through the choking fog swirling around their car. The dark force is familiar, but Sarah doesn't have time to remember before an invisible hand throws her across the floor. She rolls over to her feet and streaks of lightning fills the dark garage.

With no idea about the origin of the power, Sarah sends shafts of electricity through the whole structure, taking care not to form a pattern. Even after the darkness dissipates, she keeps at it for a couple of minutes more.

She hurries to Ben, plucks him from the car and rushes to the lifts. Outside the apartment door, Sarah's antennae jump into action. Someone is inside...and the vibe is not friendly. Once again, she shoves Ben against the wall and turns the doorknob. The locked door knob turns easily and the door swings open. Sarah's jaw drops as she stares at the two people who rise from the lounge chairs.

She waves at Ben and steps into the apartment, frowning at the battle of forces in the air. Ben rushes past her and grabs Gareth in a bear hug, the joy of seeing each other obvious. The woman stares at them with cold eyes, which she turns towards Sarah.

A shiver runs down her spine...Anne.