Ripoff

by St. James, Morgan

  I shook my head, murmuring, “Not very many.”

  “Okay, so she and Bruce can pretty much do whatever they please, as long as they cover their tails.”

  Point made. As I said, I’d begun to realize Julia was one of those people who is amiable on the surface, but an unhappy bitch underneath. Maybe it served her right to have to deal with Lena. I told myself they were birds of a feather.

  I don’t remember which of us opened the subject, but it was probably me. Matt is fine about sharing what he knows when I ask him, but I can’t remember him ever being the one to offer spicy gossip without a prompt. What he told me about Julia and Bruce was spicy enough to make me wonder if it was the wine speaking.”

  “Julia went into a real tailspin after Bruce got married, you know.”

  I did a mental finger-snap. All of us had suspected they had a history, so of course I pumped him for more information. He gave me an earful.

  We never got around to discussing the unpaid bonuses, but I’d gotten way more information than I thought I would.

  The next evening I placed a conference call to Cameron and Kate. God bless unlimited long distance, because I’m sure we were on the phone for over an hour. There was so much to tell them about Julia and her long-standing affair with Bruce.

  Somewhere in the middle of the conversation I said, “Watch out, girls. According to what he told me, Julia was very attractive before she nearly ate herself to death after Bruce and his wife got engaged. He said she was sure Bruce would ask her to marry him, but he’d been seeing the woman who became his wife behind her back.”

  Cameron’s voice was laced with venom. “Doesn’t surprise me.”

  “Well, Matt said it was particularly hard for Julia, what with his fiancé coming from high society. Every move they made was splashed all over the D.C. papers. Some of Julia’s friends avoided her, not knowing what to say and others gave her sympathetic looks and offered pats on the back. Meanwhile Julia gained about eighty pounds by inhaling comfort food non-stop.”

  “I’d never do that for any man,” Cameron said. “I work too hard to look like I do. I’d run up some big credit card bills, though, buying anything and everything I wanted with the excuse that it was to make me feel better. How about you, Kate?”

  Kate was silent for a few minutes, then said, “Nope. Not my thing. I’d take a few weeks off, go to Italy or Spain. Then I’d find the best looking hunk I could, make mad, passionate love the whole time and knock that two-timer right out of my dreams.”

  I’m not sure where it came from. Maybe a ghost of the resentment I felt for Ryan, but before I knew it, I shouted, “As for me, I’d get even. I brought them up to date on the Conned Cougars, ending with, “The trap is set. Now all we have to do is wait for him to make his move on Stephanie’s assets. We are going to make him absolutely miserable.”

  Funny how our true natures come out in the heat of the moment.

  ~13~

  As luck would have it, a week later the camera in Stephanie’s office caught great shots of Ryan sneaking checks from the back of a checkbook and using one of her cancelled checks to copy her signature. Of course her friends at her bank were alerted, and reported back that he wrote checks to himself for substantial amounts. I guess he figured she wouldn’t find out until her next statement. By then he would have lined up another pigeon. Foolish young man. He had no idea of the lengths the Cougars would go to in order to snare him.

  Stephanie didn’t say a word to him about the checks. Instead she made sure the cameras kept rolling. She figured he’d try for one last theft before he split and hoped he would snatch the exquisite diamond and emerald bracelet she purposely left on her dresser. The camera aimed at the dresser caught Ryan red-handed when he grabbed the bracelet. Just like a fish to bait, he was on the hook.

  The day after he’d taken the bracelet, she said casually, “Ryan, honey, you know I don’t wear emeralds very often, but I’ve got a diamond and emerald bracelet that would go perfectly with this blouse. I thought I put it in the safe, because it’s really valuable, but it wasn’t there. It’s not in the jewelry case either. I have no idea what I did with it. I’ve got to learn to be more careful with my expensive pieces. You haven’t seen it, have you?”

  He’d looked at her, innocent as the day is long, and said, “I don’t remember ever seeing anything like that. I’ll sure help look for it, though. Where should we start?”

  She led him through the sham of searching for the bracelet to get it all recorded. Of course they weren’t going to find it, but he acted happy to help look for it.

  What he didn’t know was that the detective she’d hired had followed him to a pawn shop in Bellevue right after he’d stolen the bracelet.

  A hundred bucks often loosens tight lips, and the owner was all too happy to make a copy of the record when the detective showed him a “Benjamin” that would be his for a little information. In addition to the transaction slip showing the generous sum he paid Ryan for the bracelet, the fellow identified him from a photo the detective showed him.

  The shop owner shrugged. “Fellow called himself Langdon Smith and wanted the check made out to cash. Thought it was a dumb move to have a check that large made out to cash, but hey, not my business.”

  Thanks to Stephanie, we now had plenty of concrete evidence against Lover Boy.

  Every single one of us would have loved to be there when unsuspicious Ryan opened the door of Stephanie’s home and was promptly cuffed and placed under arrest for grand theft. The bracelet was worth a cool fifty grand, although he didn’t get anywhere near that for it.

  Stephanie filled us in on all of the delicious details and we couldn’t stop laughing and giving each other hand slaps while watching the video of him being led off. He kept shouting, “This is a huge mistake. I didn’t steal a thing.”

  The part I loved watching most was when Stephanie gave him a knowing smile and threw him the finger. Ryan shouted, “You bitch!” as the officers guided him into the waiting squad car.

  Although I was really kept busy with my new job while Ryan awaited trial, the little spare time I had was taken up with helping the Cougars keep the pot boiling.

  During the investigation, the D.A. found that Ryan had actually violated some federal laws as well as state laws, and he brought in the U.S. Attorney who entered federal charges.

  The D.A. was only too happy to allow the U.S. Attorney to prosecute Ryan for crimes he’d committed within federal jurisdiction, and unless something extraordinary turned up at his trial that proved him innocent, he would be going to federal prison. The U.S. Attorney was confident the case against him was rock solid.

  It was a prudent decision, though. As we learned, if Ryan actually managed to beat the federal charges, the D.A. could still prosecute. One case did not wipe out the other, so he could actually be tried in both courts for the charges that applied, although the federal case would take precedence.

  Stephanie’s brother-in-law said it was more likely Ryan would spend a time in Paradise Prison which would be harder than doing time in a state prison. I couldn’t have wished for anything better.

  • • • • •

  Time was running out. The end of the third quarter was approaching faster than I would have liked. The sales reps called almost every day to ask how much their bonus check would be. It was understandable. It takes time to sell, process, manufacture and deliver furniture, so the first checks had been pretty small.

  Now enough time had passed for them to look forward to healthy commissions. With Julia being so elusive, I didn’t have a clue about amounts, but I sure didn’t want to tell them that. Every time I pressed Julia for the information, she changed the subject. The frustration was eating me alive. What was she hiding, and why? There were nights I’d lay in bed staring at the ceiling trying to figure out the missing piece of the puzzle.

  One thing I knew for sure—big orders were definitely coming in on a regular basis and with about a hundred million having been
shipped, the bonuses should be good. As the backlog started to fill, future checks would continue to increase.

  So far I had made ends meet and even had a couple of dollars left over, but the bonus for this quarter was sure to be sweet. My intercom buzzed, interrupting my daydream of buying a great pair of Jimmy Choo shoes. I pulled myself back into reality. “Yes, Lila, what do you need?”

  “Sorry to interrupt you, Kimberly. Tucker is on the phone. She asked if I would please, please put her through. You know how she manages to wrap me around her finger with that sugary southern accent. I didn’t have the heart to lie and tell her you were in a meeting or away from the office.”

  A moment later Tucker drawled, “Hi there. I just thought I’d check in on y’all. I’m on my way to an appointment with a big ole lecherous purchasing agent and had to get my mind off of him.”

  I chuckled, and conjured a picture of a frazzled Tucker speeding around the desk with some bozo chasing her. Nope. The picture wasn’t right for Tucker. Despite her sweet Southern Belle image, she really knew how to handle herself and her orders showed it. The month before she brought in a $1,200,000 order for the Test Pilot School at one of the Air Force bases, and that was just the first phase.

  I teased her, “So, Tucker, is this lecherous guy a routine sales call, or are you going to pull another big one out of your hat?”

  She laughed. “Sugar, I think he’s the one who wants to pull a big one out and I don’t mean from a hat, if you get my drift. Actually he said he has to order quite a bit of stock for a supply depot, so it’s worth teasing him. Could be $400,000 to $500,000. I’ll let him play macho man until I get his signature on the order. Then I’ll blow him a kiss, and I’m out the door with a sweet ‘see y’all soon and thanks for the order.’ ”

  Tucker has a steel trap mind. I pity the poor fools who lust after her. My guess is before she has anything to do with any guy, she finds a way to see his financial statement and marital status.

  In fact, she’s almost as good as Cameron and Kate. Not quite, but almost. Matt was right. Our gals had zipped right in to see contracting people who had previously asked for waivers so they wouldn’t have to buy from FACR, and they strutted out with big orders. To my surprise, we were even beginning to get some nice business from female contracting officers. Matt had coached the ladies in how to complain about the wicked men who made them dress like that to keep their jobs. It worked like a charm.

  Tucker hesitated a minute, and I knew what was coming next

  “Um, Kimberly, could y’all do me just an itty bitty favor. I was wondering if you’ve started to run figures for the bonus checks yet. I’ve got my eye on a necklace to die for. It goes on sale next month and I’m guessing that little ole bonus will cover it.”

  I side-stepped the issue, at least for the time being. Julia was the only one with the information I needed, the quarter was drawing to a close, and I had zip.

  That Friday night, as Matt and I were topping off dinner with a shared slice of Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cake, I said, “I need your help. You worked with Julia to set up all the procedures for CRS. I’m really frustrated. I estimate about a hundred million, plus or minus, has shipped just in the last month, so we should see some nice bonuses. The problem is, I can’t get Julia to give me the information I need to run the reports. Whenever I ask her, she ignores the question or changes the subject. The natives are getting restless and I really want to give them something more than evasive answers.”

  Matt was laid back as always. “Relax. I’m sure it will all work out. There’s nothing that says you have to tell them anything. When the checks are cut, they’ll know what they earned. Simple as that.”

  I thought I detected a cold edge under the casual chatter, but decided that was foolish when he added, “Listen, I don’t live far from here. Why don’t we continue this over a couple of drinks at my place?”

  My heart thumped against my ribs. His place? Dare I? Matt had never suggested anything more than our Friday night dinners and I’d promised myself to heed Tree’s warnings. Chemistry is one thing, but I’d vowed never to allow that to rule me again. I wouldn’t—couldn’t—make another mistake. Something felt off-kilter. I just didn’t know what.

  “Did I say something wrong? I’m not suggesting we hop into bed or anything. You’re a beautiful woman and I admit I’d put the moves on you under other circumstances, but that’s not what this is about. I just thought you seem have a lot on your mind and I figured we would be more comfortable there than here. If you don’t think it’s a good idea, I understand? Just say the word.”

  Now I felt idiotic. I was allowing this physical attraction I kept squashing down to run away with my good sense. He was so right. I really needed someone to talk to and there was no way I could talk to Cameron or Kate about this. Matt would have that magic touch to put my concerns at rest.

  I shrugged as if to say, “What was I thinking?” What I actually said was, “Thanks for saying I’m beautiful. Sure, let’s do it. I’ll follow you in my car. Lead the way.”

  While I drove the short distance to Matt’s house, I assured myself this was business and nothing more. As it turned out, his place was amazing and it was easy to see he enjoyed the best of everything, but when it came to talking he had more questions than answers. Although I secretly wondered where his money came from, I shared what was on my mind.

  Later he said, “I noticed the question in your eyes when you came in. Let me save you the problem of asking. Your assumption is absolutely right. This place cost a bundle.”

  Had I been that obvious? “Sorry, I just didn’t expect something this—well, this incredible.”

  With a self-satisfied chuckle, he said, “I guess you’ve wondered about the car and clothes, too. Put your mind at ease. I’m not a drug dealer or anything like that. Just a very lucky guy. I had a stinkin’ rich grandmother who loved her grandson. When she died a few years ago, I was her only heir.”

  I released my breath. That all made perfect sense, but I still couldn’t put my finger on why I felt a little uneasy about the way things had gone. As I headed home, I wondered if it was the three drinks I’d had. Probably not. The thing that bothered me was for the first time since meeting Matt, I wondered if he was pumping me for information instead of the other way around. A horrible thought niggled at me. What if he was feeding all of my concerns back to Julia? That would be a no-brainer. If he was, I would be screwed royally, and not in a pleasurable way.

  By the time I turned my key in the door, I had convinced myself that I was suffering from a simple case of paranoia. Nothing nefarious was going on. Maybe it was just that I hadn’t been laid in over nine months and Matt was so damned sexy. My hormones were raging, and suspicion was my way of throwing up a shield. With that thought in mind, lulled by more alcohol than I was used to drinking, I enjoyed a great night’s sleep and surrendered to a wild escapade in my dream.

  ~14~

  I blasted into Julia’s office on Monday morning with sheets of sales and shipping printouts in hand. I had finally cornered her, or at least I thought I did.

  She motioned me to sit down. “Pull up a chair, Kimberly. What’s on your mind?”

  I couldn’t help noticing she seemed to have gained more weight during the past few weeks. She tried to pull off a chummy, “hey girlfriend” dialogue, but I wasn’t buying it.

  She leaned forward with her hands tented. “Please don’t think I’ve been avoiding you. I’ve been so busy in that god-forsaken place they call Paradise. I’m glad you’ve had Matt to rely on. By the way, he said you’re doing a great job.”

  Had Matt told her about our Friday dinners? Was there any reason for me to worry about anything I might have told him? As she fixed me with those twin emerald eyes, I felt my heart speed up, and willed it to slow down. I strained to remember. Did I say anything really vile about her? Nope. Just in my thoughts. I calmed down and told myself not to be foolish. Julia may have been good at giving inspiring presentations, but sh
e sure didn’t have the kind of personality that made you want to be her friend. Her attempt at being warm and sociable came off stiff and contrived.

  She was still talking, so I straightened up and listened. “—and I finally decided to rent a little house in a tolerable area of Paradise Hills. I tried staying at that loathsome Paradise Cottages but it was absolutely impossible for more than one night. I’m sure you know what I mean.”

  Boy, did I ever know. I didn’t think my back would ever be the same.

  She straightened, squaring her shoulders. “After taking it as long as I could, I negotiated a weekly rate at the Nighty Nite Motel, but wound up kicking cockroaches out of my bed and comforted myself by pigging out on McDonalds’ Big Macs and shakes.” She patted her hip. “I sure don’t need all that junk food. Anyway, now I have a decent place to stay when I’m out there, and a kitchen to cook meals, so I’ll be a little more relaxed. Again, sorry if you got the idea I was avoiding you.”

  Well now. That was better. I wondered if Matt had mentioned I was feeling shut out. She didn’t say a word about Lena, and I assumed that dealing with a woman like the devil incarnate on a daily basis would be enough to make anyone abrasive. I don’t think I’d want to talk about it either, so I decided to cut her some slack.

  She patted the pile of printouts I’d laid on her desk. “Are those your monthly order reports?”

  I nodded and was about to let loose with the spiel I had prepared when she said, “I’m planning a little impromptu ceremony and hope to hand everyone a check. Good for the morale, you know. I guess you need some figures from me for shipped merchandise.” She glanced over at the locked file cabinet. “I’m pretty much of a dunce about figuring those things out. Fortunately I’ve been lucky to hire good people around me.” With that, she actually winked. Hmmm. What was that about? Not what a boss should say to an employee.