Chapter Text
It was Valentine’s Day when Andy got the first letter.
It was left in the letter tray on her desk that morning, in an envelope elegantly addressed to her. The letter itself was written in looping handwriting that was half cursive, on beautiful pearl-grey stationary. It was scented with rose perfume that seemed vaguely familiar, like she’d smelled it in the office before, or at a party a long time ago, or maybe a wedding…
She took it out of the envelope yet again, sniffed the note card, like this time it would give her some hint as to who the sender was, and read the words again:
Andromache,I can hardly believe your mail tray isn’t overflowing with Valentine’s letters! A woman such as you, so successful and beautiful and good, deserves countless admirers. Selfishly I’m glad you don’t, because it means you’ll only be focusing on my letter, and the attention of your sharp eyes, either on myself or on my work, is a privilege.
I hope you will appreciate the mystery of having a secret admirer! Maybe you’ll even discover who I am? I’m sure your brilliant mind is already working to find the answer.
All the best, dearest Andromache, and I hope you’ll enjoy my gift to you…
- Yours in Black Lace
Whoever the writer was, they had a way with words. Andy usually didn’t like Valentine’s Day, but she loved the idea of someone mysterious wooing her from afar like this. The letter hadn’t come with a gift, however, and Andy wondered if that meant there was more to come.
She was sure it had to be from someone at the office. The Old Guard Private Investigators occupied only half a floor of the office building, so it could very well be someone from the office next to them. Or maybe even someone else in another part of the building.
“Andy, did you order food?” Joe al-Kaysani’s voice broke her out of her thoughts. She looked around to see him holding a small pink box that Andy immediately recognized from her favorite bakery, The Labrys.
“What? No,” Andy said, confused, and then as soon as she spoke, she remembered the end of the anonymous letter: enjoy my gift…
“Ooh, did someone get you something for Valentine’s Day?” Joe waggled his eyebrows teasingly, and Andy laughed. He’d tease her to no end if he knew the truth.
“Just give it to me, let me see if it says who it’s from. I’d never say ‘no’ if somebody buys me something from The Labrys.”
When he handed the little box over, Andy saw it had a sticker of The Labrys’ logo, a double-sided axe, to seal it on the top. Opening it revealed two pieces of baklava, Andy’s absolute favorite bakery item that she treated herself to occasionally, and that The Labrys made very well. They made different kinds of baklava every few months that she looked forward to trying, and these looked to be the newest. Both of them looked like traditional Algerian baklava—she immediately recognized the smell of sweet orange blossom water in one of them, and the other was covered in honey.
There was also a piece of paper on top that was scrawled with the words “Happy Valentine’s Day! XXX”
Nothing else. No name, no hints to who it was from.
“So it is a Valentine’s present,” Joe grinned, looking at the box over her shoulder. “Who’s it from?”
She hesitated a moment, turning the note over to look at the back. “That is none of your business, Yusuf,” she said finally, and Joe raised an eyebrow.
“Well fine.” He turned to leave, then called back, “Me and Nicky are invited to the wedding right?”
Andy laughed, then heard Joe’s echoing laugh as he left her cubicle. A few people glanced over at them; she noticed one of the more recent additions to the team, a woman who’d had glowing recommendations from the previous private investigation agency she’d worked at, looking at her in curiosity and a strange kind of interest. She was partnered with Lykon Athanides, so she and Andy hadn’t worked together since she’d started at The Old Guard beyond showing her around and giving her a feel for how their team worked. Andy thought her name was Quỳnh. Ngô Thanh Quỳnh.
The second letter came a week later, just as mysterious as the first.
Andy was the first one in the office that day, before her favorite coffee shop was even open, unable to sleep any longer. They’d gotten a new case a few days ago that had something to do with drug smuggling, but it didn’t feel quite right to Andy. Lykon and Quỳnh were looking into it, and Lykon had given her a few updates on it. In his most recent update, he’d told her that one of the smugglers was someone Andy had questioned in relation to a recent kidnapping case.
When Andy got to her desk, there was a square-shaped grey note card in an envelope, identical to the previous one, waiting in her inbox tray. Instinctively, she glanced around, and she noticed a few people in the other office that The Old Guard shared a floor with, but Andy and the rest of the investigators at the firm were the only ones with keys to their own office. She supposed one of them could have snuck in late yesterday and put it there; she knew Quỳnh and Lykon, at least, had worked late, so the office doors would still be open.
She picked up the envelope and ran her fingers over the inscription of her own name—this time with a few small roses drawn around it—and carefully opened it. The card was scented with rose perfume, just like the last one, and she grinned softly and sat down at her desk to read it, heart thumping in anticipation, tiredness forgotten.
Andromache,As I’m writing this, you just left the building for the day—early, for once, as you deserve—and I hope you’ll find this early Friday morning. Did you like the baklava from last week? I hope you went home and took your time to enjoy them, my dear.
You work so hard to lead this agency, and I hope you know how to relax when you’re not at the office. Did you know, I’m very good at massages. I would gladly rub your strong shoulders and back and neck for you, even your feet or elegant hands, or anywhere else you’re feeling tense and in need of release. You could lay back in bed, and there would be no tension left in your body once I was done, I promise you.
- Yours in Black Lace
PS, Any guesses who I am yet? Xx
Andy sighed, shivering a little. Her secret admirer seemed so sweet and attentive, and the sensual promise to leave her empty of any tension was almost too much.
She moved to sit down at her desk, and the movement reminded her of the soreness she’d had behind her shoulder all weekend, likely from being bent over her computer looking up the suspects of the case for several hours on Saturday. A massage sounded perfect right now, and she wished she had some way to contact the letter writer in turn.
This letter was almost a confirmation that the writer worked at The Old Guard, though, and the knowledge made her half nervous, half excited. On one hand, she wanted very much to meet the person who would say such lovely things to her, get to know them, tell them about herself. On the other hand, she’d worked hard to create a professional yet friendly atmosphere at the office, and she was worried it would be ruined if she started a relationship with an employee. It was one thing for Joe and Nicky to meet here and fall in love, but Andy was the boss. It didn’t feel right.
But, surely it was alright to receive sweet, anonymous letters with no real proof they were from someone in the office?
Andy would just have to make sure it stayed secret. She was good at keeping secrets.
She took a deep breath and turned around to go to the filing cabinet to find whatever she could about this latest case, and nearly ran into Quỳnh as she was walking in and taking her coat off.
“Oh, Quỳnh,” Andy smiled at her. “Good morning.”
“Morning,” Quỳnh smiled back, and Andy could see many tiny laughter lines deepen around her eyes. It was surprisingly sweet and endearing.
“You’ve been working on that new case, right? The Wilson case?”
Quỳnh nodded eagerly. “Yes, but Lykon and I haven’t made much progress with it yet.”
“Good,” Andy nodded, “I’m going to work on it with you for a while, since it seems to be overlapping with one of my previous cases.”
For a moment, Quỳnh was frozen and wide-eyed. Then she smiled again, like nothing had happened, and nodded. “Okay, good. I’ll go get the file.” She went to her desk to retrieve it, and as she came back, she glanced down briefly to Andy’s hand at her side before looking at her face and then quickly down at the file in her hands again.
And then Andy realized she was still holding the letter. She fully blamed the absence of her morning coffee, and she sighed inwardly at herself as she gestured vaguely toward her desk and moved to put the letter back.
“Do you want me to go get us something to drink while I fill you in?” Quỳnh offered, like she was reading Andy’s mind. “You like the mocha from Daylight Coffee around the corner, right?”
Andy smiled, surprised. “Yes, it's my favorite. That would be amazing, thank you.”
“Of course. It’s no problem.” Quỳnh smiled that beautiful smile again before heading out of the office.
In the few minutes she was gone, Andy tried to make her desk a little more presentable, and it was enough that she felt professional and more comfortable having a co-worker come sit there with her. She’d stashed the latest letter in a drawer, out of sight, and when Quỳnh came back with two steaming mochas, she put the strangeness of the morning out of her mind to focus on their case.