The Organization (36 page)

“So, no Joanna,” Zoe said with a sigh, reaching for the tea carafe.

Harriet replied, “No, but you were right – it had the right feel.  The right procedures.  And then of course, there was that woman at the desk.”

“Sarah,” Charlotte said.

“Yes,” Harriet said, sitting back in her chair and observing Charlotte from across the corner of the table.  “So do you remember her?”

“I’m not sure.  Maybe.  There was someone, at one of those last meetings on Westchester Place, who I was talking to one evening…” Charlotte said.  She seemed to be trying to bring back the memory.  She shook her head and added, “But I don’t know.”

“Well, Rhys will find out soon enough if she’s someone from the organization,” Harriet said. Rhys walked into the room and Harriet added, “Speak of the devil,” as he sat down at the table.  “Any results yet, Rhys?”

“Miraculously, yes.  We had a few hits with our facial recognition software,” he replied.

“Care to share?” Harriet asked, knowing they were all anxious to hear what he had found out.

“Let’s see… We had a Michael Parker, a Duncan Wood, and a Gwen Clarke.  They were all low-level members of the organization – and all recruits of Joanna’s.  And there was Sarah Shaw, from the check-in desk. She was also Joanna’s recruit.”

Harriet took another drink before responding.  “And Sarah recognized Charlie.”

“Do you have another glass?” Charlotte asked Harriet, motioning toward Harriet’s scotch.

“I’ll get it,” Rhys said, hopping up from his chair.

“But Joanna wasn’t there, or at least she didn’t go for it,” Zoe said.

“She may or may not have been there,” Harriet said.  “But even if she was there somewhere, she may not have wanted to reveal herself without checking things out first.”  Harriet looked at Charlotte and added, “She’s probably digging into your files as we speak and trying to figure out where you’ve been for the past twelve years.”

“So you think she didn’t know I went to prison?” Charlotte asked, taking the glass from Rhys as he sat back down.

Harriet handed the bottle of scotch to her and, after a glance at Rhys, replied, “We don’t know what information she had access to before.  But we’ve changed a few tidbits to your files – details that we can later remove.”

“What kind of tidbits?” Charlotte asked.

Harriet cleared her throat and took another sip of her drink, rather wishing that Zoe and Rhys weren’t in the room.  “For instance, I was never at your hearing.  And while in prison, your psychologist noted that you had a lot of anger that you needed to sort out.”  Harriet looked at Charlotte and noted the tension in her expression.  “That is, anger toward me.  We’re setting the stage so –”

“So Joanna would think I’m a natural ally, so she won’t question where my loyalty lies,” Charlotte said.

“Yes, exactly,” Harriet replied.

“Then this means I’ll need to go back again – go to another meeting,” Charlotte said, looking into her glass.

“Not necessarily.  Maybe they’ll take an interest in Zoe now that they’ve seen you two together,” Harriet said.

“You think so?” Zoe asked.

Harriet looked from Zoe’s face to Charlotte’s, and saw the skepticism in Charlotte’s eyes and the way her lips were drawn into a tight line.

“We’ll see,” Harriet replied.

#

As they headed up the stairs to the bedroom, Charlotte said, “You know it’s the best course of action.”

“No, I don’t know that, Charlie,” Harriet said impatiently.  Charlotte could be so frustratingly strong-willed.

Charlotte stopped at the top of the stairs and turned back to look at Harriet.  “I can get the job done.  Did you have doubts, seeing me tonight at that meeting?”

Harriet reached the top and said, “Oh, I saw you tonight all right.” 

In the dim lighting, Charlotte was mostly in shadows.  She leaned back against the wall, her head tilting back, and unbuttoned her trousers.  Harriet watched as she slowly unzipped them.  Charlotte said in a low voice, “I wish I could have seen your face when that woman sized up my trouser fit.”

“Why?  Did you imagine I was jealous?” Harriet asked.  She took Charlotte by the wrists and pinned her hands above her head.  She kissed the side of Charlotte’s neck, barely resisting leaving a mark.  Harriet enjoyed hearing her restrained moan.

“Were you?” Charlotte asked, arching her body to press against Harriet.

“No,” Harriet murmured into her ear.

“No?” she asked, trying to pull away.

“No,” Harriet repeated.  She let go of Charlotte’s wrists so she could run her hands down the sides of her body as her teeth grazed her earlobe.  “I knew she had no chance.”  Harriet kissed along her jawline, adding, “And I knew you were coming home with me.”

Harriet felt Charlotte’s lips meeting hers, Charlotte’s hands on her hips, and then she felt as Charlotte suddenly slipped out from in front of her and reversed their positions.  Harriet felt the coolness of the wall against her cheek as Charlotte now had her hands above her head, holding onto her wrists with one of her hands, her other hand caressing the side of Harriet’s thigh.  Charlotte’s fingers teased at the hemline of Harriet’s skirt as she asked, “You were sure about that?”

“Mm,” was all Harriet could say in response as she felt Charlotte’s hand inching her skirt upwards.

“Tell me you need this,” Charlotte breathed against the back of her neck, her lips moist against her skin, her hand traveling around to the front of her.

Harriet strained against her, feeling pressed between Charlotte’s hips and hand.  “I need this,” Harriet finally managed to say.

#

Harriet’s head rested on Charlotte’s shoulder as she idly ran her fingers across Charlotte’s chest, enjoying the warmth of her skin.  The room was completely dark but Harriet could tell by her breathing that she was still awake.  “I wish it could always be like this,” Harriet said quietly.  She felt Charlotte trying to adjust and so she rolled over onto her back, lazily fluffing the pillow under her neck.

“Harriet…” she started to say.  “I want to go back.”

“Go back where, my darling?” Harriet asked, the fuzzy drowsiness beginning to recede as she registered that something was wrong.

“To that house.  To the next meeting, to see if it’s not Joanna,” she said.  She sounded wide awake.

Harriet inhaled slowly through her lips, willing herself not to respond right away and say anything in haste.

“Did you hear me?” she asked.

“I heard you,” Harriet replied, a small sigh escaping.  Her mind raced to think of how she could dissuade Charlotte.

“What are you thinking?” Charlotte asked.

“I’m thinking… that I was incredibly scared tonight that something would happen to you.  I thought, what if I had sent you straight into the hands of that madwoman?”  Harriet propped herself up on an elbow to face her, even in the dark.

“But everything was fine,” Charlotte said.

“Yes, this time,” Harriet replied.  “I don’t want to risk it again – to risk
you
again.”

“Why should it be up to you for whether to risk it?” she asked.  Harriet could hear the restraint in her voice, could hear that she was trying to keep calm.

“Because, lest you forget, I am still in charge,” Harriet said.  She felt the weight of responsibility, of needing to ensure not just Charlotte’s safety but also the safety of everyone within the organization.

“I’ve never forgotten that…” Charlotte said.

“But?” Harriet ventured.

“I wish you could appreciate the situation from my point of view.  If you could just put your personal feelings for me aside –”

“That’s an impossible request,” Harriet replied.

Harriet could hear the sheets rustle and feel Charlotte’s weight shift on the mattress as she sat up.  “Then let me do what I need to do
because
of your feelings for me.”

“Charlie, my darling, you know I would do anything for you,” Harriet said.  “But please don’t ask me to put you in harm’s way again.”

“One more meeting.  One more try.  I’m asking you,” she said, her voice beginning to crack.

Harriet squeezed her eyes closed tightly as the words escaped her lips, “If you must.  But then that’s it.”  Harriet wished she could take her words back.  The decision felt wrong for so many reasons, but she knew it was what Charlotte needed.

Charlotte found her hand in the dark and took it in her own.  “Thank you,” she said.

A tear escaped from Harriet’s eye and rolled down her cheek.  She couldn’t respond aloud and so she simply lifted Charlotte’s hand to her lips and kissed it.

Chapter Sixty-One

Harriet sat in a dark corner of the Crown & Cushion – inside this time because of the UV Code Red day making it too uncomfortable to sit out back even with the shades – and wondered why she had agreed to meet with Erin again after how their conversation turned out last time.  She had ordered a double scotch on the rocks and found that it was mostly gone by the time Erin arrived, uncharacteristically late.  An awkward hello ensued, as neither of them seemed particularly compelled to either kiss or shake hands in greeting.

Erin took her seat and said, “I’m not sure if you realize this, but I was the source of an argument between you and Charlie before, a long time ago.”

“Oh?  How do you mean?” Harriet asked, relaxed enough from the alcohol to inquire.

Erin set her beer on the table and replied with a chagrined smile, “I had changed clothes and borrowed a dress – not of Charlie’s, of course, but one of Maggie’s dresses that Charlie still had.”  She paused, as if momentarily distracted by her thoughts, and then added, “Charlie told me that you saw the dress I left behind and thought that she was sleeping with someone else.”

Harriet gave a small laugh in spite of herself and said, “Yes, I remember that.  One of our first arguments, and over such a silly misunderstanding.”  She observed Erin’s black blouse and gray trousers, and tried to imagine her in the bright-colored dress she remembered from before.

“She hasn’t been round to see me lately.  Charlie hasn’t, I mean,” Erin said. “I feel like I just got her back in my life, and now I’ve lost her again.”  She was looking down at the table.

“I’m sorry,” Harriet said.

“No, you haven’t anything to be sorry about.  But I’m sorry.  I’m sorry for how I acted before, what I said to you.  I don’t want to make an enemy of you, Harriet,” she said.

Harriet wondered if she was afraid, and that thought tugged the corners of her mouth downward.  “You’re not my enemy, Erin.  I know you care about Charlie.”

She looked at Harriet with watery eyes and asked, “How is she doing?”

“She’s fine,” Harriet said, finishing her drink.

“Yeah?” Erin asked.

Harriet replied evenly, “Yes.”

“And how are you?” Erin asked cautiously.

Harriet smiled and replied, “You don’t need to worry about me.”

She nodded and said, “All right.”  She took a long drink of her beer and then asked, “And she’s… safe?  You’re looking after her?”

Harriet hoped the guilt didn’t show in her face.  She replied, “She looks after herself.  But she’s fine.”

“Good,” Erin replied.

“Listen, why don’t you come by the house sometime for dinner?” Harriet asked her.

Erin hesitated before saying, “That’s very kind, Harriet.  But I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.  It doesn’t seem like Charlie wants to see me.”

“You’re still her friend.  She just might need reminding of that,” Harriet said.

#

Dillon met Harriet in the hallway on her way back to the office late that afternoon.  He was nervously running his hand through his hair as he hustled to keep pace with her quick steps.

“Ms. Spencer, I was hoping I could talk to you sometime.”

“Concerning what exactly, Dillon?” Harriet asked.

“Well, my duties here, as an intern, ma’am,” he said.

“You don’t need to ma’am me, Dillon.  What about your duties?” Harriet asked him as they rounded the corner into her office suite.

“Did you have a nice lunch, Ms. Spencer?” Anna asked.

“Fine, thanks,” Harriet replied.  “Any new messages?”

“Three,” Anna said.  “I’ve front-loaded them on your desk computer.”  When Harriet would flip on her desk computer, those messages would appear in the foreground.

“Thank you, Anna,” Harriet said with a small smile.

As Harriet entered into her office, Dillon asked from beside Anna’s desk, “Ms. Spencer?”

“Yes, come on in, Dillon.”  Harriet sat down at her desk and resisted the urge to skim the messages while he spoke.  “Close the door behind you,” she told him.

He stood awkwardly on the other side of her desk and said, “Well, it’s just…”

“Take a deep breath, think about what you want to say, and then just say it,” Harriet told him as kindly as she could manage.

He nodded and took a deep breath.  “I was just wondering when you’d have something more for me to do.  I’ve been over the internship manual, front to back, and back to front again, and well.”

“Yes, of course.  You’re quite right that you should have something more concrete on which to work,” Harriet replied.  In truth, she had rather forgotten that Dillon needed something to do.

“I was thinking, if it’s all right with you, that I could tackle some of the briefings for you.  Or, perhaps I could write press releases.  I’m not a bad writer,” he said, his cheeks coloring.

Harriet looked at him and said, “Let’s have you get started with correspondence.  Anna can supervise you in responding to constituents’ concerns – both to the constituents themselves as well as forwarding their information to other departments or persons who may be able to help more directly.”

Dillon smiled and said, “Yes, brilliant.”

“We’ll see how you do with that before moving you onto briefings and press releases.”

He nodded again and replied, “Thank you, Ms. Spencer.”

“Not at all,” Harriet said, flipping on her desk computer.

Chapter Sixty-Two

“Fancy a drink?” Harriet asked Charlotte, getting out two glasses.

“No, I don’t need one,” Charlotte replied, rubbing at her ear, which Harriet recognized as an anxious gesture of hers.