Time to Play (21 page)

“I see. Your signature is nothing alike.”

“There is something else. Because my figures get looked at for tax
purposes I have watermarked paper that I use when printing off the correct
information and data for file. I fill in each form, print off,
then
sign. This then gets filed away into the correct file
for month and year.”

Cole nodded his head. She lifted up a piece of the work she’d done.
“See, the company’s ledger and watermark can be seen.” Then she held up the
doctored figures.

“There is no watermark,” Cole said.

“That’s because it is an ordinary
piece of paper.” She smiled feeling like she’d accomplished something.
“Not only that, this was filed away under last year’s accounts.
They’ve already been processed, and this is dated for over four months ago.
This would get overlooked, and no one would be any the wiser.”

“Who can get this water-marked paper?”

“About every other
person in the company.”

Cole sighed. “We’re still back to
not knowing who could have doctored these files.”

“Then maybe I can help,” Daniel
said.

Simone turned to see her brother. He
was holding a file as well.

“What is going on?” she asked.

“I think it is time we bring her up
to speed on everything that has been going on.”

All three men looked at her with
sober expressions. “Wow, what the hell is going on? You guys look annoyed.”

“Someone set up cameras in every
room in your apartment and began to broadcast it over the internet.”

Simone felt her cheeks heat up.

“What?”

“Have you ever heard of girls
getting paid to show their homes off, bring guys back to their apartment for
people to watch?”

She nodded her head. There had been
a documentary on it some time ago. She’d hated watching it let alone thinking
of some guy or guys watching her and getting off on the experience.

“Do you mean to tell me, someone set
up my apartment for guys to spy on me?”

Cole and
Callum
nodded. She shuddered. Simone was freaked out by the thought of someone
watching her. Getting off on watching her take a shower or go to the toilet.

Ew
.

“Moving on, your broadcast went down
about a week ago. I got my guys to go into your apartment and find every single
camera. Your apartment is clean and camera free,” Daniel said.

“I may sleep better. Not! Wait, my
dad pays for that apartment,” she said.

Her brother shook his head. “I pay
for your apartment. He wanted nothing to do with you.”

Her father was a lying bastard.

Chapter Seventeen

 
Cole tried to contain his chuckle.

“Cole and
Callum
gave me the files of everyone you had worked with and had access to your area
of the building,” Daniel said. He walked over to her desk with
Callum
coming up behind him. “Nothing looked out of place
until I saw this guy.”

He flicked a file open. Cole didn’t
recognise the man.
 

“What about John?” she asked.

“You know him?”
Callum
asked.

Simone nodded. “His name is John
Buttons. Besides being a cheating scumbag he’s harmless.”

“How do you know this?” Daniel
asked.

“He was the boyfriend you caught
sleeping with his secretary?”

Cole froze.

“Yeah.”

“What’s his name?” Daniel asked.

“John Buttons.”

Daniel shook his head. “His real
name is Clarke Wilson. He was accused of sexual harassment some years ago.
Malcolm didn’t want to fire him, but I forced the issue. This was before I
started out on my own. This guy is bad news.”

“Why do I think Malcolm has
something to do with this?”
Callum
asked.

“Because Malcolm
would plant him inside your company.
Only he’d use him to gain information to take
you down. Not to take your money.”

“That’s his signature on the form,”
Simone said.

Cole turned back to her.

“I knew I recognised the writing, I
couldn’t place it.”

“What I don’t get is why Malcolm
would use someone like him. He wasn’t exactly the brightest person alive. The
only thing Clarke was good at was trying to feel up the ladies and being late
for work. He couldn’t do what Malcolm wanted him to do,” Daniel said.

“That makes no sense.” Cole added.

“John was also the only man you ever let into your apartment,” Daniel
said.

“You mean he was the one responsible for broadcasting me over the
internet?” Simone asked. He heard the upset in her voice.

“I’m afraid so, sis.”

“That is disgusting.”

“Do you want the other good news?” Daniel asked.

“What?” Cole was getting annoyed. Her brother was bringing nothing but
bad news.

“John Buttons or Clarke Wilson was spotted going into our father’s main
building. I’ve called the police and given them the update. We can be there to
confront both of them if you’re ready.”

“I’ll go and get dressed. I want to witness this,” Cole said.

Callum
was in agreement.

Cole took the quickest shower of his life. When he came out of the
bathroom and made his way through to the sitting room, Simone was curled up
against her brother.

“It’s going to be okay. I’m not going to let anything happen to you,”
Daniel said.

His friend came up behind him. He pressed a finger to his lips to be
quiet.

“How can you take care of this? There are people out there who have seen
me naked, Daniel. This is worse than anything else.”

“Cole and
Callum
will not care.”

“Not yet they don’t. They will though. Who wants a woman who has been
seen by half the world?” Simone sniffled wiping her eyes.

“I think you’re presuming too much, sweetheart. There is no way half the
world has seen you naked.”

She chuckled.

“Do I need to kick their ass?” he asked.

“No. They’re wonderful, Daniel. Please, let’s sort this mess out, and
then we can figure everything else out.”

She rubbed her nose. Cole and
Callum
made
their presence known.

“Let’s go and kick some butt,” Cole said.

Simone laughed, wiping at her eyes. Cole wanted to go to her. He wanted
to tell her that it didn’t matter if she’d known about the broadcasting and
fucked a million men. She’d still be the one he wanted to sleep with at night.

“I’m driving,” Daniel said, holding up his keys.

“I don’t think so. Let’s do this in style.”
Callum
put a call through to the limousine company.

Within twenty minutes all four of them were seated in the back watching
the city go by.

Cole stroked her knee feeling
himself
grow
calmer with each touch.

“You don’t work for dad anymore?” she asked.

“I haven’t worked for our father in years, Simone.”

“How come?”

Daniel sighed. “He blackmailed a lovely girl who was an up and coming
singer at the time to kiss and tell.”

Cole felt her stiffen by his side, and glaring at Daniel, he tried to
send him a warning.
Callum
looked like he was doing
the exact same thing.

“Be careful what you say,
Allusifa
.”

“She has a right to know.”

“That’s the singer who you shared, right?” Simone asked.

Cole nodded his head.

“I see why you stopped working for him.”

“After that, I couldn’t work for a man who forced someone’s hand. He
ruined her career, and for that I couldn’t forgive him.
Even
if that very man is my father.”

Cole continued to stroke her knee.

“You’re not like him, Daniel.”

“Don’t start this, Simone. We’re who we are because of what happened.”

He began to listen intently.

“You’d be a wonderful husband and a fantastic father.”

“If you really believe that then why are you not married? Where are all
the children you wanted?”

Simone sighed beside him. “Our choices change.”

“I don’t think we should be having this conversation in front of your
men. They look ready to tear me apart.”

Cole watched her sit back. She took his hand in hers, and they sat
together looking out of the window.

Within minutes they were outside of the
Allusifa
building. “I’ve never been here. We declined every meeting.”

Daniel was taking a call as they got out of the limousine. “The police
are on their way. They’re letting us go on ahead. I have them on speaker phone
so that they will hear everything.”

People on the street stopped to look at them. Cole kept hold of her
hand. “Are you all right?” he asked.

“The last time I came here was when my mother brought me. It was the day
she requested a divorce.” He felt her shudder. The memory was clearly not a
pleasant one.

“Don’t worry. I won’t let anything
happen to you,” he said.

“We won’t let anything happen to
you,”
Callum
added.

“Thanks.”

Together they walked into the main
foyer of the building. Daniel took the lead to the elevator. Several women
tried to stop them. Each one was ignored.

“John will be gone before we make it
to the top floor,”
Callum
said.

“No, he’ll be there. Malcolm doesn’t
like to be disturbed. If he’s in a meeting no one will interrupt,” Daniel said.

The elevator took them up to the
main floor.

Show time.

****

Simone wanted to run and hide. All
she could remember was the shouting as her mother and father cursed and yelled.
The tears and the heartache were still palpable after nineteen years of
history.

Cole’s and
Callum’s
presences stopped her from hiding away. The door to Malcolm’s office was
closed. She heard his receptionist shouting in the distance. Daniel opened the
doors, and all four of them walked into the office.

She saw John sat with one leg
crossed over the other in front of her father’s desk. Staring at the man she’d
slept with, the same man who’d tried to frame her for theft and fraud, the very
same man who had broadcast her over the internet without her permission, the anger
she’d kept down for weeks came back.

Pulling away from Cole she charged
him. She shoved him off the chair he sat on.

“How fucking
dare
you invade my privacy.” She yelled every word.

John stood up, his arrogance ebbing
away. “You can’t prove anything.”

“You want to fucking bet?” She went
to her father’s desk, grabbed his pen and a piece of paper. “Sign your name,”
she said.

John looked from her to the paper.
“You’ve got to be joking. No.”

She turned to
Callum
and Cole. They came forward grabbing John. “The lady said to sign your name.”

“Lady?
She’s no lady.
A
slut more like
.”

Daniel charged through. He pushed
both men out of the way to grab the lapels of John’s jacket. “Remember me, you
little shit?” John showed actual terror.

“That’s my sister you’re talking
about. Sign the paper before I end you.”

John picked up the pen, signing his
name.

Simone looked at his signature.
“Now, sign mine.”

He hesitated, and Daniel pressed
into the base of his back. “Sign her name.” He signed her name. She grabbed the
piece of paper then pulled out the one she’d found in the filing cabinet.
Matching them up, it was a perfect fit.

She turned both pieces of paper
round to show John. He paled.

“What the
blazes
is
going on?” Malcolm asked. His voice rose in the airy office.

“The man you’ve been paying to try to
take us
down,
decided to steal from us. Not only that,
he’s been broadcasting your daughter over the internet and getting profit
without her knowledge,”
Callum
said.

“I don’t understand why you did it,”
Simone said.

“You have no right asking him these
questions. I suggest you leave,” Malcolm said.