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guy & spy

—

"OUCH!"

That was the man who said that, the one who I hit with a rock. I instinctively winced at the sound, although I had no idea why I felt pity for him. He was raiding my boss' garbage cans in the dead of night, he was wearing all black like a robber, and he scared the hell out of me. I thought I was in my right mind to throw the rock at him in self defense.

But looking at him now, he seemed a bit less hostile and imposing. This was largely due to the fact that he was rubbing the area of impact and cursing under his breath like a sailor. Right now, he just looked absolutely ridiculous and I couldn't help but feel bad for him.

"Mother of god!" He yelled, throwing his hands up in the air and flailing them in disbelief. "I'm bleeding! I got hit with a rock and now I'm actually bleeding!"

I rolled my eyes at how he was acting right now. Because he was being a complete, utter idiot for a common thief.

"Quiet down, man," I said, coming up to him now that I knew he was basically harmless. "You don't want them to hear you, do they?"

He groaned and shook his head.

"Now that I have you here, I have some questions." I was expecting some protest on his end, but all he did was shrug defeatedly. "One of them is what the hell do you think you're doing, sir?"

He sighed, pressing a hand to his forehead. "Digging. That's all you need to know. Now just let me go and don't tell your family that you saw me here and — I don't know, I'll give you a candy bar or something tomorrow. You're Sadie, right?"

I looked at him, puzzled. Sadie was beautiful, in every sense of the word, but she was also a child and I was a grown woman who didn't exactly think that being confused for a young girl was that much of a compliment. At least not when some guy who was digging through a trash can thinks it's your trash can and is trying to apologize and not even in a flirtatious "I thought you were her sister" way.

"No, I'm Marilyn Finley, I'm the maid," I said. "That's definitely not my family in there."

All that was visible of his face were his two bright eyes and his mouth, but he blinked in surprised and his mouth hung agape, basically utilizing every weapon he had in his arsenal to show me how excited he was to hear that.

"This works perfectly, actually," he said, his voice raising again so I shushed him. "Okay, think about this: if you help me out, I'll tell you what I'm doing here."

"Whatever you're doing seems like there's a high risk of you getting murdered, so I think I'm fine," I said.

"Maybe," he said, "but maybe not. What I'm doing is getting justice for those who deserve it. The little guys, the underdogs, the unsung heroes."

I sighed, unsure of what to even make if this situation anymore. "Listing three synonyms in a row really doesn't drive your point home unless I know what you're talking about. So that's still a no, unless I know exactly what you're doing and what you want me to be doing."

"Fine," he said with a grunt. Reaching to his face, he gripped the edge of his mask, pulling it over his head, a bundle of messy dark brown hair spilling out as he did. It was safe to say that, despite the gash I had caused on his face that was lightly caked with blood and fuzzy stuff from the inside of his ski mask, he was quite handsome. Tousled dark brown hair that he pushed back from out of his face with his hand, aqua blue eyes, in fact I'd say he's very much a stunner. If I felt bad for hitting him with a rock then, I surely felt bad about it now.

"Wow, I really got you bad, didn't I," I asked remorsefully.

"Yeah," he said, although he seemed a bit more humored now, "you really did."

We held eye contact for some invariable amount of time, for I was at a loss for words. I had hit a beautiful, yet insufferable guy who I may never see again in the face. It was completely justified, but it still felt wrong. Way to go for first impressions, Marilyn.

"Anyway," he continued, "while it does look like it and I can definitely pull off a sexy kind of delinquent look — just putting that out there, Marilyn — I'm not a crook like you may think I am right now. In fact, I am a man of the law actually, a lawyer."

"So what are you doing in the Gates' family's backyard?" I frowned.

The man smirked and I could tell that it was a look that'd haunt me for a long time to come. Just the sight of him standing there in the night with that mischievous grin on his face, it was a scene for the ages really. I could tell that whatever he said would change everything.

"I'm investigating the family," he said, "They're being accused of embezzlement, but the case is going to be thrown out if I can't find hard evidence. Bank statements, receipts, employee records anything that could take this to court. Everyone else doesn't think we can win against a big company like theirs, but I have faith in this case. And that's where you come in. I need you, the maid, to be my informant. My eyes on the inside."

"What? That's crazy!" I couldn't believe it. Yeah, the Gates were bad people, but embezzlement was too far. I mean, I was just the maid who was trying to pay off her student loans, I didn't know much or anything about the company. I just assumed that they'd at least run it ethically, because they had children and they want the best for them. But I guess the same reasoning could apply to the opposite.

Either way, another big factor stood in the way.

"These are my employers, though, how am I going to get paid," I half-asked, half-whined. "Like on the off-chance that this is true and they get locked up, and have to pay back the people they embezzled, then what do I do? Just find another job, as if it's that easy?"

"If you work with the firm on this case, we have plenty of contacts we can refer you to for employment," he said calmly. "Besides, any information that we uncover that somehow paints you as an accomplice is thrown out, because we're prepared to offer you full immunity."

I blushed. Now that there was no excuse for me to back out and there was an ethical dilemma I couldn't avoid. If I didn't help this lawyer, then people who's money was possibly stolen wouldn't get any justice. It was ugly, but impossible to ignore now.

I stretched out my hand to him with a groan. "I guess I don't have a choice now, do I?"

The lawyer shrugged, but took my hand in his. "I like to think we all have choices, Marilyn."

"Okay then, remember that when I choose to throw another rock at you," I said. "You still haven't told me your name."

"It's Burke," he said, and while for a second I thought it was his first name, the tone of his voice told me that he was trying to do a James Bond introduction, which I rolled my eyes to prepare for. "Teddy Burke."

With that, he let go of my hand, pulling his mask back into his head again. He was about to head off when he turned around, pulling his phone from out of his pocket. "Hey, do you mind putting your phone number in here? Just so I can get in touch with you if I need to. Like if you've discovered something interesting and you need to send me a text in case it gets destroyed later, or like if they're onto you and you need a getaway car—"

"I get the drift, man," I said, taking the phone from his hand and programming my number into it. As much as I was playing hardball right now, what he said raised an interesting concern. What if my cover was blown? What if they found out that I was playing informant in hopes to strengthen a lawyer's case to get them fired? I felt uneasy thinking about all the ways people who had money dealt with their problems in this world, but I didn't want to show Teddy my concerns. He seemed so thrilled, him sitting here and thinking that this was a step in the right direction. A step towards justice. All of his eggs were in my basket, so I surely hoped so.

When I was done, I pressed the call button, feeling my own phone vibrate in my pocket. He looked a bit upset, as if he were hoping that I would give him my phone so he could do it himself. I just didn't feel like I was on that level with him yet, though.

"Alright then," I said, handing his phone back to him. "I guess I hope you have a good night."

"You guess I have a good night, Marilyn?" There was something about the sound of my name on his tongue that ran a shiver down my spine, a rush of something so quick and fleeting that I couldn't place it. But even if I could, I knew I wouldn't like it. "Well, I want you to have a good night. I really hope so. Because you seem like a great person and I'm so glad to hear that you're helping me do the right thing."

I nodded, unsure of what to say after that. There was just something about him, something so magnetic yet repulsive about that casual and happy-go-lucky attitude. I guess my feelings were in a mess tonight. "You too," I said awkwardly and it came out as more of a question than a statement.

But he took it in stride, just as I expected him to. He flashed me a smile before heading off down the dark alley, making me wonder where he was going and if he had a car to get to and fro. It was too late to ask, though, for he slipped away into the night, just like that.

And I was still there, and I still had to take the garbage out. I groaned. This was honestly one hell of a night.

—

WHEN I GOT inside, Selena Gates was all dressed and ready finally. She must've changed outfits twice before going back to the one she originally had on like she usually did, because I had been outside with Teddy for about fifteen minutes and she just needed to fix the pearl necklace. I would've offered to do it for her, but she was just too stubborn to let me help her and she didn't trust me with her pearls, oh god no. Not even to clean them for Sunday Mass.

"Marilyn," Selena said when she saw me walk into the kitchen. "I need you to watch the kids again tonight. I'll pay you extra, of course, but not as much as the last time, because you really let me down."

I sighed, remembering what had happened. Sadie had one of her friends over, and she had dared Jacob to eat one of Jack's whole crayons if she showed him her bra, and the idiot actually did it. He got to see the bra at least, but he also got to see me rush him to the emergency room like a bat out of hell. The things I've done for this woman's kids.

"It won't happen again, ma'am," I said, making my way to the couch and plopping down on it.

Selena finally left after that, meaning I could kick my feet up and relax for just a few seconds until the kids realized I was back in the house, but that was enough time. Because my daydreams were haunted by Teddy Burke and scandalous accusations and I was having difficulty coming to terms with both. I hated working for this family, and selling them out would give me a chance to explore the other options that Teddy had lined up for me.

But with everything that happened to my family, I didn't know if I could bear to see another one fall apart.