Chapter Text
It’s my first day at Sun Hill and to say I’m nervous as hell is an understatement. I have so many different thoughts running through my head as I am sat here in the writing room sorting through paperwork and looking for my notepad, which I accidently left in a case file folder a little earlier in the day thanks to my anxiety levels making me temporarily a nervous wreck.
I am shocked out of my desperate search by a deep male voice coming from the open doorway behind me.
“Who are you then?” the mysterious man asks.
I automatically spin round to look in the direction the voice came from; in my haste I accidently manage to knock a pile of papers off the edge of the desk and onto the floor. Realising what I’ve done, I look down at the mess letting out a small sound of surprise before looking at the owner of the voice I heard and greeting them with an overly nervous, “Hi!”
“You got a problem with your nerves,” the man who I notice has dark hair, chocolate brown eyes and is dressed in an impeccably stylish grey suit rudely comments.
“No,” I reply before deciding to introduce myself properly and hold out my left hand in greeting, “I’m Andrea Dunbar, PC Andrea Dunbar.” I drop my hand when I realise the rude man has no intention of shaking it, “Sir,” I follow up with finally realising that I must have run into the infamous DI Manson, the high-flying Detective Inspector who is intent on climbing the career ladder and will step on anyone who gets in his way, particularly new and extremely nervous PC’s such as myself.
The only way I know he has even heard my words are in the slight nod of his head. Realising the conversation is over; I bend down to start collecting the fallen files. I am more than surprised when after a couple of seconds he steps into the room, bends down beside me and starts helping me to gather up the files, his shoulder pressing lightly against mine sending a bolt of electricity coursing through me.
Shocked at my own instantaneous reaction to the brief touch, especially considering the frosty nature of our initial few words, I look up at him to see that he is looking at me, an unreadable look in his eyes. I feel a pool of heat gather in my stomach. Deciding to try starting another conversation with him, hoping for a better reaction this time I say, “You must be DI Manson then I take it?”
He looks at me closely before saying, “That’s right,” and quickly looking away from me before looking back at me again and then standing up quickly. He puts the pile of papers he has in his hands back onto the edge of the desk.
My eyes follow his every move. It’s only then that I notice PC Kerry Young watching us both, a lopsided smile on her face. He must notice the same thing. The moment between us broken, he takes one last look in my direction before saying, “I’ll leave you to it,” before making his way quickly out of the room.
My eyes follow his progress across the room and out of the door until he is out of my line of sight. I can’t help but mull over the brief encounter; everything I have heard about him being proven both right and wrong within a few short minutes. At first, with the first couple of words spoken between us, I saw the rude, arrogant Detective that I’d heard about, but when he bent down to help me retrieve the papers, I saw past the gruff exterior and noticed that underneath it all, he is a very caring person. I sigh deeply, lost in my thoughts.
I am shocked out of my trance like state when Kerry makes her presence known by saying, “I see you’ve met the boss!” blinking at me in a kind of ‘see what I mean’ gesture.
I let my head fall to the side, a silent message that I have heard and acknowledged her comment.
I put my remaining files on the desk before following Kerry out of the room towards the canteen, intent on grabbing a cup of tea so I can mull over my initial meeting with the DI and replay the scene in my head.
What I can’t understand is my own reaction towards the man. Upon first sight he made me nervous, yet at the same time I felt a slight indescribable attraction towards him. When he bent down beside me to help me pick up the files, my nerves increased but so did my attraction, a feeling that really has no place in this completely innocent first meeting. Up on feeling his arm brush innocently and ever so briefly against mine, I was filled with desire so strong that I can picture us both leaning in and our lips meeting; the look that was in his eyes when I turned to look at him, told me that he also felt some kind of reaction to the touch. Unfortunately he left the room too quickly for me to figure out what emotion was buried just under the surface, hidden in those eyes that remind me of molten chocolate.
Knowing that I need to get that first meeting with the DI out of my mind, I decide to focus on the true reason I’m here at Sun Hill, to uncover evidence of Met corruption and to produce an exclusive article that will really make a name for myself.