Shining Stars

Chapter 2

It was late at night, well after ten, before George was able to head out of his office and go home. Cursing the meeting for running overtime he had just entered the lobby when he saw a woman in a long plaid skirt get knocked over by a hurrying man, the man not even stopping to help the woman he'd caused to stumble. Watching her struggle to keep a hold of the papers in her hands as well as the coat and purse slung over her arm, he stepped forward to help her.

"Here, let me get that," he said, taking a stack of file folders from her arms.

"Oh, thank you," she said, not even glancing up to look at him. "I thought for sure I was going to lose them!"

Finally getting everything under control she looked up to see who her helper was and almost lost the entire stack again when she stepped back in surprise.

"Oh! Mr. Taylor... I... I'll take those back now, really you didn't have to stop, I'm sure you..."

"It was nothing," he assured her, interrupting her mid-sentence. "You needed help, I was here. Now why don't we get out to your car so you can get on home?"

Smiling at him Christine led the way out the doors to her car as quickly as possible. Once the papers were loaded into her back seat she smiled and thanked him for his help. Reminding her that is was nothing George set off, eager to get home for his weekend plans, his own car on the other side of the parking garage.

He was just pulling his keys out of his pocket when a man dressed in dark clothes and a mask jumped out from behind a parked car, knocking George to the ground, stealing everything of value from his personage before leaving the unconscious man on the cold cement floor.

Driving her car through the parking garage Christine was rounding the corner when she saw him lying on the ground. With a cry she threw her car into park and rushed over to his side.

"Mr. Taylor? Oh no, oh please tell me you're okay! Can you hear me?"

Turning the prone man over she felt for his pulse and was relieved when she saw him blinking his eyelids. He was trying to blink away the pain in his head from where it had hit the pavement, knocking him out before he could put up a fight with the bastard that had jumped him.

Groaning he opened his eyes and saw the fearful blue ones of the woman he had helped earlier staring back down at him. She looked away for a moment and when her gaze returned to him she brought her hand up to his forehead with a white handkerchief clasped between her fingers. Feeling it press against his torn scalp George winced at the contact, a sharp hiss escaping his mouth from the pain.

"Oh! I'm so sorry Mr. Taylor, this never would have happened if you hadn't helped me."

"Don't be foolish, you didn't plan this, that jerk would have been here regardless."

"Ssh! You need to be still. Here, hold this here and I'll call for some help."

"That's not necessary, I'm fine. Just let me get to my..."