Heart of the Woolf (Woolf Series) (5 page)

But while making love with Jake was still a fantasy and not
having yet met the other man who could make her heart beat faster, she thanked
God for her weekly massages, given by the professional masseur Lucien and his
assistant, Paul. They had started out innocently enough, but passion had
overridden her once, and they had all become lovers. She had then suggested for
all of them to be naked during their weekly sessions; things were thus done
with less fuss and everything became more convenient. Lucien and Paul were also
good outlets for her intense but unresolved attraction to Jake. Sometimes, she
felt twinges of guilt for using them to relieve her physical frustration, but
everyone understood theirs was a “no strings attached” arrangement.

But what Lucien had said last night disturbed her. She had
never told anyone about her attraction to Jake. Was her unfulfilled desire so
apparent? Long after they had left last night -- or, rather, in the wee
hours of the morning -- she had lain in bed, thinking about Lucien’s
comment. His suggestion made sense, actually. Since Jake was the one who left
her frustrated, why not let him scratch her itch? Maybe she wouldn’t need her
masseur then. Except for the usual purpose, anyway.

One hour later, she was out the door and on her way to the
office. The weather was lovely; cloudy blue skies with a hint of the sun. She
had always enjoyed early morning the best.

But since arriving on Tolidet Island, which was one of the
small islands in the south Pacific Ocean, fourteen months ago, she hated being
outdoors. The air and noise pollution in the city were terrible, so different
from the cleanliness and tranquility in Edinburgh! One had to experience both
to understand. God, she didn’t know how the locals were able to take the awful
stench of garbage left by the roadside and the carbon monoxide emitting from
vehicles that clogged up the streets.

However, her experiences on the island were not all bad. For
the most part, the locals were a friendly and hospitable group of people,
fun-loving and easy to get along with. She never felt like she was a foreigner
in their midst, despite her oh-so-English accent and different way of thinking.

The receptionist smiled and nodded at her. “Good morning,
Miss Lee.”

Adrienne smiled back. “Good morning, Anna.”

She made her way to her office, noting that Marcy’s desk was
empty. The door to Jake’s office was ajar, though.
Marcy’s probably taking
dictation,
Adrienne thought wryly. Jake was really such a workaholic. If
only he would put all that energy to another use ...

She opened the door to her office. Flipping on the lights,
she immediately noticed a brightly covered box with a red ribbon on top sitting
on her desk. A card read “Happy Birthday!” in bold, bright red letters.

“But it’s not my birthday,” she muttered to herself. Could
the Dispatch Section have sent the package to the wrong employee? It could be
for someone whose name was similarly close to Adrienne Lee. Maybe Adrian Li or
something ... But no, a card, which was almost hidden by the ornate bow,
bore her name. So it was for her, but someone had gotten her birth date wrong,
which wouldn’t be for another couple of months.

She was reaching for the tape that was holding the top of the
box in place when her hand stopped and hovered in mid-air. What if the box
contained another prank? Or another foul message?

Adrienne shivered, remembering the threatening note she’d
received yesterday. Despite the bravado she’d displayed in front of Jake and
Marcy, she was more disturbed by it than she realized.

After a second, her spine straightened. No way was she going
to allow those dissenters to get the better of her. This ridiculous situation
had gone on long enough. She’d open the box and confront them with their craven
deed and show them in no uncertain terms that she’s not going to tolerate any
more of their mischief.

After placing her handbag on the visitor’s chair in front of
her desk, Adrienne neatly removed the tape. Once that was done, she took off
the top --

A bloodcurdling scream tore from her throat.

Chapter Four

Jake’s heart stopped beating at the terrified scream. He
swayed as a massive wave of overwhelming fear crashed into him. His shields
slammed up. Cursing, he rushed out into the hallway, with Marcy hard on his
heels. He pushed between the mass of people starting to congregate outside Adrienne’s
office. “Let me through!”

He took everything in at a glance -- the multicolored
box sitting at odds with the somber décor of the room, the discarded cardboard
top on the floor, and Adrienne ...

Adrienne had backed herself into the corner, bracing herself
against the wall. Her dark eyes were wild and haunted and staring at things
only she could see. Naturally fair, she had turned paler and her lips were
white. She was taking in rapid, shallow breaths. He felt her shock in palpable
waves. Alarm emanated from her.

Stirrings of anger rose up in him. He looked inside the
garish package, and the contents made him turn away. He would put a stop to
this, whether she liked it or not. But first ...

He walked slowly toward Adrienne, one arm outstretched so as
not to alarm her. In the back of his mind, he was aware of the gaggle of people
crowding the doorway, of their bated breaths and wide-eyed expressions, of
their low-voiced murmurs and questionings. But they were the least of his
concerns.

He cupped Adrienne’s cheek gently.

She flinched.

“Adrienne, it’s me, Jake.”

She looked at him uncomprehendingly, her expression like that
of a lost child.

It pained him to see no trace of the capable and efficient
woman who tormented him endlessly with her sexy stiletto heels and
figure-hugging business suits. He grasped her by the shoulders and shook her a
little. “Snap out of it, Adri.” He decided to tease her. “Hey, is this how you
fight back against the boss who nags at you and who won’t let up until you
reach your targets? Cold treatment doesn’t work with him, I’ll have you know.”
He let humor leak through in his voice. “You need to shout and rant and rage at
him --”

“Jake?” Sanity returned to her eyes. “Jake!” She hurtled
herself into his arms, the tears replacing her former stupor. “How horrible;
all that blood and -- and -- a puppy, Jake, a poor defenseless
puppy --”

How she thought it was a puppy was beyond him, for it was
mangled and sliced up beyond recognition, blood and entrails poured out of the
big cut in the middle of its body. Its dark red blood marred the box’s pristine
whiteness. It was messy, grisly and a terrible sight for even the most
strong-stomached individual. Jake tightened his hands on Adrienne’s shoulders.

“Someone take the box away!” His harsh voice broke through
the sounds of her weeping and the shocked silence that had descended.

A large man, whom Jake recognized as a new recruit, walked
forward to gingerly scoop the box from Adrienne’s desk.

Jake looked down at the woman in his arms. She was like an
object wrapped in layer upon layer of packaging, and he was removing them one
by one to get to the real Adrienne beneath. It was an exciting process, and he
wondered what he would find at the end of the journey. For now, he discovered
that her fierce exterior hid a soft heart that could be her undoing, which was
most likely the reason she had forced her true self behind a no-nonsense
attitude.

“Marcy!” he said. “Take care of Adrienne.” He gently handed
her over to his efficient secretary.

The anger that had been teasing the edges of his emotions now
flared into full bloom. He allowed the fury to wash over him, but he retained
control. He didn’t want to go berserk, to give in to the werewolf that wanted
to howl with grief at the mangled sight. He didn’t want to give his
subordinates the chance to see any weakness and make them lose their respect
for him.

He fixed the staff still standing at the doorway with a cold
glare. “Go back to your desks.”

Everyone started shuffling away on silent feet.

Leaving Adrienne and Marcy huddled near Adrienne’s desk, Jake
strode to the common room where most of the workers’ cubicles were located. He
walked down the center of the aisle, his wrath emanating from him in waves. No
one dared to meet his eyes. He felt them shrink away from him as he passed.

Good.

When he reached the end, he turned around and faced them. He
stared at each one in turn. He let down his shields a little and allowed their
emotions to leak through. There was fear, horror, and yes, guilt. So,
Adrienne’s hunch was right. Some people in the office were so idle that they
had time to play all these practical jokes on her. And now, he knew who they
were.

His fists clenched.

From one lady in particular, he sensed remorse. His eyes
narrowed. She looked familiar. Oh yes, she’d been in Adrienne’s office
yesterday.

“I’ve heard most of you are fun-loving, but what I saw in
there was
no fun
at all. Let me tell you what was in that box.” His
voice was cold. “Lying in that pool of blood and guts, lay what was once a
living, breathing creature. Some sick, twisted individual murdered a helpless
animal, cut it up, and its insides were put on display. It doesn’t matter that
it was only a dog; tell me that when it is
your dog.
” The whole office
was silent -- the uncomfortable silence of the guilty. Each staff member
stood beside his or her cubicle; the brave and innocent ones met his eyes, but
a few looked down at their feet. “What I don’t understand is what you have got
against Adrienne. Are you punishing her for being more capable and qualified
than you? Hurting someone who has never done anything to you, who is even now
protecting you? Are your hearts made of stone or what?!”

He took several deep breaths. Triggering consciences in
people who have no conscience was a waste of time. “I don’t know who did this
and previous other mischievous tricks; you may have heard about the black rose
yesterday. I don’t want to know who’s responsible, but here’s one thing I do
know:
This has to stop now.
I will not allow any more funny business in
this division. Believe me, you don’t want to know what will happen should I
learn of anything like this again in the future.” He paused to let his words
sink in, to let them know that he was taking a personal interest in this
situation and that if anyone dared to do mischief again, they would be doing it
in direct rebellion to his order. “Everyone understand?”

Mumbles and nods.

“By the way, if anyone has a twinge of conscience and wants
to own up, you know who to look for.” His lips twisted. “And it’s not me.”

* * * * *

Adrienne was exhausted, but her heart felt light and free.
Although she couldn’t really thank God for the grisly package she received this
morning, at least the unspoken tension in her team had been resolved. Some of
the women had approached her individually to express their regrets and hope for
an amicable working relationship. Some had even owned up to the particular
trick they had played, although no one claimed the black rose and the dead
puppy.

She shuddered. She needed to stop thinking about it. Instead,
she wanted to think about Jake and the masterful way he had taken charge of the
situation. Though she hadn’t wanted him to intervene on her behalf, this time
she had been grateful. She didn’t think she could’ve handled the situation as
well as he did, considering how shaken she’d been. She made a face.
Yeah,
and while you’re at it, don’t forget about the fact that he disappeared soon
afterwards.

She sighed. Better to concentrate on her presentation.
Everyone had already left the office hours ago, and if she were wise, she would
too, even if she were driving. The island’s peace and order situation was not
at its best at the moment, with increasing incidences of criminal activities
sprouting up here and there. In the fourteen months that she’d been living on
Tolidet Island, the prices of basic goods had skyrocketed tremendously due
mostly to certain macroeconomic factors such as the escalating prices of oil.
From reading the newspapers, she realized that many of the lower-income families
were affected, and some of them even turned to criminal activities in order to
augment their declining income or to feed their hungry children. It was sad,
the way things had turned out.

Maybe she should flee again, to a less troubled country, like
Taiwan or Singapore. Or maybe Malaysia or Australia. But that would mean
uprooting David, when he was already settled in where he was and happy ...

God, she missed him. Maybe she could go see him tomorrow,
after work.

She packed up her things, intending to finish her work at
home. At this hour, traffic shouldn’t be heavy; she should be home in about
thirty minutes. The idea of a hot bath invigorated her, and within moments, she
was locking up the office and making her way down the stairs to the basement
where she had parked her car that morning.

Soon, she was on the highway, humming along to the song
blasting from the radio. She signaled to make a left turn. Checking the
rearview mirror, she saw a brown Toyota right behind her.

She frowned. A car had been behind her ever since she had
left the building, but was it the same one? She was able to identify the Toyota
only because it was directly standing under the street light. Maybe they just
happened to be going in the same direction ...?

She slowed down.

The Toyota went past her and then turned right at the next
corner.

She sighed in relief. She couldn’t be too careful these days.
Yesterday, a car also seemed to be tailing her, but she lost sight of it when
she neared her home. She didn’t know if both cars were one and the same. Under
the dim street lights, it was hard to tell for sure.