"At the end of the night"

"Let me get this straight; the bastard used the firm's money to travel, for 'business' of course, he handled his own agenda of 'special' privileged clients, with no revenue for the firm, and that is only what you were able to discover so far?" Catherine was fuming.

"You got it all, yep." Gregory added with a smirk. "But our team will dig out more dirt on him, of course."

It wasn't like she didn't expect anything good to come out from their research, but she was still shocked how someone was able to break so many moral values and never get caught.

"Our team uses certain resources to obtain information, usually for some special clients. Nothing illegal, of course, unless we actually authorize them to do so. I wanted to bring this to you before we go any further Cat, because we might need to go there if we want to be ahead of them." Noland said and Catherine looked up at him.

"I understand, and I will take this into serious consideration. You both know that nothing you can get without proof can be held in court..." Catherine finally broke her gaze on him and looked towards Gregory.

"Gregory and I both know about this, and we are well aware of the possible outcomes. We are dealing with very smart people who know the law..." Noland added.

"And they know how to break the law as well..." Gregory finished.

Catherine sighed and closed her eyes; she was more than stressed with the situation and now, she was also upset. Their adversaries were not just any regular people, they were smart and vicious minds who wouldn't hesitate to use any strategy they could to take revenge on them. "I will consider that, too. Thank you." She finally said.

"Ok, that was all we had to present at this time. Any doubts you might have or questions, just let us know, ok?" Gregory said and he got up, ready to head towards the door.

"Thank you Gregory. Noland, may I have a word with you please?" She asked politely.

"Of course, I will see you later Greg." Noland nodded to his friend and sat back.

After Gregory left, Catherine took a deep breath and closed the folder in front of her. She then smiled faintly. "I will have headaches for decades with these people. I don't know what is wrong with them, why are they so focused on destroying my father and the firm..."

Noland felt the need to stand up and go around her desk so he could hold her, but he remained in his place and tried as hard as he could to control himself. "I think you need to inform your uncle about the situation, and if he thinks we should continue, then we go ahead and do it. I personally don't like to be put in that situation where I have to apply any illegal ways, but I have years of experience working for Byron, and he will do whatever it takes to retaliate. I prefer to be safe rather than sorry."

She nodded, turning her chair half way and standing up, then she took the phone and dialed. "Be ready, I want you to explain this to him the best you can." Then she turned the speaker on.

An hour later, Gregory walked in Noland's office and sat in front of him. "So? What was that about?"

Noland perked a brow at his friend. "What was what about?"

"You know well what I am talking about... you and Catherine... Cat... you even call her in a friendlier way now... are you having the hots for her?" Gregory smirked but Noland frowned.

"She is not like that, have a little more respect, will you? We called Felix and asked his opinion. Felix is 100 percent in favor for us to go with the 'extreme' measures needed. Not to say he is really upset and actually considering returning just for this, but we reassured him it wasn't needed for now."

Gregory became more serious. "Ok then, I will call the team."

Noland shook his head. "Tomorrow. We will be probably stuck here for long hours once we start with this. So let them rest, you should too."

"Ok, at first hour tomorrow then." Gregory said as he got up. "Want a beer? My treat."

Noland sighed and decided to take the risk of trusting him. "About that, Gregory. I do have an interest in Catherine..." He began and saw the face of his friend change. "An interest that became impossible to deny to myself after the scene this morning... But she is not like any other women I know, so please... I ask you to be sensitive about your comments around her. I don't even know if we'll ever have anything... Christ, I don't even know if I should or could invite her out ..." He rested his head over the palms of his hands as he was shaking his head.

"For fucks sake Nol... Go for it." Gregory pulled him back into sense, making him look up and straight to him. "I have known you for years, and you have always been a hermit... no one ever, no matter how hot, ever caught your attention... geez I even thought you were gay at one point..." He laughed and Noland laughed with him. "Catherine is a serious deal, she is a great person, I can see that from miles... take the risk if you are going to invite her out, and don't worry about me, I will keep it shut..." He said as he got up, then he winked. "Around her, of course..." And he turned around and laughed his way out.

Noland shook his head and sighed one more time, his friend was right, it had been a long time since he even cared for anyone; much less have the attraction he has now. And he was now not only afraid and scared but also excited to go out with her. She pulled out his protective and caring side.

He waited for five more minutes, then he headed towards her office. Curt was standing outside her door and nodded at him as they exchanged looks. He knocked twice on her door and she opened it, smiling at him and blushing at the same time.

"Hi Noland, Curt, thank you for all. I will leave with him now." Catherine said.

"Have a good night Miss, Sir. See you tomorrow morning at your residence. As usual." Curt said as he made a small bowing gesture and quickly left them alone.

She smiled nervously at him and he offered her his arm. "Are you ready?" He asked her and she nodded, taking his offered arm and following his lead.

"Where are we going?" She asked once in the elevator.

"Well, it is already past 6, so I thought dinner and then, coffee. What do you think?"

She smiled. "It sounds perfect."

They went together to one of his favorite restaurants, a warm and cozy environment surrounded them and for the first time in a long time, Catherine felt relaxed and easy going. She felt nervous at first under his occasional gaze, but then she let go and was able to talk and share stories with him. He was scared and thrilled with how she made him feel alive again.

He had driven them both to the restaurant, and so he was taking her to her home as well. As they traveled, they listened to some music he had mentioned earlier. She reacted to it with excitement. They seemed to like the same kind of music as well.

As they were reaching her destination, she tensed and squeezed his hand. "Ca... can you keep moving? Don't stop please..."

He moved fast and headed to the next block. "What happened?"

"I am 90 percent sure that was Byron's car... I can't believe it!" She tensed and he picked up his phone.

"Greg, Byron is right now at Catherine's house, I am linking you the location... meet you there in half an hour. Make sure you call our guy." He then cut the call and took Catherine's hand in his. "I am going to leave you at my apartment, then I will return to meet them. You will be safe there."

She was angry but suddenly she felt she needed to go back. "I want to go with you. What is going to happen? What are you going to do?"

"I want you to be safe." He squeezed her hand and continued to drive for a few more minutes. Finally he pulled to the side of a two-story building in a quiet neighborhood.

"Noland... I am not sure..." She hesitated.

"Come..." He lived in the second floor, and as soon as he unlocked the door, he let her in. "I know that I am asking you a lot by trusting me, but I beg you to stay here."

She looked at him with concern, and after watching the worry in his eyes she nodded. "Please don't be a hero."

He smiled, and gently kissed her forehead, only to bend a little more and capture her lips. She held her breath as he kissed her, and she didn't hold back by kissing him back. "I will come back as soon as I can..." He breathed after breaking apart. "Can you give me your keys? I want to try something..."

She hesitated briefly, but then gave them to him. "Be safe."

Catherine wanted to be wrong, but she also trusted her eyes and she was much too sure it was Byron near her home. As she was left in an unfamiliar apartment, she ventured to explore the place and know more about Noland. There was a comfortable living room with a dark brown sofa and a coffee table, only two paintings showing a vineyard and a plantation, and then a table with two chairs. The place was simple, ordered and neat, she walked to the only room after the kitchen and smiled as she saw his bed also neatly done. It seemed that he was someone who enjoyed order and discipline. She was happy with her findings. His bedroom had one big window, closed with curtains; only two puffy pillows and a large cover adorned the bed. His bathroom was bigger than expected for an apartment of it's size, and there was a big closet with his clothes in it. A small desk with books and a night lamp on a corner, accompanied by a couch that promised to be comfortable. She smiled as she walked away of the place, not wanting to invade his privacy.

After an hour, she was relaxing more, sitting on the sofa she kept her phone close but didn't dare to make the call. She didn't want to interrupt him in a bad moment, nor putting him in that position. She finally laid her head on the armchair and fell asleep there.

It was 2 in the morning when Noland finally walked in, he walked slowly in the dark, and found her in his sofa with her arms sort of hugging herself. It was a cold night and she was freezing. After thinking for a couple of seconds on what to do, he took her in his arms and gently moved her to his bed. She was cold, and her lips were pale. He sighed and shook his head as he laid her on the right side of the bed and covered her. She released a small moan, one of those you release when asleep and finally finding the perfect comfortable pose. He then walked to his bathroom and took a change of clothing and when he headed to the living room she jumped and gasped.

"No... Noland?" Her trembling voice was a whisper.

"Yes, it's me Cat... relax, I brought you to my room, you were freezing..." He replied in the same tone.

He heard her release a sigh. "I... I can't see you..."

"I am just going to change clothes, I'll be back soon..." He answered.

She was now wide awake, shivering as she was aware of her cold. She sat in his bed and pulled the cover up to her neck as she waited for him. A couple of minutes later, the movement in the bed and his warm hand made her smile. "Are you ok?" She managed to ask.

"I will be fine, don't worry... you should rest." He whispered as he sat to her left and helped her lay back.

"I don't think I can sleep until I know what happened..." She asked with determination.

"We have him, he is in jail... you are safe Cat... now rest... I will tell you all the details in the morning... I promise..." He whispered as his lips brushed her head.

She smiled widely and closed her eyes. "Thank you..." And like this, with his arm leading her to rest, sleep easily came.