Halpern stared at me long and hard. “You wanna clarify that shit?”
I said quietly, “I’m falling in love with Dmitri Teplov. And given the obvious, glaring conflict of interest, I’m respectfully asking for a leave of absence. That is, unless you’re about to fire my ass.”
I thought he was going to yell at me. But instead, Halpern picked up the phone on his desk. He didn’t look at me as he pressed a button and said, “Connect me with Central.”
“Central!” I leapt to my feet and leaned onto his desk. “No! Please don’t call my dad!” I felt like I was ten years old all of a sudden.
He glared at me as he said, “Why not?”
“I want to tell him myself. Please?”
I heard someone pick up on the other end of the line, and Halpern told the receptionist, “Hang on a minute.” He hit the hold button and said, “Sit the fuck down, Jamie.”
“Yes sir.” I sank back onto the chair and folded my hands in my lap.
And he said, “When are you planning to tell him?”
“Soon. I came to you first.”
He stared at me for a long moment, then pushed a button on the phone and said, “I’ll call you back.” He put the handset down before asking me, “Did you know Dmitri Teplov prior to being assigned to this case?”
“No sir.”
“So you met him Friday night for the first time?”
“Yes sir.”
“And you already think you’re in love with him? What the fuck?”
“It just happened, sir.”
Halpern assessed the situation for a long moment. And then he said, “I’m going to give you a number, Jamie. I want you to set up a counseling appointment ASAP.” He started digging through his on-the-verge-of-exploding Rolodex, and then he met my gaze. “And after you call to make the appointment, go see your dad. That’s an order.”
“You’re sending me for counseling? Come on, sir!”
“This isn’t you, Jamie. You’re a good kid. You know better than to get mixed up with the criminal element. I think talking to a counselor will help you get some things sorted out.” Halpern was in full intervention mode now, and I sighed as I stood up.
“I’m not going to counseling, sir.”
“That too, was an order, not a request,” he told me, pushing to his feet and towering over me. Michael Halpern was one of the few men that could make me feel short at six feet tall.
“I’m a little hazy on the rule book here, sir, but I’m pretty sure you can’t order me into counseling for dating someone you don’t like.”
“I’m calling your father.”
“No!”
We had a stare-fight for a long moment, and I blinked first. Halpern was one intimidating son of a bitch.
“Fine,” I relented. “Give me the number.”
He scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to me. And then he said, “So when you leave my office, you’re going straight to Central Station, right?”
“Yes sir. Right after I make that appointment.” And right after pigs fly out of my ass, I added to myself.
“You have one hour. Then I’m calling Ray.” In other words, in one hour he was telling my dad on me.
“Yes sir. And I’m still requesting a leave of absence while I sort this out.”
“I think that’s an excellent idea. Take the week to get your shit together.” He grabbed a form from the shelves beside him and scribbled on it, then handed it to me. “Turn this in to HR. And I’ll expect you back in my office a week from today.”
“Yes sir. Thank you, sir.”
I left his office feeling like an errant child – which was actually how interactions with Halpern usually went. On my way to HR with the leave of absence form tucked under my arm and the counselor’s number deposited in the trash, I pulled out my phone and send Dmitri a quick text: Hi. What are you doing?
His reply was immediate. Daydreaming about how gorgeous you looked when you woke up in my bed this morning.
I grinned at that and shot back: Liar. There’s nothing pretty about eye boogers and morning breath.
Are you still wearing my clothes? I like that, he replied, changing the subject.
I’d had to borrow a couple things, because I’d arrived at his house in nothing but a beach towel. Nope. Went home and changed before coming in to the station. Why do you like me wearing your clothes? I suspected it was the same reason Jess was always harping on me, he probably didn’t like my wardrobe.
Because it shows you’re mine, was his reply. I paused outside the door to HR as a little shiver of pleasure skittered down my back.
And then a second text popped up: What are you doing at the station?
Outing myself for the second time in four months.
His reply: What does that mean?
Four months ago, I came out about being gay. Today I came out about the fact that I’m dating you.