by Karen Legasy
“Nope,” Bob said. “You can’t do it with our system. It’s very secure. It’ll be a loose wire somewhere. We’ll get it fixed tomorrow.”
“I’ll let Abigail know,” Marlee said.
“I’m right here.” Abigail stepped outside and approached. “What’s the status?”
“It looks like there’s a loose wire somewhere in the system,” Marlee said.
“We’ll get it fixed for you,” Bob said.
“I want the entire system replaced tomorrow.” Abigail spoke with authority. “Please ensure someone is here first thing in the morning to do the work.”
“That won’t be necessary.” Bob shook his head. “We’ll fix the wire and you’ll be good as new.”
“It will be new.” Abigail emphasized each word as she glared at Bob. “The entire system must be ripped out and replaced tomorrow.”
Bob grabbed his ball cap by the peak and used the back of his fist to wipe his sweating forehead. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“It’s to be done tomorrow,” Abigail said. “If you can’t do it, I’ll get another company.”
“I’ll have a crew here by eight o’clock in the morning.” He put his cap back on. “How’s that?”
“That will be fine,” Abigail said. “Until then, I want my system closely monitored tonight and to be notified immediately if the least little thing doesn’t seem right. Am I clear?”
“Yes,” Bob said. “I’m on it.”
“Good.” Abigail started to head back inside. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Tyler and Marlee escorted Bob to his vehicle, watched him leave, and then went inside for the night. Marlee was impressed with the way Abigail stood up to Bob and demanded that the security system be replaced in the morning. She also kept thinking about Abigail’s reaction to the name of Taylor Williams when mentioned over dinner. Marlee hoped Abigail was finally starting to suspect Hannah too.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Marlee and Tyler oversaw the installation of a new security system over the next few days, ensuring the existing setup was completely removed and the new cameras worked seamlessly. Marlee worried that they’d been spied on and was convinced of Hannah’s involvement with the malfunctioning security camera.
She examined the torn scrap of paper over and over again, studying the handwritten security code for any identifying characteristics. The ink was purple, the writing cramped, and the numbers jotted in an uneven line. As far as Marlee could tell, Hannah tended to use red ink when commenting on documents, while Abigail’s notes were primarily purple or blue.
Marlee liked that Abigail avoided red ink with its harsh implications of error. Abigail’s comments focused on praise, questions, or suggestive feedback, whereas Hannah’s were blunt and often involved deleting entire sections in the documents Marlee had flipped through.
It was in the characteristics of the writing, however, that Marlee concentrated. Abigail’s handwriting consisted of well-formed letters that were easy to understand whereas Hannah’s notes were scribbled and hard to follow. It was a small clue, especially since she was comparing numbers to text, but enough to keep Marlee centered on Hannah and anxious about Abigail’s safety.
While the new security system was being installed, Abigail spent long days at the office. She came home just in time to crawl into bed and sleep snuggled up with Marlee, too tired for anything else. It was eleven o’clock on the evening that the installation of the new system was complete, and the two were cuddled in bed. Abigail fought to stay awake while Marlee luxuriated in their entwined naked bodies.
“Thank God Hannah will be back tomorrow.” Abigail stifled a yawn.
Marlee stiffened. “I’ve really missed you over the last few days. I worry when you come home so late.”
“I’ve missed you too.” Abigail clung to Marlee and spoke with her eyes closed. “One of the nicest things about coming home in the dark is crawling right into bed with you and falling asleep in your arms.”
“Starting tomorrow,” Marlee said, “I want to drive you back and forth to the office. I don’t like you coming home alone in the dark. I can be your personal bodyguard.”
Abigail opened her eyes. “Won’t that be a conflict because you’re also my lover?”
Marlee smiled. “No wonder you’re such a good businesswoman. Always thinking about best practices. I’m not on your payroll, so of course there’s no conflict.”
“Okay, you can be my chauffeur.” Abigail kissed Marlee then took a deep breath, closing her eyes again as she exhaled. “Love you. Have a good sleep.”
“Love you too.” Marlee buried her nose in Abigail’s hair as she lay awake in the dark and began to plan her approach to narrowing in on Hannah.
* * *
Marlee manoeuvred Abigail’s dark Prado to badge open the underground parking security gate then drive into the bowels of AbTay Biosystems headquarters. The large SUV with its black-tinted windows felt appropriate for a chauffeur-driven vehicle, especially since it was an automatic and Marlee wasn’t ready to tackle the manual transmission on Abigail’s car. She stopped in Abigail’s reserved parking spot near the elevator and turned off the engine. It was six thirty and her vehicle was the first of the morning.
“I hope I get to see your office someday,” Marlee said.
“Me too.” Abigail gathered her purse and computer bag.
“I imagine you have a beautiful view of the harbor. You must be so proud of what you’ve accomplished.”
“I’m not feeling very proud at the moment.” Abigail sighed. “I’d love to take you up there right now and show you around, but…” Tears began to flow down her cheeks as she reached for a tissue. “I’m sorry. This is not like me to cry and I hate it.”
“Oh Ab, you don’t ever need to apologize to me for crying.” Marlee leaned over and hugged her. “I’m so proud to be with you. I’d love to waltz in there right now and go up to your penthouse office, where I’d spend the day watching you work. I read some of your comments to staff and you’re so good at what you do. Your words of encouragement on those documents, like telling people they’re on the right track and repeatedly thanking them, should make you feel proud.”
“My lover, confidante, chauffeur, and now therapist.” Abigail wiped her tears and smiled. “I don’t know what I’d have done if I hadn’t met you.” She balled up her tissue.
“You should go up to your office before everyone else starts coming in,” Marlee straightened up, humbled by Abigail’s words and wanting to jump her right there in the parking lot. She couldn’t let that happen.
“I noticed you’ve been calling me Ab.” Abigail’s hand was on the door. “What’s that all about?”
“You being special,” Marlee said. “I know you don’t like Abby and I just can’t bring myself to call you Tay anymore. Abigail’s far too formal for how I feel about you. I’ve never taken to names like ‘honey’ or ‘sweetie’ for lovers.”
“What’s wrong with Tay?”
“That’s Hannah’s name for you. It doesn’t work for me. Besides, Ab comes first in your company name, and I want to be number one.” Marlee smiled.
Abigail grinned back. “In my mind, there’s no competition between Hannah and you. Your roles in my life are entirely different. Hannah is a close friend and colleague; you’re my lover.” Abigail leaned over for a peck on the lips then opened the door. “I’ve got to go. I’ll call you later.”
“Take care of yourself and have a good day.” Marlee lowered the window and blew a kiss as the elevator doors closed.
When Marlee got back to Abigail’s, Tyler’s car was gone. He hadn’t said anything about going out so she checked to see if he’d left a note by his computer. There was none so she decided to do some laps in the pool while contemplating her next steps with Hannah.
Marlee knew there was competition with Hannah for Abigail’s trust, and she needed to win that battle. Hannah would be back at the office, trying to convince Abigail to dump her. It made
Marlee swim harder.
By the time she’d finished her laps and showered, Tyler was waiting for her in the workroom and anxious to talk.
“I have something for you.” He held out a plastic bag, his hands trembling as she reached for it.
“What’s this?” She was afraid to look at the heavy object inside.
“Something you need.”
Marlee saw a brown fabric gun case and gasped. “Tyler, where did you get this?”
“It doesn’t matter. Take it out and see what you think.”
“I told you I don’t want a gun.” She shoved the bag back at him.
“Aren’t you at least going to look at it?” He folded his arms.
“You stole this from your ex, didn’t you?”
“I borrowed it. He won’t even know it’s gone, and I’ll return it as soon as we’re done with it.”
“I don’t like this.” She sat with the plastic bag on her knees until finally reaching in to open up the zippered pouch and have a peek. “A nine millimeter Smith and Wesson. How nice. There’s even a box of bullets.” Marlee didn’t want to touch the weapon. She closed the case. “You need to return it.”
“I told you I would. Aren’t you going to have a closer look?”
“I don’t want my fingerprints all over it,” Marlee said. “If anything were to happen with this, I could be deported and not allowed back into the country.”
“Here, take these.” Tyler pulled a pair of latex gloves from his pocket. “It’s not like you’re going to use it for anything criminal and Abigail’s life could depend on you having it.”
Marlee accepted the gloves and fondled the bag. “I don’t know. It’s stealing.”
“It’s about safeguarding,” Tyler said. “Defending Abigail and protecting the next poor sucker to get hooked up with my ex. The fucker held it to my head once and pulled the trigger. He’d left one bullet in the cartridge. I thought I was going to die.”
“Oh Tyler, poor you.” Marlee put a hand on his shoulder.
“I’m glad I took the gun. He doesn’t deserve to get it back. If you don’t want it, I’ll keep the thing under my mattress for now.”
“We should at least check to make sure it’s not loaded.”
“Good idea,” Tyler said. “I wouldn’t want it going off while I’m sleeping.”
Marlee slid the gloves on then carefully took the weapon out of its case. She removed the cartridge, verified that it was empty, and put it back in. She held the pistol, feeling its weight and familiar form, and studied its black stainless steel barrel before putting it near her nose for a faint oily metallic whiff. She’d never report for duty as a police officer without her gun, but this wasn’t legal and she couldn’t bring herself to keep the weapon.
“Have you ever shot anyone?” Tyler asked.
“No.” She put the gun back in its case and handed it to Tyler. “Lock this up somewhere for now until we figure out what to do with it.”
Chapter Thirty
Abigail called Marlee to pick her up from work just after lunch, exhaustion and agitation in her voice. Marlee met her at the front entrance to the AbTay Biosystems office tower.
“Let’s head to the boat.” Abigail got into the SUV and fastened her seat belt. “It’s a beautiful afternoon and I need to think.”
“Sure,” Marlee said. “I’ll stop at a store to get something for a salad so we can have supper on the water. I’ll even grab a few things for breakfast in case you want to spend the night.”
“That would be nice.” Abigail leaned back against the headrest as Marlee drove.
“Are you okay? You look a bit frazzled.”
“Hannah asked me to go to Canberra with her over the weekend. She wants us to search the office while everyone’s away to verify employee behaviors.”
“How are you supposed to do that?” Marlee couldn’t believe the nerve of the woman.
“She suggested we sit at each desk to see if there’s anything unusual like a disturbing photo, joke, saying, or something written in Arabic.”
“And then what?” Marlee didn’t expect anyone would leave incriminating evidence out in the open. Besides, the police would have been on the lookout for things like that.
“I don’t know. She expects us to leave Saturday morning and doesn’t want you or Tyler coming along.”
“Well, that’s not happening,” Marlee said. “She’s trying to get you away from us. I’m starting to get concerned for your safety around her.”
“She said the same thing about you.” Abigail sighed. “I need some time on the water to clear my head.”
“Does she know you’re heading to the boat?”
“No. I told her I wasn’t feeling well and was going home. I left her in charge so she’ll be too busy to think about anything else.”
“Why search the Canberra office?” Marlee asked. “Did she discover something while she was there?”
“No. She said it was just a hunch and an opportunity for the two of us to spend time together.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? She’s with you all day at work.” Marlee jerked the vehicle to a stop in a grocery car park.
“It’s not the same.” Abigail closed her eyes. “She wants to spend some one-on-one time with me.
“How do you feel about that?” Marlee tried to control her breathing as she lowered the windows then shut the engine.
“I don’t know.” Abigail shook her head. “I’ll wait here for you.”
“I won’t be long. Is there anything special you’d like?”
“Yes, a bottle of red merlot, please. I think there’s one on the boat, but I want to be sure we have some.”
Marlee hurried into the store, pondering what had happened at the office to make Abigail want to leave early and head to the boat. Not that she minded spending time with the woman of her dreams on the boat.
She wondered what Abigail was thinking about Hannah. Had the woman been pressuring Abigail to get rid of her and Tyler? Marlee imagined Hannah breaking down in fake tears trying to convince Abigail to get them out of her house.
When Marlee got back to the vehicle, she’d decided that afternoon sex on the boat would be good for Abigail. Marlee watched as Abigail fidgeted with her seat belt, her legs jumping. Sex would help to relax her. And hopefully keep Abigail’s mind off Hannah. Something didn’t seem right with the proposed surveillance trip to Canberra and Marlee hoped Abigail would refuse to go.
By the time they were out on the water, Marlee sensed that Abigail wanted to make love with her too. The way she gave lingering touches, brushed up against Marlee at every opportunity, and kept locking eyes was a clear sign. Marlee had almost forgotten about Hannah.
“I’ve decided to go to Canberra with Hannah this weekend,” Abigail said. They had put some cushions on the front deck of the boat and were seating themselves for a bit of fresh air.
“Okay.” Marlee sprawled out beside Abigail, taking time to choose her next words. “I haven’t been to Canberra yet. I’ll tag along.”
“I thought you’d insist, considering you’re my bodyguard.” Abigail grinned as she sipped her wine.
“So I’ve been promoted from chauffeur to bodyguard?” Marlee ran a hand up Abigail’s leg until her fingers brushed the damp crotch of tight bikini bottoms.
“Yes.” Abigail’s breath caught. “But right now I want you to be my lover.”
“Did you bring me out here to seduce me?” Marlee tapped her fingers against the firm fabric, increasing the pressure and motion with each touch.
“No.” Abigail panted, her hips swaying. “I brought you out here so you’d seduce me. Oh, that feels so good.”
“I think you should put your wine down before you spill it,” Marlee said. “And then I want you to relax while my fingers do the rest.”
“You’re going to give me an orgasm right here on the deck of the boat? Someone will see.” She put her glass down and braced.
“No they won’t because we’re just
going to keep sitting here as if we’re having a conversation.” Marlee slipped her fingers under the suit and began to massage the silky wet folds. “Once I get you off, we’re heading to that nice big bed of yours where I’m going to devour you.”
Abigail flung her head back and moaned out her release.
* * *
“I’d like to take you to Merimbula,” Abigail said. They were in bed on the boat, caressing each other in the afterglow of fulfilling sex.
“What and where is Merimbula?”
“It’s a quiet, touristy town with a beautiful beach on the Sapphire Coast of New South Wales. Hannah suggested I spend a few days there next week to reenergize before coming back from Canberra.”
“Is she going too?” Marlee stiffened.
“No. She’ll fly back to Sydney and I’ll drive down to the coast. Of course she didn’t mean for me to bring you, but if I’m going to reenergize I need you to help.”
“I’m so happy you think that about me.” Marlee snuggled into Abigail’s shoulder. “It’s as if we’ve known each other forever.”
“You’re a very special woman,” Abigail said. “One who’s smart, caring, considerate, easy-going, sexy, and a fabulous lover. I can’t fathom life without you now, but we live on two different continents. World’s apart.”
Marlee’s throat tightened. “You could always move to Canada with me.”
“And do what? My life is here. I could never leave Josh.”
“You’re right.” Marlee sighed. “I didn’t know how to tell you, but I’ve been denied an extension to my leave of absence from my job. I have to report back to work in two weeks.”
“I see,” Abigail said. “And if you don’t?”
“I could lose my job.”
“We can’t have that.” Abigail stared at the ceiling and put an arm on her forehead.
“Why not?” Marlee sniffed.
“You’d give up your job for me?” Abigail turned to her.
“Oh Ab, of course I would.” Marlee rolled into her and squeezed, burying her face in Abigail’s hair. “I love you. I’d do anything for you.”