Wolfe's Rise

CHAPTER 5

Crash.

"Crap! Oh God, please don't be cracked, please don't be cracked! Oh thank goodness."

She picked up her phone from the floor and put it back on her bedside table. It was new and she couldn't afford to buy a new one; she was saving up to buy a new car, a red Ford preferably. 

She looked at the time, 10:00 a.m. She groaned and reluctantly pushed off the warm comforter, and got off the bed. While she brushed and went about her usual morning routine, she mentally listed everything she had to do for the day. She had to finish the paperwork and filing of her last three cases, meet Richard for lunch, brief her team, start investigative work, all in time to meet her parents for dinner.

Ugh, why did she procrastinate on paperwork so much; but who would've known that private investigators had to do paperwork as well!

She grabbed a mug of coffee, and got down to work. She went through reports and compiled them, filed receipts, mentioned logged evidence that had not already been taken by the clients, and made spreadsheets to check how much each team member was to be paid for each case.

She finished almost two hours later, and nearly fell off the couch when she saw the time. 12:15 p.m. She had 15 minutes to get ready to go meet Richard. It took half an hour to reach Silver Spoons. She almost tripped over her rug while running to the bathroom, and slipped about three times while having her bath. After she was done she looked at her phone - there was a text from Richard telling her to dress casual. No one could know that this was a business meeting. They had to be extra careful because they were dealing with a highly trained spy.

She grabbed her car keys and set out. She made it right on time.

"I'm surprised you're on time, Elizabeth."

"Yeah, well I'm not surprised you're early."

He got up to greet her, and they hugged briefly.

"So, do you have the files for me Rick?"

"Yep. I also need you to sign an NDA right now, and I have a couple for the rest of her team."

He knew about her team? Thoughts came flooding into her head, but she stone-walled them. She was working, she had to remain professional and level-headed. Besides, of course Richard knew; he did his research, especially on those he was about to work with or employ.

"I'll get them signed today, and hand them over to you tomorrow. I presume you'd like to be updated about every development in the case?"

"You presume correctly."

"Here's my work number; I already have yours."

"Thank you. Now, regarding payment--"

"Oh, yes. Are you approaching me on your own, or on behalf of the organization?"

"Does it matter?"

"It depends on whether you get the family discount or not."

"You have that? Organization, then. If you catch the bastard, you deserve every penny."

"Yeah, applies to all the members of my team as well. Okay, so I'll bill HQ once the case is finished - but we'll need the security amount tonight. I'll email it to you - on your personal account, since your official one can be hacked."

"Sounds good. Now that we're done with shop talk; what would you like to eat?"

"Pizza sounds good."

"Pizza? At Silver Spoons? You'll never change," he said, chuckling.

"Well, I'd assume that fine dining includes good pizza," she said with a smile.

Rick called for the waiter and they ordered.

Their food came relatively quickly, and sat eating in awkward silence for some time.

"Bethy, about the last couple of years....." he trailed off, his face a kaleidoscope of emotions she didn't recognise or understand.

Her heart threatened to pound out of her. This was the moment, the moment she'd been waiting for so long. But something felt wrong. She'd been obsessing about how they left things for years, yearning for the chance and the courage to talk it out. They used to be so close - their family was always tight-knit. But somehow, this particular moment just didn't feel right. They were here to work - she realised that she would only be able to have a heart to heart conversation once the assignment was completed.

"Not now Rick." She put her hand on her brother's arm.

"God knows we have to talk - I know that I have a lot of things to say, and a lot of questions for you that I need answers for, but that will all have to wait. Our primary order of business is to find the mole. Once that is over, I'm telling your secretary that you're taking a personal day to get ice cream with me."

"At Gelapigo's?" he asked with a small smile.

"At Gelapigo's. And once we're done talking, Dev and Em can join too."

Gelapigo's was where the four Wolfe children would go as a pack whenever one of their own was feeling down, or whenever they had a reason to celebrate. It was owned by Devon's best friend (Emily's current boyfriend), passed down from generation to generation.

"Anyway, who's that partner you told me about, Rick?"

Richard looked at his phone before saying, "He's waiting in the parking lot for us. He'll be heading over to your office along with you after this."

Richard called for the bill.

"You're a client, let me pay for this."

"I'm also your big brother, so no."

They went back and forth, and there was a small tug of war. They ended up going Dutch.

"Oh stop sulking Rick, I didn't pay for all of it," she said, laughing, while they were walking out.

His lips were pursed, and his brow furrowed. "I forgot how stubborn you could be."

"I prefer the term determined."

"Call it what it is Bethy - you're as stubborn as a mule." She smiled and nudged him, hard.

"Ah there he is, meet your partner Elizabeth."

She nearly keeled over after seeing who it was. "Damn it, why'd it have to be you?"