Lethal Love: Deceit can be Deadly

by Perri Forrest

  I still thought the delivery guy was dumb, but that’s another story. No harm and no foul. And what was left behind was very pretty. So, in his absence, I forgave his stupidity. Obviously, he lacked social skills. Obviously, none were needed for his job.

  I put the note back with the arrangement, then picked up its large packaging. I continued eyeing the uniqueness of the gift as I carried it inside.

  Once in the dining area, I removed the contents from the box, and placed it atop the glass table. It stood out in an odd kind of way.

  The more I gawked at the thing, the weirder it became. Why so elaborate? And why wasn’t it in the room when I arrived like the champagne and the chocolates? Why wasn’t the envelope monogramed with anything?

  The knock on my suite door startled me, shaking me from my reverie. I actually welcomed the interruption, because I had my own self on edge when I didn’t need to be. It was because I had committed my own dirty deed, that I was looking at everybody else as suspect. So, realizing that, I shook it off and welcomed the burst of colorful hospitality sitting in front of me. And when the person called out, “Room Service!” I smiled.

  “Now, that’s how you announce delivery.”

  In that moment, I decided that after I ate, I was going to take a shower and once again, get outside. Why not?

  7 | Leo

  Days turn into nights…

  A short time after my four-hour team meeting was over, I stepped into my office for the first time all day. Dark city lights were the first thing to greet me, illuminating from the designer verticals that swam the entire length of my south-facing wall. That nighttime view was always welcoming and made staying at the office until nightfall, not feel as dogmatic.

  I was used to it. Signed on for it. So, no complaints. I knew what I was signing on for when I got into the real estate industry. And when I came in, it was full force—full speed ahead; no brakes. I knew I had an obsession with attractive buildings. I knew that I liked to design. I knew that I had an eye for good land. And I knew that I wanted to make a lot of money.

  I got what I asked for.

  Everything that came with my work, I embraced with all the love I had to give. It was what made me breathe. I would be nothing without the commercial and residential structures I brought to life. So here I was, finishing a meeting that I’m sure my staff wishes had ended in the first hour it started. Yes, I worked them hard, but just like me, they too had signed on for it. And for those who gave their all—which they all did—the rewards and perks were many: A great benefit package, discounts on all types of merchandise, chances to promote, education reimbursement, and a lot more. In short, their blood, sweat, and tears weren’t in vain.

  Although it was late, I still had a lot of work to do. Checking emails was first up on that list. The emails were ones that I had seen earlier from my iPad, but hadn’t been able to give my full attention to. General emails were the responsibility of my two capable assistants. However, any emails having to do with purchasing property, building on property, or anything pertaining to the development of anything, I was the first stop.

  I trekked over to my architectural workstation and shook the mouse around to awaken the sleeping screen. The first program to stare back me was Microsoft Outlook. “Shit.” There were a large number of headliners showing in bold. “Damn…” Although night had fallen, clearly, there was still business to attend to.

  Business was booming so loudly and so exponentially, and there were no signs of slowing down. A few short years ago, the real estate market had crashed and projects were being halted coast to coast. Now, there was so much building and remodeling happening, it was hard to keep up with. And with the Raiders leaving Oakland and coming to the Valley, it was even more so.

  The first email that caught my eye was from one of the corporate attorneys at MGM Resorts. There were several executives and influencers on the “cc” list. I usually hated these kinds of correspondence where the entire world was copied, but this one… this one was good, and filled to the brim with accolades on a job well done.

  My smile was broad, confident, while I read the original message and then sifted through the subsequent responses.

  “That beautiful smile could light up an entire room, and crush a few hearts in the process…” Without even looking away from my Mac screen, I knew who it was. “Hey there, Leo,” she continued. “Looks like the coast is clear.”

  “Yeah…”

  I dragged the accolade-filled email to a folder designated for staff fan mail.

  Seconds later, I abandoned my seat and walked around the front of my desk. I stepped over to my wet bar to pour an overdue, double shot of Three Wise Men. With my back to Tika, I waited for her to state her reason for being here.

  Tika was attractive. That couldn’t be argued. I just wasn’t a fan of the way she spread herself around. “Around,” meaning that she liked to use her feminine wows—often—to get attention from the men—both in the company and out. I didn’t let it bother me. Up until it required my attention, I let her be. Tika knew her boundaries, and I trusted that she knew what ‘too far’, meant.

  “Permission to enter?”

  I took down the double shot. While the burn seared my throat, I doubled back to my desk.

  Embellishing the sway of her thick, curvy hips, Tika moved further inside. I would be lying if I said that Tika wasn’t easy on the eyes. Flawless light-brown skin. Reddish-brown hair that was long in the front and extra-short in the back and on the sides. The slight slant to her eyes was sexy, and she further accentuated the look with layers of eye makeup.

  But just the same, I wouldn’t ever cross the boundaries set for boss/employee relations. Unlike some of my colleagues, the integrity of my company, and my name in the community, came before sexing a woman down… just because her sex was up for offering.

  “You already entered, Tika. What’s up?”

  “Just came to check and see what the boss was doing,” she asked, placing her hands atop the station’s surface.

  “Weren’t we just in the same meeting?”

  “Yeah, but I mean… just asking what you’re up to.”

  “My neck… in emails, reviewing plans and shit like that. I’ll probably take a ride to one of the sites before I head in the house.”

  “Not in Boca? The newly-completed development?”

  “Yeah. Wanted to make sure that the temporary office that we had set up is all taken down. Among other things.”

  “Why don’t you send a PM or Sup to do that, Leo? Why are you so hands-on with everything?”

  “I have my reasons. But the short answer is that certain aspects of the work need micro attention.”

  Tika smiled, alongside a nod. She looked down at her hands for a second, then back up at me. “Hands-on, huh?” She slid a hand across the desk, now crossing what she knew to be a yellow line. “How inappropriate would it be for me to say that I’d love your hands on me?”

  “Tika…” I rose from my chair. Arms folded, I looked her square in the eyes. “It would be a whole lot inappropriate. But don’t act like you don’t already know that.”

  Despite the firmness that accompanied my statement, I couldn’t help but chuckle on the inside. Tika had balls. Unfortunately, for her, I didn’t believe in fucking someone whose paycheck had my signature on it.

  “But why, Leo,” she whined. “I know you know that I’m attracted to you. You have to know it.”

  “I don’t do office romance. Not ever.”

  “Who said anything about romance?” She bit down on her bottom lip. “It doesn’t have to be romantic. Just a little fun between adults.” Tika wore confidence like a brand-new coat fresh off the rack. It was evident that she wasn’t going down without a fight. “I’m good with secrets,” she pushed. “I’m also good with keeping things simple. Friend zone. On an as-needed basis.”

  Right now, this shit was role-reversal. Tika was the guy who refused to take no for an answer, and no way was I about to be her bit
ch. Her time was up.

  “Tika, are we going to have a problem? Because if we are, let’s address it now. I’ll be more than happy to give you a stellar reference for your next project engineer opportunity.”

  Her brows scrunched as she erected herself. “You’re serious, huh?”

  “Dead-ass.”

  She took a small step back. “Wow,” she gasped. She reached around to the back of her neck to smooth her hair down. She was nervous. “I thought that I caught a few looks from you, and a little bit of attention here and there. I’m sorry that I misread that.”

  “It’s cool. I think you’re talented and have a bright future here… or wherever you end up. As far as you catching a few looks or getting attention from me, a beautiful woman is a beautiful woman. I’ve complimented you the times I thought you looked nice. I’ve also let you know when I thought you were doing a good job. None of that necessarily equates to me wanting to take you to bed, Tika.”

  She pressed her lips together and nodded. “Oh. Okay. I got you. I’ll uhh… be sure to stay in my lane.” She turned on her heel to walk out of my office, stopping just short of the door. “But do keep in mind that I’m open… to whatever.”

  Relentless. Had to be a man in another life.

  I shook my head, and laughed. By the time she had disappeared from sight, I was back in front of my emails. Catching a glimpse of the time, I decided that I would respond to a select few, then head out. I had four-thousand-square-feet of space that I had paid good money for. And it was calling my name.

  Four-thousand square feet of space. When I had my loft built, it didn’t seem like a big deal. But once I moved in, it hit me just how much room I had. A part of me was ready to settle down just so that I could have something like a family to go home to at the end of the day. But another part of me was okay with being able to freely answer the call of my mood—with different flavors—without having to feel I was in the wrong.

  “Yeah, I’m outta here.”

  I reached underneath my workstation and pressed the controller for my blinds. Within seconds I was shut in; my amazing view was shut out. My cell vibrated in my hand as I headed to the door. Without even looking at the display, I accepted the call in the middle of the first ring. “I almost forgot you were calling me tonight…” I laughed. “Give it to me slow,” I said, smiling the whole time. “And don’t leave shit out.”

  8 | Drew Levine

  Clark County Detention Center

  Raquel Long’s green eyes bore down on her client the moment she walked into the visiting room, and saw him in the distance looking like a lost, sulking puppy dog. A true dog, she thought to herself. What a fucking shame. Disappointment and irritation, caused the instinctive reflex for her head to move side to side. Such a damn idiot. Drew Levine frustrated her to no end, and she was good and ready to walk away from the train wreck that he was. He was beginning to be more trouble than he was worth—especially now. She had lost count of the number of times she had warned him about his whorish ways. Told him many times, “Drew, this will catch up to you…”

  But in typical male fashion, Drew had ignored her advice. And now what? He’d gone and fucked the best friend of the woman he was married to. Stupid, was the word. Raquel didn’t particularly care for Drew’s wife, Nova. And had even told Drew that marrying her wasn’t the best he could do. She felt that her client, slash friend… and his new woman… were out of each other’s leagues and something like polar opposites. But he had to have her. And now, because of it, here he sat in jail, all because he was never ready for monogamy.

  As Raquel made her way to Drew’s waiting area, heads turned. It wasn’t just the clacking sound of her designer heels hitting the jailhouse tile, that brought attention to her. It was the Persian-blue designer pant suit and the wild head of curly blonde hair, with its kinky texture. The beauty, dipped in a smooth coat of caramel, was a statement of class and femininity. And she knew it.

  With a turned-up nose, Raquel inspected the bench before her. “Wow, Drew. Really?” Reluctantly, she sat her purse on top of the dingy table. Upon inspecting the seat, she decided the edge of the bucket portion was the better bet. “Ugh. I’m literally barfing in my mouth. My suit is for sure going to the cleaners today. This is not okay, Drew. You’re my client, and my loyalty will always be to you… but the best friend? Really? How trifling can you be? That’s the lowest, ever.”

  Drew leaned in close, teeth clenched. “Raquel, what the fuck took you so long to get here? I’ve been in this shitty-ass place for five goddamn days! And you show up at the end of the fucking weekend?”

  She glared at him for a few long seconds. “You should be grateful that I’m here at all, you idiot,” she spat.

  “I would’ve been grateful if you’d been present when I needed you. I need to be home to make shit right with Nova. The longer I’m here, the more time she’s got to be inside her own head believing what the fuck these people have been telling her. She’s already changed the house number and won’t answer her cell! Then she told those puppets at her job to screen my calls. I can’t get through to her.”

  Raquel snickered. “Are you listening to yourself? You sound crazy right now. Entitled. You’re not entitled to shit, Drew.” She almost broke out into full laughter, but refrained. “You men think you can cheat on a woman, and be able to talk your way out of it every time. No consequences—unscathed. Not always. How many times did I tell you that you needed to put a reserved sign on your dick? How many? And now, of all the women you slut around with, you added one to the roster that has a direct connection to home. How damn stupid?”

  “This is not what I need to hear right now, Raquel. Not at fucking all. All I need right now is for Nova to hear me out. I don’t know who killed Royce, but it wasn’t me! I swear… it was not me, Raquel.”

  Raquel didn’t believe a word coming from his mouth. Her blank stare said it all.

  “Drew, did this place rob you of your memory? Did you forget that I know everything about your foul actions? The one woman who was ready to sue your ass over some shit you did in passing, at a restaurant? Or the paternity suit I had to attend to, on your behalf last year? So, don’t try to play me right now.”

  “This is murder, though, Raquel. This isn’t about some woman getting her fucking thong in a bunch.” Drew closed his eyes and huffed his frustrations through tight lips. “I’ve never even so much as fucking slapped a person. I’m no killer. I can’t help that women can’t get enough of me.”

  “Even with all you’re up against, you still find a way to be arrogant. Who raised you?”

  “Leave my parents out of this, Raquel. They did a fine job. And the quicker this shit is over with, the quicker I’m out of here, and they never have to find out about this shit.”

  “Good luck with that. It’s been all over the news. Images included.”

  “They’re out of the country and not due back for another two weeks. By the time they come home and get wind of any of this, I’ll be able to tell them that it was all one big mix up, and cut them a piece of the lawsuit money. Because… oh yeah, believe me when I tell you… somebody’s going down for this shit! That’s if and when, you get on your job and get me out of this damn place. What’s taking so fucking long anyway?”

  Raquel had to break her stare. The idiot sitting across from her seemed to get dumber, and more pompous each time she saw him. Unbelievable. Did she think he was capable of murder? No. But she had been fooled before with at least three of her past clients. And blonde-haired, blue-eyed, all-American Drew, with the sparkling lineage, and the desired government job, had ways about him. Characteristics that led Raquel to believe that he could very well be one of those sociopaths as well.

  “What’s taking so long is that this is a loaded situation. There’s no easy or quick way around it.”

  “Loaded with what?”

  “Drew, you’ve been here for five days. I know by now they’ve—”

  “Yeah, but fuck them and their tactic
s. I think they’re just trying to build a case with me because they don’t wanna do their fucking jobs!” he yelled, not caring who heard, and hoping that they did.

  “Not true, Drew. Let’s revisit. One—you exchanged text messages with the victim and told her that you’d be on your way. Two—you called from right outside her door. Three—that just happens to be the night that she’s murdered. Four—they’re running DNA on semen found at the scene, and neighbors have already identified you as a frequent visitor. A late-night visitor. When did the murder take place? Late night, early morning. So, can you see how all of this looks? They’re all like little pieces that fit perfectly to an unfinished puzzle.”

  “The perfect set up is more like it.” He tilted his face skyward, heaving a huge sigh of frustration. After a few seconds, Drew’s eyes were back on his attorney. “I didn’t kill her. I wouldn’t have a reason to kill her. Hear me, Raq…” he stressed. “No reason to kill her! Wouldn’t they need to prove motive? See! See! There isn’t one! Two consenting adults. Yeah, shit went too far… for too long, but—!”

  “Drew, stop—”

  “And…” he continued, “…if there is semen present, then it’s not mine. I haven’t had sex with her in over a week. It wasn’t me!” Raquel shook her head, then sighed heavily. “What?” he asked, anxiously. “Why are you shaking your head?”

  “You want to hear motive, Drew? The motive is in the sex itself. The fact that you were comfortable enough to be having unprotected sex with her says that it goes beyond a fling. It was frequent, and it was raw. Sounds more serious than you’re leading on.”

  “What the fuck, Raquel? Just listen to me. That aside, sperm lives for seventy-two hours. Three days! Do I need to spell it out for you?”

  “No. I caught it all, Drew. You’re the one missing the point. None of this is a good look for you. Not a single piece of it. You’re claiming that you haven’t had sex with the deceased in a week, and that since there’s semen present, it can’t be yours…”