Seduction and Lies

by Donna Hill

Danielle’s smile was wobbly at best. “For someone who just found Mr. Right, you sure have a lot of good advice.”

  “I’ve been practicing.”

  By the time Danielle returned to her apartment, she was feeling much better. Mia had a way of turning lemons into lemonade, even if the lemons were rotten.

  As much as she dreaded the inevitable, at some point she was going to have to be totally honest with Nick about everything. Well…almost everything.

  She sauntered in, full of purpose, and was secretly glad that Nick hadn’t gotten back yet. The scouting must have taken longer than he thought. She headed for the bedroom and was going to use her time alone to do some investigating. But she had no intention of being caught off guard when Nick could walk through the door at any moment. She called him on his cell phone. It rang three times before he picked up.

  “Hey, babe. Actually we finished up about an hour ago,” Nick said. “But I decided to run over to the gym. And guess who I ran into? Bernard. So we’re gonna hang out for a bit and then I’ll be home. See you soon. Okay?”

  He stuck his cell back in its case on his hip, smiling as he did so.

  “That must have been your lady love,” Bernard said, coming up to Nick, a towel draped around his neck. He mopped his face with the tail of the towel.

  “That transparent, huh?”

  “It’s a vibe and a look in the eye. Nothing wrong with that. Let’s other ladies know that you’re taken. Cuts down on a lot of drama,” he said with a chuckle.

  “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

  They walked toward the treadmill.

  “Have you and Claudia set a date yet?”

  “I’d prefer sooner rather than later, something small and intimate. But Claudia is not hearing that. She wants the whole package.”

  “Well, from what I hear, weddings are all about the women anyway. The guys are just told where to show up and when.”

  Both men laughed.

  “You’re absolutely right,” Bernard said.

  “You ever been married before?” Nick asked.

  “No.”

  “Any reason?”

  Bernard turned on his machine, and the track beneath his feet began to move. Nick followed suit.

  “Never found the right woman who could deal with my long hours and weeks of being away from home.”

  “Oh.” Nick pushed up the dial to heighten the incline. “I don’t think I’ve ever asked you what you do…or did.” He blew out slowly through his mouth and inhaled deeply.

  “Army, for a lot of years.”

  “Really,” he said, beginning to feel the burn in his upper thighs. “How many?”

  “I retired after twenty-five years,” he said, still not breaking a sweat.

  “Long time. You into anything now?”

  Bernard turned his head to look at Nick. “Pretty much whatever I want.”

  Nick chuckled. “What a life.”

  Although Mia could not “officially” be involved, she’d promised Danielle she’d make some discreet inquiries regarding Bernard. It would be up to Danielle, however, to get some basics.

  Her kit came equipped with hacking software that Jasmine had gleefully showed her how to use. She went to the closet and took the kit down from the top shelf.

  Taking it to the bed, she opened the top and took out an innocuous-looking compact. She opened it and pried behind the mirror to reveal a small computer disk. The disk contained six hacking programs that would gain her access to the three major credit-card companies, Department of Health, phone company, Department of Motor Vehicles, Social Security Administration and Internal Revenue Service.

  She put the disk into her laptop. First she accessed the Department of Health database, entered Bernard’s approximate age and keyed in his name. The list was too long to even bother with. From there she tried the phone company, and as bizarre as it was, there wasn’t one listing in Manhattan for Bernard Hassell. He didn’t even show up in the unlisted directory. Maybe he used only a cell phone, like many people did these days. But it was still curious. She tried the credit-card companies, the IRS and the Department of Motor Vehicles. Either she came up blank, more often than not, or the profiles didn’t match.

  Frustrated, Danielle ejected the disk and returned it to its hiding place. She was going to need more concrete information to go on in order to narrow her search. But the more she thought about it, the more concerned she became. Something wasn’t right.

  Bernard wasn’t the only piece of the puzzle, however. There were the victims she needed to concentrate on to find out who had stolen their identities.

  She began by plugging the names, one by one, into the PDA while waiting for the Wi-Fi to connect with the main terminal at the brownstone. Within moments she had access to their computers.

  She made notes and planned to give the list to Mia to see if she knew or had knowledge of anyone on it.

  Danielle shut down the computer and turned off the PDA. At least now she didn’t feel so helpless. She was doing something. Somehow she had to get behind the wall that Bernard Hassell had built around himself. There had to be an opening somewhere. What she needed was some inside information. And since she couldn’t very well ask the astute Claudia, the next likely candidate was Nick.

  Chapter 12

  “So you and Bernard are getting to be pretty good friends,” Danielle mentioned casually as they sat on the couch watching Jay Leno on The Tonight Show.

  “He’s a really decent guy,” Nick said. “I like him.”

  “He must be nice for Claudia to decide to marry him.”

  “True,” he said absentmindedly then tossed his head back and laughed at one of Jay’s barbs about dumb criminals.

  “Where is he from?”

  “Who?”

  “Bernard.”

  “Oh, uh, I think he told me he was originally from D.C.”

  She filed that bit of information away. “Is he working now or retired?”

  He played with a lock of her hair while he listened to the rest of the “Headlines.” It was his favorite portion of the show.

  Danielle gently nudged him in the ribs.

  “Ouch, what did I do?”

  “I’m talking to you, and you’re not even paying me any attention.”

  “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

  A commercial was on, so she had his full attention.

  “I was asking you what Bernard does for a living or if he’s retired?”

  “Oh. Retired from the army. Did twenty-five years.”

  “Hmm, impressive.” There had to be some information on him if he’d been in the army. “He lives in Manhattan, right?”

  “Yeah. Why are you so interested in Bernard all of a sudden?”

  Her stomach clenched. She shrugged. “No special interest. You know all of my friends, and since he seems to be one of yours now and is going to marry my best friend’s mother, I want to get an idea of who he is. That’s all.”

  “Well, I mean, he’s a nice guy. Good listener, funny, likes sports and working out in the gym. What else is there?” He turned to her and grinned. “Satisfied, Sherlock?”

  “Very funny.” She settled down into his embrace and pretended to focus on the rest of the show, but her mind was a million miles away.

  The following morning they were greeted by dark skies and torrents of rain. According to the forecast the rest of the day wouldn’t be much better.

  Nick was in the kitchen scrambling some eggs when Danielle joined him, her face still soft from sleep.

  “Mornin’.”

  “Hi,” she said over a yawn and plopped down at the table. “Smells good.”

  “Want me to fix you a plate?”

  “No, coffee is good.”

  “Oh, I turned in my keys to my place yesterday and paid them for the last month’s rent. So I guess you’re stuck with me for real.”

  She laughed lightly in response. “Looks that way. But who’s complaining.” She winked at him.

/>   As she sat there allowing her head to clear, she watched Nick as he worked. He was a wonderful man in every way. Any woman would be lucky to have him. He was handsome, sexy, an unselfish lover, funny and talented. Not to mention a great cook.

  So she asked herself again, why couldn’t she commit? Why couldn’t she tell him that she loved him? Why? The question constantly reverberated in her head.

  She knew Nick would move mountains to make her happy. Was she willing to do the same? She sighed deeply. They’d only been a couple for less than a year, although they’d worked together for much longer than that.

  She’d been reluctant to move out of the safety of a coworker relationship into a personal one. But Nick wouldn’t be dissuaded.

  “I knew you were the one for me the day you hired me,” he’d confessed to her one night over dinner during the early days of their romance.

  She grinned. “Is that so?”

  “For real.”

  “How did you know?”

  “When I stepped into the studio and caught a glimpse of you behind the camera doing your thing, something happened to me inside. I know it sounds corny but it’s true. Then after I got to talk to you and you hired me on the team, it was eating me up inside to be so close to you and not be able to do anything about it.”

  “I’ve broken every rule in the ‘employer’s handbook’ by going out with you.”

  “I know. You risked a lot. And I’m going to prove to you that you didn’t make a mistake.”

  And he had. There wasn’t a day that went by that Nick didn’t try to show her how much he cared, from keeping their relationship out of the spotlight at work to fixing dinner, running her bath and most recently giving up his apartment.

  He’d turned his heart and his life over to her, but she didn’t seem able to do the same. And as much as he loved her, she wasn’t sure how long her lack of indecisiveness with regard to their relationship could go on without him deciding to leave.

  He brought his plate of eggs to the table, then the pot of coffee. He filled her mug and sat down.

  “I already called the crew to cancel for today. Even if the rain stops, there’s no way we can get any decent shots.”

  She nodded in agreement and took a sip of her coffee. “It worked out anyway. I totally forgot I have an appointment at the Preston Studio this afternoon. I need to go over their schedule to coordinate the photography time.”

  “Well, while you’re gone I’ll get with the crew and the models to reschedule. We should have had a plan B in place for something just like this—an alternative indoor location.”

  “We usually do. I guess it just slipped under the radar.”

  “We’ll plan better next time. Did you rest well?”

  “Yes, I think so. Why?”

  “You were mumbling in your sleep last night.”

  Her nerves tightened. “Really? Did I say anything interesting?”

  “Got me. Sounded like you were talking about a cartel.” He chuckled and she almost strangled on her coffee. “Must have been the aftereffects of something you watched on TV.” He forked a mouthful of eggs and chewed slowly.

  “Yeah, I guess,” she muttered.

  He finished his eggs and took his plate to the sink. “I’m going to get busy contacting folks and coordinating schedules.” He ruffled her hair as he walked by her.

  She felt light-headed. Talking in her sleep. She never knew she did that, but then again until you sleep with someone every night, who was going to tell you? What if she’d really said something damaging, incriminating? Oh, God. The coffee in her stomach burned.

  Danielle arrived at the Michael Preston Studio shortly before two. This time Tasha was waiting for her at the reception desk. She stuck out her hand.

  “Good to see you again. Horrible day out. You can drop your umbrella in the stand by the desk.”

  “Thanks.” She took off her light raincoat and gently shook her umbrella before depositing it in the stand, then followed Tasha down the corridor.

  “Come right in,” she said, holding open the door to her office. “So how have you been?” She walked around the large desk that was covered in swatches of fabric and photographs.

  “Busy,” Danielle said. “But that’s a good thing.”

  “Please excuse the mess and have a seat at the conference table. It will be much easier to work.” Tasha opened a large file cabinet that was built into the wall and extracted an oversize portfolio and brought it to the table. She began flipping through the pages, talking as she did so.

  “These are the models that we will use for the collection. But what I’d like you to do is meet with them and get a sense of who they are and how they work. Since everyone is so busy, scheduling is going to be a major undertaking. But I can have one of the assistants take care of that.”

  “Fine.”

  “I’m thinking it will take a couple of weeks to pull it all together before we can even get started. But I’m sure we should be ready with everyone in place no later than the second week in June. By that time all of the pieces will be completed.”

  Danielle was taking notes as Tasha spoke.

  “I think I counted fifteen models. Is that right?”

  Tasha grinned. “On the money. I’d like to take you on a tour of the showroom. The designers have been working nonstop to get everything ready. Many of the new items are available for viewing.”

  “Sure.” She draped her jacket and purse across her arm and followed Tasha out.

  The designs for the most part were typical Michael Preston, clean lines, all-American look. His new collection, however, was in bold colors with mix-and-match pieces that could easily go from a day at the office to a night on the town.

  “I love what I’m seeing,” Danielle said as they made the rounds through the studio.

  “Michael wanted to go in a different direction for the fall but still maintain his signature look. We’re all very happy with the results.”

  “I’m sure the store buyers and the ladies will be as well. I know I can do some great things in shooting this line.”

  Tasha looked purposefully at Danielle. “That’s why we hired you. We only want the best.”

  Danielle’s ego had been suitably stroked by the time she left the showroom. She had her work cut out for her, but she had a great team, she thought as she stepped off the elevator and ran right into the woman she’d met a couple of days earlier.

  “Alicia Keys!” the woman joked. “Back again, I see.”

  “I had a meeting.”

  “My offer still stands. The pay is great, easy hours.”

  “I don’t think so,” Danielle said, stepping around her.

  “Well, if you change your mind, my office is on twenty.”

  Danielle pushed a smile across her mouth and walked to the exit.

  What people won’t do for money, she thought as she stepped out into the rain. She opened her umbrella and darted and dodged around the flow of human traffic until she reached the garage at the end of the street where her car was parked. And just before she went down the ramp, she glanced up the street and could have sworn she saw Bernard coming out of the building she’d just left.

  She tried to get a better look, but there were too many people and umbrellas blocking her view. When her line of sight cleared, he was gone.

  Danielle shook her head, trying to convince herself that she couldn’t have seen Bernard and even if she had, there was no law that said he couldn’t have business there as well.

  She slowly descended the ramp, trying to re-create that fleeting moment, but as that woman from the elevator had said, everybody looks like somebody. She shook it off and went to retrieve her car.

  Instead of going home, Danielle decided to stop by Mia’s office in midtown. She’d just returned from a meeting when Danielle pulled up in front.

  “Hey, girl. What a surprise.” She buzzed her cheek. “Come on in. You know this is a bad hair day…for some of us,” she quipped, having pulled her hair
in a safe ponytail, unlike Danielle whose beautiful mane simply flowed full of waves in the dampness. “What brings you to my neck of the woods?” She shook out her umbrella and pushed through the glass door.

  “I finished up my meeting at the Preston Studio and took a chance that you might be around.”

  “Well, come on back to my sanctuary and relax a minute. Grace, any messages?” she asked her assistant as she breezed by. “You remember Danielle, right?” she asked over her shoulder but didn’t wait for an answer to either question.

  “They’re on your desk,” Grace called out and waved to Danielle.

  Mia opened the door to her office, which was a study in pure class. The winter-white walls were strategically adorned with African art. Low-slung chairs and hardwood tables dotted the glistening wood floors. A huge flat-screen television was mounted on one wall that faced a fabric couch covered in kente cloth and topped with thick throw pillows.

  Her ground-floor office was connected to a forty-story condominium that boasted annual rents in the hundreds of thousands. On any given day you were sure to see several movie stars, models or politicians coming in and out. Mia’s rent was outrageous, but the perks were worth it, she’d always said.

  “So.” Mia tossed her jacket onto the back of a chair. “Spill it. Something is definitely on your mind.” She reached into her purse for her glasses, which she refused to wear in public.

  Danielle told her about her sighting of Bernard.

  Mia frowned, behind the thin frames and thick lenses. “It doesn’t actually mean anything. I mean, it might not have even been him.”

  “I know. But I would bet money that it was.” She leaned forward. “I know this is going to sound crazy, but I’m starting to think that maybe he’s following me.”

  “Why in the world would you think that?”

  “Maybe it’s not just coincidence that he hooked up with Nick and showed up at my apartment, or was going to the spa when I was going to the brownstone, or that he turned up today.”

  “That is a lot of coincidences, but it doesn’t really mean anything. Manhattan isn’t half as big as we’d like to believe. I think you’re just being paranoid.”