Page 25 of Instinct & New Identity

“This is way more space thanIneed,”Catsaid. “Butit’s really nice in here.Private, but also plenty of light.”

If the door was closed, no one could see in, and while there were windows on the side wall, they were clerestory windows, meaning they were well above eye level so no one from the outside could see in, but they still let in a ton of natural light.

“Not that you asked, butIthink it’s perfect,”Valinterjected. “EspeciallysinceI’llbe working next door!”

Val was now clapping her hands with excitement.Icould seeCatwas torn about really needing the office, but clearly knowing her sister would be next door helped, because she seemed to come to a decision.

“Yes, good point,” she said toVal.Thenshe turned to me. “Yousure you don’t mind me using this space?” she asked.

“Not at all,”Itold her truthfully. “Weonly ever seem to use one of these at a time anyway.”

She looked around once more and then agreed to use the space.Ilet out a breathIhadn’t realizedIwas holding.

We headed up the elevator to see the rest of the space, which was just personal offices, the main security room with all the cameras we monitored, and other tech spaces.Inan effort to let them know how secure the building was,Iexplained that both the elevator and staircase needed badge access.Bothsisters seemed equally impressed, andIcouldn’t help but feel a little pride swell inside me because this company was our pride and joy.

We made our way back to my apartment, where the girls spent the next three hours unpacking what they needed and also setting aside stuff they didn’t utilize regularly so we could put it in the storage unit in the basement.Iordered takeout for dinner sinceIdidn’t really have any food in my house from having been gone the last week inIowa.

Just afterIsubmitted the order on my phone, it buzzed in my hand.

“Hey,Parker.What’sup?”Iasked after seeing his name on the screen.

“Hey,Vince, just wanted to make sure you saw my email aboutOklahoma’supcoming court appearance?”

“Um, apologies…I’vebeen out of town the past few days, soImust have missed it,”Itold him, trying to recall a note from him.

“No worries.He’snot taking the plea deal, so he’s going in front of a judge.We’relikely gonna need you to testify in a few weeks.”

“No problem.I’llbe around,”Iconfirmed. “Justshoot me the email again soIcan put everything in my calendar.”

“Will do,” he responded. “Havea good one.”

“You too,”Isaid then hung up.

The food arrived shortly after, and as we ate,Valasked a bunch of questions about the pub and the city, andIfilled her in.

After dinner, she decided to turn in early for the night claiming she was wiped out from moving but also wanted to get a good night’s sleep before her training shift at the pub tomorrow.

It may have beenNovember, butMotherNaturewasn’t feeling like making it very fall-like inAtlanta.Infact, it had been in the seventies earlier today, soIdecided to grab a beer and sit on my balcony, andIaskedCatif she wanted to join me.Mysister had not only decorated the inside but she’d also put two really nice chairs with ottomans out here and a side table in between.

Cat sat down next to me in sweatpants and a long-sleeved tee.Nowthat the sun was down, the temperature had dropped off a little bit, but it was still pleasant.Herhair was up in a ponytail, she’d cleaned her face of makeup, and yet she was still beautiful.

“So, long-lost pen pal, tell me more about yourself,”Isaid after taking a swig of my beer and looking over at her.

She grinned back at me and tucked her legs under her in the seat with her hands in her lap holding her cup of tea.

“What would you like to know, long-lost pen pal?” she smarted back at me.Irealized she was slowly coming out of her timid shell, andIliked this sassy woman next to me.

“Anything, everything…Gota lot to catch up on,”Isaid. “Startwith your job.Irecall you said you were thinking about a degree in coding.Whatmade you switch to web and graphic design?Orare they all part of the same degree?”

“Ha, no,” she tittered. “Honestly, it came about when we were inWITSEC.Oneof theMarshalswho watched over us at the initial safe house was talking to me about online degrees sinceIwouldn’t be able to go to college in person, at least not for the first year until they could make sure the dust settled from our supposed ‘death’ at the trial,” she said, putting her fingers up to mimic the quotes sign. “Hername wasMarta, and she was really honest with me about my long-term future and told me that there was a distinct possibility we would have to keep moving around every couple of years and thatImight want to choose a career that would allow me that flexibility.Codingand computer science would allow that, but after taking my first couple of coding classes,IrealizedIwas bored to death.SinceI’dalways enjoyed art and often drew in our plentiful downtime at the safe house,Martatalked me into taking some graphic and web design courses.Iloved those a heck of a lot more.Mostof my clients also don’t care whereIwork as long as the product meets their needs and is finished on time.”

She shrugged gently. “Italso paid well enough to supportValand me once theMarshalssaid we were free of danger and on our own.Weused our parents’ money to pay for college, but otherwise,Ididn’t like touching that.Iknow they aren’t here anymore, but it just feels weird spending it.Theyalways planned to help us pay for college, so that seemed different,Iguess.”

“I get it,”Itold her my parents had also offered to pay for my school, though theGIBillmade it so they didn’t have to.

“What about you?”Sheturned to me. “Yoursecurity business seems to be going quite well, and your friends are amazing.I’mreally happy for you.”

A part of me felt guilty at the fact that she was never able to make close friendships likeIhad withWadeandJack.Shedid have her sister, though, and they were close, likeArcherandIwere.

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