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PROJECT: nkotBSB

By Dottie

Copyright 2012

 

Chapter 5

 

Jessi

 

Once Nick is settled by the window, he turns to me and says, “I’m sorry, would you rather sit here?”

 

I shake my head no and sort of whisper, “No, thanks.”

 

He looks at me puzzled. “Would you rather I didn’t sit with you?”

 

I try to push aside my insecurities so I can say, “No…I just don’t do well flying. I’d rather not be by the window.”

 

He nods. “Yeah, I have a thing about heights too. But I’ve lived half my life on planes flying somewhere. I should be used to it.” I just nod and look away. He takes my hand and I look back at his face. “Don’t worry, Jessi. Nothing’s gonna happen.”

 

I force myself to smile and I whisper, “Thanks.”

 

 

The flight seems to take forever. Nick talks to me and I relax a little.  But the minute he starts flirting or touching me, my brain shuts down.  About a half an hour before we land, he says, “Jessi, have I offended you in some way?”

 

Startled, I reply honestly, “No, not at all! Why would you think that?”

 

He shrugs. “I don’t know. Anytime I try to tell you I think you’re pretty or ask you something personal, it’s like a wall goes up.”

 

I sigh deeply. “I’m sorry Nick. I just…” I close my eyes and mutter, “Fuck.”

 

He strokes my cheek with his finger and I open my eyes. As I stare into his deep baby blues, he whispers, “You don’t have to be shy.”

 

I nod slightly and whisper, “I’ve never been shy a day in my life. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

 

A slow smirk lifts the corners of his mouth. “Maybe you just need to get to know me better.”

 

I bite my lip, trying to keep myself from screaming.  Finally, I manage to say, “I’d like to.”

 

 

When the plane lands in Switzerland, Nick takes my hand gently and says, “I hope I see you again soon.”

 

I manage to swallow the huge lump in my throat and say, “I hope so too, Nick.”

 

We go our separate ways when we get off the plane.  Hanna Jo grabs my hand and whispers, “Oh my God that was awesome! Wasn’t that awesome?”

 

I shrug as we grab our bags.  To get this layover, I actually had to book two separate flights.  One from the U.S. to Switzerland and one from Switzerland to Ireland.  I know I’m pushing it, but I have a lot to do in the few hours we’re here.

 

Hanna Jo grabs my arm and stops me as I turn to walk out of the airport to find the car I hired.  When I face her, she says, “What’s wrong? I figured you’d be walking on air.”

 

I feel the hair stand up on the back of my neck. I turn and find Nick staring at me. His blue eyes burning into mine. As I stare at him, I whisper, “Hanna Jo, I just…I couldn’t talk to him.  Not really. The minute he started flirting, I froze.”  Nick smiles at me and waves as he and AJ are led to another tarmac for their connecting flight. I manage to smile and wave back, but on the inside, I feel like I’m an idiot.

 

Hanna Jo watches them walk away before she says, “Jessi, I think he really likes you.”

 

I chuckle and say, “I really like him too. I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with me.  He smiles and I can’t speak. He touches me and I want to run away and jump him at the same time.” I take a deep breath as we walk out of the airport and climb into the car.  “This is NOT how I pictured it happening.”

 

Hanna Jo smiles lightly. “Me either.”

 

I hear it in her voice.  She’s…different.  “What happened between you and AJ? Did he feel you up?” She gasps and shakes her head violently.  My mouth falls open and I whisper, “Did you feel HIM up?”

 

She groans and motions for me to be quiet. “Would you stop?” I know she’s worried about the driver hearing us so I nod that I’ll be quiet. She whispers, “NO, none of that happened. We just talked. I wasn’t nervous or scared. It was…nice. Fun even.”

 

I nod, watching her. “Did you tell them we were following the tour?”

 

She shakes her head. “No, I figured he’d think we were stalkers if I did.”

 

I can’t stop the laugh. “We actually are stalking them, Ho Jo. But I don’t think they’d mind it.”

 

She laughs with me.  “Me either.”  After the giggling stops, she asks, “Where are we going?”

I sigh. “The bank. I need to get this money deposited.”

 

She nods. “I can’t believe we pulled it off.”

 

I shrug. “Let’s see if we did.”

 

I take out my phone and pull up the news from home on the internet.  The bank robbery is the top story.  The more I read, the harder I laugh. Until I get to the end.

 

Our top news story is the “bank robbing cats”.  Mr. Oakley, manager of the

Main Street Bank says two giant cats robbed him early this morning. Police

aren’t so sure. After a careful search of the computer systems, it was found

that Mr. Oakley had a private account with quite a large sum in it.  He is being

investigated for embezzlement and fraud. The “cats”, according to Oakley, stole

$2 million dollars. At this time, no money is being reported as missing and Oakley

looks to be accused of many crimes.

 

In a related story, this publication received a letter from a former Vice President

of the bank.  It’s a copy of her resignation letter to the Board of Directors.  She has

asked that her name be withheld to protect her family. In this letter she states she’s

been sexually harassed and molested by Mr. Oakley for years. Further, she goes on

to list the names of the banks clients who paid Mr. Oakley (and herself, she admits) to

allow them to act inappropriately.  She says sexual intercourse never occurred, but she

felt Mr. Oakley was pushing to have her prostitute herself. She’s left town and went into

hiding to protect what is left of her reputation and asks that the board forgive her for letting

it go on for so long.

 

When asked about her involvement in the case, the authorities would only state that they’d

like her to come forward to tell her side, but even if she doesn’t, they have an air tight case

against Mr. Oakley and he’ll be sent away for a long time.

 

When I finish reading, with Hanna Jo draped over my shoulder reading, I feel…relieved.  It all fell into place.  Hanna Jo hugs me. “Jessi, I didn’t know you were gonna tell what he did.”

 

I shrug. “I knew there’d be questions as to why I disappeared. I had to cover my tracks and honesty seemed to be the best way to do that.”

 

She watches me intently. “What else did the letter say?”

 

I stare out the window. “Just that if they want to know the truth, watch the video feeds from my office and his. Everything was recorded.”

 

She gasps. “JESSI! Oh my God, Jessi!”

 

I wave my hand. “Stop. It’s over.  Don’t…Hanna Jo, don’t feel sorry for me. I did it. I regret it. But it’s over. I’m never going back there so I don’t care if they watch it. It’s done.”

 

She slides away and I feel her eyes on me.  I stare out the window and think about what happened. And Nick. That’s why I shut down when he touched me. I felt like a whore when those men touched me. I don’t want HIM making me feel that way too.