Deceptive Nights (17 page)

“
You’ve had a long day.
That fax will be here tomorrow and I’ll personally take care of
it,” he promised.

She felt he was being a little bit too
helpful. “I don’t mind waiting, Simon.”

“
Then I can wait with you
and help you out,” he insisted.

Alarm bells went off like crazy inside
Phoebe. Simon never liked working past five. It was against his own
personal religion. It took all her control to keep a calm
disposition in front of him. “No need, Simon. I’m just going to
complete it and lay it on your desk, but since I’m off tomorrow I
wanted to make sure it was complete.”

“
You don’t trust me to do
it?” he asked offended.

Her tone of voice was completely complacent.
“Of course I would if I was here, but you’ll be so overwhelmed and
Leslie did ask me to help her out as a personal favor. You know how
I am, I love to please.”

Simon only smiled nervously. She could see he
had run out of things to say to keep him there.

Phoebe asked innocently, “I didn’t see the
Lansing package on the pickup tray.”

“
Oh he came early just as I
was done wrapping so I gave him what I had - which was Lansing. I’m
sorry I forgot to tell you.”

“
Well, we would like to
keep record of that. Did you sign the board for our records?”
Usually Phoebe never cared if he signed the board or not and she
would just go behind him and sign it.

She stuck an innocent yet flighty smile on
her lips disarming him, as he said, “I’ll sign it on my way
out.”

“
Did Maddie tell you what’s
going on in those back offices?” she asked to throw him off. “I
haven’t had time to check them out yet because I’ve been so
busy.”

“
Yeah,” he said immediately
perking up. Simon was a gossip by nature. He couldn’t help himself
and given any opportunity he could run his mouth until the cows
come home. “She’s having Mr. Knight use them for any of his
business needs until his offices are ready next Monday.” He
snickered. “You think you can handle yourself around him until
then?”

“
I think I can,” she said
sourly. “Plus he’s old news, Simon. You know that.” Her voice was
casual, but her brain was moving into outer drive and holding on to
her turmoil of emotions was becoming difficult.

“
That didn’t look like old
news to me this afternoon.”

“
Well, it was, but I
couldn’t help myself. I certainly wasn’t going to allow him to
speak to me that way a moment longer.”

Simon smacked his lips as if he was very
disappointed. “I just can’t believe how he acted. After you left,
he went into the bedroom’s private bathroom, while Desmond told
Madeline that a mistaken identity had been made and neither of you
knew who the other was, but Lawrence had intentions on you way
before then and Jacoby was being a sore loser.”

“
I wasn’t a trophy,” she
said, letting her true emotions come to the forefront for just a
moment, but then getting a hold on them and settling down taking a
deep breath. “It doesn’t matter. It’s in the past.”

“
Obviously,” Simon said,
“Because Madeline went in the bedroom to speak to Jacoby. She
closed the door, but by the time she came out she was beaming like
she had won the Big Game Lottery.”

Phoebe acted nonchalantly because she knew
Simon had probably told her that to shock her. He was carefully
studying her emotions and it was vital she kept good face.

“
Can you believe how calm
Madeline was in the office when she spoke to you?” he
asked.

Of course the nosey prick would have been
listening at the door. She didn’t point this out to him. Instead
she smiled a brittle, forced expression and said, “She must have
been steaming on the way back here.”

“
Oh no,” he lied blatantly.
“She was pretty calm about the whole thing.”

She wanted to punch him dead square in the
jaw, but clutched the chair and grinded her teeth.

Simon checked his watch and cursed, but still
seemed reluctant to leave. “If anything comes up, you’ll call me,
won’t you?”

“
You’ll be the first to
know,” she promised with the most gracious smile plastered on her
face.

Once he was gone, she deleted the emails for
the entire day off the computer then went in the back and took them
off the server. She signed on the server using Simon’s name and
password. She knew this because it was her job to know everyone’s
password in case something happened to them and no one could get
into their computer, but along with that knowledge she wasn’t
supposed to use it wrongly.

Not a guilty bone in her body came as she
used Simon’s code to get in and saw that he also had administrative
powers like her. Phoebe wondered when had his administrative duties
had changed.

The computer allowed her to get in other
computers and she knew exactly what do. Without Madeline knowing,
she had taken computer software classes on the weekends, paying out
of her own pocket. Phoebe had mastered the knowledge, of the
program she used and had become certified without anyone’s
knowledge except her mother.

While she was at it, she checked Madeline’s
trash knowing the sequence to get into other computers in the
office.

Maddie had shot an email to Desmond right
before leaving the office today, telling him to block all of
Phoebe’s privileges by next Monday morning. There was also an email
to Latrice in detail about what Madeline was planning and what
Latrice needed to do in order for it to work. At the end of it all,
Madeline ordered Latrice to delete this email messages and any
other’s concerning Phoebe in the next couple of days that would
probably be sent.

Phoebe reprogrammed Madeline’s computer
emails to do secret CC’s to her email at her private address. If
Madeline didn’t know how to read her e-mail’s properly, she
wouldn’t notice this was happening until too late unless the email
was re-forward back to Madeline.

She made copies of the emails and then closed
down all the programs she had went into and signed off. Her
presence in the computer would not be known, except without a
thorough investigation, but by then she wouldn’t care because she
wouldn’t be there.

The fax machine alarm to let her know a fax
had come through went off and she went into the copier room where
the fax was and took the fax Leslie had just sent her off the
machine. There were several pages and Leslie had made notes in the
margins pointing out the information that Phoebe had asked for.
Along with the fax, she placed the emails in a folder and then she
put this in her brief case along with the key to the personnel
file. Tomorrow when no one least expected it. She would come into
the office and look in detail in her file, hoping nothing would be
changed and hoping that no one had thought of hiding the files.

Chapter 20

Tossing the remote control on the bed, Jacoby
staggered over to the nearest chair to get his balance. He figured
the eight shots of Corbel were the ones that had broken the camel’s
back tonight along with his intake of several beers and other hard
liquors. It was a good thing he had only used the restaurant’s bar
because anywhere else and he knew he would not have made it back to
his room.

Sitting in the chair before he fell on his
face, he looked down at the bulge between his legs. Damn, he cursed
sitting back in the chair. Tonight he had several offers from very
beautiful women. Each one more beautiful and tempting than the
other, yet he knew that none of them could satisfy him like
Phoebe.

Soon as he got out of his clothes, he
staggered over to the bed and laid down hoping he had gotten enough
to drink to just pass out, but it felt as if he didn’t because as
he stared up at the ceiling, he found himself wishing she was
here.

The phone by the bed rung loudly and he
picked it up, grateful for the distraction. Before he could get
anything out to say, Desmond came on the line. “Shut your mouth,
cover the receiver and just listen, all right?”

He wasn’t given a chance to answer as the
line clicked then he could hear Desmond say, “No, I think I just
missed her. I’ll catch up with her later. So what were you saying
about Jacoby?”

“
Like I said, Jacoby
couldn’t go a second without having a woman. You know he’s a sex
addict. I haven’t seen that man go seventy-two hours without being
between some woman’s legs.”

“
Which would explain why he
was so irresistible to Phoebe?” Desmond asked.

“
Jake doesn’t deserve a
woman like Phoebe. He wouldn’t know how to treat a woman like
Phoebe. You saw how he was with her.”

“
And you would?” Desmond
asked doubtfully.

“
Of course I would. I have.
Jacoby doesn’t know how to make any woman happy.”

“
Obviously he’s doing
something right. She slept with him twice.”

This information seem to incense Lawrence, as
he growled, “And each time he’s had to pay. That’s doing something
right?”

“
Are you saying if he
didn’t have the money, no woman would be attracted to
him?”

“
I think Jacoby wouldn’t
know how to get a woman if he didn’t hide behind his money.
Especially a woman like Phoebe.”

“
You sound pretty serious
about Phoebe, but you’ve been serious about a woman before then you
turned around and pretended you had no feelings for
her.”

“
And I still don’t.” This
was a pretty sore subject for Lawrence. “I’m going to go all the
way this time.”

“
And what was last time?
For practice?”

“
Shut the fuck up,
Desmond,” Lawrence snapped. “If you’re going to sit on the
sidelines and watch to see who wins, you need to keep your nose and
your opinions to yourself.”

Desmond sighed gravely. “I just don’t see why
both of you are making an ass over a woman who cares nothing about
either one of you. Yes, she’s very beautiful, intelligent, and
seems to have a nice personality, but that’s no reason to make
fools out of yourself.”

“
That’s what you don’t
understand, Desmond,” Lawrence said with relish. “Phoebe’s
different from any woman I’ve ever met and even though I haven’t
had a taste of her - but I will soon - I still want to just be with
her.”

“
You’ve said this all
before about other women. Plus, if she was so special why hasn’t
she been hounded by other men?”

“
Desmond, why are you being
so negative towards her?” Lawrence asked.

“
Because I don’t like
what’s she done to the two of you. You’re letting some tramp come
between two good friends.”

“
Who the fuck says Jacoby’s
my friend? He waves his damn money in everyone’s face with a wink
and a smile and expects to get the world. Well I’m tired of being
in his fucking gratitude all the damn time. I wish I could tell him
to take his money and shove it where the sun don’t
shine.”

“
So all this time when he
thought you were his friend, you were really using him just to get
the money to open up the business? Are you trying to say you were
jealous of him all this time and wished we had nothing to do with
him?”

“
I sure as hell am saying
that. If we didn’t need the money I would definitely stay the fuck
away from him.”

“
I think it’s the liquor
talking now, Lawrence,” Desmond said. “I think you need to get some
rest because without the money, the two of you are one and the same
which is probably why the girl likes the both of you.”

“
Well, fuck you and the
rosy ass horse you rode on Des. You wouldn’t understand it all to
save your life.” The line clicked meaning Lawrence had hung
up.

Desmond only chuckled which was his nature to
do. He never took the verbal abuse seriously that Lawrence and
Jacoby dealt out to him when they were upset.

“
Why the hell did you want
me to hear that shit?” Jacoby asked.

“
To let you know Lawrence
is just talking out his ass. He doesn’t see the whole picture and
you are going to have to tell Phoebe to stay away from the two of
you.”

“
Why? Maybe Phoebe doesn’t
know the truth about Lawrence and I should be the one to tell
her?”

As confusing as that sounded, Desmond did
understand, but asked sarcastically, “Would it really make a
difference to her, Jacoby? She’s used the both of you and I don’t
think she really cares. Just let it go. Just leave her alone. I
don’t like what she does to the two of you.”

“
Like he said, Desmond. You
really don’t understand it all, but unlike Lawrence, I know Phoebe.
I know what she feels and what she wants and what she really wants,
is me. ”

“
That’s the same shit
Lawrence has been saying.”

“
Like you said, Lawrence is
just talking out his ass.” He hung up the line and now he really
couldn’t sleep. He had always known Lawrence had some animosity and
jealousy for him personally not just his money. Lawrence wanted the
money, but he could never understand how through all of Jacoby’s
life’s trials and tribulations the money hadn’t affected him. How
people still wanted to be around him whether he had money or not.
Lawrence was one of them even if he couldn’t admit it.

Now his thoughts turned to Phoebe. She hadn’t
slept with Lawrence in all this time, but had what Jacoby done
changed her mind. Was Jacoby responsible now for sending Phoebe
into Lawrence’s arms? Now she really wouldn’t have anything to do
with him.