by Marie Astor
***
Tom Wyman opened the door of his apartment, staggered into his bedroom, and collapsed onto his bed with exhaustion. What a night this had been! He could not remember the last time he had gotten that hammered. In college perhaps, but even then it was unlikely. He had always known his alcohol limit, but tonight he had been caught off guard. He could have sworn those drinks tasted funny, and then his laptop was missing to boot. He had been meaning to delete scanned copies of Impala Group formation documents from his laptop, but got busy and forgot all about it. The mere thought of the calamities that would ensue should these files fall into the wrong hands made him drenched in cold sweat.
That cock tease, Janet Maple, had made a fool of him. Twice he had been left high and dry. He had never been led on like that by anyone. Women found him irresistible. He began to fear that what she really wanted was not him, but the contents of his laptop, which would explain its disappearance.
By the time he had arrived on the doorstep of Janet’s apartment, Tom was fuming, prepared to get the truth out of her by any means necessary. But the moment he saw Janet’s face, he knew that he had pegged her wrong. Yes, she was a cock tease, but that was all she was. Janet Maple had no clue as to the importance of the files contained on his laptop. She was not the corporate spy he had imagined her to be in his moment of wild suspicion. Had it not been for the number the alcohol had done on him, he would have had his way with her then and there. It was time the tease was taught a lesson: those who play with fire, get burned. No matter. Tonight he was in no condition, but he would get his due soon enough.
Chapter 26