As if on cue, the tea-kettle whistled and she watched him pour her a cup. They sat on the couch and drank them in silence. About 15 minutes later they were done and Thomas grabbed her cup and put them in the kitchen sink. He watched Angela get up and yawn and then she said, “I think I’m going to hit the sack.”
“Yeah, maybe I’ll hit the sack too. Is it okay if I give you a hug?” He asked.
She smiled. “Of course.” Thomas opened his arms and she moved into them. He gave her a very appropriate, friendship hug. As long as she chose to ignore the way he inhaled the scent of her hair...and she did. When she pulled back she said, “Sleep well.”
“You too,” he told her.
*****
Thomas watched Angela go with a smile. His plan was working. They were growing closer, he could feel it. Yes, she’d been spending more time with Steve, but he had a plan in place for that too. As a matter of fact, he needed to call Kim and check in on where they were with that. He went into his own room to ensure Angela wouldn’t overhear him and he pushed in Kim’s number.
“It’s a little late,” she said when she picked up the phone.
“It’s Friday night. I figured you would still be up.”
“You got lucky, I just got in. What’s up?”
“This is the weekend...I need you to make your move.”
“I’m have a lunch meeting with Ana tomorrow. I have a friend who is going to make sure she doesn’t make it. She’ll send him in her place...but I need to be sure he won’t be with Angela when she calls him. Are you going to be keeping her occupied?”
“I’ll take care of Angela. You use what I gave you and get Steve-O in bed. Take lots of pretty pictures.”
“I’ll do my best....”
“You better do better than that,” he told her. “Once she moves out of here, the next step is moving in with him. Then, you’re screwed.”
“And so are you.”
“That’s right, so don’t screw this up. Remember what I told you and get him somewhere quickly after you give him the “GHB.” Once he is out, you won’t be able to move him. Then make sure you’re out of there before he wakes up. I know for a fact they have plans tomorrow night. They have tickets to Phantom of the Opera tomorrow night. She’s been talking about it all week. I don’t want either of them to figure out he screwed you until it’s time. Hey, maybe you could try and make a baby...”
Kim laughed and then she paused and said, “You’re serious aren’t you?”
“Why not? You want this guy, what better way to get him.”
“And if it doesn’t work, I’m stuck raising a kid alone.”
“A kid with a millionaire for a father...that shouldn’t be too painful.”
Kim didn’t say anything else, but Thomas knew he’d planted the seed. He disconnected the call and went down the hall to Angela’s room. He listened at the door and there was no sound coming from within. He had just oiled the hinges to make sure they didn’t squeak. He slipped the door open and looked in. She was already out cold from ‘Versed’ he had add to her tea bag earlier. She was wearing a pair of blue satin booty-shorts and a blue tank. He could see her nipples through it. He’d planned to leave her alone tonight...but was it his fault she was so damned sexy? He could already feel himself getting hard. He thought about what he told Kim and smiled again. Wouldn’t it be fun if they were pregnant at the same time? He’d replaced Angela’s birth control pills with placebos he got from his pharmacist friend almost two weeks ago and he’d had sex with her nearly every night since. If he could give her a baby, it would be the one thing that Blake was never able to. He slid off his jeans and pulled off his shirt as he climbed on the bed. “I hope you’re ready tonight baby, Daddy’s horny as hell.”
Chapter 8
“Steven wake up!” The sound of Ana’s voice and her hand pounding on the bedroom door penetrated the wall and Steve’s head...but it was too early. He didn’t want to deal with whatever it was she was so urgently trying to wake him up for. He rolled over and snuggled back down in the covers. He’d been having the best dream about Angela... “Steven McAllister!” she was using her palm to bang before. That one sounded like a fist. Shit! He rolled over to face the door and said,
“What Ana? It’s seven a.m. on a Saturday. Why are you bothering me?”
“I need to talk to you. Unlock the door.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Jesus! You’re such a child. I’ll just go find Rogelio and get him to use his key.” Rogelio was their house manager. He took care of everything where the staff was concerned. He also had keys to all of the rooms. With a growl he pulled himself up, threw on a robe and padded over to the door. When he pulled it open his sister gave him a disapproving look and marched in. “I need you to take my meeting with Kim today.”
“What? Why? No way!”
“Oh don’t be such a baby. I can’t stand her either but we still have to do business with her. She has some new idea that she claims is brilliant. I’m supposed to meet her at the bar at the Omni at lunch time...”
“No way am I meeting her in a bar. I just got her to stop calling and texting me. This is going to send mixed signals all over the place.”
“I will tell her I’m sending you. I’ll make sure she knows you protested and I’ll warn her to behave, okay? It’s not a date. She’s bringing someone with her, some guy that specializes in social media marketing. He’s staying at the Omni and he’s only here for the weekend. That’s why she needed to meet us today. That’s good, right? You won’t have to be alone with her. Please Steven, I need you to go.”
“Why can’t you go?”
“I just can’t. I have some personal business that I have to deal with.”
He folded his arms and sat down on the bed. “If you don’t tell me why you can’t go, I’m not going.”
“My God, you’re like a twelve year old sometimes. I don’t know how that sweet girl Angela stands you.”
He grinned. “Spill it or I’m not going.”
She sat down next to him on the bed and with a sigh she said, “Do you remember Carlo?”
He rolled his eyes. “Of course, he’s all you ever talked about all through college, why?”
“He wants me to meet him in Santa Barbara. He has a house there and he says...” she blushed. His sister never blushed. She was always so self-assured. “Anyways, please do this for me, Steve. I never ask you for anything.” He was afraid she’d use that. It was true, she never did. She always did everything for herself, even when he wanted to help.
“Okay, fine.” She threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek.
“Thank you, brother of mine. You’ll be handsomely rewarded.” She stood up and he said,
“What’s my reward?”
“The way you’ll feel about yourself,” she told him with a wink. He was afraid of that too. He threw himself back on the bed and put the pillow over his face. Of all the ways he thought about spending his Saturday, with Kim was not even close to being one of them.
He lay there for a long time trying to go back to sleep, but it didn’t work. At last he pulled himself up and got in the shower. He knew he had to call Angela before he went but since she’d been having trouble sleeping, he didn’t want to do it too early. After his shower he had breakfast and finally around nine, he called her. He was greeted by a groggy,
“Hello?”
“Hi baby, did I wake you?”
“Huh? Steve?”
“Yeah, it’s me. Are you okay?” He was so worried about her. She seemed to be getting worse. He was so glad she had an appointment with a doctor on Monday.
He could hear in her voice that she was more awake when she said, “Um...yeah, yeah, I’m okay. Sorry, I guess I slept in again. What time is it?”
“It’s just after nine.”
“Oh! Did we have plans?”
Pulling his brows together he said, “No baby...not until tonight. I have to tell you something though and I suspect you’re n
ot going to care for it any more than I do.”
“Oh?”
“Ana needs me to take a lunch meeting today...it’s with Kim.”
“Oh,” her voice definitely fell a notch.
“I’m sorry. I tried to refuse but she can’t be there and Kim supposedly has someone she needs us to meet that is only here for the weekend.”
“Oh, okay babe. What time will you be here this evening?”
“Around five,” he told her. “Why don’t you try and get some more sleep.”
“I will. Hey...”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for letting me know...about Kim, and I hope it goes well.”
He smiled. God, he loved this woman. “You’re welcome and please know I’d rather pull my own eyelashes out one by one.”
She giggled, there was his girl. “Don’t do that. I love your eyelashes. I love you.”
“I love you,” he said. “I’ll see you tonight.”
He felt better after talking to her...he always did. But he might just go to the doctor with her on Monday and make sure they do something for her. The poor thing was miserable and it was breaking his heart to see her this way.
He finally left for the meeting, driving slowly and dragging his feet as much as he could. When he got to the Omni Hotel it was ten minutes to twelve. He found Kim waiting for him in the bar...alone.
“Hey!” she said, standing up and smiling brightly like they were old friends. He still didn’t believe she’d sent those pictures to him by mistake and he didn’t like the way she’d been treating Angela lately either. They were not friends.
“Hey, I thought there was supposed to be someone else here.” She tried to kiss his cheek and he pulled back. She looked hurt.
“He’ll be down soon,” she told him. “We’re in a public place; don’t act like you’re afraid I’m going to rape you or something.”
He just gave her a look and sat down. She had a pitcher of mimosas on the table and a full glass. He picked it up and poured himself one. Kim knew he loved mimosas and he was almost willing to turn one down to spite her. But, the way his morning was going, he felt like he needed one. “So,” he said as he took a drink, tell me what this is all about. I can’t stay long.”
“Okay, I started collaborating with an agency out of Houston. The guy who you’re going to meet today is the CEO of that company called Stryker Marketing. His name is Kevin Stryker and he’s brilliant, Steven. He’s the one who brought Roe Oil out of the dust after that big oil spill scandal. They went from nearly bankrupt to turning a billion dollar profit last year.”
“Doing what?” he asked as he finished his small drink and poured himself another. “What’s different about what he proposes to do?”
“I’d really like for him to describe it to you.”
“I’d like that to,” he said, “But I still don’t see him here.”
She looked at her watch, “It’s only five after. Let’s give him a few minutes. How are things going with you?”
He gave her a warning look and said, “This isn’t a social lunch.”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine, I won’t be nice,” she said. “Speaking of lunch, do you want something?”
“No, I’m not hungry.” He finished another drink. He was hot all of a sudden and his skin felt clammy. “Is it hot in here?”
“I don’t think so,” she said, “But we can walk outside if you like?”
“It’s fine,” he said, waving over the waiter. “Can we get some ice water?”
“Of course sir,” he said. He disappeared and when he was gone Steve told Kim,
“I’m waiting five more minutes. You better call your guy.”
“Wow, okay,” she said, indignant. She took out her phone and pressed in a number. The waiter came by and sat the water pitcher on the table as he heard Kim say, “Hi Kevin, it’s Kim. Oh no! That’s okay. Of course we can do that. No, please don’t apologize, we’ll see you soon.”
She hung up and as Steve poured himself a glass of water he asked, “So what was that about?”
“Apparently, he twisted his ankle last night. The waiter was supposed to tell us and ask that we meet him up in his room. He thought that we were late.”
Steve didn’t feel well all of a sudden. Everything seemed kind of fuzzy...or distant as if he were drunk. He turned around and called the waiter over. “Excuse me,” he said, “Did you have a message for us?”
“No sir...”
“That was me,” the bus boy that had just come out of the back said. “I’m so sorry. I had to take my break right before you got here and I forgot to pass it on to Andre. A Mr. Stryker called and said he’d hurt his foot and would like to have the meeting in his suite.”
Steven poured himself another mimosa, thanked the young waiter and downed it. Then he stood up and looked down at Kim. “Come on, let’s get this over with.”
She smiled sweetly and stood up. The waiter brought her the receipt and Steve let her sign for it, then he followed her out through the lobby and into the elevator. Things around him were really beginning to seem hazy now. He suddenly wondered if what’s been wrong with Angela was a virus and perhaps he’d gotten it as well. He felt unsteady on his feet and as they stepped off the elevator, he felt Kim take his arm. He looked down at her and she smiled. He smiled back and he felt his body responding to her. What the hell? This is Kim! He reminded himself. She led him to a door down at the end of the hall. He didn’t realize that she shouldn’t have a key. He was feeling dizzy and tired and by the time they got into the room, the only thing in his line of vision was the big, comfortable looking bed...he made a beeline for it and that was the last thing he remembered.
Chapter 9
Angela slept a big part of the day. It was after one p.m. before she finally dragged herself out of bed and into the shower. When she got out, she put on her yoga pants and a tank and went out to the kitchen. Thomas was there, washing some dishes. There was what looked to be some kind of quiche sitting on the counter. It smelled delicious.
“You made quiche?”
Thomas laughed. “Yes, if aliens happened to inhabit my body.”
She touched the sides of it, it was still warm. “Where did it come from?”
“Mrs. Granger in 2B brought it up. I saw her at the mailboxes yesterday and she asked about you. I told her you’d been a little under the weather so she baked you a quiche.” He handed her a spatula and a small plate. “I made omelets. Trust me; you’re better off with the quiche.”
She smiled and took them out of his hand. She cut herself a piece and took it to the table. Before she could turn back around, Thomas sat a steaming mug of coffee down in front of her. “Thank you,” she told him, taking a seat.
“You’re welcome. Did the extra sleep help you any?”
She moved her neck back and forth and said, “Yeah...I suppose. My body is so sore. I’m beginning to wonder if this is some kind of weird virus or something.”
Thomas stepped behind her and before he touched her he said, “I’m just going to rub your neck for a few minutes. It looks like you have some kinks there.” Angela started to protest, but as soon as he touched her, she realized how good it felt. He gave her neck and shoulders a little massage and by the time he finished she was so relaxed that she was practically asleep again.
“Wow that felt great. Thank you.” Thomas was beaming.
“You’re welcome. You’re full of knots. Sometime when you’ve got the time we should do a full back massage and loosen you up.”
Angela wasn’t sure that was such a good idea, so she avoided it all together and said, “So what’s on your agenda today?”
“I actually have a date tonight.”
“Oh good! With whom?” she asked. He’d gone on to tell her about a young woman he’d met a few months back from Rhode Island. She was in town visiting her brother and she’d called him. They actually had a great conversation while she ate, it was less awkward than any they’ve had in the past few w
eeks. It was almost like it had been before. She spent the rest of the day slowly getting ready for her date with Steve and at five on the nose; he called to let her know he was downstairs. She told Thomas good-bye and wished him luck. Then she told him she wouldn’t be home tonight and waited for him to get angry. He surprised her by saying,
“Thank you for letting me know. I hope you have a good time tonight.”
She smiled at him and said, “I hope you do too. Let yourself have some fun.”
“I will.” She headed down to meet Steve then. When she got there, he was standing against the blue sports car with a bouquet of purple lilies in his hand. He was wearing a light gray suit and a paisley gray and blue tie that matched his eyes. His short hair had been finger styled and he was clean shaven. He looked so good she wanted to take him right there.
“Hi there, beautiful,” he said. She kissed him on the cheek and took the flowers he offered. Up close, she could see that his eyes were bloodshot.
“Hello gorgeous, these are beautiful, thank you.”
He opened the car door for her and as she slid in he said, “I could go to the ends of the earth to find some that are as beautiful as you, but I doubt that I could.”
“Aren’t you the sweet-talker? You look tired. Is everything okay?”
“Yes,” he said. But, he didn’t sound so sure. “I’m just wondering if I’m coming down with something. I’m feeling a little tired and earlier I had a spell where I felt terrible. I have to tell you what I did...you won’t believe it.”
“Uh oh, does this involve Kim?”
He raised an eyebrow and said, “Sort of, unfortunately.”
He told her then about meeting Kim and waiting for Stryker. Angela confirmed that she’d actually spoken to Kevin Stryker on the phone and he was in fact the CEO of a successful company in Houston. Steve acted relieved to hear that and said, “For a second or more, I actually imagined that she’d made him up. When we got to his room, baby...I just don’t know what happened. I saw the bed and I remember thinking about how hot it was and how I had to lie down. When I woke up it was about two hours later. Kim was sitting in a chair watching me. I freaked out a little bit; I didn’t know what was going on. Kim told me that I just laid down on the bed and passed out. She said Kevin had to leave to catch his plane, but she’d made excuses for me, telling him I was sick.”
Deceived - The Complete Series Page 19
