The Incubus, Succubus and Son of Perdition Box Set: The Len du Randt Bundle (31 page)

‘Wait…there’s someone else?’ Shaun
asked, keeping the conversation in context.

Jared merely looked at Shaun and
exhaled deeply.

‘Oh man,’ Shaun said and followed
Jared to his desk. ‘Who is she? What’s her name? Where did you meet her?’

‘It isn’t love, really,’ Jared said.
‘It’s more like an infatuation. Her name’s Natasha and I met her at Tanya’s
place yesterday. Shaun, I can’t find myself thinking of anything or anyone
else.’

Shaun shook his head. ‘This isn’t
right, man. What about Amy?’

‘What about her?’ Jared asked
curtly. ‘I’m not married to the woman.’

‘And does the fact that you wanted
to ask her to be your life-long companion mean nothing to you?’

‘I just wish you could see this...this
perfection of nature. Shaun, she’s unlike any other woman that I have ever
met.’

‘Oh man, this is bad. What are you
going to do about it, Jay?’

‘I don’t know,’ Jared said and
washed down the last of his Scotch. ‘I just don’t know.’

Shaun was at a loss for words. For
the first time since he met Jared, the man did not have a solution to a
problem. For the first time, a woman managed to get his brain signals all
messed up. He fought the urge to shake Jared on the shoulders and tell him that
women had been the downfall of man since the beginning of time, but instead,
merely forced a weak smile. ‘I’m sure that you’ll know what to do once push
comes to shove, Jay. I just hope you make the right choice.’

‘You and me both,’ Jared said. ‘For
now, just not thinking about her would be a major accomplishment.’

‘Take a day or two off. Sort out
your priorities and get your thoughts straightened out.’

‘No can do,’ Jared said and pointed
at his desk. ‘Too many things I have to sort out with Lisa not pitching up for
work.’

‘Maybe you should get that girl you
like so much to fill Lisa’s place until she returns.’ Jared shot Shaun a
glance. Shaun raised his hands in the air and laughed. ‘Just kidding,’ he said.
‘But you really do need a break.’

The seeds were planted. Jared’s mind
already worked out the calculations. ‘She actually could come and work here,
you know,’ he said. ‘Just to help out until Lisa decides to pitch up one day,
of course.’

‘Are you serious?’

‘I’ll think about it.’

Shaun pressed for an answer. ‘You’re
serious, aren’t you?’

‘I said I’d think about it!’ Jared
snapped. There was an awkward moment of silence as the bewildered Shaun only
stared at Jared, wide-eyed and unwilling to say anything first. Jared took a
deep breath and exhaled long and slow. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I don’t know what
came over me.’

‘No worries,’ Shaun said. He tried
his best to hide the quaver in his voice. ‘Tell you what; I’ll go make us a
nice cup of coffee. Lisa style.’

‘Thanks, Shaun,’ Jared said and
turned his attention to the window.

Shaun looked at Jared for a moment,
unable to grasp the reality that his powerful leader had been reduced to a
love-sick puppy. He hoped that this was merely a phase, an infatuation that
would leave as instantly as it had come. The realization gripped him that
anything else could be fatal to the business.

*   
-    -    -    *

Maybe you should get that girl you
like so much to fill Lisa’s place until she returns.

Jared stared at the shadows that the
lazy afternoon sun cast against his walls for what felt like forever before he
picked up the phone.

You should give her a job at Whyte
& Greene.

Was it a sort of divine
intervention? His mother believed in those. Lisa, his personal assistant was
AWOL. Natasha is a personal assistant. More than one person suggested that she
work there.
Yes
, Jared decided.
It must be divine.

He punched Tanya’s number.

‘Hello?’ a young voice answered from
the other end.

Jared’s stomach flipped when he
realised that it wasn’t Tanya that answered. ‘Hi,’ he fumbled as he tried to
re-arrange his thoughts. He wanted to speak to Tanya first; to melt the ice; to
soften the blow. This was totally out of his comfort zone. ‘Do you...erm...is
this...?’

‘Can I help you?’

‘I’m sorry. This is Natas…Natasha,
right?’

‘Yes...?’

‘Hi. I don’t know if you can
remember me. It’s Jared Greene. We met...erm...yesterday.’

‘Of course I remember you, silly,’
she giggled. ‘How could I forget?’

Jared’s heart fluttered around in
his chest.
She remembers!

‘How are you, Jared?’

‘I’m fine,’ he said, trying hard to
keep his voice from trembling. ‘And you?’

‘Same here. Just bored, you know?’

Jared chuckled and tightened his
grip around the phone. ‘The reason I’m calling,’ he said, ‘is to ask you if you
would be interested in a position at Whyte & Greene? Sort of like a
temporary thing to keep you busy for a few days?’

‘I would be delighted,’ she answered
without hesitation.

‘I figured you would make a fine
personal assistant. Mine went missing a few days ago. We don’t know where she
is yet, but I was wondering...’

‘It would be an absolute pleasure,’
she said. ‘When do I start?’

Jared’s heartbeat quickened. His leg
bounced up and down in a nervous rhythm. ‘You could start tomorrow if you’d
like.’

‘That would be wonderful,’ she said.
‘What time should I be there?’

‘Around eight...?’

‘Eight would be perfect.’

Oh wow! She’s really coming!
‘Tanya can give you
directions to the company.’

‘Great,’ she said. ‘I look forward
to working with you, Mister Greene.’

‘Please, call me Jared.’

He put the phone down and on rubber
legs as heavy as lead made his way to the liquor cabinet. His hands shook as he
poured himself another glass of Scotch.
Definitely divine
, he thought as
he finished the contents of the glass in one large gulp.

*   
-    -    -    *

The flowers worked somewhat. Amy
wasn’t really upset about the fight in the car. She was more hurt than upset.
There was no way that she would let Jared realise this until he apologized
enough. Dinner and a movie ought to do the trick quite nicely, thank you.

‘So am I forgiven?’ Jared asked and
pouted his lips.

Her ice-façade melted. ‘I’m the one
that needs to be forgiven,’ she said. ‘Not you.’

‘We were both stubborn, my love.
Maybe this will show you just how sorry I am for being rude to you.’ From his
jacket pocket he produced a small velvet box.

Amy’s heart skipped a beat.

‘When I saw this,’ Jared said and
opened the box, ‘it screamed your name.’ He removed the platinum necklace from
the box and wrapped his arms around her neck to clip it on for her. He then
took a step back and cocked his head to the right. ‘I was right. The perfect
match.’

Amy blushed. Part of her felt
foolish for expecting a ring. Another part felt angry for expecting anything at
all. ‘It’s lovely,’ she said.

‘You think so?’

Amy nodded.

He figured that now would be the
perfect time to break the news and get it over with. ‘Lisa didn’t show up for
work the past few days.’

‘Really?’ Amy asked. ‘That’s not
like her. Did she call in sick?’

‘That’s the strange part. She didn’t
call in at all. We also can’t get hold of her at any of her contact numbers. I
even sent someone to her home.’

‘And...?’

‘Nothing.’

‘Did you call the police?’

‘Yup. They said that they’d look
into it.’

‘I hope she’s all right.’

‘She’s a tough cookie,’ Jared said
and chuckled. ‘I’m sure she’ll be fine.’ Amy pointed to a bag of onions and he
handed it to her. ‘So until I do hear from her again,’ he said and paused.
Moment
of truth
. He wanted the next sentence to sound as nonchalant as possible.
‘I decided to get someone to fill Lisa’s place.’

Amy’s face lit up. ‘Really? Who?’

‘Well, I thought that Tanya’s niece
might be perfect for the position.’

Amy continued carving the onions,
not saying anything and not letting her facial expression give away any
thoughts.

‘It’s only until Lisa returns. Two;
three days max.’

‘That’s nice,’ Amy said. She made no
effort to hide the disgust in her voice. Dinner and a movie would certainly not
cut it this time.

Jared sighed intentionally loud.
‘Are we going to go through this again?’ he asked. ‘I need a personal
assistant, Amy. You know that.’

‘Why her?’ Amy asked and dropped
everything into the basin with more force than she intended. Her voice was
barely above a whisper. ‘Of all the people in the world, why did you choose
her?’

‘Because I needed someone that could
do the job immediately. Someone that I could trust. I don’t have time to
interview and train people. What the hell is your gripe with this woman,
anyway?’

‘I just...’
don’t trust her!
‘...nothing.’ If you feel that this complete stranger that you haven’t
interviewed or at the very least checked out will be perfect for the position,
who am I to doubt your wise judgement?’

‘I didn’t ask for your sarcasm,’
Jared said. He spat out the words and slammed his fist onto the kitchen
counter. Amy jumped at the sudden slamming sound. He closed his eyes for a few
seconds as he tried to subdue the rage inside him. ‘I didn’t ask your
permission either.’

With that he stormed from the
kitchen, slammed the door to the garage, and sped off in his Vanquish.

*   
-    -    -    *

Amy turned and stretched out her
arm. She felt nothing. Slowly she opened her eyes and squinted at the early
morning sunlight that penetrated the strategic split in the curtains. She
sighed when she realised that Jared was no longer there.

No sounds coming from the bathroom
or kitchen.

Thanks for saying goodbye
, she thought as she
slipped out of bed. She immediately made her way to the bathroom where she
brushed her hair and teeth before heading to the kitchen. On the fridge was a
post-it note with a simple message scribbled on it.

Had to go in early. Sorry about last
night. Will make it up to you. Promise. Love, J.

She pulled the note off the
refrigerator and placed it on the counter where she read it twice more. She
then poured herself some cereal while she contemplated her schedule for the
day.

The shrill ring of the telephone
jerked her back to reality.

‘Hello?’

‘Amy?’

‘Oh, hi Rebecca; how are you?’

‘I’m fine, my dear. How are things
at the book store?’

‘Not bad,’ Amy said. ‘There’s a floor
manager position I’m shooting for.’

‘That’s great, Amy. I’ll pray that
you get it.’

‘Thanks.’

Rebecca got down to business. ‘Is
Jared there, dear?’

Amy looked at the post-it note on
the counter. ‘Afraid not,’ she said. ‘It appears that he had to leave early.
Probably to welcome the
new girl
.’

Rebecca picked up on the bitterness
of Amy’s tone. ‘New girl?’

‘Tanya’s niece. She’s Jared’s new
personal assistant.’

‘Tanya’s niece? I didn’t know she
even had a niece.’

Amy frowned. ‘She never told you she
had one in all the years that you’ve been friends?’

‘Not that I can recall, no.’

‘Strange...’

‘What’s her name?’

Amy thought for a moment. ‘Natasha.’

‘No,’ Rebecca said. ‘That name
certainly does not ring a bell.’

‘Well,’ Amy said. ‘I don’t like that
woman; don’t trust her for a minute. Something about her gives me the creeps.’

‘Don’t worry too much about it. You
know that Jared only has eyes for you, right?’

Amy sighed. ‘I guess you’re right. I
just wish that he got someone else for the position.’

‘I’m sure that you don’t have
anything to worry about,’ Rebecca assured her. ‘Everything’s going to turn out
just fine.’

*   
-    -    -    *

Silence fell over Whyte & Greene
International’s accounts department as Jared walked into the office with
Natasha. Everyone stopped doing what they were busy with and gaped at the
charismatic woman smiling at them.