Sapphire handed her the first bag. Diane reached into it and felt something small and plastic. She withdrew her hand and looked over a small data chip. Diane cocked her head. “What is it?”
“Well, since you like your stupid stories so much, I pulled some strings at the network and I got you the final unaired episodes of Fortune and Destiny.”
Diane’s eyes bulged out. She didn’t want to accept the gift. She was going to dispose of all of it, but this… this was another last look at Alexa Charlevoix. These were the answers she, Lyssa, and a legion of fans craved. They were in the palm of her hand. She dropped the chip into her clutch. “Thank you,” she said simply.
Sapphire was crestfallen. “Really? I expected lots of gushing and crying, and crap. Oh well, you think you know somebody. Anyway, I have two more things for you. There’s kind of a catch, though. I know you hate my guts and don’t want to listen to me, but tough beans. I told you I wasn’t your friend. Even so, I did take pity on you. The dictionary was my idea and our secret. Nobody knows about your education problem, Pembrook. They also didn’t know about you and your idiot girlfriend. I was honest in my assessment of her, but you only saw what you wanted to see in her. Fine, I respect that. Love is blind, and yada yada. But honestly, Pembrook, she’s just holding you back. She’s like a boat anchor around your neck. Your horse necklace reminds you of how tough you are, and how you do whatever it takes. She’s the opposite of that. She’s weak, and a loser. You need to remove her from your life, so you can really soar.”
Diane seethed at Sapphire’s harsh assessment. Her eyes burned with fury as she hissed through gritted teeth, “I love Lyssa with all my heart and soul. You’re not breaking us up, no way, no how.”
Sapphire raised her hands defensively. “And I was certain that would be your response to my brutal honesty. So, here’s the deal: if you think about what I said, and you’re one hundred percent convinced she’s everything you ever wanted in a woman and more, then fine, have a long, enjoyable, mediocre life together. Celebrate that with a bottle of white zinfandel, the preferred drink of wannabe wine drinkers everywhere.” She pulled a bottle of pink wine from the bag and showed Diane the label before setting it back down.
“But,” she continued, “if you see the light, and come to your senses and decide she’s every bit the drag I said she was, then give her these. She can console herself after you give her the breakup speech.” She pulled a box of chocolates from the other bag and waved it around. “Wine for stay together, chocolates for hasta la vista, got it? Not both. Make your choice and stick with it.”
The wine and chocolates were destined for the trash, Diane thought, but she nodded anyway. “I will.”
“Good. Thanks for hearing me out. Now I’ll have a car take you home. Not my personal one, though. It got you here, but I have other places to be. Thank you for a lovely evening. We won’t see each other again.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t count on that,” Diane said.
“Ooh, you’re going to hunt me down and kill me? Knock yourself out. You’ve got work tomorrow, Pembrook. Get your rest. Besides, you’ve got all those stories to watch. You’re swamped!”
“Goodbye, Sapphire,” Diane said with a hard stare.
“Bye, Jane Doe.”
Diane recoiled. “Why do you keep calling me that?”
Sapphire gathered up the gift bags and thrust them into Diane’s arms. “Oh no, that’s all the time we have this evening. Here are your lovely parting gifts. Safe travels home.”
The Maître D’ entered the suite and escorted Diane away. He and two servers marched her out of the restaurant and into a waiting car. A driver waved from the front seat and put the car in gear once Diane was strapped in. “Cranston Towers, is that right?” Diane nodded numbly, and the driver blew a low whistle of appreciation. “Nice place. I took my wife to that fancy steak place in there, and damn if it didn’t clean me out for a month. How’s this joint?”
Diane wiped her eyes with her knuckle and sniffed. “It’s... a dump. I wouldn’t recommend it to my worst enemy.”
The driver shrugged. “Huh. It seemed classy. Looks can be deceiving though, huh?”
“Yes,” Diane said softly, “they can.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Diane sat on her sectional and rotated the data chip Sapphire had given her between her thumb and forefinger. She was desperate to load the final episodes and see how it ended. But it didn’t feel right without Lyssa. It wasn’t fair: Lyssa was locked up somewhere—maybe jail, maybe not—and Diane was digesting what should have been the best meal of her life. She wanted to throw up and expel everything Sapphire had given her. The wine and chocolates sat on her countertop. She didn’t follow through on her promise to herself to throw everything away. Since the chip was in play, maybe the wine was too. Why not the chocolates as well, if only out of spite? She wished Lyssa were there. She imagined the two of them curled up on the sectional, drinking Sapphire’s wine and eating her chocolates while watching Alexa Charlevoix exact her revenge on her previously unknown rival.
Diane sat back and felt something snap into place. Alexa was being beaten by a secret rival, and the last episode to air ended on a cliffhanger: Alexa finding out the identity of her rival. No such cliffhanger happened to Diane. Sapphire revealed herself as a criminal mastermind, then sent her off to her free apartment to sulk. Her eyes widened as she mulled these facts. The free apartment! Was Sapphire paying for it? Was it a bribe? She made a snap decision to pack up her things and move out, if only to a shelter, or back to the Panther Division facility. Her old dorm room was gone, but maybe they could put her up somewhere else. Maybe Goodwin’s apartment. She snorted at this. It would serve him right to lose everything to her.
She began to get up from the sectional, then she sat back down in a huff. She decided she was overreacting. She could ask Kenner what arrangements had been made for her housing. They said all the officers had free housing, if they wanted it. Was Sapphire paying for everyone? If so, why? She didn’t like the idea of being homeless. She wanted to know where she was going if she left the Cranston Towers.
She threw her head back and sighed. Everything was a complicated disaster. She looked up at the ceiling and raised her hands in disgust. “I miss you, Lyss.”
Diane heard noises in her bedroom. She furtively pulled open a drawer under her end table and removed a small pistol. She crept toward the bedroom and kept the gun at the ready but left the safety on. She didn’t want to put bullet holes in the walls just because she imagined someone was breaking in. She stood beside the bedroom door with her back against the wall. She heard breathing and unsteady footsteps. She heard a gasp with a distinctly female tone. She spun around and pointed her gun at Lyssa.
Lyssa raised her hands defensively. “Holy shit, don’t shoot.” She realized who was pointing the gun at her and she squealed with delight. “Oh my god, Diane. Where am I? What’s with the gun?”
Diane lowered the gun and looked at Lyssa with disbelief. “Did they strap a bomb to you or something? Who sent you? Why are you out of jail?”
Lyssa wiped tears from her cheeks. “No, everything’s fine. They let me out. They said someone posted my bail and said a car would take me anywhere I wanted to go. I said, ‘Take me to Diane Pembrook,’ and they brought me here. But… this isn’t your place, is it? What are you doing here?”
Diane shook her head. “You were tied up. They had a gun to your head. She told me she would kill you.”
Lyssa tipped her head. “Huh? Nobody ever tied me up. If anything, I sat around my cell all day bored out of my mind.”
Diane nodded slowly, trying to understand what she was hearing. She rushed forward and threw her arms around Lyssa. “Yes, this is my place. Lots has happened since you’ve been gone.” They cried tears of joy as they hugged and kissed, swearing never to be parted ever again. Diane set the gun on her nightstand and led Lyssa into the living room. Lyssa gasped in awe.
“Seriously, this is yours? No o
ffense, but how can you afford it? It’s huge! And you’ve got your own private elevator? That’s insane!”
Diane gulped and eyed her suspiciously. “What are you talking about?”
“Oh, the car that brought me here parked in some empty garage. I thought I was going to get mugged, but they told me to press the elevator button and everything would be okay. So, I did, and next thing I knew, I was in your bedroom. Well, a bedroom. I didn’t know it was yours.” She looked directly into Diane’s eyes. “How’s the bed? It seems big.”
“Too big.” She kissed Lyssa again, enjoying her warmth against her body. Sapphire was crazy, she thought. There was no way she was ever breaking up with Lyssa. They were meant for each other. She thought about their first kiss, and how scary it was, and how right. She never imagined she would be romantically involved with another woman, and now she was here in her living room, holding her close, swearing to never let go.
They rushed to Diane’s bed and stripped. They reconnected and re-committed to each other for what felt like days. Afterward, they spooned, and Diane kissed the back of Lyssa’s neck.
Lyssa giggled. “I missed this. I miss not having our stories. It’s a shame the show ended. I miss it so much. I miss watching it with you even more.”
Diane beamed. She scrambled to get out of bed and wrapped herself up in her bathrobe. Lyssa sat up and covered her breasts with the comforter. She cried out to Diane asking where she was going. Diane returned to the bedroom and held up the data chip triumphantly. “I can make that happen.”
Lyssa gave her a puzzled look. “What, you put some old shows on there? We can do that, if you want.”
Diane shook her head. “No, these are the final episodes. Nobody has seen them. I couldn’t bear to even peek at them without you.” She waved the data chip at Lyssa and winked. “Wanna watch?”
Lyssa leapt from the bed and threw her arms around Diane’s waist, burying her cheek into her chest. She pulled away and wiped her eyes. “Oh my god, yeah. But… how did you get them? I had no clue they made any more. Do you know how insane the Fortunates would go if they knew you had them? I’m so happy!” She clapped her hands together with glee.
Diane raised her finger. “Let me grab my tablet. Unless you want to watch it on the big screen.”
Lyssa put her fingertip in her mouth and thought. “Can we spoon out there?”
“I don’t see why not.”
Lyssa ran into the living room naked. “Grab a blanket. Let’s do this.”
Alexa Charlevoix stared at a woman dressed in a sharp suit with an ivory ruffled blouse peeking out from under her blazer. Alexa wore her favorite red dress and red heels. They sat in a restaurant at a table for two in the foreground. Behind them, servers took orders silently from other patrons as they flitted from table to table. The suited woman looked around the room and smiled.
“Not bad. Not the best place I’ve broken bread, but for Cape May, I suspect this is the pinnacle of fine dining.”
Alexa glared at the woman. “Cut the crap, Ruby. You’ve been meddling in my affairs long enough. Tell me what you want.”
Ruby feigned mock outrage. “Well! Alexa, I was expecting a bit more in the way of pleasantries. But I guess it’s true that they say: you learn a lot about who someone truly is in times of adversity.”
“Taking a majority interest in PDX is hardly a ‘time of adversity’, Ruby Ryerson, it’s war. And if it’s war you want, you’ve barked up the wrong tree. I will destroy you with every last penny to my name.”
Ruby laughed heartily. “Oh, Alexa. You’ve always been one for dramatic outbursts. Pound the table all you like. It won’t save you from the board’s vote to expel you from PDX and name me as the new CEO. Although, PDX would be a huge step down for me. Maybe I’ll have that imbecile Brent Moorcroft man the fort in my stead. I’ll just pop in once in a while to make sure the lights are still on and the water’s running, you know? Milan is so much more interesting! Or Paris, or Vienna… well, I don’t mean to bore you with my travels.”
Alexa’s lips curled into a sneer. “Oh, you like to travel? Well, here’s a hot tip: go to hell, you bitch!” She reached for her wine glass and thrust it at her. Ruby recoiled, then broke down laughing. Alexa grimaced at the empty glass. “There’s normally wine in there. Guess I got a little ahead of myself.”
Ruby waved a server over and whispered in his ear. He hurried away, and Ruby composed herself. “As it happens, Alexa, I’ve ordered drinks for us. I thought we could have a nice dinner and discuss the future.”
Alexa stood up in a huff. “I’m not spending one more minute with you, Ruby, here or anywhere else. The next time you see me, I’ll be spitting on your grave.”
Ruby snapped her fingers, and Jackson was brought into the room with his hands tied behind his back. Two thugs jabbed their guns into his ribs. He shook his head vigorously. “Sit down, Alexa. Do what she says.”
Alexa gaped in horror at the sight of her helpless lover, then turned to face Ruby. “You coward.”
Ruby let out a small chuckle. “What some call cowardice, others call leverage. Sit down, Alexa. There’s no point in causing a scene. You’ll just embarrass yourself and annoy everyone else. Oh, and your boy toy gets shot. Talk about an appetite ruiner!”
Alexa sat down and crossed her arms. “Fine, I’ll sit. But I don’t have to like it.”
“Nobody’s asking you to. Oh, but look! The wine is here. I know how much you like to drink, so I told the server to bring it out straight away. We can order food after. But first,” she said, accepting a glass of red wine from the server, “let’s raise our glasses in a friendly toast. How about, ‘To the competitive spirit’? That seems agreeable.”
Alexa raised her glass. “You toast your way, I’ll toast mine. I say, ‘To your festering corpse.’ I like that much better.”
“Very well, I won’t argue with that.” She clinked her glass against Alexa’s, then took a long sip. Alexa frowned at the wine but followed suit. She coughed and set the glass down. Ruby gave her a concerned look. “Why. Alexa, that’s not like you. For as much as you drink, I can’t believe a glass of Guildenstern would give you any trouble. Did it go down the wrong pipe?”
Alexa snapped up her glass and took a longer drink. She set the glass down defiantly. “I’m fine.”
Ruby sipped her wine, then sat back in her chair. “Now then, I believe we we’re here to discuss the future. I’m afraid we’re on divergent paths, Alexa. I would say I was on the high road, but that’s not quite right. You see, I didn’t get where I am today by playing fair and making nice with my enemies. I take what I want, and I crush anyone who stands in my way. I wanted PDX, and now it’s mine. You were an obstacle to that goal, and I’ve crushed you without lifting a finger. It was really all too easy, Alexa. I’m afraid your reputation as a dangerous and cunning woman is vastly overrated.”
Alexa turned pale and put her hands to her throat. She started coughing uncontrollably and fell to her knees. Jackson struggled against his bonds and cried out. “Alexa! What’s wrong? Why isn’t anyone helping her?”
Ruby waved away his concerns. “No need for alarm. It’s just a sad, pathetic, washed-up loser gagging on some poisoned wine. If you’ve seen it once, you’ve seen it a thousand times.”
Jackson struggled harder. “Good God, somebody call an ambulance. Call the police! Somebody, do something.”
Ruby laughed. “Everybody is exactly where they’re supposed to be. Don’t worry, it will all be over soon.”
Alexa laid on the floor, gagging and clutching her throat. Her face froze in a death mask and the camera zoomed in tight on her eyes as she fought for her last breath. The screen went black, then displayed the end credits.
Diane was numb with shock. How dare they kill off Alexa? The heart and soul of the show! It had to be a trick. It had to be a dream, or Alexa was faking, or in the next episode Jackson would save her, somehow. It couldn’t end like this. She refused to accept it.
Lys
sa pounded her thighs in disgust. “Ugh! A cliffhanger? That’s so lame!” She turned to Diane. “Are you sure there aren’t any more episodes?”
“Nope,” she said sadly, “there were five files, and we watched all of them. I can’t believe they ended it there. Alexa deserved better.” She shifted uncomfortably. “You’re on my bladder. I have to pee, be right back.”
Lyssa let her off the sectional, and Diane ran to the bathroom. Lyssa called after her. “Is there anything to eat? I’m starving.”
Diane called back through the bathroom door. “I’ll order us something, if they’re still delivering this late. It’ll be just a sec.” She heard Lyssa rustling around in the kitchen. She sat on the toilet and shrugged. Maybe she’d find something to snack on. She wasn’t sure what there was, then remembered the chocolates Sapphire had given her.
Sapphire’s final words rang in her head. The final scene in Fortune and Destiny was uncomfortably similar to what went down at the Cotillion earlier that evening. The rival’s name was Ruby. Wasn’t that a gemstone too? Her stomach flipped as she compared the fiction with the reality. Had Sapphire watched the show? She said she hated it. She never wanted to be bothered with it when Diane tried to tell her about something that happened. She remembered the first time Sapphire told her the show was stupid. How could she have known she and Lyssa were watching it together? Sapphire wasn’t her roommate back then. Unless Lyssa told her, but that seemed unlikely. She put her hand to her forehead as another puzzle piece snapped into place. She said she was wired into everything. Was she… spying on them?
Diane flushed and washed her hands. She hurried back to the living room and found Lyssa sitting on the sectional eating chocolates. Sapphire’s gift bag was tossed aside on the coffee table. She looked up and licked the tips of her fingers. “I figured these were for me. I saw the wine too. White Zinfandel is my favorite! Let’s open it and celebrate.”
A Dangerous and Cunning Woman Page 21