Naughty by Nature

by Judy Angelo

  Tessa sank into the living room sofa which she had all to herself and flipped channel after channel. After channel. Nothing. Over a hundred channels to choose from and nothing worth watching? Crap.

  She finally settled on 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition' but she was only half watching it. She didn’t want to get too involved with the family and their story although she always loved the transformation of the house. Sad stories always made her cry and she wasn’t in the mood for crying. Not tonight. She was too mad.

  And so, being both angry and distracted at the same time, her mind began to wander. And when her mind wandered it was never usually toward anything constructive. In fact, her wandering mind was more often than not very unruly.

  And so that was how she started thinking of ways to scare the baseball fanatics holed up downstairs in the den. Indie had always accused her of being melodramatic. Okay, then she’d live up to that description. And she had the perfect way to do it. If it was drama they expected of her, then drama they’d get.

  She slipped off the seat and went to get the purse she’d left on the hallway table. She knew she had a red marker in there, a relic from a dinner party she’d attended where they’d each had to print their names on tags. She’d accidentally dropped one of the markers in her purse and hadn’t even realized it till she got home that night. Good thing she’d left it in there. It was perfect for her plan.

  Tessa knew exactly what would get their attention. The baseball game would be the least of their concerns when she was done with them. She was going to fake a food allergy that would have them flying out of the house so fast they wouldn’t even have time to switch off the TV. And it would serve them right for ignoring her.

  Tessa had the slim marker in hand and, peering into the hallway mirror, she was just about to put the first of several little red dots all over her neck, when something reflected in the mirror caught her eyes. It was a small bunch of keys, the largest of which was a car key for a Mercedes Benz.

  Wolf Spencer's car key. It had to be. A black Mercedes Benz had been parked in the driveway when she pulled up and she’d parked her car right beside it.

  Her mind raced as she thought of all the possibilities. To hell with the food allergy idea. That was old school. Now this car key opened a whole new world of pranking possibilities. She picked up the bunch and, as she thought through her options, she stroked the car key with her thumb.

  Then it came to her. A dirty trick, but not too dirty. Not enough to give a man a heart attack. She looked around. No-one coming. Quickly, she headed for the front door and slipped through. She skipped down the steps and almost howled when the soft pads of her bare feet slapped the gravelly driveway. She’d forgotten about that.

  Biting her lips, Tessa walked slowly and gingerly until she came to Wolf’s car. Before she could change her mind and chicken out she clicked the button to open the door, hopped in and slid the key into the ignition. The car began to purr like a very big, very comfortable cat.

  Great. Tessa put the car in reverse and began to back out of the long driveway. It had a bend at one point so she had to be careful but she did it smoothly and then she was out on the road. Great going so far.

  She put the car in drive and headed a little way down the road, only to the first intersection, and then she turned into the side street. She turned off the engine, hopped out, made sure the car was locked and ran back the way she’d come. This time when she got to Indie’s she ran across the grass back to the house. No gravelly path for her again.

  Tessa slipped back in through the front door and, satisfied with the part she’d played in making the evening a more interesting one, she grinned and returned the keys to their resting place. Now for phase two of her plan.

  Tessa almost skipped her way to the den, she was in such a good mood. As expected, the three stooges were so engrossed in the game they hardly even acknowledged her return. Well, one of them sort of did. Wolf tore his eyes away from the screen for just a second and gave her a half smile. Was that enough to make her regret her action and even make her run back down the road to retrieve his car? Nah!

  “Guys,” she said, “wasn’t there a Mercedes Benz parked in the driveway?”

  Wolf glanced her way. “Yeah, that’s mine.”

  “Did you move it?” she asked, making sure her face was all innocent.

  His eyes swung back to her and he frowned. “No.”

  “Well, it’s not there now.”

  Wolf frown deepened. He got up and headed for the stairs. "I’ll be right back,” he said.

  But Stone was up, too, and was taking the stairs two at a time behind Wolf.

  Indie looked shocked. “What happened?”

  Tessa shrugged and said not a word.

  Then it was Indie who was rushing up the stairs, leaving Tessa to bring up the rear. And she took her own sweet time in doing that. Let them stew a little.

  When Tessa got upstairs the front door was wide open and Wolf, Stone and Indie were outside, looking totally confused. Wolf walked to the end of the driveway and looked up the road then down. Obviously, there was no sign of his car. Shaking his head, he trudged back up the long path, looking glum.

  Stone’s hands were shoved deep inside his pockets and a frown darkened his face. “I don’t understand,” he said, shaking his head. “This sort of thing never happens in our neighborhood.” He glanced over at Wolf. “Did you forget the keys in the ignition?”

  “No, I left them on the hallway table. At least, I think I did.” Wolf turned and ran up the front steps. Within seconds he was out again, keys in hand. “They’re here,” he said, looking more confused than ever. “How in the devil they could have moved that car without keys, I don’t know.” He glanced down at the ground. “Unless they towed it…” He drew in a deep breath then let it out in a heavy sigh. “What an end to what started out as a great evening.”

  “This is all too bad,” Tessa piped up, “but you have insurance, don’t you? It’s not like it’s the end of the world.”

  Wolf sighed again. “It’s not the car I’m worried about. It’s what’s in it. I have a year's worth of video recordings and production material in the trunk and that…” he shook his head. “…cannot be replaced.”

  Indie gasped and looked sympathetic. “But why did you have them in your car? Do you have copies?”

  “No copies. Those were the originals.” He stared down the driveway. “I was planning to take them into the office first thing in the morning. Didn’t want to have to get up early tomorrow to pack the car. Now I’ve paid dearly for giving in to laziness.” He turned toward the steps. “I’d better call the police right away. Maybe the culprit is still in the area.”

  “No, wait.”

  Everyone turned at Tessa’s yelled command.

  “Wait? They could be getting away as we speak.” Stone stared at her, incredulous.

  “And I don’t have a tracking device in that car,” Wolf said, his face glum, and he was striding up the steps even as the words left his lips. “If I’m going to have any hope of catching the thief I have to move now.”

  “I said, wait.” Tessa ran up the steps ahead of Wolf and blocked the front door with her body.

  His face grim, he looked just about ready to pick her up and set her aside so she decided to come clean. They’d suffered enough, anyway, but especially Wolf. “I know where your car is.”

  Wolf froze. Stone sucked in his breath and Indie gave a very loud hiss of annoyance. “Tessa,” she said, her tone one of reproach, “what did you do now?”

  “Well,” Tessa began, “you’re all going to laugh when I say this.” She looked from one to the other, then the other…and they did not look amused. She drew in her breath and decided to plunge in. “You guys were ignoring me and I got bored so I decided to…spice things up a bit.”

  “So you moved my car.”

  “Yes,” she said with a nervous giggle. “I moved your car. I just drove it to the side street, parked it and ran back, that�
�s all. It’s not far away at all.”

  “Tessa, this is one of the stupidest things you’ve ever done. What were you thinking?” Indie looked just about ready to strangle her.

  Stone didn’t look much more charitable. He was probably holding on to his temper only because she was his guest.

  But Wolf…his look was murderous. As she stood there in the doorway he took a step toward her, towering over her, his face a thunderous cloud.

  Tessa took an involuntary step backward. He wasn’t going to do anything stupid, was he? Still, better to stay out of arm’s reach. He looked like he wanted to shake her till her teeth rattled.

  “Don’t ever play me for a fool like that again.” He spoke through clenched teeth as if fighting to maintain control. “It was not funny.”

  And with that he turned on his heel and marched down the steps and down the driveway, his heels crunching as he went, leaving Indie, Stone and a slightly trembling Tessa staring after him.

  Talk about your spoiled sport. Couldn’t he take a joke? Jeez. “I told you I didn’t like him,” Tessa muttered but when Indie opened her mouth to respond she didn’t wait to hear it. She didn’t want to be there, standing on the steps, when Wolf pulled up in his car.

  She was putting her shoes on when the three of them – Indie, Stone and Wolf bringing up the rear – came back into the house. Tessa looked up and her eyes homed in on Wolf’s face. Once again, it was the brick wall she’d seen the first day they met, the same one she disliked so much. Well, so much for a little joke lightening his mood.

  She straightened. “I’ll be heading out now,” she said, her voice a lot more subdued than usual.

  “Are you sure? Tessa.” Indie went over to her and took her hand. “You can-”

  “I’m sure,” Tessa said with a firm nod. “I have an early day tomorrow so I have to go. And,” she said, looking over to where Stone and Wolf were standing, “I’m sorry, guys. I won’t stay and spoil your game. It’s better if I go because the sad thing is, if I stay and get bored, I’ll probably end up doing something stupid again.”

  She gave Indie a quick kiss on the cheek, waved goodbye to the men and tucked her purse under her arm. When she hopped into her car and pulled out of the driveway she did not look back.

  She’d gone to the house that night feeling on top of the world but now, as she drove home, she felt like a can of Coke that had gone flat. Why did she always have to be so zany? Why couldn’t she act normal like the rest of the world? As she thought about Wolf’s reaction to her little prank her mouth twisted in self-derision. Apparently she’d been born with a defective gene – one that was always getting her in trouble.

  Tessa drew in a deep breath. From here on, she resolved, she’d be an angel. Twenty-five years of age was just too old to be playing childish pranks.

  She just hoped it was a commitment she could keep.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  He’d been warned.

  Wolf shook his head as his mind went back to the events of the evening before and as he turned onto Robert Speck Parkway he couldn’t help smiling. Tessa Tyndale was as crazy they came. Who would have thought a grown woman – a high school teacher, no less – would have thought of pulling a prank like that one?

  But he should not have been surprised. Stone had warned him she could be a handful. He hadn’t quite believed his friend but now he knew – Tessa was not the angel she’d seemed and, for the sake of his sanity, she was best avoided.

  But the sad thing was, as much as he knew it was best to steer clear of a woman like Tessa, she’d awoken something in him that made him want to see her again. She’d pissed the hell out of him when she’d moved his car, no doubt about that. But then, after she’d left and his heart had settled back to normal, he’d seen the humor of it all and he’d even had a good laugh with Stone and Indie.

  As he pulled into the parking lot of the building where his video production company was housed, he was chuckling to himself. A mystery woman, that was what Tessa was. So serene at the wedding, then Miss Aloof when they met for the second time. And then, by the end of the evening, a mischievous elf who made his heart leap to his throat at the thought of losing a year's worth of work. He could have strangled her for scaring him like that.

  Or he could have kissed her.

  Because that was what he’d felt like doing when she’d marched past him, her lips set in a pout, her head held high as if to dare anyone to get in her way.

  He’d wanted to block her path, lift her off her feet, and kiss her till she begged him to stop. He hadn’t done that, not this time, but next time he met Tessa she’d better behave or else she’d be in for a surprise that would knock her back onto her cute little behind.

  Wolf collected his cases from the trunk of his car then took them inside the building and rode the elevator to the eleventh floor. Dynamic Video Productions, the company he’d started right after college, had started out in a tiny office at the end of the hall seven years ago but had grown into a multi-million dollar business which now occupied the entire floor. His arms loaded down, he turned and leaned back against the glass door and pushed it open.

  “Hey, boss, what you got there?” Kareem Brown, his youngest production assistant, hurried forward to help.

  “The Food for Life project. I want us to convert everything for easy download. Here, grab this bag.” He let his laptop bag slide from his shoulder and into Kareem’s waiting hands. Then he dumped the rest of the burden onto the receptionist's desk.

  “Good thing Carol isn’t in yet,” Kareem said with a boyish grin. “She’d be all over you for messing up her workspace.”

  “As well she should,” Wolf said with a nod. “And that’s why you’re going to help me move all this stuff to the production room before she gets here.” He glanced at the clock on the wall. “Eight forty-nine. You’ve got eleven minutes.”

  “Sure thing, Wolf.”

  As Kareem grabbed a box and headed down the hallway Wolf turned in the opposite direction. He grabbed a copy of the Toronto Star on his way to his office. He couldn’t tell the last time he’d had the luxury of a leisurely read of the newspaper. As usual, he would skim the headlines then drop the paper back on the receptionist's desk for the next person to glance through.

  Wolf had just settled in his chair and opened the paper when he felt his cell phone buzzing in the pocket of his slacks. He groaned. It wasn’t even nine o’clock yet and already someone was on his tail. So much for being able to skim the paper this morning.

  He dug the phone out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. Unknown number. It was so strange that many of his clients used unlisted numbers for their businesses. He would never understand it. As an entrepreneur he liked to make it as easy as possible for people to find him and to identify him when he called. But not these guys. He shrugged. To each his own.

  He pressed the green button. “Wolf Spencer. How may I help you?”

  For a second there was silence then a soft female voice filled his ear. “Wolf. I’m sorry to disturb you but…I had to call and apologize about last night. I got your number from Stone.”

  Wolf gripped the phone just a little bit tighter. It was Tessa Tyndale and today, instead of adopting yesterday’s ‘nose-in-the-air’ attitude, she sounded truly apologetic. That was a surprise, and a pleasant one at that.

  “Tessa. How are you?” Knowing that she was probably still embarrassed about her previous night's adventure he made sure his voice was calm, even gentle, as he tried to put her at ease. His anger of the night before had faded while his interest in her had intensified. He had absolutely no plans to scare Tessa away.

  “I’m…fine, Wolf. Thanks for asking.” There was another pause and then she said, “I know you’re probably very busy, with it being Monday morning and all, but I was wondering if you would…allow me to make things up to you. I’d like to invite you to lunch…”

  Yet another surprise. Tessa was certainly making this an interesting Monday morning. “I accept,” h
e said quickly, before she could change her mind. “Just tell me when and where and I’ll be there.”

  “Okay, I…uhm…may I call you back this evening? I’ll have everything arranged by then.” There was the sound of a bell ringing in the background. “I have to go, Wolf, but I’ll call you later, okay?”

  “That’s fine.”

  As he clicked the phone off a slow smile spread across Wolf’s lips. Impish little Tessa had rushed away last night as if she had the devil on her tail but she hadn’t disappeared totally. He hadn’t had to go looking for her. She’d come looking for him. A good sign.

  What if, as far-fetched as it might be, she was as interested in him as he was in her? Now that would make for a really interesting situation.

  He was definitely looking forward to seeing Tessa again.

  ******

  “I did it, Indie. I called him.” Tessa sat at the edge of the bed, the phone to her ear as she kicked off her shoes.

  “And?”

  “And he didn’t hang up on me. He actually sounded okay, like he didn’t mind that I’d called him.”

  “And you apologized?” Indie’s voice was stern.

  Tessa sighed. “Yes, Indie, I apologized. Sheesh! Give a girl a break, will you?”

  “And then what happened?” Indie asked, totally ignoring her whining.

  “And then, you won’t believe this,” Tessa said, forgetting she was supposed to be complaining. “I invited him to lunch.”

  “Nice going,” Indie said approvingly, “that is, assuming you can behave for the hour or so it takes you two to have lunch.”

  “I’ll behave,” Tessa assured her. “ I've learned my lesson. Sunday evening was too embarrassing for me to even think of doing a repeat.”

  “A reformed Tessa?” Indie chuckled into the phone. “Somehow, I don’t believe it.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  “You know I love you,” Indie said in consolation, “but I know you and what you’re capable of."