Flirting With Danger Chapter 12

A Game of Hide and Seek

"I can't wait to take a long, hot bath," Charlie sighed, slipping into the front seat of Luke's hire car.

Luke grinned as he turned on the ignition. "Yeah, I can imagine that."

Charlie turned her head and glared at him. Okay, so she could hardly be angry at him for comments like that, considering her shocking behaviour back there. But it was just instinctive for her to react to his remarks. Besides, Luke knew nothing of what had happened, so everything was as normal, right?

"I mean, imagine that you can't wait for the bath," he clarified, unable to wipe the grin off his face.

She tutted, but then closed her eyes again. "Before I do anything else, I'm getting out of this dress and getting into that bath," she said.

That image didn't stop Luke from grinning either.

In the process of backing out of the driveway however, Luke abruptly pulled to a halt. Charlie's eyes opened. What was happening?

"Spoke too soon Charlie, aint that Sue there?" he said, pointing to the woman who was making her way up the front steps of the club.

Oh God, yes it was.

"Yes, but…"

"Well, let's go talk to her; we gotta find out about those discs," he stressed.

She lifted her head and turned to him, not looking entirely happy he noticed. "Adams, I have been locked in a room with you all night; I haven't had a wash and I'm still wearing the same clothes as I was yesterday lunch time. I am not going in there with yesterday's clothes on!"

"Charlie," he replied, with rising impatience, "I've got a stiff in the back of my car. This thing aint gonna wait; a little help here would be appreciated."

"Adams, there will probably be people in there who saw me yesterday. What do you imagine they will think when they see me still in this dress?" she put to him.

"Look," he began in a softer tone, "the place was almost empty just now. Those people from yesterday are probably at home in bed, nursin' hangovers from the Sunday blow out. Let's go find Sue while we know where she is. C'mon Charlie, my neck's on the line here," he reasoned.

She glanced anxiously at the entrance to the club. Damn him and his dead body!

"You're really going to make me go in there, aren't you?" she growled, "Okay, but we had better be quick, and if anyone asks, the story is that I haven't moved all of my clothes back to my house yet, okay?"

"What?" he frowned with confusion.

"It's being decorated. I moved some of my things into Richie's place," she explained.

"Whatever," he shrugged, "Let's go."

Once inside the reception area of the club, Charlie was keen to avoid Hannah at the reception desk, since she had seen Luke and Charlie just before they had got locked in the room the evening before. On their way out, Charlie had made use of the fire exit around the back of the building, avoiding that embarrassment. She wasn't so lucky this time though; as soon as they entered, Hannah looked up from her desk and stood, calling out to her and approaching them.

"Charlie, are you okay? Richie has been here looking for you. Apparently your mobile phone is off," she said, glancing at Luke inquisitively.

Oh great! Well, at least she knew that out of all the people at the club, Hannah was discrete. She would talk to her later and explain… well, at least she'd have to come up with some reasonable explanation.

"Is it?" she said innocently, reaching into her bag and pulling out her phone. "Oh, silly me," she chuckled, looking at the screen, "it's run out of charge. Where is Richie now then?" she asked anxiously.

"He left about ten minutes ago," Hannah replied.

"Okay, well, thanks Han. Listen, we have to dash, got some things to do," she said vaguely, "We'll speak later, yes?"

"Okay, no problem Charlie. See you later," Hannah said, returning to her desk.

Phew, now to find Sue quick smart. Charlie turned to Luke then, only to find, to her consternation, that he wasn't there!

Great! Things were going from bad to worse; now she had an Adams loose about the Club!

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Outside, on the lawn, five of the regular club members were just finishing their weekly Monday morning meeting, along with breakfast and the obligatory Bucks Fizz. After all, Doug was never back until later that evening.

"Okay, now that's sorted, what say we have one more of these lovely bubbly bubblies to set us up for the day," suggested one blonde, muscular but very flamboyant male club member.

"Eddie, you are a terrible influence," one woman responded, laughing.

"Don't you know it sweetheart. Come on, pass that bottle over," he replied, to the encouragement of the other four.

"Hello, who's this?" Eddie said in mid pour, watching as a dark haired woman, in a short skirt, belt and the tightest top he'd ever seen… at least in that club… approached them from around the side of the building. "Adrian, have you been frequenting the local strip bars again?" he joked.

"There are no strip bars local to here Eddie. Where have you been the last ten years?" he came back.

Eddie sighed. "At home, waiting for Mr Gorgeous to knock on my door. Ooh, don't look now; she's coming this way."

As the woman got closer, it was even more apparent that she stood out like a sore thumb; she was more dressed for the evening than a Monday morning, and even in the evening, the people in the club didn't dress quite like that.

"Hiya you guys." The woman's voice seemed to emanate every part of that garden with the brashness of its American accent. It was as out of place as her clothes were.

The five club members looked up at her in astonishment. Were they supposed to know her?

Eddie, being forever accommodating and open to new acquaintances, stood from his chair to welcome her. The others watched him as though he had lost his mind.

"Hi there lovely lady. Welcome to the madhouse," he joked, gesturing to the table. "Oh goodness, may I say how much I love that bag," he went on.

The woman smiled, lapping up the attention and taking her bag off her shoulder to display it better.

"Thaaanks hunny," she replied. "Got it from Bloomingdales; it's a Gucci original ya know."

"Is it?" Eddie answered in apparent awe. "It's marvellous."

"Geee thanks." She placed her bag on the table, and looked around the group. "I was wonderin', have any of you guys seen Richie around? I was kinda hoping to catch him here this mornin'," she went on. "I'm Bella, Bella Jackson," she said, holding her hand out for Eddie to shake. "Richie's girl, flown in from New York to surprise him."

A shocked silence fell upon the garden. Five pairs of eyes stared at the woman before Adrian finally spoke out.

"Wasn't he here looking for Charlie?"

The remaining four pairs of eyes turned to glare at him in horror.

"Who's Charlie?" the woman asked, her unshaken hand slowly falling to her side.

More silence.

Eddie's brain went into overdrive, coming up with the perfect answer; he was always at his best under pressure. "Oh, he's just some guy who comes to the club," he replied. "I'm afraid Richie has left for the day sweetie… actually, he's away on business. He'll not be back until…Wednesday," he said, impressing himself with his own lies. "But if you come back then, I'm sure you'll find him."

Well, at least that would give them time, plus, Richie was never there on a Wednesday.

"Oh damn it," she said, sinking onto one of the seats. "And I had such plans for us tonight. Never mind," she went on, waving a dismissive hand, "I'll get to see him Wednesday then. So this looks nice." The woman took in the sight of the breakfast foods left over on the table, and the Bucks Fizz. "Mind if I stay and chat with you guys for a while? Now that I'm here," she said.

Yes, they did mind. One, because she was annoying, two, because she was interrupting their Monday morning fun, and three because one of the girls was sure she'd seen Charlie in the club only five or so minutes ago! The girl reached into her bag, pulled out her mobile phone and proceeded to surreptitiously type in a text message underneath the table.

"So, do you guys get many Americans visiting this place?" she asked.

Strange question.

"No," someone finally spoke up.

"Ah, that's a shame. Really? You haven't seen any Americans lately?" Mrs Jackson asked again.

"No Americans sugar, just Richie," Eddie answered, reaching into his pocket when he felt his phone vibrate. He checked the waiting message.

Charlie is in the club somewhere! If we keep this nutter woman here, you go and find Charlie. Try to get her out of the club, or at least, make sure she avoids the gardens at all costs! Don't want them bumping into each other. Go Eddie, operation save Charlie!

Oh my God, Charlie!

Eddie coughed. "Right, well, I must be going now, got lots to do," he said, backing away from the table and turning around after the first few steps, to break into almost a run across the lawn towards the building.

Oh Charlie, sweet princess! He was going to wring Richie's gorgeous, not so little, neck for him… the lying, cheating rat bag! Oh my God, where was she?

Eddie flew into the club, through the patio doors, and glanced around the reception area in a panic.

Which way? Which way?

He looked from right to left, to right again, down the corridors that lead from the reception.

Right, he'd go right.

He rushed past the reception, and a startled looking Hannah, to the lifts.

Which floor, which floor?

Eddie prodded the button for the lifts vigorously, over and over again.

Start with the first. Go from there. Stay where you are Charlie, Eddie was coming for you angel!

Finally, the lift arrived and he jumped in, assaulting the button for the first floor in the hope that the lift would take him there faster.

Come on, come on, stupid lift. Oh my Lord, he couldn't believe this was happening! He was going to make it all better for Charlie though. He was going to find her a prince, and there would be the most marvellous wedding, and he would be the wedding planner, and she would be the Queen of all the land. Happy ever after. Richie, the rotten American millionaire!

At last, the lift doors opened. Eddie burst out, and rushed down the first floor corridor, checking the rooms as he went.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Luke had spotted Sue and followed her up some stairs to the first floor, where she had headed for the function hall. She wore her dark hair up, twisted at the back and secured with a gold clip. This, together with the smart black skirted suit, made her look a lot different to the last time he had seen her!

As she entered the function hall, Luke held back for a moment, watching her from the doorway. There was clearly going to be some sort of function in there and Sue was rearranging the chairs. After considering his next move, he knocked at the door with one knuckle and entered.

Sue glanced up in the process of carrying one chair across the hall from a stack at the side.

"Hiya, err sorry to interrupt," he said politely, "but I was just wonderin' if you'd seen Charlie around?"

Well, that was one way to get talking to her.

"Oh, no sorry, I haven't seen her today," she replied, her bright blue eyes assessing Luke with interest.

A sudden recollection of her locked together with Dennis on that desk chair hit him, along with her voice, demanding and husky, which was triggered by the sound of her voice now. So this was weird; she sure as hell behaved differently with her clothes on!

He ventured further into the room. "You want some help with those?" he asked, gesturing to the stacks of chairs.

"Oh, yes…thanks," she answered with surprise.

"No problem," he said, heading for the stacks whilst she was also returning for another chair.

As they both arrived at the same time, she turned to him before attending to the chairs, holding her hand out and saying, "I don't think we've been introduced. My name Susan."

He shook her hand. "Luke Adams."

She smiled, hesitated a moment, and then broke hand contact to return to the chairs.

"So are you a friend of Charlie's then?" she asked as she and Luke began to align the seats.

"Yeah, we worked as partners in an undercover unit," he replied, glancing up at her. "You know what work she did before?"

"Yes, it's hard to keep anything secret here; I'd heard rumours," she said over her shoulder.

"What's all the chairs for?" he questioned.

"There's a charity conference going on here tomorrow. I've been roped into helping out," she explained.

XxXxX

A very flustered Eddie could hear Luke and Sue's voices from the other end of the corridor and was heading towards the hall. He was just about to burst into the room, looking for Charlie, when he stopped abruptly at the door, and sprang back behind it.

Luke and Sue's conversation inside was suddenly cut short by the entrance, through a door at the back of the hall, of, none other than, Richie.

No! No, no, no, this couldn't be! Richie shouldn't still be here! Oh no, Eddie's head began to thump. He must be coming down with a migraine!

"Sue, I forgot to ask you…" Richie said, hesitating when he noticed Luke standing there. "Oh, hi," he said with surprise.

Ooh, Richie was supposed to have left. This could be awkward for Luke. He hoped in earnest that Charlie wouldn't find him at that point. After all, they couldn't very well explain why they had spent the night together… it could lead to questions as to why they were in the office in the first place.

"Hi," Luke replied, resuming his work on the chairs with renewed vigour. He had to get this done quickly now, somehow arrange to meet Sue again, find Charlie before Richie did, and get out of there!

XxXxXxXxX

Eddie listened in on the conversation, unsure of what to do next.

Hey, that was Charlie's police officer friend. Another American. Hmm, that woman was right after all; there did seem to be a lot more Americans around the place lately.

XxXxXxXxXxX

"Sorry Sue," Richie went on, "I forgot to ask if you wanted me to put aside tickets for you tonight for the meal and jazz band? I meant to ask you earlier."

XxXxXxXxXx

Charlie, finally!

Eddie rushed down the corridor to Charlie as she made her way towards him…

XxXXXxXxXxX

"Well," Sue said, placing a chair down and fiddling with one ear, "I would love to go, but I've no one to go with, and I'm not playing gooseberry to all you lot."

Brilliant! Things couldn't have worked out better. If Luke could get her on a date, he would go back to her place and have access to her house so that he could search for the discs.

"Hey, I'm doin' nothin' tonight, what d'ya say we go together?" Luke piped up.

Sue studied him for a few moments. "But we don't know each other," she replied, a grin playing at her mouth.

Luke glanced at Richie. "You know Charlie and Richie, right?" he said to Sue.

"Yes," she answered.

"Right, well, if you two are going tonight also," he said, addressing Richie, "Then how about we all go together…like a double date," he smiled.

"Would that be alright with you?" Sue asked Richie.

"I don't see why not," Richie replied. "So, I'll put another two tickets aside then. I'll leave them at the entrance for you. Right, now, I really do have to go, I'm late." He turned to leave then but stopped and turned back to Luke, pointing at him, "have you by any chance seen Charlie?" he asked.

"No," Luke replied, shaking his head. Well, he didn't ask when he hadn't seen her. He hadn't seen her in the last five minutes anyway.

"Okay, well, see you later tonight," he said, disappearing again through the back door.

"Where are you staying?" Sue asked Luke…

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Charlie," Eddie cried out as he reached her, throwing his arms around her dramatically.

"Goodness! What on earth is wrong with you Eddie?" Charlie replied.

He had to stop himself from blurting the whole drama out to her.

Focus, focus, got to keep her away from mad woman downstairs.

"Well, I..err, it's…" Eddie struggled desperately for something to say that would distract her enough. "It's… my edge," he finally plumped for, now frantic just to say anything. "I've lost it."

Charlie laughed. "I very much doubt that."

"No," he went on, "it's true. I feel like a wilted flower…" Then Eddie noticed what she was wearing. He gasped, "Charlotte! You dark horse. Did you stay out all night long last night?"

She bit her lip. "Not exactly."

"Oooh, you did! Don't worry, your secret is safe with me, but I must warn you, if it wasn't Richie you were with, he is in the hall down there," he said, pointing back down the corridor.

Charlie's heart lurched nervously. She thought Hannah had said that Richie had left!

Eddie grinned as realization hit him. "Was it that rather delicious agent friend of yours you were with?"

And does she know that he's chatting with Richie in the hall? Oh dear, Eddie's head was now pounding…nerves in tatters!

At that point, Eddie was rather confused as to who was supposed to know what, and who was avoiding who.

Charlie couldn't stay there chatting to Eddie either; Richie might find her.

"Eddie," she began, a hand on his back, leading him into a nearby room, "Tell me more about this problem of yours."

XxXxXxXxX

In the hall, Luke and Sue had finally finished arranging the chairs.

"So you wanna meet here then?" Luke reconfirmed, "seven thirty, right?"

"Yes," sue smiled. "Looking forward to it."

"Alright, see you seven thirty," Luke said, turning to leave.

"Oh, and thanks for the help," she called after him.

"No problem," he called back.

By sheer coincidence, as he was walking back down the corridor, he happened to hear a mobile phone ringing from inside one of the rooms that he passed. It was only when the phone was answered that Luke recognised Charlie's voice.

He slowly pushed open the door. Her eyes flicked up to his as he entered. She glared at him as she spoke on the phone.

"Oh really, a double date. Would have been nice to be consulted about it Richie. Hmm, Luke suggested it, did he…with Sue, right. Yes, okay, see you at seven," she said, hanging up. "Where did you disappear to, or do I need to ask?" she said to Luke wryly. He hadn't changed at all; no doubt he'd been flirting with Sue.