The Last Man

Chapter 27
RAPP awoke from another slumber to find a new woman sitting at his bedside. There was a similar feeling of recognition, as if they had a common past, a collection of faint memories that he couldn't access but nonetheless were there, just beyond his grasp. There was also something different. With Kennedy the sentiment had been one of safety and familiarity, almost as if they were relatives. With this woman there was an emotion that told him their history was very different from that of being siblings.

Rapp tried to come up with her name. She was in her early to mid thirties, with raven-black hair pulled back in a low, loose ponytail. She had beautiful, dark almond-shaped eyes set atop high cheekbones and a strong jawline. She was all the more stunning because she wasn't wearing any makeup. If Rapp was in love with her or lusted for her it was easy to see why.

His memory had been coming back in chunks, and even though he could not place this woman, he was confident that she meant something more to him than just a casual friend. He feigned familiarity, smiled, and asked, "How are you?"

Sydney Hayek returned the smile and said, "I'm fine. You're the one we're all worried about."

Rapp played it off like it was no big deal. "I'm a little sore, that's all."

"I heard you have some memory issues."

Rapp didn't notice an accent. Her diction was flat, like all the TV anchors. She was probably from the Midwest but she looked as if she'd been born in Amman or Beirut. Michigan popped into his head, giving him the first clue to her identity. "That's what they tell me."

"Well?" she asked in a nonprodding manner.

"Well, what?"

"How's your memory?"

Rapp held up his hand and let it wobble back and forth. "It's a little iffy."

Hayek gave him a suspicious look. "What's my name?"

Rapp smiled. "I know you're from Michigan."

"That's correct."

For reasons that he didn't know at the time and couldn't explain later, he reached out and grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry. I feel like you're important to me. That we've shared something that could be important."

It wasn't easy to see Hayek blush with her smooth olive skin, but she was. Her lips formed a smile that was one part shock and the other part excitement. "We work with each other."

"And I get the feeling there's a little something more to our relationship than just work."

Hayek cleared her throat and laughed. She had sensed the tension between them, but her history of work relationships was so bad that she had ignored it to the best of her ability. That didn't mean, however, that she wasn't attracted to him. She was very much so. To the point where she was worried that it had begun to affect her work. She had even allowed her mind to wonder what it would be like. Rapp was such a dynamic force, volatile but in a very predictable way, that he actually scared her at first. The man across from her now, however, was a new version of Rapp, where all of those walls had been stripped away. For a split second she was tempted to tell him that they were in a committed relationship and then she decided against it.

Instead her juvenile streak took over and she said, "We've been sleeping with each other for the last six months."

Rapp's eyes opened wide. "Really?"

Hayek burst out laughing and, unable to talk because she couldn't stop laughing, she managed to shake her head. Finally after about ten seconds she said, "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. We're coworkers . . . you're my boss."

Rapp looked bummed out. "That sucks."

"I'm sorry." She giggled some more, placed her other hand over Rapp's, and said, "That wasn't very nice of me."

Rapp cracked a smile and asked, "Do you think there's a chance we might be able to?"

Hayek laughed even harder this time and had to cover her mouth. This was so unlike Rapp, she wished she had taped it to show everyone. No, that would be mean, she thought, but it would be fun to show him. "Do they have you on any painkillers?"

Rapp smiled, and his smile gave her the answer to her question. Now it was his turn to clasp her hand in both of his. "Are you sure we never slept together?"