Shock shook her so hard and then … wow!
Sheriff wasn’t such a bad kisser and Maxine didn’t move away wanting to feel something other than the misery that had overcome her. Moving her arms around his neck and letting him deepen the kiss, she was in control of all her senses despite how good Sheriff was kissing her.
Damn! Damn! Damn! He didn’t make her feel like Philippe did.
Sheriff broke away suddenly and looked very angry at himself more than at her.
Before she could apologize for her break down, he said, “Please don’t apologize, Maxine. Being alone is a horrible thing. I can’t say I understand you, but I’ve seen enough bodies left vacant for sometimes months because no one bothered to care.” Gently, placing a finger on her chin and bringing her eyes to his ominous murky darks, he asked, “But why do I get the feeling in all this mess that you know Devon Walken from more than just the owner of a vacant looking building?”
CHAPTER 22
Pushing away from his embrace, she had a feeling Sheriff’s intentions had not been to comfort her at all. He had been trying to seduce her and if she hadn’t already had her world rocked by Philippe, that damn kiss from Sheriff would have gotten her lips to reveal everything.
Maxine didn’t know what to say and self-consciously she touched the necklace. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Lieutenant Heart.”
“Don’t bullshit a bull shitter, Maxine,” he said, cranking up the car. “If you don’t tell me now, I’ll eventually find out later.”
Obviously he realized his kissing spell didn’t work on her and was even more agitated.
Still not speaking, she hoped he didn’t ask again. She hated to lie, but what else could she do. The men in the organization were lawyers, judges, and other high law enforcements that worked circles around Sheriff Heart. He held no power. He held no way of protecting her if she disobeyed the organization or the women. Her worry was what would they do to her if she told and what would happen to the other women? Could they be punished as well? Just knowing Lanna and Carla could endure the same treatment or even worse kept Maxine’s mouth closed.
The ride was tense and silent back to the precinct and he let her out near her car, but just as she was getting out his car, he lightly touched her arm to make her pause and lean down into the car to look at him.
“I hope whatever you’re holding on to can help you, Maxine.” He handed her his card with his cell phone number on it. “Otherwise call me morning, noon or night.”
She nodded taking the card. “You said my statement linked up with another case. So is location the only thing that links my information up with another case?” she inquired.
This look of realization caught his black eyes and he hesitated as if a question had just been answered. “Yes, but there is something else I just figured out too. Have a good night, Maxine and remember to let me do my job.”
She watched him drive away and looked back down at the business card to memorize the number - just in case.
* * ***
Once she had returned to work, Maxine informed her supervisor of Lisa’s murder. She found herself still choked up a bit as she relayed the news of Lisa’s death. Everyone was deeply saddened and concerned and her supervisor even asked if she would like the rest of the day off.
Knowing she still only had a week to come up with something, she told him she would just try to work and if it became too difficult she would just leave. Maxine actually needed work to help her keep her mind off of everything that had happened.
Sitting in front of her computer, consumed with thoughts of Lisa and slaves, Maxine ended up drafting up a synopsis of what she wanted and then wrote a checklist of what she would need to research in order to see if it could be done.
By the end of the day, Maxine was just plain exhausted and went home, but she wasn’t that sleepy and no matter what she ended up doing, she was either thinking about Lisa or Philippe - although more about Philippe than anything.
* * ***
Nicole gasped when her doors were practically kicked in. Although it was never locked, she knew immediately why it had been kicked in when she saw whom the person was standing in the doorway.
Standing up from her accounting books and taking off her glasses, she said in a calm tease, “Philippe, I take it this is not a visit of pleasure.”
Anyone else would be a fool to tease Philippe in this present state of anger, but he had history with Nicole and she knew him very well.
Glaring at her, he slammed the door behind him to give them privacy. “You’re damn right, Nicole.” His unkempt appearance was clearly evident to his angry state of being. “You aren’t really going to make me go into details.”
“The girl was properly punished, Philippe, and you need to leave it just at that. El Dolor Cuarto has been performed on countless of women especially in the higher caste for obedience and extreme punishment. You and I both know it could have been worse. Let it go. It is the way and these women know this and accept it.” Nicole came around the desk.
“My father deliberately kept me occupied until they had taken her away. I thought she would be returned to the chamber after that room.”
“I felt she needed to be taken out of here. Devon was extremely angry. I didn’t like the way he was speaking and I’m afraid he took his anger out on his slaves.” She looked extremely worried. “Plus, you must admit your slave was the first to … shall I say best a high master.”
Calming down, Philippe moved closer to Nicole to implore, “I need to see her, Nicole.”
“You know I cannot allow that. You know the information of where they live is kept from even the handlers. It’s the rules Philippe that you aren’t the engage in seeing your slave outside of the society.”
“But you keep books and I know you know.” Grabbing her shoulders roughly and slightly shaking her, he ordered, “Give me her address, Nicole. I have to see her”
Reaching up to touch his face, she begged, “Please Philippe. Please don’t make me. You know I could lose all that I have worked for. And you know it is against policy for you to see her outside of the chambers. You could be blackballed. Your whole family.”
Philippe knew he was wrong to ask, but damn if he couldn’t sleep for the past day wondering, tortured, and so ashamed of everything. True, she had broken the rules, but he wished she had not been punished so severely, yet she had to be.
Word would have gotten around that no punishment was issued and there would never be an end of it, but he should have been allowed to comfort her. The most they would allow him to do was stand in the room silent, while Lanna attended to her; Cleaning her and dressing her.
Had she been aware he was there? That his body and mind was screaming so many apologies, yet he obeyed to be silent especially since his father had been also standing there with him.
When she had been ordered to sit up, they could all see the marks on her lower back. His father looked truly aghast at the horrific marks on her back and had to look away, but neither spoke about it.
Now, as he thought about everything, he released Nicole and stumbled back to a seat that was in front of the desk and sat down.
Kneeling at his feet, Nicole implored, “Please don’t worry about her, Philippe. She’ll be back. They all return and you can indulge in her so much, she’ll forget it all. Take her to the planetarium or find out what she likes and just buy it for her. Women like that. She’ll like that.”
Confused, Philippe nodded. “I know it was wrong of me to ask you for the information, Nicole.”
“You know I want to move mountains for you, Philippe, but on this you know I can’t.”
He nodded in understanding. “Can you give me the list of things she liked again and get them for her and reserve the planetarium for Saturday night - alone.”
“That is going to cost a pretty penny, you know.” She smiled easily and left to go to her back office.
Walking up to the desk Nicole had been working at before he
had come, he saw a folder in the corner that said second surveys with a current date. Opening up the folder, he saw the paper Devon had brought to his chamber about Maxine not using contraceptives. Philippe put this in his pocket quickly and put the folder exactly like it had been on the desk.
Philippe knew what he had to do. He had to find someone who could find the information out. Other men had done it in the past he was sure of it. He had been privy to hearing some of their secret conversations about how they sent things to their favorite slaves in the middle of the week or met with them outside of the chambers when it was one of policies that were disallowed.
Rules were made to be broken and plus it bothered Philippe to know how had Maxine gotten those scars. It really bothered him to know she was molested by her foster parent, and that by the time she was seventeen she had three abortions. Damn! What the hell had happened?! How could this have happened?! No one had answers for him and the lack of knowing tore him to pieces.
Nicole returned in the room and handed him a list of Maxine’s preferences.
As he was about to go out the door, Nicole called to him. When he looked at her, she said, “You need to find out why she disobeyed, Philippe, so she won’t do it again.”
Philippe went immediately home to go through his Rolodex of people he thought could help him without getting the word back to his father or any of the other members in the society.
Yet, he realized, everyone seemed to know everyone. Putting the paper on the desk with Maxine’s handwriting and idly staring at it as if something could be conjured, he was at a loss at who he could call without someone else who knew his father or the organization finding out.
His oldest son, Pierre walked in the dimly lit office looking worried. “I thought you’d be at the office,” he said with a lot of concern in his voice.
When Philippe agreed to an arrange marriage by his father, Pierre had been consummated just seal the deal. Although once Philippe looked at his son for the first time, he didn’t care about his misery, but when the divorce was final, he his children know the real truth behind the farce of a marriage.
Pierre had taken the divorce the hardest out of all of Philippe’s three children, yet surprisingly, he grew closer to his father more than his mother.
Pierre was a younger leaner version of Philippe. Graduating from Chicago University at the top of his class in business, Philippe couldn’t be more proud of his son. He’d carefully shielded his children away from the animosity of their grandfather and hoped Pierre considered a position Philippe had gotten from a friend in Florida to take over their southern operations because they wanted to move back up north.
Yet, Pierre desired to go into the family business and Philippe gave him a position where he knew the boy would have very little contact with his grandfather.
“I pushed my appointments to midweek and was going in later today,” Philippe said. “What are you doing?”
“Sneaking a morning delight thinking I’d have the whole house to myself,” his son admitted wickedly.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Pierre shrugged and chuckled. “She just left. You look as if you haven’t slept a wink. Grandfather called early this morning looking for you.”
Philippe flinched. “Is that all he called for?”
“He asked how was I doing and if I could meet him for lunch today.”
Trying not to feel unsettled, wondering why Ewan needed to have business with his son, he questioned, “Are you going to?”
Pierre shrugged indifferently. “I don’t know. I mean you know how grandfather makes us uneasy and I’m very much against his beliefs and all. I can’t think of why he’d want to have lunch with me out of the blue, when Mom was very adamant with him about never talking to us for as long as she lived.”
Philippe chuckled remembering his wife’s outburst when Ewan finally showed his true colors when the children were just babies. “Let me know if you decide to go. I’d like to accompany you if you don’t mind.”
“What about the fact that he’s looking for you, Dad?”
“Let him look,” Philippe growled.
Pierre caught sight of the paper Philippe had on his desk and frowned. “Are you spying on me? You don’t trust me?”
“What do you mean?”
Pointing to the paper, Pierre said “You did give me division over the technology department and I could do whatever I wanted as long as I got the job done, correct?”
“Yes, Pierre, but what are you talking about?”
“Well, I know you gave me a list of suppliers and people you wanted me to work with to get the job done, but their proposals sucked, so I employed someone on the project who I felt could give us what we want in the most creative way possible.” He pointed again to the paper. “According to Grandfather, he didn’t like this company simply because of the Italian hard ass related to it.”
Philippe stiffened. “You spoke to your grandfather about your decision?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Pierre was upset. “I hope you aren’t going behind my back, Dad, and taking them off the project. I didn’t think you’d have a problem with multicultural firm like Grandfather did.”
“I had no intentions of doing anything like that and I couldn’t care less how you got the job done, but that’s why I gave the project to you. This paper has nothing to do with…” Philippe’s words drifted off and he realized how consumed he had been with everything he hadn’t bothered to look at the second question.
Where she worked?
What did she do there?
“What does it have to do with?” Pierre questioned suspiciously.
“Not you… or the company. It’s just a coincidence. I swear.” Philippe’s phone rang at the same time. “I’ll talk with you in a moment, Pierre. Let me answer this.”
Pierre looked very displeased, but walked out.
Philippe knew the person on the phone could definitely help him out and after he spoke to him, he would get Pierre to allow him to help out on the “project.” Yes, he’d have to do a lot of convincing to his son without letting him know he was trying to see her, but hell, what else was he going to do without pissing his father and the other people off.
Damn guilt! Damn his promises on his mother’s death bed!
Damn himself!
CHAPTER 23
She didn’t return to work until Wednesday afternoon and that was only to meet with the animation department for the presentation about her ideas. By then, Maxine had consumed herself with work.
Of course there were moments she found herself crying over Lisa and then over her own anguish.
At one moment she hated Philippe for allowing that to happen and the next moment, she wanted him. She still wanted him and even her own body could not deny it.
As she walked in the office, on the outside, she looked like the normal Maxine. Little make, hair drawn up in French curl, plain looking clothes and thick rimmed reading and driving glasses propped up in her hair to be used when she needed them.
No one said much to her and she expected this. Maxine was not one to let people in her world or indulge in the office politics or gossip. Lisa had done all that and then had come to tell Maxine relay the mess, so now Maxine really felt distant from this place.
Yet, she loved her job. She took great pleasure and pride in her work and now with her new account being assigned to just her, she found completeness at really being needed somewhere in her business life.
This was really the first time she had been on a project completely alone and would be able to take credit for all the she had done.
She just wished her personal life could feel just as completed.
After the meeting with the technical team, she felt pretty confident her idea would work and Mr. Bianchi would be pleased.
Her supervisor came in her office to ask her for an update. Maxine really didn’t feel like it, but she indulged Mr. Healy with only just enough information to let him know that she could possi
bly have something by Friday.
“You’ve only come up with one idea?” he asked with grave doubt.
“I’ve come up with one idea that will work,” she assured him quickly.
“Are you sure that the company would be willing to invest in something like that?”
“They will, because it’s a great idea.” She didn’t need his skepticism.
“I should let you know this company rarely deals with multicultural firms and this opportunity is very important for us; Especially Mr. Bellini.”
“My idea will be solid enough and good enough to represent this firm.”
He still looked dubious and she knew if Lisa were there, Healy wouldn’t have. “I should also let you know that Mr. Bellini and the CEO of the company will be here for the presentation.”
“Friday?” she confirmed.
Healy only nodded and then left.
She remembered Kenneth Bianchi mentioning something like that, but it really didn’t sink in until now. Both bosses and the company president at a meeting? Just the thought that both men that owned the company she worked for was going to sit and listen to her was nerve racking enough, but also the man that would make the final decision in buying?
Maxine felt like the stress of this whole week was going to make her vomit at any moment.
* * ***
Pulling up to the fortress like structure had a powerful effect on Philippe. In the middle of Detroit, he could never imagine something like this being there. Built from an old warehouse in a partial industrial side of the city was a beautiful glass and cement structure about five floors high. Someone lived and worked here and it was just amazing to see the place in the middle of an area that looked dark and gloomy.
A steel gate surrounded the property and in order for it to open, he only had to move his silver Lexus coupe in front of a security entrance computer.
A computer voice said, “Good afternoon, Mr. Darkore.”
Philippe was very impressed by the technology because somehow it had scanned through the car to find the card that was in his pocket that he had been given in advance.
Dark Facade (Book Three) (Dark Facade Series) Page 3