by Marie Astor
“I’m sorry,” Delilah said, noticing the expression on Ally’s face. “I didn’t mean that. What you did to avenge your father’s death, that was amazing—most people in your place would give up and spend the rest of their days feeling sorry for themselves, but you pulled yourself up by the bootstraps and started a whole new life for yourself,” Delilah paused. “Which is why I don’t understand why you’re being so hard on me . . . Can’t you see that in a way I’m trying to do the same thing? Granted, my struggle can’t be compared to yours. I didn’t lose my father—he’s still alive and well. But I too am trying to start a new life for myself. I made a lot of mistakes and I’m trying to make it right this time. This case could be a way for me to do that. If I get the lead we need, everyone at the agency will finally see my potential. I will no longer be looked at as some charity case. And the way you keep putting me down . . . Well, it almost makes me feel like you don’t want me to succeed. Like you’re jealous that I might steal some of your starlight . . . Must you always be the superstar?”
Ally felt as though she’d had her eyes shut the entire time. All she’d been trying to do was to protect her friend. It had never occurred to her that Delilah might see her comments as derogatory, or worse, jealous. “I didn’t mean that at all. I’m so sorry if I hurt you. I’m just worried about you, that’s all.”
“I appreciate it, but it also makes me feel like you don’t trust me. Yes, I’m not going to deny it—Brad Weiss is a very handsome guy, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to lose my head over him. The only thing that truly matters to me is solving this case. And would it be so bad if I have a little fun in the process, if it makes me sound more convincing and get the information we need that much quicker? I don’t mean to be nasty, but I don’t see either you or Jake making any great strides either.”
Ally winced, faced with the real reason she’d been giving Delilah such a hard time lately. She’d been trying to protect Delilah from getting into the same mess she was in with Jake, but instead she ended up hurting her friend. Maybe she should’ve spent more time looking at her own faults instead—maybe her friend had a better head on her shoulders than she did after all.
Delilah continued her tirade, oblivious to the look of remorse on Ally’s face. “If you’ve got a better idea on how to find the leak in Orion I’m all for it. And by the way, I’m not even sure that Weiss is our guy, but I do think he’ll lead us to whomever it is that’s behind it all.”
“You’re right.” Ally reached for Delilah’s arm, but her friend pulled away. “About everything,” she added. “I’ve been acting like a real jerk without realizing,” she sighed. “The truth is I’ve made a pretty big mistake myself and I just wanted to save you from doing the same. What I didn’t realize is that you’re way too smart to make the same mistake in the first place. Please forgive me. Everything I said was because you’re my friend and I worry about you.”
Delilah crossed her hands on her chest. “Now you’re talking in riddles. What is this big mistake you’re talking about?”
“Me and Jake. It was a mistake for us to get involved. A huge mistake that brought us both nothing but heartache.”
“Don’t say that. You know you don’t mean it. What happened between the two of you? Did you have a fight?”
“Jake thought it wasn’t safe for us to keep seeing each other while we’re working on the case together. I know he’s right, but it doesn’t make the hurt any less. And the worst part is that he’s seeing Irene Zong . . .”
“What do you mean he’s seeing Irene Zong?”
“He spent a night at her place and then he had dinner with her the other night.”
“What?”
“Well, he didn’t sleep with her or anything—it was more like he fell asleep on her couch. And then they had dinner later. I know all this because I bugged her office, so I have the pleasure of hearing them flirt with one another.”
“You bugged her office without clearing it with a senior agent first?”
“Yes, I did. And please don’t scold me for it. Jake already did plenty of that. I think it was the last drop—that was when he told me that from now on our relationship was going to be professional only. And he’s been true to his word ever since.”
“But he didn’t say that he was breaking up with you forever, right?”
“Not exactly, no. I could tell that it was hard for him to say, which means that he must care for me, for us. But what difference does it make? So we get through this case and we get back together. How long is that going to last? Until the next case? As long as we’re doing this job, our relationship is always going to take a back seat. I don’t know if I want to live like that. I don’t know if I would’ve gotten involved with Jake had I known that from the onset.”
“Of course you would’ve. I remember the way the two of you looked at each other every time you were in the same room. And the way he looks at you now, every time he sees you.”
“Even now?” Ally asked hopefully.
“Even now. He tries really hard to conceal it, but every now and then it shines through. Most people wouldn’t notice, but because I know you guys, it doesn’t escape me.”
“So he cares.”
“Of course he cares, Ally. Jake loves you.”
“He never exactly told me that.”
“That’s because he does. Most guys are really stingy with words when the words are coming from their heart.”
“You sound like a poet.”
“Hardly. But trust me, I do know what I’m talking about. And by the way, Jake is going to be there tonight.”
“I know, but what does it matter? He’s going to be busy charming the pants off Irene Zong. God, I can’t stand that snake. Doesn’t she look like some kind of reptile? All lithe and lanky. I bet she’s got zero percent body fat. How does one get a body like that? It’s not natural.”
“She does have a nice figure,” Delilah observed nonchalantly, “but so do you. Jake told me she’s into martial arts. She gave him quite a thrashing when he tried to offer her a ride in the parking lot earlier this week.”
“She what?”
“You didn’t know? Oh, I guess it figures why he wouldn’t tell you . . . I wouldn’t want to brag about something like that either if I were him. He saw her late in the parking lot earlier this week, and when he approached her she thought he was trying to mug her or something and banged him up pretty bad. I think that might’ve been the night when he slept on her couch. He thought she might’ve drugged him. Anyway, he told me all this because he thinks she’s real dangerous and we should avoid her at all costs.”
“He told me to stay out of her way too, but he didn’t go into the same amount of detail.” Ally smiled. “Now things start to make sense.”
“I’ll say.” Delilah smiled, glad to see her friend in better spirits. “Now, what do you say we finish getting ready for the party? You do want to look your best for Jake, don’t you?”
***
Ally felt a chill run through her as she entered Orion’s auditorium. It was a huge space with vaulted ceilings, shiny parquet floor, and gilded walls. The contrast was all the more striking given Orion’s progressive policies and innovative technologies, but in a way it also reflected the personality of Orion’s founder, Peter Langman, who seemed to be a combination of the old and the new. Although she had done extensive research on the man, Ally had only seen Peter Langman in person the few times she accidentally walked past him in the hallways of the executive floor. He seemed friendly and approachable and didn’t have any of the standoffish briskness most of the executives had. Up until recently, Langman had been very active in the management of his company, growing Orion from a small plant to a conglomerate of worldwide importance. One couldn’t help wondering about what prompted Langman to step down as the CEO when his company was at the height of its performance and hire Steven Wright as his successor. Wright certainly had the credentials to do the job, but Langman was still of active age. Unlike the majo
rity of Orion’s executives who had a long tenure with Orion, Wright was an outsider. The decision to bring him in must have bruised many egos. It was only logical to assume that one of those bruised egos was the leak the agency was looking for. But so far all Ally and Delilah had been able to come up with was a handful of theories that didn’t check out, and Jake didn’t fare any better.
Ally’s reverie was interrupted by the sight of Jake entering the room with Irene Zong on his arm. She was dressed in a charcoal gown with a plunging neckline and a train that seemed to be at least a foot long. Ally sincerely hoped that Irene would trip over it sometime during the evening. Still, it’d be a lie not to say that with her jet-black hair pinned up and huge diamond solitaires adorning her ears, Irene looked stunning. In his tailored tuxedo and bowtie, Jake looked like the perfect date for her. He must’ve gotten a haircut right before the event with his perfectly tousled hairdo making his green eyes even more piercing. Their eyes made contact momentarily and Jake looked away casually, as though Ally was nothing more than a passerby. At least Ally was glad that she’d changed her attire at the last minute, opting for a red dress with a plunging neckline. It was one of Delilah’s, but it fit Ally to a T and she paired it with black stilettos which she also borrowed from Delilah. Her feet might be paying the price, but it was well worth it—she looked hot even if she said so herself. She wore her long hair down, just the way Jake liked it. She wore no jewelry except for a diamond pave heart pendant Jake had given her a few months ago. In hindsight, she admitted it had been a risky choice, but she didn’t care. No one in the room could’ve possibly known about the pendant except for her and Jake. She wanted to remind him that there was still a connection between them, even if they were forced to be apart.
Delilah nudged her with her elbow. “Let’s get something to drink.” She signaled to the waiter passing by and grabbed two glasses of champagne. “Cheers.” She handed Ally a glass.
Ally lifted the glass to her lips, draining half of it. “I’m not sure what we’re drinking to, but I’m sure glad to have a drink.”
“Hey, take it easy.” Delilah eyed her worriedly. “We’re drinking to a successful completion of this evening. Something’s telling me we’re going to find what we’re looking for very soon.”
“I sure hope you’re right,” Ally muttered, draining the rest of her glass. Unless something came up soon, Jake might be stuck in Newport for a very long time. Ally and Delilah would be leaving soon regardless—their cover as interns only allowed for a one month stay, unless Marion somehow managed to pull another trick out of her hat, but given that neither Ally nor Delilah had produced much input for the investigation, Ally doubted that to be the case. So she was looking at weeks, maybe months without Jake. She knew that it wasn’t exactly the right motivation, but the prospect of Jake being left alone with no one other than Irene Zong for company made Ally want to drug every executive in the room with truth serum to get the information out of them. She wondered if such a thing even existed—it certainly worked well in espionage movies. Too bad it’d be illegal even if it did exist. Oh, well, she’d just have to rely on plain old methods of persuasion. She exchanged glances with Delilah who nodded at her reassuringly.
“Time to mingle.” Delilah grabbed Ally’s hand and started weaving through the crowd.
They stopped along the way, chatting with the random acquaintances they had made among the company employees. Ally smiled politely and exchanged pleasant remarks, but her mind was elsewhere as she kept scanning the room for Jake and Irene. The two of them were making the rounds as if they were a couple, remaining inseparable while exchanging greetings and smiles with the company top brass.
“Well hello, ladies!” It was Alex, the IT guy who’d tried to flirt with Delilah and less enthusiastically so with Ally but had since fallen off the map, deeming them both too serious for fun.
“Hi, Alex.” Delilah smiled. “Nice suit.”
“Sorry I don’t own a tux, but I figured this would get me past the radar.” He pointed to his bowtie.
“Very nicely done,” Delilah assured him. “Don’t you think so, Beatrice?” she asked Ally, forcing her to tear her gaze away from Jake and Irene.
“Yes, absolutely,” Ally agreed. “You look great, Alex.”
“Why, thank you, Trix. It’s nice to see you again. Mark tells me you girls have been so busy working you don’t leave any time for fun. Speak of the devil, there’s the poor bastard. Let’s see if you can brighten his day.” Just then Mark noticed them and started waving excitedly in their direction.
“We’d love to, Alex, but as you have pointed out we do have lots of work to do. We’ll catch up some other time.” Delilah grabbed Ally’s arm and started making her way through the crowd.
“Hey, what’s your hurry?” Alex called after them. “This is a party. Can’t you have some fun at a party? You’re supposed to have fun at a party . . .” His voice trailed off, lost in the buzz of the crowd.
Delilah rolled her eyes. “That guy has no boundaries.”
“He was just being friendly.”
“We’ve got no use for his friendship. And he also told us everything he knew. Next. And by the way, stop staring at Jake. You keep acting like that, people will notice.”
“Staring? Who’s staring? I’m not staring at anyone. A casual glance, maybe, but then can you blame me for being just a little bit curious?” Ally said casually. “Can you believe Irene’s getup? What does she think this is, the Oscars?” she added, completely blowing her cool.
“That’s exactly what I’m talking about!” Delilah hissed. “You keep wasting your time on nonsense like that, no way we’ll get this case solved. Forget about Irene. The only reason Jake is shadowing her is to get information. Nothing else. He doesn’t care for anyone in this room except for you.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I saw him look at you a couple of times. Trust me—the only woman who matters to him in this room is you.”
“You saw him look at me? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Are you serious? I thought you were over this. This is a job. We have work to do. Jake is doing a job and the least we could do is not screw it up. And maybe, if you get your act together, we could even help him.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry. I know it’s wrong, but every time I see him with that . . . that tramp, I just get all wired up.”
“Control your emotions. The longer we stand here wasting our time talking about it, the longer Jake is going to be hanging out with the tramp. The only way to put an end to it is to find the leak we’re looking for.”
“Yes, I know.” Ally took another sip of champagne. “Any ideas?”
Delilah smiled. “I just got one. Follow me.”
Halfway through toward their destination, Ally tugged at Delilah’s arm. “Wait! Where are you going? We can’t interrupt them,” she said, seeing Brad Weiss talking casually with their immediate supervisor, Andrew Rogers. The two stood directly in their path and Ally guessed Delilah’s intentions. Weiss looked like he was making the rounds, socializing with the company employees, but as lowly interns Delilah and Ally wouldn’t qualify for this “honor” without raising a few eyebrows. They were already on thin ice with Rogers who’d been greatly freaked out by the special plant access privileges Weiss had granted them. For all they knew, they weren’t even supposed to be at this party in the first place—seeing them there could give Rogers a conniption.
“Relax,” Delilah muttered. “We’re just going to pass by casually and see what happens. Look sharp.”
“Good evening, ladies,” Weiss greeted them, cutting off Rogers in the middle of a sentence.
Rogers’ mouth gaped open and then closed shut with an audible clicking of teeth. “Good evening, Beatrice and Katherine. Hope you’re enjoying the party.”
“I’m so glad you could be here tonight,” Weiss continued, ignoring Rogers.
“And so are we,” Delilah exclaimed. “Thank you so much for the i
nvitation, Mr. Weiss.”
“Oh, it’s my pleasure. I’m glad I was able to get it to you in time. Otherwise it would’ve been an unforgivable omission,” Weiss continued. Just then Rogers looked around wildly and after waving at some invisible acquaintance, excused himself, leaving them alone with Weiss.
“You’re too kind,” Delilah beamed at Weiss.
“We’re both so grateful for your kindness, Mr. Weiss.” Ally focused her eyes on her glass, mortified. Talk about being inconspicuous.
“Ladies, it’s been a pleasure and I wish I didn’t have to leave you, but I must excuse myself. I’m expected to give a speech and I don’t want to keep Mr. Langman waiting.” Weiss bowed slightly.
“I can’t wait to hear it.” Delilah’s chest heaved excitedly.
“I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed,” Weiss quipped. “But alas I cannot escape the dreaded task. I hope to see you later, ladies.” With that, Weiss headed toward the podium where a cluster of Orion’s executives had already assembled.
“He’s a wonderful public speaker,” Delilah gushed.
“I haven’t heard him speak, so I can’t judge,” Ally said, wishing Delilah would tone down her enthusiasm. It was a corporate speech, for crying out loud. How good could it possibly be?
“Oh, I’ve pulled up recordings of him from seminars on the Internet,” Delilah informed her, her gaze glued to the tribune. “He’s so charismatic.”
Chapter 17
Brad Weiss felt blood pound in his ears as he approached the stage. Normally he enjoyed giving speeches, but not tonight. The mere thought that his speech had been cut down to a preamble set his teeth on edge. The real speaker of the evening was going to be Steven Wright who would report about Orion’s new contracts, which Brad had been slaving to secure, and receive credit for all of Brad’s achievements to boot. What’s worse, Wright was going to announce the “necessary” improvements to Orion’s plant to be executed by McKeenly. These so called “findings” had been presented to Peter Langman and the old man didn’t even bat an eye. Several times Brad tried to hint to his mentor that the data had been manipulated, but Langman wouldn’t listen. It was as though the old man had turned deaf and dumb overnight by putting his blind trust in Wright. To say that Brad was angry would be an understatement of gigantic proportions, but he still had a job to do.