Authors note: I'd posted this story on a couple other sites and got a few requests to properly tie up loose ends. Think I've done that in those six additional chapters I'll be posting here every couple days.

The author retains all rights to this original work of fiction.

Last Updated: 3/20/2024 to smooth out portions of the story.

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March 15th, 2:23 PM
Lisa pulled me aside in the hallway outside of the auditorium when I didn't reply right away. It wasn't very gentle or tactful, and a few of our coworkers even glanced at us to see what was going on as they passed. Thankfully, no one stopped, but we absolutely did get a few questioning looks and I tried my best to smile, uncomfortably, through the attention we were getting. I prayed someone wouldn’t ask me about it later.

"What the hell, Elizabeth?" she asked with a serious look on her face. "You and that guy? Details girl! Come on!"

A grin slowly made its way to the corners of her mouth, replacing the gruffness of the scowl she had right after she’d called me out.

I wanted desperately to have someone to talk with about Paul, but I wasn't sure Lisa was that person, especially after that crack about him being too old. Really, his age is all you saw when you looked at him—no consideration for his personality or who he might be as a human being? And Jesus, he in no way whatsoever looks old! Maybe I could give a little and get more in return if I shared with her?

"Nothing happened. I just know him," I replied tentatively still debating whether I felt like I should confide in her.

"You 'just know him' or you 'knoooow him'?" She enunciated the word 'know' all hot and sexual, like she did when talking about her barista crush.

Did she really think I wouldn't know what you wanted to 'know'? Grrrr! This was a mistake; I should have kept my mouth shut.

"You aren't being very supportive,” I began to complain. “It's not like I'm a CIS woman and this all comes naturally for me."

"I know, but do you know how many times you've said something about guys to me since we started here? Not once! Zero, none, never. If you think I believe you've never taken that body for test runs, well, you're crazy," she complained right back at me, not giving me any quarter.

We stood for a few seconds staring at each other, each contemplating who was going to speak.

"Look, I'm sorry if I come off too strong,” she said breaking the standoff.

"OK, well, you have to take it slower with me, like don't push so hard. I'm not… I don't know my way like I would if I’d started life as you did. I didn't get to experience so many of those things that formed you into the woman you are today. Like, you know shit, and I don't because it is your norm, okay? I struggle a lot with the simplest of things you can snap a decision or opinion on as a woman without even thinking. I need help, not harassing."

I was worried that the last statement was going to be the defining moment in our friendship. I bit the inside of my lip and knew the concern on my face couldn't be missed.

"Fair enough... I treat you like any of my other girlfriends because that's what you are to me. I don't say stuff to bring you down or put you down; I hope you know that."

"I do, but sometimes I wonder if you get all I'm dealing with every second of my day. Everything is worrisome, and I never know whose watching or judging me. It really can be depressing to navigate my existence as a woman..."

"You know it's not all easy sailing for any woman, me included. I want you to be comfortable with me and trust that I'm not here to judge or whatever. I just want you to be happy and treated as you should be. You know I'd put a beating on that guy if he hurts you," she said seriously, though smiling.

"He's very nice, you'd like him."

"See, was that so hard?" she asked. She tilted her head slightly, looking at something behind me.

When I glanced back, Paul was exiting the auditorium with Jacob and Gillian. Shit!

"We need to go," I whispered.

"Not like they didn't see us," she said in a hushed tone. "We're getting coffee."

"What?"

"Well, hello again, Mr. Kline," Lisa said with more cheer than I had hoped she would.

Why weren't we just fading into the wall, going to get that coffee she just mentioned, or being invisible right now?!

"Ladies, what are we up to too?" Paul asked all smiles.

"About to get a cup of coffee, want to join us?" she asked.

I cringed and thought, 'What the fuck are you doing?!'

"I would love to too, but I have a meeting in," he said, looking at his phone. "Two minutes. Rain check?"

"Absolutely," Lisa said with an all-teeth smile.

I could only stand there like some doe-eyed deer caught in headlights on some dark country back road. I wished the truck approaching would just run me over and put me out of my misery!

"Excellent," he said, smiling and continuing towards the elevators with Jacob.

Gillian hung back and put her hand on my shoulder. "Elizabeth, could you come see me this afternoon, after 4:00?"

"Yes, yes, of course."

She smiled at us both and made her way to the elevator, entering it after the guys, and the doors closed.

"What are you doing!?!?" I complained to Lisa.

"I wanted to see you two together," Lisa replied, giggling.

"No! Not here, not at work. Oh my God!" I huffed, exasperated.

Lisa giggled at me. "You need to relax, girl."

I looked at her dumbfounded and asked, "What part of I don't have the life experiences you have, don't you get?"

She laughed a little more at me before asking, "You see the look on his face?"

I'm sure the confused look on my face was enough to answer her question, but I nodded ‘No' anyway. I hadn't even looked at Paul. Why was that? Was I just nervous about Jacob or Gillian saying something about getting back to work or wondering why we were loitering? Augh! Good God!

"Firstly, he may have been talking to me, but he was looking at you the entire time. Second, I think he was disappointed he couldn't join us."

"I can't have people think I'm in a relationship with him," I whined.

"A relationship?" she asked. "Oh, now we're getting to the real story. You two are in a relationship."

Fuck! Were we? I mean, we were. No, we are... Augh! Damn it!

"I, a… It's early, and we still need to figure out what we are doing."

"You met him in Arizona?"

"Yes, he," I hesitated, saying more, but she'd already gotten enough of the story to know we were together there. FUCK! I gave her a serious look and said, "You can't be telling anyone about this. Paul is just working here until he can replace Bill Blass, and then... Well, I hope to not be some office gossip flavor of the month."

She looked at me seriously. "And who's going to tell the office that?"

"I'm just saying," I replied uncomfortably.

"Yeah, you're saying it'll be me. I told you, I wouldn't say anything."

"I'm sorry. It's just that this is new, and I don't want to screw anything up.”

That probably sounded like I was complaining, which, to the core of all this, I probably was. But this thing with Paul was huge for me, and all I could think about, crushing and consuming at times. How is she not getting that?

"I understand, but you can't hold on so tight to this guy, thinking another one won't come along if something gets screwed up. You are an amazing woman; he needs to be amazing too. You need to be yourself, not someone else to fit his mold of perfection," she paused for a second. "So, he 'knows'?"

She sounded uncomfortable asking that question.

"Yes..."

Yes, he knows I'm Trans, and 'Yes', I was being super cautious about every facet of my life right now, probably to a fault. I can't be afraid to let my guard down, trust, and still be true to who I am. Why was all of this so hard?

"Well, he just impressed me big time then, and I want to know more. This is so cool, Elizabeth! I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks, but can we just take this slow? I really could use a friend right now to help me figure out whatever Paul and I are doing."

"We can do that," she said, leaning in to put her arm around my shoulder as we began walking toward the elevators. "So, he's got a nice ass, huh?"

Augh! Really?!

March 15th, 3:57 PM
I had set a calendar event to meet Gillian, and per my normal operating mode, I was early getting to her office. All of our offices had glass anterior walls and doors, so I could see Gillian was on the phone when I got to her office. Seeing me, she held up a finger for me to wait before entering. I smiled in return and nodded my understanding. I looked over the handful of supplies I brought with me for this meeting yet again, and by the time I looked up, Gillian was walking towards the door. She waved at me to come in, and I opened the door just before she got to it.

"Thank you for coming to see me, Elizabeth."

I wasn't sure what to say, so I just smiled and made my way to a chair in front of her desk as she returned to hers. Gillian was in her mid-to-late fifties and had been the office manager for the firm for twenty-five years. Every interaction I had with her during the nearly four months I had worked for the firm confirmed why she had this job—she knew how to run this office and the business of the law firm. Every lawyer I had seen interact with her treated her with the utmost respect.

Gillian had a quiet confidence about her. I admired the strong woman she was and how she seemed to really care about the people who worked here. Everyone described her as firm yet fair and that she expected everyone to perform to the highest of standards. I was a little nervous about this meeting since my assignments came from my supervisor generally, but I didn't have any of my usual impending doom-type feelings yet about why she wanted to meet with me, why was that? Why hadn't I wondered more about what this meeting was about?

"I wanted to first thank you for all the work you did in Arizona. I appreciate all you did for Jacob's family. Jacob is also very appreciative of all you did to assist in finding Amber."

I continued to smile, not really sure what to say, but managed to eke out, "Thank you."

She, in all likelihood, knew all of the details of what we were doing in Phoenix, so what could I say other than ‘Thanks’?

"Paul also gave glowing reviews regarding your contributions as well. He told Jacob that he really appreciated your investigative skills and keeping him on track. You have certainly proven to be a valuable addition to the firm," she said, opening a manila folder on her desk. "And with that, Jacob asked that I give you this."

She handed me a letter written on the firm's letterhead. Before I began reading, I wondered for a fraction of a second if I was in trouble, and this was some kind of legal notification regarding my assistance. I took a slow fluttered breath and read the first couple lines, which were basically repeating what Gillian had said about Jacob being appreciative of the work I had done in Phoenix. The next line stunned me: 'As a token of my appreciation for your efforts, you are to be awarded a one-time bonus in the amount of $5,000.00'. The letter ended with a salutation, encouraging me to continue the good work, and was signed by Jacob. I looked up, confused.

Gillian was all smiles. "One thing you will learn working for Jacob is that he appreciates those who give more than is expected. In addition, he often rewards you for exceeding his expectations. By all accounts, this is a well-deserved award. Congratulations."

I heard every word she just said, but I was having trouble processing the ‘award’ portion from the letter. I had no expectation that anything like this would be forthcoming. I was speechless.

"The thousand-dollar stipend you received for taking the assignment should already be in your account. That was taxed as regular income; unfortunately, this award is considered a bonus and is taxed at a rate of around 37 percent. There is nothing we can do about that. Payment will be processed tonight. Do you have any questions?"

I’d sort of forgotten about the stipend, but not the idea of getting my hair done with some of that money. Should I ask Paul about going lighter? Would it matter to him? Focus!!

"I... This is very unexpected; I'm, I don't know what to say," I replied, trying not to worry so much about letting my emotions show.

"Well, you deserve it," she said, smiling.

"Thank you," I replied, wondering if that sounded like a question, and stood thinking this meeting was over.

"Wait, please sit," she asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry." I had honestly thought the meeting was over. I sat, put the letter inside a folder amongst my supplies, and readied a pen and a pad of legal paper.

"You won't need that," she said all business like. "Jacob would like you to assist Gina Barnes with some legal processing necessary to facilitate the ethics case against Janet and Martin. She's expecting you after we're done here. We've cleared this with Alicia. This will be a great opportunity for you. Do you have any questions?"

Whoa! Gina Barnes was one of the firm's top grossing trial lawyers. She was all business and feared by the majority of the firm's support staff due to the intensity she displayed outwardly for all to see. She was not my first choice of lawyers to work with, and the idea of assisting her made me a little nervous. Since my work assignments had been divided up prior to my Phoenix assignment, assigning me to this effort was probably easy for my supervisor, Alicia, to make.

The opportunity was either going to kill me or grow me. I was hoping for later.

"No, questions, thank you. I'll check in with Mrs. Barnes,” I replied.

When there weren't any follow-on statements, Gillian thought she needed to make, I stood.

"Thank you, Elizabeth, and congratulations on the award," she said, smiling.

"Thank you Gillian…"

March 15th, 4:31 PM
The door to Gina Barnes' office was open. Her office was on the west side of the building, and had a bank of windows that looked towards Elliot Bay, with a view of the Olympic Mountains beyond it. Of course, today you couldn't see the mountains through all the rain, but you could see a ferry coming into the bay through the misty rain.

I knocked on the open door and said, "Mrs. Barnes, I'm Elizabeth Gallagher."

"Come in, close the door, please," she said, waving a hand toward the chairs in front of her desk.

I closed the door behind me, sat down, and noticed her office was very sterile. No pictures, nothing on her desk—that wasn't necessary. The office was as sterile as an operating room I would bet. I knew she was married and had a couple of kids, but there was no evidence of that anywhere in the office.

She stood after I got pen and pad ready.

"We're going to be busy the next couple of weeks. This assignment will require some overtime, and I expect we will put in some time on a few Saturdays. Is that going to be a problem?"

Her standing was a little intimidating—a power move on her part, I assumed. I was already intimidated; there was no need to accentuate your scariness by standing. Regarding work, the truth was, I didn't mind long days or even working on weekends. My only concern was not getting to spend as much time with Paul as I hoped. Assuming he hadn't changed his mind about me and we were... Augh! Answer her question!

"I can be available as necessary, Mrs. Barnes," I replied with as much confidence as I could muster.

She took a second to weigh her next words.

"I understand that while you were in Phoenix, you reported daily to Janet Larson. Are you at all conflicted about helping this firm build a case against Ms. Larson?"

Wait a second, 'conflicted'—am I being cross-examined? How did she know that? The only way she could have known about keeping Janet in the loop while in Phoenix was from Paul; he's the only one I told. He wouldn't have said anything. Was she fishing for something and if so, why?

"I can assure you that I will not be conflicted in my assigned duties for this firm, Mrs. Barnes."

I could feel my heart beginning to race. Did Janet mention an update from me to someone? Maybe she did in an email and Gina knew. Shit!

"Good." She shifted some papers on her desk so they were in alignment with some other papers, then sat down and said, "The firm's interests are my interests. I take exception to both Mr. Brandt and Ms. Larson's inappropriate conduct during the recent elections of the newest city council members. Their actions could very well end up jeopardizing our twenty-year relationship with the union for the Port of Seattle and bring unprecedented financial losses to the firm. Are we clear?"

I could hear a slight ringing in my ears, and my hands felt chilled, as did my legs. What the hell have I gotten myself into? I nodded, 'Yes'. Was she pissed about me being assigned or that Janet and Martin might have screwed the firm? Did she think I condoned their behavior?

"Perfect," she said, reaching for a folder and handing it to me.

I took it from her and opened it. There was a list of at least fifteen research requests. The first item was to comb through the previous two years of expense reports for both Janet and Martin. Another was the review of any emails they had sent, specifically to the city council and the port union leaders. There could be thousands of those just for Martin alone since he was the lead counsel for the union. I felt a knot in my stomach tightening.

Her list had miscellaneous items that included researching a list of potential campaign violations in the state as they related to the Revised Code of Washington, case history in regards to ethics violation cases done by the Washington State Bar Association—she had provided a list of specific cases she wanted data on—and a few other items.

When I looked up, she continued, "I would like those items completed by the end of business Monday. If you run into issues or have questions, find me and we can discuss. Do you have any questions for me?"

That slight ringing in my ears was now full on buzzing, and it was making it difficult to concentrate. To complete a thorough research investigation on a few of these tasks on her list could easily take a week. Why did it feel like I couldn't breathe? I needed to switch gears. Think: How am I going to get all this done in one week's time?!

Gina moved slightly, and I refocused on her face. She was all business still, and her face showed no emotion. This is going to be impossible! Think! Research takes time. I had to push back.

"Mrs. Barnes, I understand the assignment, but your timeline. I just don't... I won't be able to deliver all of these things by next Monday." I could hardly believe I had said what I just said.

Why am I not breathing?

She looked confused. "I'm sorry. I believe, with your staff, this list of research is certainly attainable by Monday, maybe even sooner." After snapping that retort, she looked impatient, like I was keeping her from something.

Wait, I have a staff?

"I am not aware of anyone else assigned to your efforts Mrs. Barnes..." I began saying until she held up a hand to stop my reply.

I felt like I'd just been scolded by an annoyed parent. What the hell is going on with this woman? Gina picked up her phone, dialed a number, and waited for an answer.

"Hello Alicia, I'm with Elizabeth Gallagher, and we're discussing the project she's assigned to me for." She was listening to my supervisor, I assumed during a short pause, "Yes, that's what I'm calling about." She shifted slightly and then said, "Yes…" There was a long pause this time, "She is unaware of that it appears, but that does answer my question, thank you. Goodbye."

I watched her replace the handset into its cradle.

"Well, unfortunately, there has been some lack of communication on Alicia's part; she thought you were going to meet with her prior to coming to see me. She apologizes for that and would like you to stop at her office after this meeting. I am to tell you that you will be leading a team of two paralegals; she will discuss the specifics after this meeting. To address your concerns about the time, I am allowing your team to complete those required items in a week and feel that’s a generous allotment of time give my requests. We do not have the luxury of time, and I expect quality research on all these items, as they will be used for the preparation of my briefs. You and I will gather next Tuesday morning to begin reviewing, if not earlier. Any questions?"

I hadn't taken a full breath since she began talking on the phone, but I gulped one as inconspicuously as possible before answering, "No, Mrs. Barnes."

"Alright, I believe Alicia is waiting for you. I'll be here until seven if you have any additional questions. Thank you for stopping by," she said, rising from her chair, which was my queue this meeting was over.

March 15th, 6:11 p.m.
I felt like I had been run over by a bus. Not the one I should have caught fifty minutes ago when I would have gotten off work at 5:00 PM. No, I'd been flattened by the one chartered by the firm to reward me, to test me, and to break me.

It seemed to all be going my way while meeting with Gillian, until I got assigned to work for Gina Barnes. And my luck, Alicia hadn't clued me into being assigned a staff of two prior to meeting with Gina. That made me look like I had no idea what I was doing when I pushed back about the amount of work she had assigned my team. Augh!

After meeting with Gina, I got caught up on my new assignment by Alicia. She apologized for not getting me the information about having a team I was going to lead. I appreciated her saying she was sorry, but still felt like I was out of my league with this assignment. I wondered who thought this was a good idea!

I met with my team after the visit with Alicia, and was happy it had gone so well. Both Cal Gardner and Michelle Cole were good-natured about joining me, and neither seemed to mind that I was the lead. I had barely any experience here at the firm and they knew that, but neither seemed bothered by that. I was happy Alicia hadn't assigned Lisa to help me, which could have been a nightmare, possibly, to keep her focused on work and not Paul and me.

Cal and Michelle happily accepted the assignments I gave them and seemed to sympathize with me about being in the direct line of fire for all of Gina Barnes' intensity and inevitable ire. We all knew she was going to be difficult to work for, but I told them I would be their liaison and shield them as best I could, given all my new 'lead' powers. On her list of thirteen research tasks, I took the hardest ones, going through the emails and finances for Janet and Martin. What was I thinking?!

"You look miles away."

I sat up straight as if jolted by electricity passing through the seat of my chair. Holy shit!

"You startled me," I tried to eke out calmly, though I wasn't even close to being calm at the moment.

"Sorry about that. Are you okay?" Paul asked.

"I was ten seconds ago," I flashed a feeble smile that was probably more scowl than a 'Happy to see you' smile.

"I stopped by earlier, but you weren't here; I assumed you'd left for the day."

"Yeah, well, my 8–5 normal schedule just got flipped upside down."

"I heard..."

"Oh, really? What did you hear?" I asked with a raised brow.

He hesitated a moment, "That you're leading a research effort for Gina Barnes."

"You have anything to do with that?" I asked with a little more bite in the question than intended.

Again, Paul hesitated, "Yeah, I might have been in a meeting with Jacob, Gina, Gillian, and a few others. I might have mentioned I thought you would be up for the challenge."

I watched his lips crack the slightest of smiles and lost it.

"Are you kidding me?! Gina Barnes eats Para’s up and spits them out. Three people have quit working here while working for her since I've been here, Paul! What were you thinking? I haven't even been here four months, and I'm directing others and assigning work for this huge, high-profile assignment! I can barely keep up with my regular assignments," my voice trailed off as my complaining ran out of steam.

"You underestimate yourself, Liz. Hell, you were directing me in Phoenix; what's the difference?"

"The difference is we're not in Phoenix, Paul! Gina Barnes, she's a huge difference! Researching data on Janet and Martin for an ethics case? That's a huge, high-profile difference!" I ended my snarky outburst by taking in a long, slow breath.

Actually, if I took the time to think it out a little more, helping find Amber was higher profile, higher stakes, and easily more stressful.

I knew I had been staring him down through all of that spewing I’d just done and sat back, spinning my chair so I could look out into the darkness outside my office window. What the fuck was he trying to do—get me fired? The office was eerily quiet, except every breath I took sounded like roaring in my ears.

I saw movement in the reflection of the office behind me and watched as Paul came over to my side of the desk and sat on it. I'm pissed at you and I'm not talking to you right now! I continued to study the windows of the building across from ours. I didn’t rate a fancy view like the partners in the firm.

"Okay, be pissed at me; don't talk to me, but this is a great opportunity," he paused, "As soon as I mentioned you for this assignment, Jacob was like, 'Gillian, let's make that happen'. I swear, that's exactly what he said. And there were no complaints or weird looks from Gina or the others in the room. Look, you can do this."

When I didn't say anything, he continued, "What assignments did you take from the list Gina gave you?"

Nope, not talking to you right now! Paul tapped the back of my chair.

"Really? The silent treatment," he spun my chair slowly, so I was facing him. "Maybe I can help you? Be your silent team member."

"Look, I'm not... Do you get any of this stress that this just laid on me?"

"I get it, but you run into an obstacle and you figure out how to get around it or over it. You've been doing that for years, Liz; this work is no different."

"I'm reviewing emails and financials. There's probably over one hundred thousand emails for Martin and probably that many for Janet. I've got six days, Paul..." I was looking at his face for a sign of understanding. "That's like," I paused to do the math. "One hundred and forty-four hours." Another pause for math, and after a few seconds, I gave up. "That's over eight thousand minutes at least. How am I going to review all their emails and financial shit by end of day next Monday?" I asked, my voice trailing off with that rhetorical question.

"Where's the file cabinet with all these emails?" he asked.

I shook my head absently, like I hadn't heard his question, "What?"

"Emails, Liz, electronic mail—emails. Those are stored on servers; I can help with that. I've got tools that can scan those two hundred-K emails for key words in a dozen different ways in probably ten minutes. That result set can be sliced and diced in a hundred different ways. As for the financials, where does the firm keep its money records? Not in some book form ledger. On servers and I can help you with that task also."

OK, so I didn't think my assignments out very well, maybe, but don't talk down to me!

I looked out toward the window and said, "Sure, you're my silent team member. When do you want to start?"

"I don't know, but not any time soon. I'm starving; how about dinner? Your treat with that big bonus you…"

My head snapped back toward his, and I blurted out before he could finish his sentence, "And how do you know about that?!"

"Ah, I was part of the conversation with Jacob about the award," he replied sheepishly.

Is he stalking me? He reads my mind, and he knows about all this shit that is going on around me! Augh!

"Really? Then why only five thousand and not ten?" I asked.

"Actually, when Jacob asked about a fair amount, I said a grand; he's the one that pushed it to five thousand," he said with a smile. "You're lucky he doesn't listen to me sometimes."

"So, what was your bonus?"

"Twice yours, but I had Jacob let me add that as a line item on my next invoice, so it will be taxed as regular pay. Save a few bucks that way."

"And you want me to pay for dinner? I think not, Mr. Kline. Let's get out of here."

March 15th, 8:49 p.m.
About this time on any given work night, I would be pulling my comforter over my body and likely sound asleep before the clock hit 9, but I wasn't. Instead, I was sitting in Paul's car in a guest parking spot at my apartment building, wondering if I should ask him to come in. Did I want that? I wouldn't have thought about it if I hadn't, right?

I didn't have the flashiest of furnishings or even live in the nicest of areas. That in itself was a bit embarrassing and concerned me that he might get eyes on my living conditions and think less of me. Luckily I hadn't just lain around all day yesterday after getting back from Phoenix and did spend some time cleaning up the apartment because I had hoped to ask him to come over sometime this week. And here I was nervous and unsure about wanting to do exactly that. Would seeing more of my existence scare him away?

"You know, I've seen your Facebook posts, right?"

I snapped back to the present and I just watched him for a moment. I had posted a few shots of my apartment when I first moved in a year ago. He must have been pretty bored to go through any of my posted photos to get a look at my living conditions. I absolutely should lock down my account more!

"Is there anything you don't know about me?" I asked. In the dim light, I could see he was smiling.

"I'm sure there are a host of things, and I am anxious to learn more, can you blame me?"

"You want to do that tonight?" I had no idea what my mouth was doing and waited for his reaction to the suggestion. He didn't flinch, so he must be game…

"Liz, I'm happy to just be spending time with you. Come in, don't, do lunch tomorrow, dinner... I just want to be in your orbit."

He looked more serious about that than at any other point of our conversations tonight. Up until this point our conversations flowed easily, with topics generally work or Amber related or digging into our own lives a bit. We did end up laughing a lot about nothing and everything not work or Amber related, but now it felt like everything had shifted firmly to the idea of 'us' and the opportunity to push those boundaries if we wanted. That's not a bad thing, right? It’s us progressing whatever this is between us forward and that’s what I wanted, right?

I leaned over and kissed him quickly. His want was clearly returned in that faction of a couple-seconds kiss.

"Okay, come on up, Mr. Kline," I said softly not breaking eye contact.

::: --- :::

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Rachel M. Moore