A Murderous Game (9 page)

"It's over," she
exclaimed when her friend got on the line. "My lawyer just called; the
divorce is final."

Abby smiled and held the phone away
from her ear as Rachael's loud whoop reverberated across the line. "We
have to celebrate. Dinner and drinks on me tonight. How about
Fergys
? I should be able to get out of here by six."

"I've got to meet a client
tonight," Abby said, laughing at Rachael's reaction, "but we'll
definitely celebrate, maybe this weekend. Look, I've
gotta
go. I have to leave for a meeting soon. I just had to tell someone."

She leaned back and hugged herself.
Gage had told her he'd take care of informing Norwell today. She glanced at her
watch. It was almost two and she had to leave for a client meeting.

She took her purse from the bottom
drawer and went out to the lobby. "I should be back from my meeting with
Carlson around three thirty," she told Madeline before getting on the
elevator.

Gage would probably call Norwell
while she was out. Didn't things always happen that way? Well, everyone would
know soon enough. And she wasn't even going to gloat when Billings found out. Well, she'd try not to
anyway. Things were finally going her way and she was feeling benevolent. As
far as days went, this one ranked pretty close to perfect.

"Six
messages."
Madeline waved the pink slips over her head without
looking up from her computer screen when Abby returned to the office.

"Thanks." She snatched
them out of the air as she passed the other woman's desk. Her meeting with
Carlson had dragged on for over two hours because his marketing manager wanted
to dissect every proposal Abby had made. She swore the guy felt threatened by
her for some reason. She shook her head as she flipped through the messages.

Betty
Mawbry
wanted to know if they should run another full page ad in the Sunday Inquirer.
No!
Phil Baker—how about using purple and yellow for their logo?
Egad!
Your
mother—you haven't come to dinner in almost two months. Abby rolled her eyes.
Gage Faraday. Lewis Pinker. Gage called?

She locked her briefcase under her
arm and pulled Gage's message out with her teeth so she could put it on top of
the stack. No message. Glancing at the time notation she saw he'd called at
three seventeen.

Dropping her purse and briefcase on
top of the desk she picked up the phone and buzzed Madeline.

"Madeline, did Gage Faraday
leave a message?"

"No, just
his name."

"Do you know if he called Mr.
Norwell with a decision on the account?"

"Not yet he hasn't. I asked if
he wanted me to transfer him to Norwell in your absence. He said if he'd wanted
Norwell he would have asked for him. Not very friendly, is he?"

If Gage had found time to make a
phone call, why hadn't he called Norwell about his decision? Did he want to run
something by her first? Maybe he wanted to give her a heads-up so she could be
prepared.

"Listen, do me a favor. Don't
say anything to anyone until after I return his call."

"My lips are sealed."

After closing her door, Abby called
Gage's office and got his secretary.

"Grace, this is Abby
Carpenter. I'm returning Mr. Faraday's call. Is he in?"

"He's in a meeting, but he
said if you called to let him know. Hold on please."

Wow, Abby thought, it must be
important if he wanted Grace to interrupt him during a meeting.

Grace came back on the line.
"If you'll hold for a minute, Mr. Faraday wants to take the call in his
office."

"Okay." Abby wrapped an
arm around her waist and leaned against the edge of her desk, waiting. She was
a free woman. At last! Dick was out of her life, and she could finally move
forward.

"This is Faraday." Abby
jerked at the whip-like tone of his voice.

"Mr. Faraday, it's—"

"I know who it is, Miss
Carpenter. I called you as a courtesy. One you probably don't deserve."

A prickling sensation ran down
Abby's spine. What was he talking about? Why did he sound so angry?

"I'll be calling Norwell in
the morning to tell him I want Harold Billings to manage the account."

Abby was stunned. He'd said he
wanted her. What had happened to change his mind?

"But…why? I thought—"

"I don't have the time or
inclination to explain things you should be able to figure out on your own. I
have to go."

"Wait," Abby blurted,
needing to understand. "If this is about last night, I assure you it's not
something I make a habit of, in fact, I've never—"

He laughed, not a happy sound.
"You know damn well my decision has nothing to do with last night. Your
secret's out, lady. I know who you are. Consider yourself fortunate I don't
intend to explain my decision to Norwell. I'm sure if I told him I wanted you
fired, you'd be given your walking papers before the end of the day. And just
so we understand each other, if you try to come after me, I'll see you in
jail."

The line went dead. Abby stood with
the phone pressed against her ear. A distant buzzing began to fill her head. He
knew.

~~~

Everyone else in the office had
gone home over an hour ago. Abby sat at her desk staring at the screen saver on
her computer. She'd lost the account, all because of a stupid adolescent crush.

She laid her head down on the desk
and closed her eyes. It had been fourteen years ago, for God sake. How could he
still hold it against her? And didn't people usually get upset when you didn't
like them, not when you did?

She stood up and walked to the
window. Okay, so maybe being accused of statutory rape wasn't on everybody's
bucket list. But she'd admitted to making everything up before her father
pressed any charges.

Abby sighed. So that only made her
a fruitcake. True or not, she had little recourse at this point. Resolved, she
started putting folders into her briefcase. Why work any later? What had long
hours and dedication gotten her except an expectation for more of the same?

Gage was taking things a little far
warning her to stay away from him, though. Did he really think she might stalk
him again?
Hello!
I've matured a little over the past decade and a half!

She snorted. Someone sure was full
of himself. She hadn't done anything over the last few days to warrant kicking
her off the account. She'd been a professional in all their dealings. Okay, not
counting the brandy and falling asleep on his couch, but other than that she'd
been a pro. He was the one being unprofessional.

How could she have thought she'd
been falling in love with him again? A few more meetings would probably have
cleared up that misconception.

All right, so she still had some
feelings rumbling around for him. And she had imagined what it would be like to
kiss him and yeah, yeah, so what. It probably wouldn't have been that great.
None of that mattered. Actions were what mattered, and her actions had been
exemplary. She'd had no intention of letting them be anything but. In fact, if
the opportunity to become romantically involved with Gage presented itself,
she'd start a bonfire and throw herself on the mercy of the flames. It would be
less painful and wouldn't leave as many scars.

A few minutes later Abby exited the
elevator to the Lobby. She was a good account manager. Better than good. She
deserved this account. It was supposed to have been her big break. Not only had
she lost it, but now she'd have to put up with Billings rubbing her nose in it every
friggin
' opportunity he got.

"Night, Abby," Gary called from behind
her as she walked toward the front door. She raised a hand without turning
around.

She should be out celebrating her
divorce. Instead, she'd probably spend the night working at the kitchen table
trying not to think about how good
GFI's
project
would have looked on her resume, or how unfair it was of Gage to hold a grudge
after all this time.

When she got outside, it was still
fairly warm. She decided to walk. It was early enough there were still plenty
of people on the streets, and her townhouse was only a mile and a half away.
She had more than enough time to walk it before it got too dark.

She'd gone about two blocks when
Gage's threat began to rumble around in her head. She stopped walking. A
Keneau
Reeves look-alike passed her on her left. He glanced
back and gave her a sexy smile.

A young couple jogged around her
with a yellow Lab, the woman's long blonde ponytail bobbing from side to side
as they continued down the sidewalk.

Have her arrested indeed! Abby's
temper began to simmer.
On what grounds?
A fourteen year old crush?
Give me a break
. She had
done nothing wrong!

Turning around, she marched to the
corner and hailed a cab. She'd been overlooked, pushed around, and threatened
just one too many times. Dick had dished out enough humiliation to last her a
lifetime, but she had enough pride left she wouldn't tuck her tail between her
legs and scuttle off without letting Gage Faraday know exactly what she thought
of his petty grudge. Have her arrested! Humph! Let him try.

~~~

Abby held her breath as the guard
ran his finger down the list of expected visitors. "Here you are. Abigail
Carpenter. Go ahead. I'll buzz you through to the elevators."

She gave him a breezy smile as she
walked through the turnstile, relieved no one had thought to remove her name.
Of course, who would have expected her to show up after Gage had given her the
boot?

The light in Gage's office was
still on. Thankfully, no one else was around. Abby braced herself.
Fools
rush in where wise men fear to go.
Right, a little late for proverbial
wisdoms, since she was standing in the man's doorway.

He sat at his desk with his head
down, an open file in front of him. The sleeves of his crisp white shirt were
rolled up almost to his elbows, and he'd loosened his tie. His hair was a
little mussed up, as if he'd run his hand through it a time or two. He looked
tired, she thought tenderly, as if he'd had a rough day.

Abby reminded herself she was angry
with him. The pang of longing that pinched her heart had no place there
tonight. She took a step forward into the room, and he looked up.

His expression hardened the instant
he saw her. He narrowed his eyes, and the cold blast of contempt he shot her
almost made her step back.

"What the hell are you doing
here?" He ground the words out as if it took every ounce of his control
not to bellow them.

Suffering a moment of doubt, she
wondered the same thing. Maybe it had been unwise to come. What could he do to
her though, really? Take the account away from her? He already had. Embarrass
her? Nothing new there, either. Get her fired? Possibly, but even in the face
of his anger, she considered it unlikely. It might be naïve on her part, but
for reasons she couldn't explain she didn't think he'd hurt her that way.

"I hadn't planned to
come." Abby took another step into the room. "In fact," she
spoke a little louder, "I was on my way home when I realized I was getting
really tired of letting life kick me around. So I decided to kick back, and you
were the lucky one at the front of the line."

He stood up and came around to the
middle of the desk. Sitting against the edge, he crossed his arms over his
broad chest and pinned her with steel grey eyes. "If you're not out of
here in ten seconds, I'm calling security and you'll be escorted out. If you
resist, I'll have you arrested for trespassing."

"Trespassing or
stalking?" She glared right back at him, his threat only making her more
determined to stand up to him. "You're going to have to make up your mind.
I recommend you go for trespassing. At least you've got a slim chance with that
one since you can prove I am here. The stalking one will never stick."

"Get out."

"I'm a little surprised you
figured out who I am." Anger gave her courage. "I guess it was
foolish not to tell you, but I couldn't be sure how you'd react."

"Now you know. Get out."

"Rachael assured me you'd
never guess. Of course, she only wanted to boost my confidence. And I'd
actually begun to think everything would work out. I even thought if you turned
out to be a reasonable man, I'd come clean."

"Hah!" Gage shouted.
"If I hadn't found you out, you'd have played this charade through to the
end. I'm no fool, so save the lies. I don't buy them."

Abby shook her head. "Don't
you think you're being a
teensy
bit unreasonable?" She pinched her
fingers together to show him just how little and then hooked her hand on her
hip. "I mean come on, haven't you ever done anything you regretted? Don't
we all have things in our past we'd do differently if we could go back?"

"Considering what happened, I
think I'm being extremely reasonable. I could have you fired. If you ever try
to come after me again, I will."

"You've got to be kidding
me!" She gave him a royal snort. "If you're really that spiteful,
then everything I've read about you must be true."

He smiled, not kindly.
"Every word of it.
If you don't want to find out just
how true, I suggest you leave.
Now."
That
now
was almost a whisper. It amazed her how lethal one small word, spoken so
softly, could sound.

"I don't plan to stay long. I
only came because there are a few things I want to tell you before formally
closing down this relationship."

He arched a brow. "Do you
think I'm interested in anything you have to say?"

"Oh, probably not, but I've
been practicing all these wonderful ways of telling you what I think of your
decision. It would be a shame to let them go to waste."