The Delivery Girl

32. Update

Julie

"I'm going to bring these downstairs for you," I say to Callen, pointing to the thick folder in my hands. "Be back in a bit."

"Alright, thank you," Callen says, briefly glancing up from his work. I can tell from the look in his eyes that his mind is elsewhere, preoccupied with whatever he's currently working on. I could probably leave for an hour and he wouldn't notice. I'm definitely speaking to my boss and not my boyfriend right now.

I open the door, making sure to close it behind me. As per usual, his bodyguard is sitting outside.

"Hey Jacob?" I ask quietly.

He looks surprised momentarily, as if doubting someone is acknowledging him for once. "Yes, Miss Leong?"

"Could you give me the address to Detective Carne's office, please?" I ask politely.

There's the slightest worried twitch I see in his eye. "Is Mr. Sterling aware you're asking for this?"

I smile and nod. "Yup, he asked me to pick something up," I lie through my teeth. My lying has gotten better over the years, thanks to dad being controlling and nosy. "He's busy right now so I don't want to bug him and ask for it."

Jacob is clearly uncomfortable, his posture stiffens and eyes shift around. "Sorry but do you mind if I go confirm with him first?"

He stands up and begins walking towards the door.

"Wait," I say as I rush to the door first. I extend my arms out and widen my stance to block the door, even though I know he could easily move me out of the way. "Ok, ok, he doesn't know. I just really want to know what's going on. Callen is trying to protect me, but I'm not going to be left in the dark here."

He lets out a frustrated breath and drags his hand through his hair. "Miss Leong," he begins.

"I can't just sit back and watch as he goes through this." My voice softens and I give him my best puppy dog eyes. "I'd never forgive myself if something happened and I hadn't even tried helping."

He sighs, eyes flickering between me and Callen's door.

–

I hesitate for a moment as I reach the front door of Detective Carne's office. Jacob wasn't kidding when he said it would be hard to find. Half the door is blocked by a shelf of cat treats.

I question whether he'll even recognize me. We exchanged maybe a sentence and a half when we met briefly last week. Callen seemed like he wanted nothing more than to get Detective Carne out of the office.

He was quite... enthusiastic to say the least. I couldn't tell whether he was genuinely competent at his job or just trying too hard to seem capable.

I lightly knock before a voice calls me in. Taking a deep breath, I push open the door. His office looks just as I expected—small, cluttered, and a bit chaotic. Papers and folders are scattered everywhere, and the air smells faintly of stale coffee.

"Ah, hello Julie!" He gives me an enthusiastic smile and stands up as I enter. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

I give him a polite smile. "Hi Detective, I'm here to talk about Callen's case."

"Of course, of course, please sit." He quickly takes a stack of books off the chair across from the desk and offers me a seat.

I sit at the edge of the chair, not exactly comfortable with the situation.

"Can I get an update on what's going on?" I ask, polite but firm.

He chuckles and leans back in his chair. "Don't worry that pretty little head of yours, sweetheart. Everything's under control. I'm working on it, I promise."