The Flower Spotter

Not being able to wait anymore, I place my hand on the door knob and finally step inside. I'm incredible nervous, but there's no way I'd turn back now. Not when there's a chance I could get closer to getting Violet back.

The first thing I see when I open the door is Helen sitting at her desk. She immediately stops her conversation and turns to look at me, a soft smile forming on her face as she does so.

"Ah, Mr. Anderson. I'm glad you could join us. I hope you'll excuse me for exchanging a few words with our guest before you arrived. But don't worry, you haven't missed anything. Perhaps the two of you would like to introduce yourselves before we begin properly?" She suggests.

Helen shifts her gaze between me and another figure standing in the room. I close the door behind me and walk further into the room, getting a better look at the other person. As I get closer, I realize that something about them is vaguely familiar. I just can't put my finger on what it is.

Suddenly, a memory flashes in my mind. Isn't that...?

"Book Girl!"

"Is that what you guys have been calling me?" The brunette asks with a chuckle. "I guess I'll take it. You're Violet's boyfriend, right? When Ms. Sanders mentioned that another person wanted to come to this meeting, I was wondering if it might be you."

Looks like Book Girl is pretty observant. I suppose "Book Girl" wouldn't be a very good nickname for someone who wasn't smart, even if that has basically nothing to do with why I started calling her that.

"Actually, I was hoping it would be you stopping by. There's something I've been wanting to tell you..." Book Girl adds with a bit of nervousness. I raise an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue. "It's about that day I met you and Violet. I... I don't want to do anything to hurt your relationship, but I feel like you have the right to know that-"

"That she convinced you to lick her pussy in the middle of the library?" I interrupt.

"Y-you knew?"

"Of course. We tell each other everything. At least, we did before she disappeared. That's part of the reason why I'm so worried about her," I explain.

"And you're not upset that she... uh... cheated on you?" Book Girl asks.

"Cheated? Please. That's just how Violet is. As long as we communicate with each other, we're pretty open with our relationship." That's a bit of an understatement, but it's about as much as I'm willing to share with this woman.

"Oh... Well that makes me feel a lot better actually..." Book Girl admits.

"I hate to interrupt, but since it's clear that the two of you are already at least somewhat familiar with one another, perhaps we should begin our discussion," Helen jumps in.

"Right," Book Girl and I say in unison.

I'll admit, I'm feeling a lot more confident about this meeting now that I know that Book Girl is the one we're talking to. For one thing, she actually knows who Violet is, so that ensures that we're all on the same page about what she looks like. I'd hate for all this effort to go to waste just because some stranger confused someone else for Violet. It also helps that Book Girl seems to have a decent head on her shoulders, so I'm much more willing to trust what she tells us.

"Okay, let's start simple: when did you run into Violet?" Helen asks.

"Saturday morning. I want to say it was some time between 8 and 9," Book Girl quickly answers.

"Makes sense. Bianca said that was when Violet left the apartment," I add. "Where were you when you saw her?"

"I was riding the bus to visit a friend across town. I was surprised to see her when she got on. I had been hoping to talk to her again ever since we... uh... you know..."

"You wanted another chance to have some fun with her?" Helen presses with a coy smirk.

Book Girl's cheeks become a little rosy as she starts to stumble over her words. I'm actually a bit surprised that Helen would make a joke like that around someone outside of the harem. I guess even talking about Violet brings it out of her.

"Ignore her. She's just messing with you," I interject. "You mentioned wanting to talk to her. Did you?"

"No. My nerves kind of got the best of me. I had never experienced anything like what I did with her last week. I didn't know how to bring it up to her. And besides, she didn't seem like she was in the mood to talk anyway," she explains.

Again, that lines up with what Bianca told me. Apparently she hadn't been acting like herself for a few days leading up to her disappearance.

"And you're absolutely positive that it was Violet Garcia?" Helen clarifies. I don't think I have much doubt about that at this point, but I guess it can't hurt to ask.

"I'm sure. I don't think I could ever forget what she looked like. Let's just say that I'm pretty sure she helped me... learn things I didn't know about myself... though I suppose that's neither here nor there," Book Girl replies.

Dang, Violet. I think you may have turned this girl gay...

"Do you by any chance remember where Violet got off of the bus?" Helen asks.

After taking a few seconds to think, Book Girl names one of the stops on the bus route. It's way past where I usually get on and off, but I've taken the public transportation in this town long enough to still recognize the name. Immediately, Helen begins typing away at her computer. I can tell she's in the zone, so I just quietly wait for her to sort out whatever it is she's doing.

"So... do you really think anything I said will be helpful?" Book Girl asks me timidly.

"Oh, I'm sure. You did a great job. I don't know what we would have done without you," I assure her.

"That's a relief. When I heard that Violet had gone missing, I couldn't believe it. I wanted to do whatever I could to help you guys find her," she states firmly. She then noticeably loosens up and looks away in slight embarrassment. "I know I shouldn't say this in front of her boyfriend, but I still want a chance to see her again..."

"I already told you: it's fine. None of that bothers me. If Violet likes you and wants to hang out with you, I have no problem with that."

If Book Girl knew about just how unorthodox our love life is, she would probably understand why I'm not worried about her seeing my girlfriend. Then again, knowing the truth might just scare the poor girl off. Either way, it's probably best to just leave out all the details.

"Fascinating..." Helen utters from behind her computer screen.

"Did you find something?" I ask while turning my head to the blonde woman's desk.

"I believe so," Helen answers before turning to look at Book Girl. "I hate to kick you out, but do you think that Mr. Anderson and I could speak alone?"

"Oh, uh, of course. If that's what you need. It's probably about time I got going anyway," Book Girl tells us as she begins to gather her stuff.

Helen gets up from her desk and walks over to Book Girl, extending her hand to the young woman. The two shake as they say goodbye.

"You'll let me know what happens, won't you?" Book Girl poses, clearly for a positive response.

"Absolutely. We owe you at least that much," Helen answers, then looks over at me. "Mr. Anderson? Is there anything else you'd like to do before our guest leaves?"

I think about it for a moment.

"No, I'm alright. Thank you for everything," I say.

"Anything I can do to help."

And with that, Book Girl leaves the office. I wish we could give her more information about what we think is going on, but I understand why Helen would prefer to talk about that stuff alone.

"You didn't use the remote on her," Helen points out. She didn't phrase it like a question, but I can tell she's a bit surprised.

"Nah. Didn't seem like the right move. And I already have more than enough to juggle as is right now," I explain to her.

Helen doesn't say anything, but she does seem to take a moment to consider my words. Whether she's proud of me for my restraint, baffled by what she thinks is an obvious mistake, or something else entirely is unclear. Whatever's going on in that mind of hers, she soon puts it aside and goes back to her desk and turns to her computer monitor.

"There aren't a ton of residential buildings around the stop Violet got off the bus. If we assume that Skye instructed her to get off at the closest stop to her apartment, then that drastically reduces the number of possible options," she tells me.

"Can we really assume that?"

"I don't think you need to be that paranoid, Sir. The remote made Skye a dominatrix, not an omniscient genius. She has no way of knowing that someone would recognize Violet on the bus, make specific note of where she got off, and come tell us days after the fact."

"I guess you have a point..." I admit.

"Alright, grab a pen and paper and I'll read off the list of addresses."

Once I have everything written out, it really does seem like a less daunting task. Just like Helen said, there aren't that many addresses on this list. Could Violet really be at one of these places? I can once again start to feel my pulse rise as I realize just how close we are.

"Okay! Now we have what we need! Let's go get Violet!"

"Hold on a second, Sir..." Helen stops me.

I don't know that I've ever felt such a whiplash of emotions as I did before and after that short phrase.

"No. No, no, no... Come on, Helen! You can't seriously tell me we're still not ready!" I argue.

"Matt... You know why I'm telling you this. We need to have a plan. If we just rush into each building, one after another, we're just going to make things worse. Please, just give me a little more time to figure everything out. I promise that we'll save her. You just have to hold out a bit longer."

She's right. I know Helen is right. She always is. So then why do I have such a hard time excepting what she's telling me this time around? I've been trying my best to follow her advice and focus on the other women these past few days, and for the most part, I think I've been doing a good job, but in the back of my mind, I can never stop thinking of Violet. Even in the moments of relaxation or happiness, part of me wonders if I really deserve to be in a good mood while she could still be in danger. I don't know exactly what is happening to her, but just the thought of it makes me... makes me...

Suddenly, I feel a pair of arms wrap around me and pull me into a tight hug. A feeling of warmth presses into me, forcing my body to decompress slightly. My eyes remain unfocused as I hear the soft sounds of someone breathing in my ear.

"I know how you feel, Matt. I know you want to do something. I know you've wanted to do something for a long time," I hear Helen's voice whisper. "Do you really think the only reason I suggested you focus on finishing everyone's attributes was just to finish the harem? Of course not. I could tell you were getting too stressed out over all of this. You needed something to distract you, to take your mind off things. As your assistant, it's my job to fulfill your needs. That's why I wanted to bare the burden of this investigation. So please... let me do this for you..."

I take a deep breath. Then another. Then a few more. I just quietly breath as Helen holds me close. Eventually, I can feel myself start to come back down. I'm still thinking about Violet, but it's no longer unbearable. I lift my arms and return my assistant's hug.

"Thank you, Helen," is all I say.

"In case you haven't noticed, a lot of women have come to care quite a lot about you recently, myself and Violet included. If you're willing to believe in us as much as we believe in you, I'm sure everything will work out in the end..."

It's a bit sappy, but it's what I needed to hear. What would I ever do without Helen? I spend the next few minutes just trying to keep calm. After some time passes, I feel much better. Much more like myself. Looking back on it, Helen's words make a lot of sense. I wouldn't be of any use in that kind of state. Who knows what would happen if I tried to bust down every door I saw to try and find Violet? And her method of distracting me certainly was effective. Even if Violet was always in the back of my head, that's better than her being all I can think about while I mope around and get nothing accomplished.

Just as everything goes back to normal, there's a knock at the door. I look at Helen, only for her to shrug. She tells whoever it is to come in, only for a familiar looking girl with breasts the size of watermelons to step inside.

"Uh... hello, Ms. Sanders... oh, and you're here too, Matt... Is this a bad time?"