Obsessed

by Ashton Blackthorne

  “I’ll be bringing Sarah in next week. We’ll keep an eye on her and the numbers. Call that number on the card and go out with her tonight. Tell your girlfriend this is almost over.” Jessica pulled the door open for him.

  “I will.”

  “And Jax, one more thing.”

  “What?”

  “Keep writing!”

  A few hours later, Jax was sitting at his favorite coffee shop sipping a cup of the city’s finest brew. He picked up his phone to peruse the news.

  The headline jumped out at him.

  Local Model Missing.

  Brianna Jaynes, a local glamour model hasn’t been seen since last Monday according to her family and friends.

  “I’ve tried reaching her on social media and I haven’t been able to.” Her mother told Fox TV anchor, Lisa Bailey.

  “None of her accounts have been active since then.”

  Several family and friends have also reported that the beautiful young woman has remained unable to be reached.

  Anyone with any information should call the local police department.

  The picture flashed across the screen making him suck in his breath. It was the same girl he’d been with last week. Suddenly, he was overcome with a strong feeling of nausea.

  My God, it couldn’t be!

  Sarah?

  Jax pushed the revolting thought of his head and finished his coffee. Immediately, he texted Jessica.

  This is probably just a coincidence, but check this out.

  He forwarded the article to Jessica.

  His phone rang immediately.

  “What the hell is this, Jax? Isn’t that the model I sent you out with last week?”

  “Yes, it is.”

  Jessica went silent.

  “What are you implying with this? Sarah?”

  Jax gulped.

  “Yes, Sarah.”

  “You think Sarah had something to do with this? Why?”

  “I don’t know. She saw me with her. She confronted her in the restroom.”

  “What? You never told me that! She wasn’t supposed to do that. What did she say?”

  Jax thought a moment. He struggled to recall what the girl had told him.

  “Something about a weird question. Sarah asked her what was behind the pyramid. It was very odd. I recall she was quite shaken by the conversation.”

  “Okay, that’s it. I’m calling her and telling her to come in to see me tomorrow. This is getting very strange. Perhaps this job is going to her head.” Jessica swallowed her anxiety.

  “I thought you knew Sarah well.”

  “I do. This is just beyond anything I expected. And now the girl is missing. That’s just too much. I need to talk to her before this gets out of hand.”

  “I just have a weird feeling about it, Jessica. I don’t know if she had anything to do with it. It’s just…I don’t know how to describe it…unsettling I guess.”

  “Jax, I’ve known Sarah for years. This just doesn’t sound like something she would do. Is there a chance you’re reading her wrong? For her to be this crazy over a guy who’s just a job to her….it’s not like her at all.”

  “All I’m saying is what I’ve seen. She follows me everywhere even at night. She was at my house last night---“

  “---last night? Are you serious?”

  “She watched me and Brooke fucking.”

  “Whoa. Now that’s out of line. That wasn’t part of the agreement at all. This wasn’t supposed to extend past the strict orders I’d given her. She seems to be taking this too seriously. Is there something deeper that went on between you two?”

  Jax hesitated before replying. He knew he shouldn’t have fucked Sarah that first night and he was certain that Jessica wouldn’t have approved.

  “Yes, Jessica. The first night she came here….we.”

  “Oh God, you didn’t? You slept with her?”

  “There really wasn’t much sleeping going on, Jessica.”

  “Oh, shit, Jax. That was really stupid of you. Why did you do that?”

  He laughed.

  “Why do you think, Jessica? Beautiful girl, stormy night. You figure it out.”

  “Well, not much we can do about it now. Point is, the girl has gone too far. It needs to stop.”

  “Right.”

  “I’ll talk to her tomorrow and let you know.”

  “What about the date for tonight?”

  “Cancel it. Stay in tonight with Brooke. I’m sure that will make you both very happy.”

  “Yes, it will.”

  “And Jax?”

  “Yes?”

  “Let me know if she’s at your house again tonight.”

  “Will do.”

  Jax clicked the phone off and left the café. Wherever the model was, he hoped she was safe.

  And he prayed, it had nothing to do with Sarah.

  Fuming, Jessica angrily punched in Sarah’s number on her phone. How could Jax have been so stupid? Typical horny guy, she thought tossing her pen down on her desk. Sarah’s phone was going directly to voicemail.

  Jessica left a strongly worded voicemail for Sarah.

  Shit, how could her plan have gone so wrong? But had it really? Jax had more pre-orders on his next book than any author she’d ever seen. He was certain to hit the #1 spot on the NYT or at least within the top 5.

  Still, with that missing model, what if Sarah had had something to do with that? The very thought made her stomach twist violently.

  It just didn’t make sense to her. How could Sarah do something like that? Jessica had known her since she’d come to work at Meridian International. She had always been a competent and trusted worker. Her work as an editor was exceptional. There was nothing to really worry about.

  Or was there?

  Jessica texted Sarah a quick message.

  Hey, just need to see you Monday morning for a quick meeting. Please confirm you’ve received this message.

  A few moments later, Sarah replied.

  Sure. I’ll be there. What time?

  Jessica flipped through her calendar for a moment. Shit. She was booked solid all day Monday. But this couldn’t wait.

  I’m booked Monday. What about after work? 7 pm?

  Sarah replied:

  8 PM works better for me.

  Jessica typed back.

  Fine.

  Jessica brushed off her feelings of concern. This was likely a huge misunderstanding. Sarah had never given her a reason to worry.

  Why would she now?

  Across town, Sarah slammed her fist onto the table. What the hell was she going to do now? Jessica had just asked her to come in for a meeting. Fuck, she was probably going to get fired.

  Walking over to the cabinet, Sarah grabbed a bottle of Smirnoff vodka. She poured herself a shot glass and downed it quickly. The fiery liquor burned her throat, but she shrugged it off.

  Clicking on her phone, she wanted to read Jessica’s words to her. Instead of hitting the message button, she accidentally hit the Facebook button.

  Local Model Missing

  Local Glamour Model, Brianna Jaynes has not been seen or heard from since last Monday when she was out on a date with renowned romance author, Jax Paulson.

  Sarah’s eyes widened in disbelief. She had been right! Looking at the picture, Brianna was the girl Jax had taken back to his house. The one she’d waited all night to see reappear.

  But she never had.

  Clutching her phone, Sarah dropped to the floor sinking into the lush carpet. She poured over the article and then looked Brianna up on Facebook.

  Yes, she’d been the one all right. Sarah would never forget her long honey blonde hair that spilled down her back and the dimples in her cheeks. Butterflies were jumping around her stomach as she stared at her picture.

  Suddenly, a sharp chill went up her spine. She remembered!

  That night, oh God, that night. She’d come home in a daze from being up all night watching Jax’s house. She’d driven home half as
leep with her jeans soaked from mud, bloody scratches on her hands.

  When she got home, she noticed a slight bruising around her right eye and she had dried blood crusted beneath her fingernails. What had happened? She couldn’t recall and had finally pushed it out of her mind.

  Seeing the beautiful model missing made her rethink the entire night.

  Jax was evil, the voices raged at her continuously.

  But why was she the one with blood underneath her nails?

  Try as she might, she couldn’t remember everything that had happened that night.

  Did she really want to?

  Pushing the frightening thoughts from her mind, she focused on her meeting tomorrow with Jessica. She knew it wouldn’t bode well for her, but what to do?

  Sarah threw back another shot of the vodka wincing at the burning sensation it caused in her throat.

  16

  The words swam on the screen before him. As he typed, the words poured from him faster than his fingers could move. A raging torrent of anger flowed from him out onto the screen infusing his book with all the hatred he felt for Sarah. She was destroying his life and there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

  Or was there?

  Gritting his teeth, Jax flipped through his saved documents for his notes on his last book, Tormented. He scanned the notes scouring them for a way to find out more about Sarah.

  Perfect.

  A slow smile spread across his face as he typed in the username and password he used to access a privacy website when he was writing Tormented.

  Sarah Bender, IL., age 32

  Sarah J. Bender, IL. Age 31

  Sarah A. Bender, CA., IL. Age 32

  Sarah M. Bender, NY, IL. Age 30

  He kept looking through all the Sarah Bender hits. Several of them could be her, he thought. He imagined she was around 32, but he couldn’t be certain. That’s when it hit him.

  Quickly, he punched in Meridian International and looked through the staff profiles.

  Sarah Bender, Senior Staff Editor.

  He clicked on the name.

  Oh my God.

  His heart nearly stopped. The photograph he was looking at wasn’t the Sarah Bender he knew.

  Yet it had to her.

  The woman in the photograph had shoulder length blonde hair and brown eyes. She appeared to be in her early 30s.

  But the woman he knew as Sarah had long brown hair and green eyes.

  Could she have simply colored her hair?

  No, the woman in the picture was much smaller built than Sarah.

  What the fuck?

  There was only one explanation for the discrepancy in the photo.

  The woman he knew as Sarah wasn’t the real Sarah.

  Immediately, he searched social media for the real Sarah Bender’s profile. He found one that matched the photo he’d seen. The real Sarah had many photos on her Facebook confirming they were indeed two different people.

  Worse yet, there were messages on her Facebook page wondering why Sarah wasn’t replying to them. Several of her friends messaged that she hadn’t been returning their calls.

  My God, where is the real Sarah?

  Who the fuck had been following him?

  With his hands trembling, he dialed Jessica’s number. He had to talk her now! She didn’t answer. It was after 11 PM, so she might be in bed. He left a voicemail.

  What to do now? Racing to his bedroom, he grabbed his .45 making sure it was loaded. He was glad Brooke was in the city for the night visiting her parents. He didn’t want to have to explain the situation to her yet.

  Slipping the gun into the waistband of his shorts, he dashed to ensure that all the windows were closed and locked. Sitting in his living room with his laptop opened, he felt like a prisoner. Why should he have to live in fear because of some crazy bitch?

  He tried calling Jessica again. Still no answer. Something was wrong.

  Very wrong.

  An hour later, Sarah was standing on the elevator waiting to get to the top floor. The building was nearly deserted as it was 8 PM on a Friday night. Everyone always fled the office at 5 PM sharp on Fridays like rats abandoning a sinking ship. It was amusing to her how everyone casually worked later on other days of the week, but come Friday they all watched the clock anxiously and as soon as 5 PM hit, they were gone.

  Nervously, Sarah adjusted her purse on her shoulder. It was unusually heavy today it seemed.

  For a good reason.

  The elevator stopped when it reached the top floor. Sarah ran her hands through her long hair as she stepped off the elevator. The office was dark and quiet.

  Seeing the light coming from Jessica’s office, Sarah walked down the long corridor keeping her left hand on her purse hanging from her right shoulder. As she crept closer to Jessica’s office, she stopped to ensure that Jessica wasn’t on the phone.

  All was silent.

  Taking a deep breath, she swung open the glass door to Jessica’s office.

  Showtime.

  Her long brown hair shrouded her face as she was bent over reading a manuscript. Hearing the door open, Jessica looked up.

  “May I help you?”

  Sarah smiled broadly.

  “We had a meeting tonight.”

  Jessica’s brows shot up in question. She pushed the manuscript aside to look at her calendar.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t believe we did. The only thing I have on my calendar is a meeting with Sarah Bender.”

  “Exactly.” Sarah smiled at her. God, for a woman who was high on the food chain at the office she certainly was slow on the pickup.

  “What was your name?”

  Sarah bit her lip to keep from laughing.

  “Sarah Bender.”

  Jessica shook her head.

  “Honey, I don’t know who you are, but you’re not Sarah Bender.” She began to look annoyed.

  “Yes, I am. You hired me to stalk Jax Paulson. I’m one of the senior staff editors in the Fiction department.”

  Jessica pushed her chair back and stood up. Her face reddened with anger.

  “Did Jax put you up to this?”

  Sarah shook her head.

  “How the hell did you know Sarah was stalking Jax? That assignment is top secret. If you dare leak this, I’ll make sure you’re fired immediately and you’ll never work as an editor again!” Jessica fumed as she tightened her fists.

  Sarah kept her hand on her purse. Funny, that she should feel this calm when she was as close to…

  (Murder)

  As she’d ever been before.

  “I know because you hired me. I told you I’m Sarah Bender.”

  Jessica went pale as it finally dawned on her why she hadn’t seen Sarah around the office lately.

  Sarah Bender was dead.

  The woman standing before her was ‘Sarah Bender’.

  And the one who’d been stalking Jax.

  Her mind reeled as she thought of a way to extract herself from the situation before ‘Sarah’ turned violent.

  “Oh, yes, Sarah, I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you. It’s been such a long day.” Jessica thought if she placated the woman she might escape unharmed.

  As soon as she left, she’d be calling 911.

  And Jax.

  “Save the bullshit, Jessica. I’m not Sarah and you know it. I bet you don’t even remember me, do you?”

  Jessica slowly backed away running into the credenza.

  “No, I don’t,” she whispered.

  “Sit down, Jessica.” Sarah commanded.

  “But I---“

  “NOW!”

  As her voice took on a terrifying tone, Jessica did as she asked.

  “Three years ago, your editing department was taking on new hires. I was one of them. Sarah Bender was my supervisor.”

  “I see.” Jessica dropped the tone of her voice as low as she could attempting to calm Sarah.

  “I bet you still don’t remember me. I was an associate editor working on shor
t fiction novels when I came across one of the greatest authors I’d ever read.”

  Jessica closed her eyes briefly.

  “Jax.”

  Sarah nodded.

  “Yes, Jax Paulson. I brought him to Sarah’s attention who, in turn, brought him to yours.”

  A flood of memories rushed into Jessica’s mind. She recalled the woman before her.

  Oh God, she remembered.

  Please not her.

  The woman before her was….

  “That’s right, Jessica. I was the one who worked on getting in touch with Jax’s PA, Kristi to get him to sign with us.”

  Jessica bit her lip and nodded.

  Sarah’s face turned dark.

  “What happened after that fateful meeting? Your company ended up signing Jax! And what happened to me?”

  Jessica felt her stomach tighten. This was bad, very bad. She recalled what happened now as though it were yesterday.

  The woman in front of her had started to behave erratically as soon as they took Jax on as a client. She insisted she be given all of his manuscripts to edit. She demanded that his work be given top billing even over much higher ranking authors. At the time, Jax had only been a mid-list author nowhere near the ranks of a NYT bestseller.

  Her actions had aroused suspicions in the real Sarah Bender who then took her concerns to Jessica. They had both conferred and it was decided that the woman should be terminated.

  And so she was.

  She hadn’t gone quietly. She had thrown things in the office and smashed her computer screen. The police had to be called and the woman had been drug away in handcuffs.

  Then she’d come back several times harassing various staff members. They’d had to file a restraining order against her.

  But that was nearly a year ago. How did she know about Sarah being hired to stalk Jax?

  Unless….

  Oh, my God, Jessica thought. She slowly inched her chair back. She thought of her cell phone in her purse which was still in her bottom desk drawer. If she could get to that….

  Sarah slammed her fist on the desk.

  “WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?”

  Jessica swallowed hard.

  “You were let go,” she whispered her hands shaking.