Darkness Lane by Thomas Kies

Author:Thomas Kies [Kies, Thomas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781464210013
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press, Inc.
Published: 2018-02-13T07:00:00+00:00

As I got to my cubicle and took off my jacket, Darcie rushed into my office. “What’s up?” I asked.

“I was going to ask you the same thing.” She sat down uninvited in one of my office chairs. “Everybody’s wondering who the two people are in Ben’s office. They’ve been in there all day with the door closed.”

Involuntarily, I glanced up and saw that she was right.

Was it possible that the two corporate predators from Galley Media were still in the building? I glanced at my watch. I’d met them shortly before noon and it was nearly four o’clock.

Ben Sumner, you’d better not be signing away my career.

They hadn’t asked me to keep any secrets for them so I told Darcie who they were. “They’re from Galley Media. I’ve got a feeling they’re going to be our new owners.”

Darcie looked stunned, unconsciously rubbing her stomach. I knew what she was thinking. What changes would they make? Would she keep her job? Would she have health insurance when she gave birth?

“Hey, look,” I said, “this is all going to work out, okay? Don’t worry about it. Just keep working.”

“Yeah, yeah,” was all she could get out.

I regretted telling her about the sale.

Everyone is going to find out sooner or later.

After she left, I noticed that the red light to my voice mail was blinking. I listened, surprised. “Hey, Genie Chase. It’s Peter Cambridge. You know, I don’t have your cellphone yet, so I called your office. I hope you don’t mind. I had our attorney get a contract together for Caroline. I’d like to go over it with you if you have time. There are details that I need to get from you—her social security number, date of birth. And, as her mother, I need you to sign a waiver. Can you call me on my cell?”

And then Peter Cambridge gave me his personal cellphone number. Forgetting all else, I called him on the newspaper landline.

He must have recognized the number because he started out, “Is this Genie?”

“Yes, it is,” I answered, slightly out of breath.

“Excellent. You got my message. Thank you for calling me back.”

“My pleasure.” And it really was.

“I’d like to get some paperwork taken care of and I’d love to do it sooner rather than later.”

“Of course.”

Whatever you want, Peter Cambridge.

He asked, “What are the chances that we can get together after work?”

“What time are you thinking about?”

With the tiniest bit of hesitation, Peter answered. “Well, what about dinner? Say seven?”

Yes.

“Got someplace in mind?”

“I feel like Latin. Do you like Latin?”

“Muy bien.”

“Do you know where Orinoco is? They do a mean Latin-Caribbean fusion.”

“Absolutely. Will anyone else be joining us?” I was thinking specifically of Angela Owens.

“No, I’m afraid you’ll have to put up with just me.” He chuckled.

I smiled and my voice dropped. “I’ll see you there at seven.”

After he hung up, it took all my self-reserve to keep from jumping up and down in another happy dance.

But as elated as I was, my mood blackened almost immediately when I saw the door to Ben’s office swing open and he and the two corporate drones appeared.

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