THR33 DIFFERENT WOMEN. Part 47.
It was quite disturbing to discover Leilani had his life history stored on her computer. Especially given there were things on it he hadn't known about, as he discovered later. Marie had done a very thorough job it seemed. If he had any sense at all he'd have bailed out at this point. She'd had him investigated. On top of an already pretty comprehensive investigation, which took place before he'd been hired. Leilani was his boss in a way. So was Tianni, but that was different. Instead of walking away, he took the seat opposite his visitor. She glanced at the chair next to her, suggesting she thought he'd sit there. This woman was already well ahead of him on getting to know each other. Telling her who she was seemed a daunting project, in these circumstances.
This wasn't some existential crisis though. The type where a bored westerner had a gap year to explore other cultures and find themselves. This was a person whose world had been torn to pieces, struggling to find her place among the ruins. Besides that he liked her. Hopefully that wasn't anything to do with her being by far the most attractive woman he'd ever seen in the flesh. Surely he wasn't that shallow? Of course he was. Like every other heterosexual man he'd done ridiculous things simply so he could spend time with a beautiful woman. In this case though he wasn't trying to get her into bed. That ship had already sailed a few times.
"What do you know about me?" He asked with a mild tremor in his voice.
"If you sit next to me you could read it. Miss Gagne really knows her business, doesn't she."
"I'm more concerned about her knowing my business. Does she know about this as well?" He asked, pointing at the two of them.
"Oh yes. She's really helped me come to terms with things. Miss Boyle was quite good as well. Why haven't you got a wife or a girlfriend?"
"Is that not in the files? Or are you trying to trick me?"
A small smile lit up her face as she studied the screen before her.
"She's an investigative analyst, not a magician. I've got a partial list. It's quite long."
"What do you mean, quite long?"
"Well considering I'm the only one you've humped since before you returned home after leaving the Legion. That is unless you've been banging Sophie. Have you?"
Jay was stuck between being offended and being defensive. Neither one of which would get him anywhere with this lady. Who was remarkably similar to the one Tianni had described to him.
"If I said no, would you believe me?"
"Yes I would. Your bio says you're quite honest and I've come to trust you."
"What? How... Why would you..."
"I've read your file. From the day you joined the Foreign Legion you had half your salary sent to Sophie. You still do. That's why I thought you might be sleeping with her. What about this Liz woman?"
He had to draw a line somewhere, even though he was trying to help. Jay still couldn't decide if it was himself he was helping.
"When we've done my sexual history, do we move on to yours?"
He wished she wouldn't keep looking at him with those eyes. They did things to his equilibrium.
"If you want. My list is a lot shorter, so it won't take long. Despite what the gossip magazines say. I've had sex with a grand total of 7 men. I've done other stuff with a lot more, but not intercourse. My first time was..."
"No!" He snapped.
"You don't want me to talk about my previous sexual partners?"
"Not really, but I meant I haven't had sex with Liz. Can we move onto a different subject now? Hobbies or interests or something? What is this all about anyway?"
"I want you to help me find out who I am. Like you helped Tianni and my daddy. You showed them who they really were. You made them happy."
"No I didn't. All I did was say shit and hope it turned out okay. I'm no psychologist. I doubt I could spell the word."
Her big brown eyes scanned the screen.
"Says here you had a 3.8 out of 4.0 average. Did your friend Dale hack into the system and change it?"
They were fencing. That's the only way he could describe this. He wasn't losing exactly, but she had the better weapon and technique. So all he was doing was fending her off. There was no comparison between the woman here with him and the one he'd seen before. They might look the same, but they were completely different. It went back and forth between them until dinner time. When Leilani decided she'd leave. She was tired. Though it might not seem like it, she was shy, socially uncertain in most situations. Being with him had taken a lot of energy on her part. Jay felt he'd gone a few rounds with a heavyweight boxer, so he understood. She shook his hand when they parted, then looked sheepish. For a millisecond it looked like she was going to hug him, perhaps kiss his cheek. But then she spun on her heels and scurried away. Walking quickly. Damn that was a nice ass.
This wasn't the result of some dating app though. The amorous part was in the past. Now they were getting acquainted. Which was ass backwards, but he'd had a few of that sort of relationship. Actually, why didn't he have a wife or girlfriend? There was no shortage of young beautiful women on the island. He'd flirted with a few of them. Innocently, at least as far as he was concerned. He was 100% certain the reason was him. The sheer number of women on the planet made that clear. He'd been engaged for Christ's sake. Not for very long and they'd never consummated anything really. Looking back he was glad. Kelly didn't look like she'd be any good in bed. She'd just lie there and expect him to do all the work. Right, he would have to get his mind off the subject before he tied himself up in knots. Even if he was doomed to remain a bachelor all his life, he'd still have Sophie.
There was still no sign of Miles and Lev. Wherever they were it surely wasn't on this island. Maybe one for the many others. It was entirely possible whoever was funding the attacks on Palau and his family had some kind of hidden base out there. Marie Gagne might have one as well. Jay certainly wouldn't put it beyond her. Now he was wishing he'd taken a copy of that information Leilani had on him. Maybe he'd get one tomorrow, if he remembered. Now that he was thinking about it, he wasn't sure there'd be a tomorrow as far as Leilani was concerned. She hadn't stated she'd be coming back. If she did would it be in the middle of the night and naked?
His relief when she turned up at the same time, bothered him. She wasn't as nervous as the first time, neither was he. They talked about his adopted family first. He showed her pictures of all of them including the twins, who didn't really have personalities yet. Jay suggested Leilani join him in a video call home. The way she reacted told him quite a lot. They wouldn't like her. She wasn't very good at meeting new people. Sophie would see right through any facade she hid behind. Know this woman was unworthy of her little brother. Some good came of it. Once he'd reassured her he wouldn't push it or sneakily have Sophie watch them via the webcam, Leilani opened up about her family.
Living in the shadow of her older sister. The important one, being groomed and tutored to take her place as the ruler of Tuvah. Far smarter than Leilani, much prettier. There weren't enough superlatives to describe this princess. She'd loved her older sibling. Understood the distance that grew between them after her sister started her duties. Full of a self confidence Leilani could only dream of. She didn't envy Chani. Her sisters life was public property, Her every action scrutinized. Even more than hers had been, while she partied her way around the worlds hot spots. Rubbing shoulders with real royalty. As in hugely wealthy and historic. That was one of the reasons she'd run away. Frightened of what she'd have to do. Soon after the deaths of Chani and her husband, it had been made clear she'd have to step into those shoes. Ones she knew she'd trip over in.
The discovery of all those minerals had made the job larger. Chani delivered speeches. Represented her father and the new nation of Tuvah. She was a credit to both of them. Doing what she'd been trained to do since birth. Leilani was merely a late replacement. Jay was prepared to believe all of this, apart from her sister being better looking. Then he saw some pictures. You could tell they were sisters and reluctantly he had to admit Chani was even more beautiful. Jay cold tell this was dampening the mood, so they moved back onto him. He told her about his unorthodox childhood. How his father had died, after which his mother set off on her travels. He thought that might be why he was always so nomadic.
She was genuinely interested in his boring history. All the more unexpected given the extensive biography Marie had written. Including the fact he had warrants out against him in several states and that the CIA and HLS wanted to interview him. Facts Jay hadn't known until now. It was something that needed to be sorted out when he got back home. The only reason he hadn't come up as a person of interest on his travels was because of his French passport and new name. When his original documents had been issued, they hadn't yet been using biometric data. He wasn't keen on the idea of SWAT teams turning up at the cabin to haul him in. Although Jacob would have absolutely loved it.
By their fifth evening together things had changed. She wasn't finding being with him as exhausting. They had little jokes about things. The same kind of rapport he was jealous about between Rory and Tianni. He told her he would cook dinner for both of them. It would be simple fare. No need for formal attire. He'd pictured her turning up in one of those gowns from the gossip websites. Once he'd told her that, his panic mode activated. That stew he was famous for, among his immediate family and friends, wouldn't do. He needed some help here. Best not to aim for anything too extravagant. Simple fare, with ingredients he could find on the island.