by Cara Adams
“Hmm, Keisha.”
“I’d offer to go with you, but of course they know who I am and that I wouldn’t be looking for work, so that idea won’t fly,” said April.
“I thought of all those things, which is why I’m suggesting Keisha,” replied Dera, keeping the other two names as backup, just in case she needed them.
“Is Keisha inside?” asked Okapi.
“She went over to the store a while ago. I think she was helping Qwera with something.”
“I’ll go get her.” April hurried across the open space and into the store.
April and Keisha appeared on the stoop out front of the store, then April went back inside while Keisha came over to join therm. “I’m sorry. I’m kind of dirty. Qwera and I are dusting the shelves in the storeroom.”
Dera grinned. There were a couple of spider webs on Keisha’s hair, but likely now wasn’t a good time to mention that.
Okapi grunted and said, “Dera seems to think accepting an interview with Jackson Recruiting might be a good method of finding out more about the company. It would be most unwise of her to go alone in case they aren’t honorable people, but sending April or a man with her would be futile. She’s suggested you might be willing to accompany her and pretend you’re looking for work.”
“I am looking for work and sure, I’ll go along, too.” Keisha glanced down at the ground for a moment and then straightened her body before looking Okapi directly in the eyes. “Before I came here, there was a man I trusted who tried to take advantage of me. He didn’t succeed. No man will ever succeed in forcing me to do things I don’t want to.”
“Excellent. Dera, agree to the interview. Don’t mention Keisha so they’ll be unaware she’s part of the deal. But someone will be following you there and only a phone call away should anything go wrong.”
Keisha spun around and high-fived Dera. Dera laughed and said, “Thank you, Okapi. I really think we can get worthwhile information. If they’re good people, innocently looking for wait staff, it’d be great to know that.” Her sore ass reminded her that Gowan might not be quite so excited. Well, too bad. Okapi had authorized the mission and why shouldn’t she be the one who went?
* * * *
“You did what?” Gowan stared at Okapi, blood pounding in his head and his hands forming themselves into fists.
“Calm down, Gowan. Her plan was actually a damn good one. We keep thinking these Jackson Recruiting people might be the bad guys, but we have no genuine information on them. Hiding behind a line of shell companies is not illegal. Minimizing a company’s tax requirements isn’t illegal either. Hell, half the biggest companies in America do it.”
Gowan forced himself to relax. He unclenched his fists and blinked to clear the red mist from his eyes. “I’ll be there with her. To protect her.”
“No, you won’t. You’ll be at least a block away, but linked to April and Dera’s cell phones. They won’t say a word to her if you’re there, you big ape.”
“You don’t understand how difficult this is for me,” said Gowan, staring at Okapi and trying hard not to imagine his fist sinking into the other man’s face.
“You aren’t the only wolf in love with a determined, stubborn, independent human woman,” said Okapi softly.
“Keisha? You want Keisha?” Gowan hadn’t thought about that. He supposed he’d been too focused on Dera to pay attention to which woman the other pairs of bachelors wanted.
“Yes, Tedros and I have been trying to catch her attention, but I work such long hours it’s not easy, and Tedros is very careful never to approach her if I’m not there. But that’s all irrelevant. For the good of the community we need to learn more about this company, and since they’ve approached Dera, and she’s instigated a plan, we’d be stupid not to make use of the opportunity. Now stop being a Dom and start acting like a regular man and listen up.”
“Yes, sir.” Gowan knew when the time to complain had passed. So he dropped into a chair in front of Okapi’s desk and settled down with Okapi to come up with a foolproof way of both getting the information they wanted and protecting the two women.
“Of course if they don’t make an appointment with Dera, all of this effort is wasted, but I believe they will. Also, I’ll get Yaro to have a look at the company she applied for who likely passed her details onto Jackson Recruiting. Maybe they aren’t one hundred percent honest either.”
Gowan felt a little better with a detailed plan in place but he couldn’t help hoping Dera never heard back from the company and it was all just a waste of time. Unfortunately, only a few hours later, Okapi texted him to say the interview was set for two the following afternoon.
“What are they doing answering emails on a Sunday? Their staff should be home cutting the grass or something,” he grumbled to Maitho.
“And the last time you cut the grass on a Sunday was when?”
Gowan laughed. “2003 maybe?”
“Just be grateful we were back from our run in time for your meeting with Okapi.”
“Yeah. But I don’t have a good feeling about this. I’m pretty sure this company is not ideal. I’m not saying they’re into human trafficking or anything, but it makes me wonder if they’re supplying the girls for the BDSM club.”
“So it’s likely an even better thing to know for sure, right? Not that I’m thrilled it’s Dera who’s involved, just saying ya know.”
Yeah, but logic didn’t take away his fears that someone might harm his woman. He wanted her safe in his arms, safe in his house, not stepping blithely into danger.
Maitho stared at him. “You know, you wouldn’t love Dera half as much if she was a frightened little mouse who wanted to stay hidden in our bedroom twenty-four-seven.”
Gowan turned and stared at his best friend. “Fuck it. You’re right, as usual. When did you get to be so perceptive?”
Maitho punched him in the arm. “So let’s finish cleaning the house.”
Gowan stomped back to work, but his guts were still in a tangle with fear for Dera.
* * * *
Dera and Keisha went through each other’s clothing, choosing what seemed most suitable for an interview. Both decided on skirts and jackets, with demure blouses under them and pumps. Dera also made damn sure her cell phone was fully charged. Then she filled a sock with salt, tied a knot in the ankle of it, and put it in her purse just in case. Keisha looked at her and grinned, holding up two rolls of pennies tightly wrapped in brown paper.
“Oh yes, an effective, yet completely legal and innocent weapon. Great minds think alike.”
“I’ve never had to use such a thing, though. I’m not sure I could actually hurt a person deliberately.”
“Honey, if someone is trying to rape you, it’s time to punch first as hard as you can, then run like hell. That’s the best advice anyone would ever give you.”
“The running like hell part will be easy. It’s the punching I don’t know if I can do. I expect this’s all a false alarm and they’ll be asking me how much experience I’ve had waiting tables and slinging hash.”
The look Keisha gave her said louder than any words that she wasn’t convinced.
They had an unremarkable ride into Coopersville and across town to where the interview was being held. April had driven in front of them, guiding them where to go, and she waved her hand out the car window as she drove off. Dera knew she’d only be a block away and her cell phone was number one on both hers and Keisha’s speed dials.
When Dera walked inside the building, she was able to relax a bit. The reception area looked exactly like that of a thousand other small companies, and the prim and proper middle-aged woman at the desk ticked her name off in a book and politely told her to take a seat. It was all so very normal.
Five minutes later the woman stood up and told Dera to follow her. When Keisha stood, too, she said, “You can wait here, or come back later. Ms. Williams will be through the interview process in half an hour.”
“I’m coming, too. I want a
job as well.”
“Why don’t you wait here and I’ll make an appointment for you for tomorrow?”
“I’m here now. I’d rather accompany Dera.”
The receptionist stared at them both, then shrugged and led them down a hallway to a closed door. She tapped on it and stood back until a voice answered her. She waved Dera to the door and walked quickly back down the hallway. Dera thought perhaps she didn’t want to leave the reception desk unattended for very long, but more likely she didn’t want the people holding the interview to complain at her for allowing Keisha to come in as well.
Keisha gave her a gentle shove and she opened the door and stepped into the office. Once again it looked like any office anywhere. There was a man in a suit behind a large wooden desk, with a single chair in front of it. She’d expected three or even four people to be conducting the interview but apparently not.
“Which one of you is Dera Williams?”
“I am.” Dera stepped forward and smiled, wondering if she should shake his hand or something, but he didn’t extend it.
“Who are you and why are you here?” he asked, turning to Keisha.
“My name’s Keisha Robinson, and I’m looking for work as well.”
“Go back out to reception and make an appointment.”
“Since I’m already here now, can’t you interview both of us together?”
The man, who hadn’t told her his name yet, held his head slightly sideways as if he was watching or listening for something. That’s weird. It’s definitely not as if he’s thinking, but more as if he’s waiting for someone to tell him what to say. Dera turned her head slightly, trying to see where the man was looking, without making it too obvious what she was doing. She couldn’t see a camera on the wall or a tiny red light anywhere that would indicate they were being videotaped.
“Okay, wait by the door. You, Dera, sit down. What kind of work are you specifically looking for?”
Dera slid into the seat and answered him, speaking of her experience in general office administration. He asked a couple of questions about computer programs she’d used, which she answered then he said, “Office workers don’t earn much money. You’d earn twice as much as an exotic dancer. Can you dance?”
“I’ve never learned to dance. I didn’t study ballet or anything as a child.”
“Walk across the room for me. Do it three times.”
This was looking more like an interview for the kind of job she didn’t want, but she did as he said.
“You’ll do. Go through that door and put the costume on.”
“I’ll wait here until you’ve interviewed Keisha.”
He gave her a sharp look, but she stood by the door and let Keisha take the central chair. He didn’t even ask Keisha about office work, instead he went straight to questions about dancing, then sent them both through the internal door.
The next room had a wall of mirrors, like a dance studio, a tall pole, which Dera could only assume was for pole dancing, and a costume that made the bikini she’d worn for Gowan and Maitho’s Hawaiian scene look overdressed. She and Keisha stared at the room, glanced at each other, then went back into the man’s office. He still hadn’t told them his name.
He was speaking on the landline on his desk as they entered and looked up, quite surprised to see them back again.
“I don’t think this is the type of career I’m looking for,” said Dera, and kept walking out of the room.
“Thank you for your time,” added Keisha politely, following hard on her heels.
“Wait a minute,” the man called after them, but they’d already closed his door and were walking fast down the hallway and out of the building.
* * * *
Gowan was so unsettled about this interview for Dera, even though Keisha was with her, that he’d had to get out of the truck and pace up and down the road where they were parked. Tedros had done exactly as they were instructed to do and had parked a block away from the office, on Dera and Keisha’s direct route back to the farm. April was a block in front of the interview center. She’d guided them to their interview and would shepherd them back to the farm as well. Although Gowan was certain both Dera and Keisha would have checked where the address was and looked it up on Google Maps. Still it was good to have the extra car available in case there was trouble.
However, his back itched between his shoulder blades, warning him of trouble. His nose kept twitching, too, although there weren’t any unexpected scents on the wind and it wasn’t as though bad people smelled any different from good people.
Meanwhile Tedros sat silently in the truck, not listening to music, or biting his nails, or anything. He just sat there. Either the man was sublimely unworried or else he had nerves of steel.
When his cell phone beeped, Gowan almost dropped it in his rush to get it out of his pocket.
No problems. Leaving now.
“What the fuck? That doesn’t tell me anything,” he grumbled getting back into the truck.
“What? You want them to stand in the parking lot giving you a minute by minute account of their day?” said Tedros.
“No, but something like, ‘They want fifty women to can peaches’ might have relieved my mind some.”
April passed them, closely followed by Keisha and Dera. Keisha was driving this time and she and Dera were talking, but of course, he couldn’t hear anything they said. Still he urged Tedros not to let more than a single car get between them and the women all the way back to the farm. He’d intended to take Dera aside and ask for the full story of her interview, but she and Keisha left the farm pickup in the barn behind the official building and went straight inside. He jumped out the car and raced to catch them up.
His heart was pounding again, because if they were going to report to Cooper, something must have been wrong. The “no problems” must have been an understatement or a hopeful post, not the truth. The only thing preventing him from grabbing Dera’s arm and demanding she speak to him was the certainty she wouldn’t like it. Oh, and the knowledge that he’d find out soon once she spoke to Cooper anyway.
The two women stopped at Okapi’s door but Gowan brushed past them and stepped inside. When the door was open it was always all right to speak to him. Okapi waved them in and asked, “Should Cooper be here at this meeting as well?”
Dera and Keisha looked at each other, and then Dera said, “I don’t think it’s worth bothering him.”
“I agree.”
Gowan noticed April sliding into the room behind them and wondered if he should go bring in a pile of folding chairs. He managed to remain silent, though, and Dera and Keisha began to speak.
“It was just an office like any other small business office.” Keisha spoke first.
“The receptionist was a regular middle-aged woman.”
“The man holding the interviews looked ordinary.”
“But he didn’t tell us his name and he didn’t want Keisha there at first.”
“The receptionist tried to get me to make my own appointment for tomorrow as well, but in the end, she let me stay and so did the man.”
“The second weird thing, after the man not telling us his name, was the way he seemed to be listening or looking for someone to tell him what to say or do next.”
“I noticed that, too,” said Keisha.
“I looked around, but I couldn’t see a camera anywhere though.”
“Did you look at his ears? Was he wearing an earbud maybe?” asked Okapi.
“Damn. I never thought of that,” said Dera.
“Neither did I.”
“So what happened next?” asked Gowan. He still felt shaky and nervous. That couldn’t be the full story. They wouldn’t have come to Okapi’s office straight away just to mention that.
“We were sent into an inner room and told to put on a costume. The costume was about an inch of glitter fabric that wouldn’t hide anything at all.”
“But the room looked like a regular dance studio with a wall of mirrors
and a pole for pole dancing,” added Dera.
“So we said no thanks and left.”
“Good decision,” said Okapi.
Personally, Gowan thought a much better decision would have been for them never to have placed themselves in danger at all. Although the man seeming to wait for instructions was interesting. “What did the man who interviewed you look like?” he asked.
“Just normal,” said Keisha.
“Brown hair, thinning a bit. A round face and the start of a belly. He was sitting but only appeared to be average height,” added Dera.
“Fifty thousand people in Coopersville look like that,” said Okapi.
“One of those fifty thousand people is Green, Rinehart’s henchman. It’d be interesting to find out where he was today, and how much he’s been seen around town lately,” said Tedros quietly.
“That’s a good point. Can you look into that for me please, Tedros? Discreetly.”
“Was there anything else you noticed? How many cars were in the parking lot? Were there any other people around apart from the receptionist?” asked Okapi.
Dera and Keisha exchanged glances and shrugged. “We didn’t see anyone else and I didn’t notice the parking lot. There were cars on it, but I don’t know what.”
“I didn’t pay attention either. I’m sorry.”
“I took a whole stack of photographs on my cell phone. I’ll send them to Tedros in case he recognizes any other cars or their license plates,” said April.
“Good work.” Okapi smiled at her.
Gowan couldn’t relax even though his woman was safe and quite possibly never in real danger. “Unless there’d been another man hiding in the building. Perhaps someone who would have made a film of the women in their brief costumes and then used it for blackmail. Maybe that’s how they get their women. Take pictures of them getting changed and use them to force the women to work in the BDSM club.”
Okapi shook his head. “We won’t disregard any of the potential problems, but right now everything is speculation. Those women in the BDSM club might be very happily employed, earning huge tips to put a down payment on a house or a car.”