Chapter Four

"I'm so sorry." Isabelle apologized for the tenth time to Maggie who sat beside her, looking all freckles and nerves.

"No no Miss Anderson-"

"Isabelle. Or just call me Isa. Everyone does."

"Isa" Maggie affirmed, " I'm just so lucky that I'm able to meet you. I didn't even know you'd take time to see me."

Isabelle smiled and held her hands.

"It's okay. I promise I'll do my best to help you."

Isabelle was a lawyer. A very good one at that. Her experience and expertise in her job had taught her to wheedle the truth out of her clients. Maggie said she was innocent and her guts were telling her this woman was telling the truth. And she trusted her guts, but her gut feeling wouldn't be enough. She needed facts. The detective in her itched to question Maggie properly but she knew she had to wait for the Private Investigator to arrive. The thought of that made her eyes narrow. Typical of them to be late.

"Why isn't he here yet?" She muttered to herself.

"I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't make you wait. He isn't usually late. I don't know..." Maggie said, looking more nervous than ever.

"Hey. Its okay. I can wait."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Isabelle said.

"This PI... You hired him right?"

"No. I more like asked for his help."

"I see. And he agreed to help you? No charge?" Isabelle asked, a bit surprised.

"Yes. I was surprised too. He also helped me contact your boss to get to you. He said if anyone could help me, it was you. He also said he'd pay any legal fees concerning my daughter and I"

"Hmm. Sounds like a nice guy."

"He is. He doesn't even know me. Yet he agreed to help me without taking a cent from me. I'm very grateful to him"

Isabelle couldn't deny that she was more than a little surprised that a PI could be so.... Helpful. Usually they were more about what they could take than what they could give. The door suddenly opened, breaking her thoughts.

"I'm sorry for the tardiness. Traffic's a bitch around here." Said the person who had just stepped in. Maggie rushed forward to meet the man while Isabelle trailed behind. The first thing she noticed was his height. Isabelle was a woman who usually towered over women and a lot of men. Or at least was of equal height with them even without her shoes on but with this man's height, she felt somehow small. It took her ten seconds to completely analyze him physically. His face. He had a good face, not necessarily handsome but.... Intriguing. Ah, attractive was the word. His nose was so long that one would've mistaken him for a British if they hadn't heard him speak. He spoke like a true Yankee, fast, with purpose. His hair was the color of wheat, so long that it curled around the edges. It wasn't styled, instead looked windblown. Her eyebrows raised when she saw his arm and the ridges of muscles in it. Someone worked out, she thought. She also noticed something that made her frown. A scar that ran from the middle of his lower left arm and disappeared into the rolled up sleeves of his shirt. Something about that scar nagged at her memory. She was sure she had seen it somewhere before. She raised her head to see his eyes that were staring so intently at her. A sense of deja vu crept into her when she saw his eyes. Blue eyes. Crystal blue eyes. She knew those eyes. She then looked at him properly. It couldn't be... Him? But that wasn't possible. How could he be here? Her heart slowly sank as she confirmed the truth. It was him.

"-and I'm so very grateful to you. Ah, where are my manners?" Maggie exclaimed, hitting a palm on her forehead, "I'm sure you already know her. This is Miss Isabelle Anderson. Isa, this is the PI who agreed to help me-"

"Jake" Isabelle said, looking at him, "Jake McLean."

.................................

For a moment, they both stared at each other, saying nothing. Then Jake broke the silence.

"Belle. Its been so long."

Suddenly the emotions she'd been bottling for ten years shot right through her. Everything she'd been trying to keep in came rushing out. How could he be here? She didn't even know whether to be happy or angry. She didn't even notice when the tears began to drop.

"Are you okay?" Jake asked, concern ripe in his voice. She didn't know what it was exactly but something about the way he asked her made her temper snap.

"Ten years." She said, advancing on him until they were so close to touch. "Ten fucking years. And suddenly you act like you care. What are you doing here Jake?" She asked, her voice low but he could sense to cold fury in it.

"Look, Belle I-"

"Don't call me that." She said, her eyes glinting murderously, "Don't you ever dare call me that. What the fuck are you doing here Jake?!"

He raised his hands as though to calm her down.

"Look Isabelle, just calm down okay? I'm just here as Maggie's PI"

"Oh, great!" She said, turning and pacing round the room while Maggie looked on helplessly. She couldn't think straight. Her thoughts were swirling in her head.

"Fuck! I can't do this. I won't do this." She said, facing Jake. "You have to step down from this case. Now"

"No" He said with an unreadable expression on his face. "No, I won't. She needs my help and so do you. So I can't."

She stared at him with an incredulous expression on her face. He didn't even look the least bit razzled with what was happening. She suddenly felt the urge to laugh. Fate was really a bitch. After ten years of nursing emotional wounds that never fully healed, fate had decided to pick him up from nowhere and plop him right back into her life, but she wouldn't stand for it. If he thought he could just waltz back into her life anytime he saw fit and expect her to welcome him with open arms, he had another think coming.

"Fine." She said with a note of finality, "Fine. If you won't get off this case, then I will."

"Isa, you can't just leave. It's not right." She heard Josh say. She didn't even notice him stepping in. She whirled on him.

"Did you know? That he was the one?" She asked pointed a finger to Jake who stood with a blank expression on his face.

"Yes." Josh said simply.

She blinked at his response.

"You- you knew?" She stuttered, "You knew he was the one and you still agreed to do it? Even though you knew about my personal history with him? Even though you knew how I would feel about this? Why did you do it? Why?!"

"Isabelle calm down. Just calm down and reason it out. I think you might be overreacting"

Overreacting? He thought she was overreacting?! The asshole! He wanted her to calm down? Well, fuck him and fuck Jake too.

"Fine." She said, smiling, her voice considerably lower. "Fine." She said again. Turning to meet Maggie's gaze, her heart squeezed at that. She knew she wasn't being fair. Not to herself or Maggie, but she just couldn't do it.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Turner. I really am."

Looking at Josh, she said, "I'm out."

She gave one last look at Jake who stood there, saying nothing and all but ran out of the room before the tears could burst out.