“What do you mean 'out to get you'”? Jeff asked, a look of disbelief on his face. Howie stared at him belligerently. “That program just didn’t write itself,” Howie said. “It’s obvious someone is out to bring us down.”
“Maybe it’s N’Sync,” Jeff said flippantly, laughing at his own joke. He sobered under the quelling stares of the others. “I don’t know,” he said shrugging, “Who would have reason to want you to get you?” Howie leaned forward. “I can think of one or two,” he replied.
“Are you accusing me, Howie?” Jeff said coldly.
“Stop it you two,” Dani said firmly. “All this pointless male posturing is getting us nowhere.” Sam snickered at Dani’s reprimand of the two adversaries. She knew, even if Dani didn’t, that Jeff had had a thing for Dani for years and it irritated Howie to no end.
“I don’t know, Dani,” Sam spoke up, “ A good cock fight might be kinda interesting.” Howie rolled his eyes and sat back in his chair. Jeff turned and glared at the woman seated next to him.
“Rappaport isn’t it?” Jeff asked coolly. Sam nodded. “What are you doing here anyway?” he asked snidely. “I thought we were trying to keep the media out of this.” Sam leaned back in her chair, an aloof smile on her face and a calculating look in her eyes.
AJ stood up quickly, fully aware of what that look foreboded. “Sam,” he said, “I need a cigarette. Come and keep me company.” Sam turned her attention from the programmer to AJ. She glanced pointedly at the ashtray in front of him. “Well,” she said, “if you insist.”
As the two walked out of the conference room, Dani heard her friend mumble “you’re no fun” to AJ. She rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the business at hand. “Howie,” she said sternly, “you’re being unfair to Jeff. He’s been a friend of mine for years and not only do I trust him with my professional reputation, but with my life.” Jeff smiled condescendingly at Howie as his cell phone began ringing. “Excuse me for a minute,” Jeff said rising from his chair, “I’m going to take this in the hall.” Dani waited until Jeff left the room and then reached over, taking Howie’s hands and stroking the backs of them with her thumbs. She knew she had hurt him with her defense of her assistant. “Jeff is my friend,” she said gently, “but you are the man I love. You’re the man I just promised to spend the rest of my life with, remember?” She lifted her hand, showing Howie her engagement ring.
Howie looked at her unrepentantly. “I’m sorry, baby,” he said, “But he just annoys the hell out of me!”
Dani shook her head. “Look, I didn’t know he was going to be here,” she said exasperatedly. “But since he is, could you just try and get along with him until we get this resolved?”
“I’ll try,” he conceded. “But no promises,” he added as Jeff walked back into the room.
“Look,” Jeff said to Dani, ignoring Howie completely, “I need to go find a hotel room. I left so suddenly that I didn’t book a reservation.”
“Well ours is all booked up,” Howie interrupted smugly. Dani shot him an irritated look. So much for trying to get along, she thought. Jeff ignored Howie’s remarks and continued speaking to Dani. “Is there anything that you need me to do before I leave?”
“No,” she relied. “I think I’ve got it covered. Wilks is recalling the CD’s that were shipped. And I just need to swing by his office and give him the programming changes for the new production run.” Jeff looked at Dani, disappointment on his face. “Programming is my job, Dani,” he reminded her. “You should have let me do that. As a matter of fact, give me the altered CD and your changes so I can double check your work.”
Howie stood up. “She doesn’t have the CD anymore,” he informed Jeff. “Her laptop was stolen in the New Orleans airport. Now if you’ll excuse us,” he said dismissively, “we want to finish up here and get back to the hotel. To celebrate our engagement,” he added.
*************************************************************
“You’re no fun.” Sam complained to AJ as they stepped out into the hall. He laughed as he slid his arm around her. “That’s not what you told me last night,” he reminded her as they strolled down the corridor. She smiled at him provocatively.
“Just what did I tell you last night?” she teased. AJ leaned over and nuzzled her neck as they turned the corner.
“Let’s find an empty office,” he suggested, “and I’ll see if I can’t refresh your memory.”
“Oh, looky here. Elevators. How convenient,” Sam purred, drawing his head down for a kiss.
“Hmmm,” he said as he nipped at her lips. “Love in an elevator. I like that idea,” he growled. Sam laughed, reaching behind her to hit the up button. “I hope they don’t have video cameras,” she giggled as the door slid open. AJ backed her up a few steps into the car.
“Me either,” he agreed. Sam pressed her body against his. She could feel his hardness against her belly.
“AJ?” Sam said.
“Mmmmmm?” he growled as he unfastened his jeans. Sam gave him a forceful shove, pushing him out of the elevator. Just before the door slid shut, he heard her say “Tag! You’re it!” As her words sunk in, AJ grinned and waited to see which floor the elevator stopped on next.
Sam wiped tears of hysterical laughter from her eyes. The look of surprise on AJ’s face had been priceless. The elevator stopped on the very next floor and Sam stepped out into the corridor. She recognized this floor as the one they had been on earlier that morning when Dani had met with Wilks, the plant manager. The walls of the hallway were covered with autographed photos of various musical artists, presumably those whose CD’s had been manufactured here. Many of them she had interviewed for the magazine. Sam browsed through them as she waited for AJ to catch up with her. She grimaced and stuck her tongue out at a picture of Kid Rock.
*****************************************************
Wilks paced nervously around his office, stopping periodically to wipe beads of sweat from his receding hairline. The blonde man lounged unconcernedly in the leather desk chair, his feet on Wilks’ desk. “Dani is getting too close,” Wilks worried aloud. “I think we just need to forget this whole thing.” He looked pointedly at his associate’s feet propped on his desk. “Do you mind?” he said gesturing toward his desk. After a few moments, the man removed his feet. Wilks continued his pacing.
“You worry too much,” the man informed him. “You just take care of your end, and I’ll take care of the designer.”
“Oh shit,” Wilks said suddenly as he stopped in front of the half closed office door. “That friend of Dani’s, that reporter, is out there.”
“Relax,” the other man told him. “I’ll take care of her too,” he said grinning as he rose and headed for the door.
“Make sure that you do,” Wilks said forcefully, “because if I go down, I’m not going alone.”
***********************************************
As Sam rounded the corner she stopped to read the inscription on a
picture
of Led Zeppelin. What she wouldn’t give to have been around during
their
peak she thought. She leaned forward, wrinkling her brow, as she tried
to
decipher the handwriting on the photograph. In the next instant, she
found
herself jerked back against a hard body. A silent scream rose in her
throat
as a hand clamped down over her mouth.
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