Thirsty For Payback (Sinful Business Series)

by Marie Astor

  “Hi, Allyson, I’m Marion Phillips. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Phillips.” As Marion Phillips rose from her desk to shake Ally’s hand, Ally studied her future boss. Marion Phillips looked more like a movie star than a government official. At first glance she looked to be no more than forty. She was dressed in an expertly tailored gray designer suit that showed off her long slender legs. The skin on her face was smooth and taut, with a perfectly chiseled nose, piercing green eyes, and sensual lips that parted in a smile that revealed a row of perfectly aligned, dazzlingly white teeth. Only a closer look at her bobbed hair that was so white that it at first appeared to be bleached, suggested that her real age was probably closer to fifty.

  “Please take a seat.” Marion motioned at the chair opposite her desk. “And please call me Marion.”

  Ally lowered herself into the seat and was about to hand her résumé to Marion when Marion produced her own copy from a folder on her desk. Incidentally, it was printed on stationery identical to the kind Ally had in her bag.

  “Your background is quite impressive,” Marion remarked. The bifocals she donned to read the print gave her a sexy librarian look.

  “Thank you, Marion.” Ally launched into a summary of her background, listing the awards she had won in college and the internships she had completed during her summers.

  “Yes, I am very well aware of your accomplishments,” Marion said, and Ally felt her heart sink. Did she overdo it? “What I’d like to know is whether you are interested in working for our agency?”

  “Yes, I am, Ms. Phillips,” Ally halted, noticing Marion raise an eyebrow. “I mean, Marion. I’m very interested. Working for the Department of Energy would be a wonderful opportunity to contribute to an organization of such great importance. It would be an honor—”

  “But you don’t even know what the job is,” Marion said, peering over her bifocals, a smile playing on her lips.

  “My understanding is that the job is in the engineering department,” Ally said, taking a chance. She really had no idea what the job was, but given that she was an engineering and physics major interviewing for the Department of Energy, it had to be at least somewhat connected to engineering.

  “Partially,” Marion conceded. “Your background and expertise will certainly come in handy. But you may also be required to perform other tasks and acquire additional skills.”

  “Such as?”

  “Before we can proceed any further, I have to ask you to sign this non-disclosure agreement.” Marion plonked a pile of papers down that was about an inch thick.

  Ally reached for the pile and began leafing through it.

  “It’s your standard non-disclosure agreement, but I really don’t have time to sit here and wait for you to read it all. So what is it going to be, Ally? Waiting tables or doing something a lot more interesting?”

  “How do you know about that?” Ally asked, almost dropping the papers on the floor. She had not told anyone about her plans to apply for the waitressing job.

  “That and many other fascinating things is what you’ll learn if you get a job here. Are you in?”

  Ally looked at the stack of papers on her lap. In the back of her mind she remembered something she’d heard a lawyer say on a TV show: uninformed consent. Of course it wasn’t a real lawyer, but only an actor playing a lawyer, but she hoped that the show’s producers had done at least some research before putting the thing on the screen. The gist of it was that if someone were forced to sign a document without fully realizing what they were signing, they could then dispute it and claim coercion. So she’d still have a way out. After all, what did she have to lose? Except for the scarce balance in her savings account there wasn’t a cent to her name, she didn’t have any family members left who could be hurt, and except for Maddie she didn’t have any friends. There wasn’t much anyone could do to her, not anymore. Without another word, Ally signed the last page at the back of the stack.

  “Smart girl.” Marion grinned. “Now, as you correctly noted this is the Department of Energy, and our primary focus here is on developments in the areas of engineering and energy. However, this particular division has many different responsibilities, which make our jobs here much more challenging, but also much more interesting.”

  Ally nodded, thinking that this was the weirdest interview she’d ever had.

  “As an agent of this division, you’d be required to gather and analyze data. The means by which you will acquire such data will vary depending on the assignment. If hired, you will undergo a training program that will hone your social and technical skills to give you the tools that you’ll need to successfully complete your assignments. The starting salary is one hundred thousand dollars per year. For the first three months you will have to reside in the training facility, after which a permanent residence will be provided to you by the agency. It goes without saying that the nature of this job is highly confidential and you are not to disclose it to anyone.”

  “What exactly is the nature of this job?” Ally asked. Her heart was pounding: a salary of one hundred thousand dollars! Still, she had to know what it was that she’d be signing up for.

  “Intelligence gathering. Don’t look so surprised, Ally. Of course this isn’t the CIA or FBI, but with your education background you should know that energy is one of the most vital resources of today’s age. It could be used as a weapon, it could be used to overthrow governments, and it could be used as a control mechanism. These threats are ever more present in today’s age of innovation where new sources of energy are constantly being discovered. Imagine having a new source of electricity that would cut production costs in half.”

  “Wouldn’t that be wonderful?” Ally blurted out without thinking. “Isn’t that what everyone wants—cheaper energy and more of it?”

  “Yes, but think about what such a discovery could do to the economy if it falls into the wrong hands. Stocks of existing electricity companies would plummet overnight, millions of jobs would be lost. It could lead to a financial crash.”

  “So are you saying that progress is bad?”

  “Come on, Ally, you’re smarter than that. I’m not saying that at all. I’m saying that it should be monitored, and that’s just one of the many jobs that we do here. Don’t look so scared. We are not here to hinder progress or innovation, but we are here to make sure that it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands or gets misused. And that’s where we come in. Our job is to ensure the safety of our citizens, and in some cases that of the world.”

  Ally nodded. Everything that Marion had said made sense. Yes, it sounded patronizing, but if such an organization existed wouldn’t it be better to be a part of it as opposed to being unknowingly controlled by it? Ally knew that she preferred the former. She had envisioned her future job to be spent in a research lab, but now she was being given a chance to do undercover work—who knew that engineers could lead such exciting lives? This was simply too good to be true. “And when will the decision be made?”

  Marion crossed her slender arms across her chest and leaned back in her chair, giving Ally a once over. “The decision has already been made. Should you accept the offer, you will have a place in our training program. You will be compensated at your salary rate for the duration of the training, which will be three months. Your offer is subject to the successful completion of the training program. Training starts Monday.”

  “I accept,” Ally blurted out. She was in no position to play hard to get. There was a long list of reasons why accepting this somewhat bizarre offer of employment made sense, but the most important reason of all was something that she was not going to disclose to anyone. If this agency were indeed as powerful as Marion claimed, it had to have major resources, and Ally planned to use those resources to hunt down whoever it was that had brought about her father’s demise. For even though she didn’t have any proof, she was convinced that Roberts Enterprises was not guilty of Pollux plants’ breakdowns, an
d despite the fact that the lawyers wouldn’t listen to her and she never got to present her view to the court, she had promised herself she would clear her father’s name.

  A knowing smile appeared on Marion’s lips. “I knew you’d be perfect for the job from the get-go. Welcome aboard, Ally.” Marion slid a manila folder across the desk. “You will find orientation details in there. You are to report to this building at eight a.m. on Monday. Gladys will provide you with the rest of the details. I expect you to do well in your training.” Marion rose from her chair and extended her hand to Ally, making it clear that their meeting was over.

  “Thank you, Marion. If I may, just one more question.”

  Marion’s eyebrows rose, indicating that she was not used to people not following her lead. “Yes?”

  “How did you know about the waitressing job? And how is it that you had a copy of my résumé printed on the exact same stationery as I have at home? And how did you get my résumé in the first place? I don’t exactly remember applying for this job.”

  For a moment that felt like an eternity Marion remained silent, her gaze focused on Ally, and Ally worried that she might have gone too far. After all, she was in no position to call the shots. Then a bemused expression appeared on Marion’s face, and Ally knew she was safe. “That’s three questions. I expect you to demonstrate similar acumen in your training, Ally. I’m not in the habit of answering questions from new recruits, but I’ll make an exception this once. Our recruiters saw you shopping at Staples for résumé stationery paper, and I thought the stationery would add a nice touch to our meeting. The same recruiters saw you ogle the waitressing ad. What a waste that would’ve been! And as for your résumé, let’s just say I have my sources. Top brass at defense contractors may be imbeciles, but I wasn’t about to miss out on a great candidate when I saw one. Have I answered your questions? And in case you’re wondering, we know all about your background, and it doesn’t worry the agency. In fact, we think it will prove to be an asset.”

  “Yes, Marion. Thank you.” Ally got up to take her leave. To say that what she had just heard felt surreal would be an understatement of gigantic proportions.

  “And Ally, one more thing,” Marion called out, just as Ally was about to open the door. “It goes without saying that all resources that will become accessible to you through the agency are only to be used for your job function here and not for personal use. Am I making myself clear?”

  “Yes, Marion.”

  Marion nodded with approval. “Good luck in your training, Ms. Roberts.”

  Your spies may trail me on the street, Ally thought as she exited Marion’s office, but they can’t read my thoughts and you won’t be able to stop me from finding the bastards who killed my father. For while the official cause of her father’s death was heart failure, Ally knew that it was murder. Her father had been killed by the shame and humiliation that had been inflicted on him, and she was determined to track down her father’s murderers.

  Chapter 8

  Back at the apartment Ally paced the floor, her mind feverishly trying to make sense of the incredible events that had taken place earlier in the day. It was too unbelievable to be true, and yet it had happened. Next Monday she would be starting a whole new life. Gladys had given her all the instructions. Ally was provided with a storage address that would keep her belongings while she was in training. Afterwards her possessions would be relocated to her new apartment that would be procured by her new employer, provided, of course, that Ally successfully completed the training. Of the latter Ally had no doubts: she had graduated from Duke with a double major in engineering and physics. How hard could on-the-job training be? She was going to ace it. She had no choice but to ace it.

  She was not to tell anyone about her new job or where she would be going for training; the latter part wouldn’t be hard since she had no idea where this training facility was. She was given a name of a cover entity she was to list as her employer instead. All she knew was that on Monday morning she had to report to the same building where she’d met with Marion earlier today. Ally had less than a week to prepare for the training and her new life.

  Ally was thinking about how she was going to break the news to Maddie. Maddie had been Ally’s rock during this extremely difficult time, and Ally felt like a traitor, bailing out on her friend on such short notice. But at the same time Ally knew that she couldn’t depend on Maddie forever. At least now she’d have a job, and Maddie would no longer have to foot the rent and the food bills.

  Ally was surprised by the sound of the front door lock being opened. It was only three p.m., way too early for Maddie to be back from work.

  “Hi, there! I didn’t think you’d be home,” Maddie said, kicking off her shoes.

  “You’re home early,” Ally remarked, thinking of how best to break the news to her friend.

  “I’ve got some news,” Maddie said.

  “Me too.”

  “You go first,” Maddie said.

  “No, you go,” Ally stalled. The problem with her news was that she couldn’t exactly reveal it to Maddie.

  “Skip proposed,” said Maddie, looking away.

  “Did you say yes?”

  “Yes.” Maddie held up her left hand, which was adorned by an enormous diamond.

  “Congratulations! I’m so happy for you, Maddie!” Ally hugged her friend with relief. This was going to make telling her news so much easier.

  “Really? Because you know that this means that I’m moving to Boston,” Maddie said guiltily.

  “I know, and I couldn’t be happier for you if you’re sure that Skip is the one.” Skip Prendergast had been Maddie’s high school sweetheart. They had dated on and off during the first and second year of college, after which Maddie had broken it off, claiming that a long distance relationship wasn’t for her (Skip had gone to Princeton), and that she was ready to see other people. Just like the Graystones, Skip’s family was based in Boston. His father owned an investment advisory firm. Mr. Prendergast had gone to college with Mr. Graystone and they played golf together almost every weekend. It was Mr. and Mrs. Graystone’s dream to see Skip and Maddie married, which Maddie spurned with vehement determination. Yet somehow despite the numerous exotic boyfriends that Maddie had had since, which included a guitar player of some obscure punk band, a starving artist, and a poet, Maddie would mention Skip occasionally. The two of them continued to run into each other at family functions, and even after Maddie had insisted that it was over between them, Skip asked that they remain friends and would meet her for lunch occasionally. Despite the fact that Maddie’s mentions of Skip were filled with ridicule of her mother’s marriage plans for her, Ally often wondered if Maddie was really as indifferent about Skip as she claimed to be. Ally had only met Skip a few times, but she had liked him right away. He had light brown hair, intelligent gray eyes, and was well-built, but most of all Ally liked the way Skip’s eyes lit up every time he looked at Maddie. Personally, Ally thought that they looked great as a couple.

  “You know, I think he is.” Maddie smiled. “But please don’t think that I’m saying it because I failed in New York.”

  “Who says you failed? Just because you finally admitted your feelings for the guy you loved since high school doesn’t mean you failed—”

  “I got fired today. That’s why I’m home early,” Maddie groaned. “I’m a total and complete failure!”

  “That’s a load of crap,” Ally snapped. From what Maddie had told her about her job, it was a complete nightmare. The hours were long and the assignments tedious, most of which included running errands for more senior staff. Maddie had dreamed of working with creative free spirits, but instead she was faced with the reality of a highly political office atmosphere filled with huge egos, cutthroat competition, and veiled insecurities. And then there were the financial hardships. As someone who had always led a sheltered life, Maddie found the reality of living on a fixed income trying to say the least. While planning her life in New Yor
k, Maddie had assumed that her trust income would continue to supplement her starting graphic designer salary, but Mr. and Mrs. Graystone clearly had other plans, cutting Maddie’s allowance.

  “I finally got an account, and after I was finished with the first round of design, they gave it to another designer. She just finished her graphic, which was a complete rip-off of my idea. When I went to see my boss—excuse me, my ex-boss—about it, she told me that if I wasn’t going to collaborate, I was welcome to look for a job elsewhere. So I told her that she could take her collaboration and shove it.”

  “So you see, you didn’t get fired!” Ally cheered her friend. “You quit.”

  “No, I got fired. My boss—excuse me, my ex-boss—told me so, the witch. After all the crap I took from her. I have one little blow-up and she just fires me! Serves me right for being such a pushover. The only reason I had the guts to stand up to her in the first place was because I’d met Skip for lunch. He’d come down to New York and he asked me to meet him. I didn’t want to tell you about it. Anyway, we meet at this French café in SoHo, nothing fancy or anything, and he tells me over the onion soup that it’s time we stopped playing games. I asked him what he meant by that, and he said that cutting off one’s nose to spite somebody didn’t make sense. I said ‘Huh?’ So he just smiled and pushed this small velvet box across the table and told me to open it. I tell you, Ally, my heart just started fluttering because deep down I knew what was going to be inside that box. So I opened it and took the ring out. ‘Will you be my wife, Maddie?’ he asked me, and I said yes.”

  “Oh, Maddie! That’s so romantic!”

  Maddie shook her head. “No, it isn’t. It’s not romantic at all. It’s practical and sensible, just the way Skip is. I used to think it was boring, but now I’ve finally realized that that’s exactly what I need. I guess I had to date all those creeps to find that out. I was an idiot, Ally. I used to be ashamed of the fact that I came from a family with money. I thought that in order to prove myself I had to make it on my own. That poet guy I dated, he claimed to only care about art, but he dumped me the minute he learned that I was on the outs with my parents.” Maddie sighed. “The point that I’m trying to make is that I’ve always liked Skip, but I didn’t want to be with him to please my parents. It took me all this time to realize that it doesn’t matter. I’m going to be with him because I want it, not because of what my parents think. Of course they’ll probably think that I said yes to Skip because they’d cut off my trust fund, but I really don’t give a hoot. They can think whatever they want. They may control Ron, but they’ll never control me. Oh, I’m so sorry, Ally! I didn’t mean to bring him up. I’m such a blabbermouth.”