Page 5 of Judas

Her father would never allow her to spend her days or her nights with the hired help.

Chapter three

The rest of the morning passed as any other first day would. Judas was shown around the office, introduced to all the key figures in the firm, and left to fill out piles of HR paperwork in a small, but nicely decorated office just off what would be the security office. Once finished with the monotony of tax forms and emergency contact number, something he had to make up since he had no one, Judas set to work pulling resumes to build a full security detail for Paul. Just before noon, the kind receptionist stuck her head just inside the door to alert Judas to a lunch meeting with Paul, Eliza, and Chet Branson, Paul’s business partner. He was eager to arrive first and waited for the arrival of the woman behind those complicated blue eyes that had completely captivated him so quickly.

Judas stood in the lobby of the Dallas Ritz-Carlton waiting for the rest of his party to arrive. Being on time was something Judas was exceptionally good at, but it always felt like the rest of the world struggled. He’d always considered ten minutes early to be almost late while most seemed to think ten minutes late wasright on time. He added this to the list of things he would just never understand about the human race.

All his years of waiting for everyone else made him an expert at occupying his own time though. Judas found a quiet spot just outside of the hustle and bustle of the busy hotel lobby to play one of his favorite games: Fact or Bullshit. Hotels were truly the best venue for this sport because there was always a bible lying around somewhere. He’d appreciated Gideons International for their exhaustive efforts in making sure every room where the weary laid their heads there was a copy of King James’ version.

Leaning against the hard stone wall, Judas slid the bible off the small lobby table and flipped to a random page. The book of Matthew, chapter eight, verse thirty.

Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.

This one was technically bullshit, but with a tiny grain of truth and Judas smiled recalling that night. There had been no demons. It had simply been a juvenile prank gone wrong. Just he and Yesh walking the rural paths and drinking a little too much wine. Stupidly, they decided it would be a good idea to let the shepherd’s pigs loose. What they envisioned was a glorious scene of chaos as the farmer attempted to corral his herd, but the pigs had gone straight to the water and were washed away by the rapid current. Judas and his friend exchanged a look of wide-eyed horror and quietly slipped away into the night. They would recall the story some nights and laugh with each other as the others were apparently building their own version of the story in their heads.

Shaking off the soured memory, Judas flipped back to another random page. Leviticus 15: 16 to 18

If a man has an emission of semen, he shall bathe his whole body in water and be unclean until the evening.And every garment and every skin on which the semen comes shall be washed with water and be unclean until the evening. If a man lies with a woman and has an emission of semen, both of them shall bathe themselves in water and be unclean until the evening.

Judas laughed out loud at this one and a woman nearby cut her eyes at him. Even though this was a law of his own people, he had to call absolute bullshit. Sexual piety was a modern concept. Especially for men. They spread their seed wherever they pleased with little regard for hygiene or cleanliness. Not that much had changed in that regard over the centuries.

Book of Romans.

Judas rolled his eyes refusing to even read on. If it was written by Paul, he knew it was garbage because Paul was so completely full of shit and himself. Seemed to be a theme with the name.

As if right on cue, the small hairs on the back of his neck rose as Judas felt the eyes of an onlooker. Glancing up from the book full of lies and half-truths all written by men, Judas met Eliza’s gaze watching him.

“Are you reading the bible right now?” she chuckled, a little stupefied.

He smiled at her and closed the book, returning it to the table, “Just fact-checking.” He grinned wider.

Eliza’s eyebrows furrowed and she stared at him in a way that made him think she was trying to figure him out.

'Good luck with that, dear Eliza', his internal monologue chimed in, still amused by her confusion.

Eliza shook her head, walking toward the entrance of the restaurant.

Following her into the hotel’s premier restaurant, Fearing's, Judas watched her body move confidently through the crowd.He would've given anything to know what was going through her head at any given moment. The way she so quickly had taken over his frequent thoughts intrigued him in ways he couldn’t explain. But it also frightened him a little.

If he could’ve seen inside her head, he would’ve known that she was just as consumed with thoughts of him. He seemed so wonderfully strange and different from what Eliza was used to finding around her. It was refreshing like white wine on a hot night.

After a quick few moments of conversation with the maître D', Eliza motioned to Judas to follow the restaurant staff to their waiting table. Judas watched the older, well-dressed seated man rise with a smile as they approached.

Meeting Paul’s business partner, Chet Branson, was everything Judas had expected it to be. Here was a good ole boy clearly born and raised in the heart of Texas. His charm was much more genuine than Paul’s, however, it was clear they shared the same kind of upbringing. Chet had logged a few more hours of manual labor than Paul, though. Judas could feel the calluses on his hands as they greeted one another for the first time.

“Welcome to the team, Mr. Christian,” Chet smiled as he shook hands with Judas.

Judas felt Chet’s genuine enthusiasm, “Happy to be of service, sir.”

Eliza stepped close, greeting Chet with a huge smile. Chet beamed, immediately wrapping her in a tight hug. First instinct would ordinarily lead Judas to believe these two were involved somehow beyond business, but the embrace looked almost fatherly. Eliza squeezed him back and Judas studied them closely. This man was a person of importance to Eliza and that gave him instant esteem in Judas’ eyes. Already, without understanding why, Judas trusted Eliza’s judgment.

“How are you, Eliza?” Chet released her from their hug.

“Good as ever, Uncle Chet. How’s the family?” she smiled.

“Same ole, same ole,” he replied warmly before turning to Judas to offer a seat at the table.

Commotion from the entrance drew all of their attention. They turned to see the last member of their party arrive with massive fanfare, from other patrons, however self-induced it may have been.

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