“I like this one. She’s got nerve,” he said, nodding at Maddy.
Rosenberg got up and, without saying another word, waddled back out into the hall, his assistant by his side. His laugher trailed behind him like an eerie echo until it was lost in the general murmur of the office.
“You OK?” Mark asked.
Maddy nodded, but Rosenberg’s presence still lingered in the room, and in her mind.
The final two Protections were a couple in their thirties; the husband had started a popular website, and the wife did a lot of human charity work. They’d just bought their third house.
They were polite enough, and happy to have Maddy as their Guardian, but just like the others, they were rich and entitled.
Maddy felt their frequencies quickly, and after exchanging a bit of chit-chat, they left quietly, thanking her for her time.
Max came in with a printout of the list of all her Protections, along with their contact information, background, et cetera. Maddy felt kind of strange looking at it. Like there was something she was forgetting, and couldn’t remember.
“Max?” Maddy asked as he picked Mark’s empty water glass off the conference table.
Mark’s assistant looked at her expectantly.
“Have you had any word on the status of the Protection charity programmes I wanted to start for the disadvantaged? Jacks was going to have Mark present it to the Archangels?”
“Oh, we’re definitely working on that, don’t worry, Maddy,” Max said, smiling. “Can I fill you up there?” He poured her some more sparkling water. “It’s definitely one of Mark’s big priorities right now. But, as you know, anything involving Guardians and Protections also involves lawyers. We just need to make sure that we’re not infringing on anyone’s contracts and that every i is dotted. You know how these things go. They just take time.” He smiled even wider.
“I actually don’t know,” Maddy said. “But if you say it’s happening. . .”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. It’s definitely one of Mark’s big priorities right now,” Max repeated. “Should I call down so your car’s waiting?”
Maddy was absent-mindedly looking out of the window again, watching the people on the street.
“No, it’s OK,” she said. “I think I want to go for a walk.”
Downstairs she wandered towards the front door of the building, passing the sandwich chain café that was inside the lobby. She thought she recognized someone and paused. Inside the café, Jeffrey Rosenberg’s young assistant was at the head of the line, digging in her wallet for enough money to pay. After a minute she shook her head, blushing, and pushed the sandwich back at the cashier before walking towards the exit, head down.
Maddy felt a cold sensation settle over her body at the sign of the girl’s tightened straits. Suddenly, in total clarity, Senator Linden’s conversation with her at the diner came into her mind. How he believed she would never be able to reform the Angels from the inside. And how she had felt this morning as she’d looked her wealthy Protections in the eye.
She swivelled. The clack of her heels resounded across the lobby as she walked to take the elevators downstairs to her car.
She drove fast, maybe even recklessly, to Jacks’s house, who she knew would be home by now after his scheduled session at the Angel doctors. Chloe was in the living room watching TV when Maddy entered the house with the keys Jacks had given her. Jacks was in the kitchen, making a turkey sandwich.
Chloe’s eyes took in Maddy’s suit. “You look amazing in that, Maddy. Nice choice!”
Maddy tried to smile at her but found she couldn’t. She walked towards Jacks.
“Hey, I wasn’t expecting you ’til later. You done at the NAS already?” Jacks seemed caught off-guard in some way.
“Jacks, you told me things were going to change,” Maddy said.
“What?” Jacks looked over and saw Chloe surreptitiously trying to eavesdrop from the living room. He opened a sliding glass door to the deck, and they walked outside. Jacks slid the door closed so that they had privacy. It was a blustery day, and wind whipped their clothes in gusts as they stood outside on the deck overlooking the canyon.
“Maddy, what’s wrong?”
“My Protections. It’s all the same as it has always been. I know it takes time to bring progress,” she said. “But I was supposed to change it. And nothing has changed.”
“Maddy, calm down,” Jacks said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Now what happened?”
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“Nothing. . .” Maddy said. “I mean, nothing, but everything. You should’ve seen him, Jacks. He was so . . . smug.”