Chapter 15

Leo

            I am sitting here in her dark room, unknowing to her, watching her sleep.  She is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.  She has been all I can think about since the first time I met her, when Avery took me to lunch with him on my first day at the department.  She had taken my breath away once with her beauty, and again when her fiancée walked in.  It didn’t stop me from admiring her from afar, though.  I learned that my partner was in a serious relationship with Hayley’s best friend and I thought it may provide me with more opportunities to see her, but I quickly learned that Avery was loyal to Katie, who was loyal to Rick.

            When Hayley found out during our lunch meeting that I was looking for an apartment due to my recent relocation here, she didn’t hesitate to tell me about availability in her apartment complex.  Made me wonder if the attraction wasn’t one-sided after all.  When I went in to view the apartment availability, I chose the one closest to hers, hoping for chance encounters with her.  I even invited all the guys over, including her fiancée, Rick, for a housewarming get together, so I could get to know him and keep him close.  You know, the whole ‘keep your friends close, enemies closer’ thing.  It is here that I meet Troy for the first time.  Finding out his family are the infamous Myer family who own the Myer Casino feels like destiny.  I quickly put out there that I could use another part-time job, using finances and a recent move as an excuse.  He immediately tells me about employment opportunities within their security department, which is perfect.  Although an interview is a formality, the job is essentially mine. 

            What people don’t understand is my career choices are a necessity.  Working in law enforcement, and now security with a business whose security system is not aboveboard, it allows me to keep certain aspects of my past hidden.  I never liked the term ‘stalker’, it makes how I feel sound obsessive and aggressive, and it’s not.  I simply love too much, too fast, and too deeply.  I have learned over the years how to keep my emotions and feelings hidden.  Instead of appearing as if I am showing up unannounced, I now create chance encounters.  Being able to obtain an apartment in her building has allowed for what appears to be unplanned meetings in the elevator, and different areas inside and outside the building.  Just because I was able to illegally obtain her work schedule and knew where to be was inconsequential.  Sadly, sometimes the best laid plans don’t always work out the way you want.

            I knew something was wrong as soon as Luca Myer called me into his office.  Although I have gone to great extremes to keep my past hidden, apparently, he was able to uncover it.  It isn’t like I am a wanted man, hell, I am not currently on anyone’s radar.  I just use my positions to hide that certain things seem to happen where I reside.  I am careful not to have social media accounts, and I monitor the accounts of past friends and relationships to be sure I am not mentioned or photographed.  If I am, I have the means to remove them.  But there are digital footprints that can get by me from time to time, and that happens to be what brought me into Luca Myer’s office that day.  He produced pictures of me with a few young women who have been reported missing.  

            In high school, you heard if you slipped a few drops of Visine in someone’s drink, it would cause explosive diarrhea, allowing you to exact revenge on them.  Of course, this isn’t true, but if you add large quantities to someone’s alcoholic beverage, well, let’s just say the attack on their nervous system and the slowing of the heart rate makes it appear as if one is having a heart attack.  Or so I heard. So, when I saw the Visine bottle on Luca’s desk, I figured it was the perfect time to put that theory to the test.  He had to step away from his desk during our confrontation, and I took the opportunity to squeeze the contents of the entire bottle into the glass he had filled with alcohol on his desk, that he had been casually sipping during our meeting.  Slipping the empty bottle into my pocket, I waited for him to return, make his threats, then dismiss me from his office.  There was a part of me that honestly didn’t think it would work and was desperately trying to figure out my next steps.  But, when Avery and I got the call that morning, I knew my little science experiment had been successful.  Being able to work the crime scene was to my benefit as well.  I was able to dispose of the glass, although it appeared I had taken it in as evidence, and being able to access the surveillance tapes allowed me to erase the evidence there.  I manipulated paperwork and records and was able to control what the cause of death was determined as.  Feeling confident and full of myself, I decided to take Troy up on his offer of full-time employment, because the type of security and equipment and access that was readily available to me through his business was just too much of a temptation.

            I was surprised when Hayley and Rick showed up to Luca Myer’s funeral.  I knew they knew Troy, but they weren’t as close to him as Wayne and Avery.  Although it was a surprise, it was a nice one, I was able to watch her from afar during the pompous memorial service.  Seeing her in her little black dress caused a desire to see her in black for a completely different reason.  Knowing my crazy plan had already worked once, it was easy to put another plan of mine in motion.  I was a little concerned when I bumped into Katie a few days later, my shopping cart full of Visine but was relieved when she asked if I had allergies.  It gave me the perfect excuse to be buying the eye drops, playing off how I was new to the area and couldn’t seem to figure out why my eyes were always burning.

            When I saw they were offering a bereavement/grief counseling classes, it was easy to talk Avery into attending it with me, we had become rather close friends, and it allowed us another opportunity to hang out outside of work.  It would also allow me an excuse to console Hayley once I executed my plan.  The class is designed to help those who have lost a loved one, it will allow me to help her cope with her loss.  To be there for her, in hopes of creating an unbreakable bond.

            Convincing the guys to allow me to plan the bachelor party put me in the position I wanted to be in to carry out my plans.  So, that night, it wasn’t suspicious for me to be getting the drinks and delivering them to everyone.  The only challenge was keeping Rick’s shot glass separate from the others and passing them out in a manner that didn’t make it suspicious.  It was easy since he was the bachelor, and no one saw an issue with me handing him his drink first.  I paced myself, putting a smaller amount of Visine in his first shots, versus the larger quantity in his latter ones.  I was a little concerned when Avery noticed his change in behavior and his obvious struggles, not knowing enough about my plan to know if he could be revived.  Luca was easy, he was alone in his office.  When I watched the security tapes, he was struggling, but no one was present to be aware of it.  He collapsed on his office desk and wasn’t found until the next morning.  I hate that it was Troy who found him, but I had to look out for my best interests.  It ended up being of little concern, however, Avery and I were unsuccessful in our attempts.  It was called by the EMT’s in route to the hospital. 

            Putting my bereavement/grief counseling certification to use, I made sure I was the one who delivered the news to Hayley.  I wanted to show her my compassion and support and to hopefully build that bond right out the gate.  Everyone was in so much shock, I don’t think my over affection was seen as anything other than being sympathetic.  It felt unbelievable to pick her up and carry her out of the bathroom at the club when she had gotten sick.  I was able to inhale the smell of her hair and feel the warmth of her body, which wasn’t my best idea, since I had to hide my obvious hard-on.  After that, I begrudgingly stepped back to allow Katie to play her part as best friend, allowing her to be the one to take Hayley home.  I devised the plan for us guys to take shifts to be there for Hayley, indicating that she didn’t need to be alone.  This helped explain my reason for being there during the times I was, and I planned it where I would be the one with her during the funeral.  I noticed she turned to me a lot for information and decisions, which was encouraging, clearly, I had established the trust I needed her to have in me. 

            Today, during the funeral, it pissed me off that Katie chose to read Rick’s written vows to Hayley during the service.  I played my part, feeling ten fucking feet tall when she turned to me, clinging to my jacket and sobbing into my chest.  Although I knew her emotions were for Rick, she turned to me for comfort, and I plan to comfort the hell out of her.  My jaw ticked when Katie stepped down from the podium to hand Hayley the written vows, deciding then and there I would destroy that shit the first opportunity I had.  Easing Hayley out of Katie’s embrace, I was able to separate the friends momentarily, but I sadly had to step back and allow Katie to comfort Hayley during the graveside service.  I can tell now I am going to have to find a way to force a wedge in their relationship, I see Katie being a real problem in my budding relationship.

            After everyone left the post-funeral reception, I am the one who drove Hayley home, the advantage of living in her apartment complex.  I told the guys I would stay with her tonight since it was my day on the rotation. I was able to put on a sympathetic front, coaxing her to hold my hand on the drive home.  I encouraged her to take a shower, which I was able to hide in the shadows and watch.  She truly is a beautiful woman.  I help get her into bed, and am now sitting here, watching her sleep, struggling to keep myself from crawling into bed with her.  Suddenly, there is a loud knock on her door.  She stirs, but I whisper for her to stay here, and after she curls back up into the fetal position, I quietly exit her room and close her door.  The unwelcomed visitor knocks again, and I aggressively snatch open her door.  Shit!  What the hell is he doing here?  I can tell by the look on his face that I am fucked.

                                                                                     Story completes in An Indescribable Act.