a n d a n t e

n

After a sleepless night, Kate dragged herself from under her duvet and came to the conclusion that she would have no choice but to request a transfer off of Jo Davidson's team. There was simply no way that she could work alongside her feeling the way she did, and, more importantly, there was no logical reason for her to feel this way. Kate Fleming did not rely on anyone, not as a friend or anything else. It was hard enough for her when she let Steve past her hardened exterior, she wasn't prepared to do the same again for someone so soon. Especially not when the someone in question made her feel like that.
•••
"Boss..." Kate tried to avoid eye contact as she approached her boss, knowing that she'd have no hope if she caught a glimpse of her eyes. She could get lost in them for hours, and there was nothing she wanted more than to learn the secrets they held. She had solved many crimes during her time as a detective, but DCI Davidson was the one case Kate would never get to crack. She wouldn't give herself the chance.

She fumbled some half-hearted tale about the other members of the team not trusting her because of her prior links to AC-12, and pleaded for a transfer, but Davidson was having none of it.
"You're one of my best detectives DI Fleming, I'll speak to the team. Unless you can give a more comprehensive explanation as to why you need a transfer, I'm sorry but your request is denied."

Fuck. Kate wasn't prepared for that. Of course, there was a more comprehensive explanation as to why she needed a transfer, but Kate didn't fancy staring at her boss and explaining how she couldn't help imagining what was under those suits, and how she was spending more time trying to figure out her sexuality as a result of her prescence than she was on solving the Vella murder. That simply wasn't a possibility. So what Kate instead said was that she was probably being paranoid about the team, and she'd see how things went over the next few weeks.

Davidson smiled at her, and murmured something in her soft Scottish drawl that Kate didn't even hear because she was too busy trying not to stare at the way her lips curved with each word, and how amazing they would feel pressed against her own... Shit. She needed help. She wasn't even gay, or at least she hadn't thought she was, but there was no pretending that the churning in her stomach every time she caught a glimpse of her boss with her features softened and her lips curved into a flirtatious smile was anything other than lust. Kate was well and truly screwed.

"Kate?" She was drawn from her thought cascade by Davidson. She was staring at her expectantly, and Kate realised that she'd been asked a question. She had no idea what it was, so no idea what to say, so she went for a classic "sure boss," and hoped it was an answer which made sense.

"Perfect, I'll text you the address of the bar, see you at 7?"
Kate felt the colour drain from her face as she nodded and made her exit from the office. FUCK. Did she just agree to meet Davidson in a bar outside of office hours?! She was screwed. More than screwed, she was completely and utterly fucked. Up Shit's creek without a paddle, if you would. She locked herself in a bathroom cubicle and called Steve. She instantly felt guilty when she heard his panicked tone at the end of the line, she should've known that ringing him during work would scare him, they usually only communicated after hours. But, Kate thought, this counted as an emergency.

She recounted the ordeal and tried not to get too angry about her former partner's muffled laughter. She understood that to an outside perspective, the ordeal would be amusing, but Kate genuinely felt her world crumbling around her. After a lot of persuasion, Steve agreed to go with her to the bar, sitting far enough away not to look suspicious but close enough to cause a scene if Kate started making too much of a fool of herself.

She still wasn't happy about the situation, but at least, she supposed, she had a contingency plan. She still couldn't help feeling like something terrible was going to happen.

AUTHOUR'S NOTE: the next chapter will contain sexual scenes, please don't read if you'll be uncomfortable with this. I'll summarise at the start of the chapter after what plot happened so you can still read the book.
Lots of love,
A xx