Office Play: Freaky Geek Series

by Williams, Stephanie

  Once they both got themselves together and had a quick breakfast from room service, they gathered their things. But before they could make it to the door, Adam’s cell rang.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey bro, just wanted to catch you before you made it to the office.”

  “Hey Noah, watcha got?”

  “A job at the agency. I spoke with Sam as soon as I got off the phone with you. I still had her home number.”

  “Cool!” He motioned over to Jeanette, who came and stood right by him. “So what’s next?”

  “There know two employees there that I remember. Didn’t like them much. I have some suspicions. But I’ll wait for Renee. We’ll get in touch with you after we have a full day here. You know it’s nine hours difference, it’s Sunday night here.

  Adam looked over at the clock then his cell. “ I forgot about that. So what are we to do?” Adam took a seat. Jeanette did the same looking intently at him.

  “Just keep your eyes and ears open but don’t act on anything. Wait for us to call you—no matter how late.”

  “Okay, great. Talk to you later.” He disconnected.

  “Well?” Jeanette asked, getting back up.

  “Noah’s in and he already has his doubts about two people. He’s waiting to meet up with Renee tomorrow, L. A. time at the office. I have a feeling he’s going to have her look into them.”

  “Wow. This is almost like some espionage stuff.”

  “Tell me about it. Let’s go. We need to find out what’s going on here.”

  They grabbed their food to go, got a cab and went to the office. Once there, several women immediately ambushed Jeanette.

  “Jeanette, how was your weekend? You spend with the handsome Adam, no?” One lady asked.

  “Yes—”

  “Ooooh!” The ladies eyes grew wide as well as their smiles.

  “I mean no, I mean, we’re staying at the same hotel, but—”

  “Jeanette, I need to see you for a minute, could you check something for me?” Adam took her by the arm and rescued her from what was going to become the Spanish Inquisition.

  “Thank you.” Jeanette blew out a breath of relief.

  “No prob.”

  They entered their temporary office and he shut the door behind them. Jeanette took a seat near the desk.

  “Did you get the third degree?” she asked, taking a bite of her croissant.

  “Nah. Men are more of a gentlemen. I got more winks, not direct questions. You women want details.”

  “The thing is nothing really happened. I mean you know, all the way happned.”

  “Ironic, isn’t it?” Adam reached in his briefcase. “So what do we do first?”

  “Nothing until we hear from Renee I guess.”

  “We have a long wait, nine hours.” Adam said, looking at his watch for the umpteenth time. He then signed on to his laptop.

  “I guess we lay low, like they said. I’m going to the art department and snoop a bit. I’m hoping I don’t get cornered again. Why do they assume that something happened between us this weekend?” Jeanette grabbed her coffee.

  “Well, it was pouring rain, we’re two attractive single, straight people, so they just assumed the obvious. Besides, even though no clothes came off, something did happen.”

  Jeanette sighed. “Well, you know what they say about assume.”

  ***

  With that Jeanette left the office.

  She walked passed the various cubicles and offices, stopping here and there and chatting it up. She found out she had some cooking in common with one of the script supervisors.

  After she talked with that area, she headed to the art department.

  As if on cue, Jeanette’s cell rang. “Oh good. Hello.”

  “Hey girl, talked with Noah, in fact I’m in the lobby of his condo, we’re going to a late dinner.”

  Jeanette checked her watch. It was eight ten in the morning here. So it was nearly eleven thirty at night in L.A—Sunday. Hmmm. “Be careful, Renee. I don’t know anything about him,” she whispered into the phone. “Got a plan?”

  “You know I checked him out first. Anyway, Yeah I got a plan, but first let me tell you something.”

  Jeanette waited anxiously. Renee must have had some info already. Renee was good at her job. She might have thought her job was boring, but at this moment Jeanette would have gladly traded places with her. This situation was crazy and had more tangles in it that the wires in Adam’s IT room.

  Okay, on second thought, maybe not totally switch places. She did have Adam to look at. Even if they didn’t do anything but heavy petting, it made her day more interesting.

  What was she thinking? He already told her what happened to him during an office romance that he was just thinking about getting into.

  She sighed. This man had her mind all twisted.

  “Jeanette!”

  “Huh? Oh, yeah, what?”

  “Girl, I’ve been calling you. Your mind someplace else?”

  Yeah, Adam’s pants. “No, just thinking about these office supplies going all over the place.”

  “Oh, well, what I wanted to tell you was Noah is a hunk!”

  Oh brother. “Renee—”

  “Adam, Noah, does he have any other brothers?”

  “No, just the one.”

  “Wow, two hunks; enough to repopulate the planet.”

  Jeanette sighed. “Renee, really.”

  “Okay, sorry.”

  “Is that it?”

  “Yep, we’re putting our heads together, he’s got two people he wants me to look at. He remembers them from the last time he worked there.”

  “So why dinner now and so late?”

  “Well, for one, you two didn’t give us a chance to get things together on our end. You’re only going to be there a few days and we need to put things into action now.”

  Jeanette had to admit she was right about that. “And two?”

  “Since Noah starts tomorrow L.A. time, I need to brief him on a few things.”

  Jeanette sighed. “Sorry, but we just thought of having you two help at the last minute.”

  “No prob. The elevator just dinged. Ooh! Here he comes. Hubba hubba. Okay, I’ll call you later tonight to give you the latest. Bye.”

  Jeanette looked at her cell. Renee couldn’t get off the phone fast enough. She shook her head, she then glanced around her area and saw people working frantically, trying to get the next copy out.

  She got up and walked around acknowledging people here and there, but her mind was really someplace else. She had another issue to worry about now. Renee and Noah.

  Renee couldn’t stop singing the praises of this man. If he looked anything like his brother, she could understand why. She just hoped she didn’t get caught up like she did. They both needed to focus and not get swept up with these gorgeous hunks.

  It was then she decided to do a little investigating. She knew not to do anything until they called them later tonight. But she would take some mental notes all the same.

  She went to the purchasing department and noticed three employees with their heads buried in their laptops.

  “Hello,” she said, coming up behind one of them.

  “Madre!” The man turned around. “Oh, bonjour madam.” The man stood up and held out his hand. Jeanette reached over to take it, but he grabbed it then brought it to his lips.

  “You are more beautiful than the men are saying. I am Kevin.”

  Jeanette looked at the man still holding her hand. He was tall and thin, but handsome. A little older than the young people she was used to seeing. He had wavy salt and pepper hair. He wore glasses with an invisible frame and he had dimples to die for.

  “Hello Kevin. Wow, I didn’t know I was the talk of the office,” Jeanette said, finally getting her hand back.

  “Oh, yes, you and Adam. Beautiful couple, beautiful.”

  Man. These people spent more time on hooking people up than actual work. “Umm…we’re not a
ctually a couple—”

  The man clutched his chest dramatically. “That is a crime. So madam is free?”

  “No, madam is not free!” Came a booming voice.

  Jeanette turned around a saw Adam standing by one of the cubicles. He looked like an angry Tarzan now. Woe be to Kevin.

  She looked back over at Kevin, who was smiling that smile men give when they want to challenge.

  Too much testosterone in the room. She moved away and went to another employee. A woman this time. She would let Adam and Kevin have it out if that’s what they wanted to do. She was having no part of it. Later she looked over and saw the two now engaged in an animated conversation.

  “You got the eye of the supervisor,” the lady next to her said.

  Jeanette looked down at the petite redhead sitting in her chair. “Huh?”

  “Kevin is our supervisor. Not available, but a flirt.” She winked.

  Oh brother. Did these people get commission on paring people up? Then Jeanette realized something. “Kevin supervises the purchasing department?”

  “Oui. He’s what you call a micro manager,” the girl whispered to her.

  Hmm. Her kind of person and someone she really needed to talk to. She casually walked around the area and saw several people on the phone placing orders. Then something caught her ears.

  “That’s four whiteboards, six permanent makers in black and three five inch D-ring binders. Okay put in your purchase order with all the info and email it to me.”

  Jeanette stood behind the lady. Not right behind her, but close enough that she could see and hear what she was doing.

  She wanted to see just how an order was placed from here and then went into the software system.

  It looked like the person called in and ordered everything over the phone. The employee then verifies the orders and puts it in her system. Then she tells the employee that is ordering the items to submit a computerized purchase order.

  When the lady was finished with the person over the telephone, she sat and waited for an email. When it came through she then compared it to what she entered. After she checked things off, she sent another email.

  To where, Jeanette wasn’t sure. Just like the L.A. office. She would ask Adam.

  And speaking of, she noticed him still speaking with Kevin and pointing in her general direction.

  What the hell was he saying?

  ***

  Adam had to set Kevin straight. Even though he was married himself, he was an insatiable flirt. In fact, he had to set a lot of men straight. Every since they landed in Paris, every man from the pilot of the plane to the bellboy wanted to get to ‘know’ Jeanette a little better.

  This problem could have been solved very easily if Jeanette would cooperate and mention the fact that she and he were in a relationship. But since she was making it seem like they were just co-workers here to do a job, the men saw her as fair game.

  Adam sighed to himself. The fact was they weren’t in a relationship and that was the dilemma.

  So he decided instead of beating Kevin to a pulp, he would enlist his help. He gave him a brief description of his problem and Kevin being like most Frenchman was a hopeless romantic agreed to help him.

  “And you Americans say that we are impulsive.”

  “Never mind that. Can I count on you and your wife?”

  “Of course. Anything for a friend and to bring more lovers together.”

  Adam went over to Jeanette. He noticed her motioning to him. She must have hit on something.

  As he walked over, she went to the left of the department and waited for him in a hallway.

  “Got something?” he asked, taking her by the elbow and walking more out of earshot and prying eyes.

  “Not sure. I just watched a lady take an order from start to finish. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. I think.”

  She went over from the beginning how the lady took the order. “No, nothing out of the ordinary. We write it down, put it in the computer and have them submit. It’s like triple checking the order.”

  “Where is the final placement?”

  “To our vendors.”

  “Oh man. That could be a lot.”

  Adam thought a moment. “Actually it isn’t. We deal with two office supply stores and five art supply stores, two electronic places and one rent a car. That’s where we get the company cars from.”

  “Hmm, that’s not too bad. I can have their records audited. I need for Sam to authorize what dates to have looked into. That’s something I’m used to do from my mob audit days.” Jeanette smiled.

  “I have to ask you about those. I’m sure you have some interesting stories.” Adam brushed his hair out of his eye. “I’m now curious about what Renee and Noah will find out.”

  “Oh yeah, they’re putting there heads together for a late dinner.”

  Adam smiled. Yes, they were brothers. Renee was just a beautiful as Jeanette. She wasn’t as statuesque and didn’t have the sexy maturity that Jeanette had, but she was still a looker. And if he knew his brother, he wouldn’t let that slip through his fingers without making a move.

  He just hoped he did get knocked in the jaw. Renee was a private investigator, they can rough up some people.

  “Is your brother anything like you?”

  Jeanette’s question interrupted his thoughts. “No. He’s a gentleman.” He winked at her.

  “Really.”

  Jeanette went to walk off, but he grabbed her by the arm. “You have nothing to worry about. Noah is all business when he needs to be and he knows that she’s your cousin.”

  “Good.”

  “Now, now. Afraid they might hook up?”

  “I just want to make sure Renee is not side tracked.”

  Adam smiled to himself. No one was immune to the Strathmore brothers. Well, Jeanette seemed to be, but that could be taken care of if he got her to overcome her fears and concerns about an office romance.

  “Not to worry, she’s in good hands.”

  “Humph. That’s what I’m worried about.”

  “Hey you two, my wife called and wants to go out tonight, want to come along?”

  Adam turned and saw Kevin walking towards them. He gave him a wink.

  “How nice, love to,” Adam quickly answered.

  “But—”

  “We’ll just leave straight from here and join you. Where is the place?” Adam asked, ignoring Jeanette tugging at his sweater sleeve.

  “Just a little bistro about five blocks from here. It’s next to that puppet store.”

  “Oh yeah, I know the one, we pass it coming here.”

  “But—”

  He wasn’t going to let Jeanette respond. “What time exactly?”

  “Seven.”

  “Perfect.” He watched Kevin as he left and returned his attention back to Jeanette. “That was nice of him.”

  “This is no time to socialize.”

  Think fast Adam. “We won’t really be socializing. We can…pick their brains about things, maybe get a lead.”

  He saw Jeanette thinking it over. She was not going to get out of this.

  “Hmm, yeah. You’re right and he is head of the purchasing department.”

  “See, I’m always thinking of the task at hand.” Which is getting closer to you.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  It was close to the end of the day, and Jeanette didn’t find anything suspicious happening. She went back to the purchasing department. She waved at Kevin, who made it a point to get her attention.

  She couldn’t believe that she and Adam had a double date. Well, at least it was somewhat business. However, she didn’t want to sit there eating at a nice bistro and trying to dig for information. That was just tacky.

  But she would hint around, see what Kevin’s reaction would be. She kinda didn’t trust him, especially after flirting with her and he was a married man. But then again, that was the French, half of them didn’t mean anything by it.

  Jeanette walke
d over to another cubicle when she heard an employee confirming another order. She listened intently, trying to see if anything was being ordered out of the ordinary or being shipped someplace other than their offices.

  “That’s three sets of ink toner in fuchsia, cayan, yellow and black, one easel, ten two inch three ring binders, three packs of blue ink gel pens and five bags of rubber bands. Okay, email that and submit your form. Thanks.”

  Nothing unusual there. Maybe they were on the wrong trail. After all, Adam even admitted that his software program had a glitch and making dummy numbers. Perhaps this Paris lead was one of those glitches.

  As she got up, something caught her ear. It was another order coming it. It was on the other side of the employee that just got off the phone.

  “Okay, five laptops, five multimedia deluxe software programs, connector cables, two fax machines with scanner. Okay make sure you email that to me and submit your form in the next thirty minutes if you want this by Wednesday, we’re about to leave. Great, thanks.”

  This seemed significant. This was a lot of electronic goodies being ordered. She had to find out what office it was going to.

  She walked over to the young man that placed the order. “Excuse me.”

  He removed his headset and turned toward her. “Hello. Oh, you must be from the Los Angeles office. I’m Bryan, I was able to transfer from the Dallas office.” He stood up and shook her hand.

  It was funny hearing a Texas drawl in Paris. “Glad to meet you, I’m Jeanette Foster. Um…I couldn’t help over hearing that order. That was a lot of electronic equipment.”

  “Oh yeah. That’s not unusual.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah, a lot of times we have a lot of freelance artist come in, so we set up temporary workstations at the various offices.”

  “Ahh.” Jeanette thought a moment. That made sense, but at the same time, it made it all to easy for stuff to get diverted. “So, where was that order going?”

  “Uh…lets see.” He turned back to his computer and pulled up the last order. “Our Alaska office.”

  Jeanette nodded. “Okay. Well, thanks.”

  “No problem.”

  Jeanette returned to the area she and Adam were assigned to. She was getting her stuff together to leave for the day. Or actually leave for dinner. Adam walked in a few moments later.