The Temptress Read online

  ‘Thanks for coming in, let’s get through this as fast as we can, then you’re free to go. My door’s always open if any of you want to come and talk in private,’ I reminded them, as I took a seat at the top of the table. ‘Ok, let’s go alphabetically. Mr. Adams, Rachel how are you getting on?’

  ‘Plenty of pictures of him coming and going at all hours from his PA’s house, but nothing concrete to prove they’re having an affair. He could claim it was work related. No kissing when she opens or closes the door. He never arrives with flowers or champagne, though he could have gifts in his briefcase. Nothing out of the ordinary has shown up on his credit card receipts. No hotels are used either and his office has security and a scanner for entry. It’s going to have to be video or the lure.’

  ‘Let’s go down the video route first, exhaust all other options. Tempting them to stray should always be our last resort. Have you considered an approach?’ I asked, scribbling notes in his file.

  ‘I think the house should be our first target. Ian’s deduced, from looking at her bills, that she’s addicted to her smart TV and Sky channels. He could interfere with the signal and divert her call to the engineers to us, we can go in to “repair” it and put recording equipment in the lounge and bedroom.’

  ‘Great, set that up as soon as possible, team of two please, in case she needs distracting during the set up. See Hilda in wardrobe for the Sky Engineer uniforms, Henry in op-tech will produce their decals for Mike to put on the side of the van.’

  I’d set up Sweet Temptation before I even graduated from University, to start with it had just been me, using Facebook, My Space and Twitter to advertise, with a basic website and lots of networking. I’d been fascinated with espionage for as long as I could remember. My father had worked for MI5 and would make up stories which he’d tell me at night, to help me get to sleep. At least he said they were made up, but I always wondered if they were his real cases. I mean, telling a six year old was hardly going to bring the country crashing down. As I’d grown older I’d begged him to teach me some of the tricks of the trade and I was a quick study. Even now he says he’s not sure if he’s impressed at how well I can pick a pocket, or disappointed. But I only ever used that skill for the job. Swiping a wallet while talking to a mark at the bar, passing it on to a colleague who can go and access his room and pass on his personal details to Ian, had proved invaluable at times. Slowly my company had grown, to the point that I now had sixteen girls working for me in the field and Violet of course. Behind the scenes was Hilda, a master seamstress, who put together and altered the girls’ clothes if required, coming up with uniforms if we had to infiltrate a company. She had a few rooms here full of costumes, wigs and tinted contact lenses. As a trained beautician she undertook all the training with the girls, how to enhance their features without looking overdone. Class was key. Mike was in charge of vehicles, whether borrowing or hiring a Ferrari for the night, creating a work van complete with company logos, or driving the girls and acting as chauffeur when required.

  There was Sandra who looked after HR related matters and finances. Finally there was Henry, in charge of operation technology, op-tech for short. He had all the surveillance equipment you could dream of, some that could fit on the head of a pin. I didn’t ask how my team got some of the things they did, I didn’t need to know, as long as it did the job, that’s what I paid them handsomely for. We outsourced client background checks and hacking of accounts to a genius, Ian Smith, who worked for one of the world’s top five software firms, Davenport Technologies. He had a large team there, but was a workaholic with a hyperactive personality. As well as his Davenport duties, he’d been Logan’s go to guy and now Trey’s, as well as mine, when the guy slept was anyone’s guess. We’d met at University and had become good friends. Yes, I was quite proud of the highly respected little empire I’d built with my own hands. Sadly, that had left me with little time for a personal life. I’d cut way back in the last five years, priorities at home vying for attention, but I was definitely not the flirtatious social party girl that everyone might imagine me to be.

  We ran through the remaining cases, closing some, with Violet taking the file ready to type up the reports and pull the evidence together, ready to hand to Sandra to create our final invoice. Those that were still ongoing, we made plans of action for. Clients liked to see regular progress, after all they were paying us a lot of money for results. I finished by asking if anyone had any concerns they’d like to address, either in the open forum or privately, but everyone shook their head. I ran a tight ship, but they were paid exceedingly well, including allowances for personal up keep of their hair, beauty, clothing and lingerie. I’d never had a girl leave, the only time they did was if they crossed the line, I had one golden rule that resulted in instant dismissal if it was broken.

  Never sleep with a client.

  If we couldn’t catch them in the act with someone else, our job was to prove intent to cheat only. Not even kissing was allowed. Only on the cheek, or to let a mark kiss their necks for purposes of the camera, or to fake it with positioning. Never sex. I announced the meeting closed, taking the opportunity to pop a deliciously sugary mini Yum Yum into my mouth, as the girls all started chattering again. I quickly closed my eyes as I blew out a frustrated breath, before standing up and walking down the room, lightly placing my hand on Zoe’s shoulder.

  ‘Can I see you in my office in ten minutes please?’ I asked quietly, then moved on to chat to Melinda, so as not to make it obvious that I’d singled one of the girls out. I left them to it, heading back to my office, Violet hot on my heels. ‘Vi, I’ll need you to hold my calls until Zoe leaves, please.’

  ‘Is everything ok? You have your I’m not very happy face on.’

  ‘I’m not,’ I replied with shake of my head. ‘This never gets easier. If you can pack up her locker while she’s in with me, she’ll be leaving and not returning. We’ll need to revoke key card access immediately, change the code and update everyone’s card.’

  ‘Zoe broke the rule?’ Violet gasped. ‘I’d never have imagined, she’s one of the quiet ones. The I’m an innocent virgin please take it easy on me type.’

  ‘They say the quiet ones are the worst.’

  ‘I’ll bring you a coffee, I know how much you hate doing this, you’re going to need it.’

  ‘Do you have any brandy to go in that?’ I smiled wryly. Violet disappeared and returned a minute later with another coffee for me from the Tassimo machine in the staff room. ‘Thanks Vi.’ I switched my mobile and iPad onto do not disturb mode and headed over to the corner sofa unit as Zoe came in and closed the door behind her.

  ‘Miss McQueen, is something wrong?’ she asked, as I indicated for her to sit down. She waited until I had, before she sat at a right angle to me, nervously chewing her top lip.

  ‘I think you know what’s wrong, Zoe. Why don’t you tell me?’

  ‘I’ve no idea what you mean, Miss McQueen.’

  ‘Being honest with me will work in your favour, Zoe. Continue to lie to me and I may not be able to assist fully.’

  ‘Assist with what? I’ve really no idea why I’ve been called in.’ She attempted her young doe eyed innocent stare with me, but I was a pretty good reader of body language, and I knew that she was lying.

  ‘Then I’m very sorry, but I have no option but to terminate your employment with immediate effect. I’ll also have to mark the “would you re-employ this applicant” box on any reference requests with a no. There are two things that I don’t tolerate Zoe, lying to me and breaking the number one rule that’s written into your employment contract. Never sleep with a client. I drum it home at every meeting, yet you seemed to think that the rule didn’t apply to you when you slept with Mr. Dean.’

  ‘I did no such thing,’ she shot back, a touch of defiance burning in her brown eyes, as she sat up straight, ready for a battle. That wasn’t my style, I sat back on the sofa and crossed my legs, putting my hands in my lap.

  ‘H
ave you suddenly developed temporary amnesia, or do I need to produce the recording to remind you?’

  ‘What recording?’ she asked, her indignant voice suddenly having been replaced by one with a shake in it.

  ‘You set up the room as a team, Zoe. You dismantled the bedroom camera, but forgot about the one that Frankie put in the bathroom.’ I cocked my head as I watched her face go pale, her eyelids blinking as rapidly as her chest was rising and falling. She broke my gaze, looking down at her tangled fingers.

  ‘It’s not what it seems,’ she whispered.

  ‘I’m not quite sure one could mistake you on your knees giving our client a blow job, as anything other than sexual relations, Zoe. Or when he took you from behind in the shower. When it was brought to my attention and I had to watch it, I turned down the volume given you were rather vocal in your appreciation of his skills. You’ve left me with no option but to terminate your employment with effect immediate. Your personal effects will be waiting with Violet at reception as you leave. I have no objections to you saying goodbye to everyone if you wish to do so, but the minute you step foot out of the lobby door, you won’t be able to return. Understood?’ I hated doing this, her body had started to tremble and it made me feel like such a bitch, but it was the one rule I couldn’t compromise on. I couldn’t be clearer about that at interview, in the contract, or the numerous times I mentioned it in meetings.

  ‘Please don’t do this,’ she begged as she looked back up at me, tears swimming in her eyes. ‘I’ve worked on his case for weeks, he grew on me, I fell in love with him, he’s in love with me. He said his wife didn’t understand him and that he was going to leave her for me.’

  ‘Zoe, his wife suspected him of cheating, which was the very reason you were put on the case in the first place. A case that we’ve proven, but will now cost me my fee, which I’ll have to refund in full. It will also put a black mark against the reputation of my company, because she can’t file for divorce when the person he’s accused of having an affair with, is a girl that she paid to set him up with. Surely you can put yourself in my shoes and see how unacceptable this is?’

  ‘It wasn’t meant to happen, I fell in love,’ she replied, tears starting to roll down her cheeks.

  ‘I’m sorry but your relationship with him is none of my concern, that’s of your own making.’

  ‘I need this job. Where else am I going to find a job that pays as well as you do?’ she moaned.

  ‘You should have thought of that before you committed an instant dismissal offence. What you do after a case is closed is none of my business, you could have waited and if this relationship was genuine, you could have dated then. I’m sorry there’s nothing more I can do.’

  ‘But I have Ethan, how am I supposed to look after my little boy with no money coming in?’ she sobbed, plucking at my heart strings, right where it hurt. I handed her a tissue, before I stood up and walked to my floor to ceiling glass window, looking out at the city view as I closed my eyes and sighed. Damn it! She had to pull out the single mother card and make me feel even shittier. I turned around to find her wiping her red eyes.

  ‘I’ll give you six months’ salary upfront, it will be in your account by close of business today. That should be enough to give you time to find yourself another job, but I’m afraid the answer on the reference will still stand, I can’t lie for you Zoe, not when my reputation is on the line. Please feel free to use my bathroom if you need to freshen up in private. Stay with the girls for a while, but you’ll need to be gone by the time Violet’s ready to leave at six o’clock.’

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ she mumbled, as she blew her nose. I doubted she was sorry really, only that she’d been caught. What would possess a woman to fall for a man who was cheating on his wife? I just couldn’t comprehend it. What was to stop him doing it to her further down the line, if they even made it that far? This was the fourth time in my career that this had happened, none of the other three had made it with the men they lost their jobs for, it didn’t leave me with much hope that Zoe and Mr. Dean would either. I showed her to my luxuriously appointed bedroom and en-suite, that I used to use when I was working a case at night, to save me going home and coming back again in the morning. I rarely used it now, except to freshen up or get changed if I was going out after work. Not that I did that a lot either, except for the last few weeks with Greg. Another crisis I’d have to face before the day was out. I realised I hadn’t even had time to open the card that came with the roses. Zoe reappeared, looking a little more composed.

  ‘I really hope everything works out for you,’ I said, genuinely. She wasn’t a bad girl, she’d just acted stupidly.

  ‘Thanks, Miss McQueen. I’m sorry I let you down.’

  ‘So don’t let it happen in your next job, be the best that you can be, you’re responsible for another life, Zoe. No more risks.’ I opened the door and gave her shoulder a reassuring rub as she walked out. I quickly closed it, leaning back on it as I covered my face. Why, why, why, had she put me in that position? I shook myself down and went and sat back at my desk, activating my devices again and checking messages, then leaned over and pulled out the card that came with the bouquet of roses.

  I sat back in my chair, holding the card as I read it again. He really thought it was amazing? If he’d said God, last night was a disaster, let’s try again then I wouldn’t have been as concerned. But if he thought that was amazing, much as I loved spending time with him, he wasn’t the man for me. Maybe if I had no form of sex drive, I could have overlooked that side of our relationship, but I was thirty years old, I was still in my sexual prime. According to some magazines, I hadn’t even reached it yet. I wasn’t prepared to be in, potentially, a very satisfying relationship in all areas but the bedroom. I closed my eyes as I pondered my dilemma, tapping the card on my desk. I liked Greg too much to walk away after one disastrous night and Violet was right, I needed to give him another chance, but I also needed to be honest, to tell him that the sex hadn’t blown my mind and for me, it was a very important part of a healthy relationship. I picked up my phone and dialled him, but it went straight to his answer machine.

  ‘Greg, it’s Lulu. Thank you so much for the beautiful flowers, I love them. I can’t do tonight I’m afraid, I already have plans, but I’m free Saturday night. Give me a call and let me know if that works for you. Bye’

  I headed out to make myself another coffee, then settled back down at my desk and got on with some work.

  I pulled my car carefully into the double car stacker, in the garage of my Knightsbridge town house, then headed into the hall, locking up behind me.

  ‘Darling, I’m home,’ I called, as I opened the door to the large, ground floor kitchen, dining and family room. A huge smile broke out on my face as Tristan yelled and shot off the sofa, haring across the room towards me. I crouched down and caught him in my arms, lifting him up as he flung his arms around my neck and kissed me.

  ‘Mummy, I missed you,’ he sighed.

  ‘I missed you too,’ I replied, as I kissed his soft dark hair. He was my plan for the night. I hadn’t seen him since I left for work yesterday morning, with staying over at Greg’s last night. Tristan was the reason I had my three month rule. I didn’t sleep with anyone until we’d dated for that long. I wanted to know they had potential to fit into mine and my son’s life first, so if they passed the three month dating test, sex came next and if that didn’t end the relationship, then I’d be ready to think about bringing them back to my house to meet him. Sadly, no one had ever made it past the last step. Very few even made it to the stage that I slept with them. Tristan had never seen me with a boyfriend. As far as he was concerned, it was just the two of us. ‘Were you a good boy for Grandma?’ I asked, giving her a raised questioning eyebrow over his shoulder. She smiled and nodded.

  ‘Of course I was, Mummy. I’m always a good boy.’

  ‘You are my darling. Mummy’s missed you so much. Let me look at you.’ He pulled his head back, a big s
mile all over his little face and I laughed and kissed the tip of his nose. He was a gorgeous looking little boy, all mothers would probably say the same, but he was in a different league. Dark brown hair, verging on black in hue, rich brown eyes with amber flecks and long dark lashes. He was going to be as good looking as his father. I sighed at the memory of him, then kissed Tristan’s nose again, making him giggle and repeat the gesture on mine. ‘Mummy’s had a stressful day and doesn’t fancy cooking. Would you like a Chinese takeaway?’

  ‘Yes please,’ he smiled, his little dimples making my heart ache.

  ‘Are you going to join us, Mum?’ I asked, as I walked over to where she was standing by the large, comfortable squashy sofa, watching us.

  ‘No, you enjoy your night together. I’ll get home, you know your dad, master spy he may have been, but he’ll probably have starved rather than attempt to cook for himself,’ she smiled. I laughed and kissed her cheek. She was a stunning woman, I owed all of my good genes to her. Rich brown glossy hair, the most unusual amber eyes, the rarest of all eye colours, a small straight nose and exquisite bone structure. We could almost be mistaken for sisters, as she looked nowhere near her age. She was a beauty model and her face was still in demand, even in her late fifties. Her agency had begged me to join them, but I’d grown tired of everyone thinking all I had to offer was my looks, that’s what had made me determined to succeed in business. Yes, my business was still about my looks, it would be a waste not to put them to some use, but this way I got to use my brain as well.

  ‘Give him my love. We could come over tomorrow, after our trip to the zoo?’ I laughed as Tristan squealed with joy. I wasn’t sure, out of the two of us, who enjoyed our monthly visit to the zoo more. It was a ritual, one I’d never break until he was too old to enjoy it anymore. The first weekend of every month I made sure I was free all day Saturday and Sunday, to spend quality time with him. I even turned off my work mobile from leaving the office on a Friday, to when I returned on a Monday morning. They knew it didn’t matter what emergency came up, I wasn’t dealing with it. Work had a habit of encroaching on my evenings and weekends as it was, after all my business wasn’t exactly a typical nine to five one, I deserved time off and he deserved to have me all to himself. He deserved so much more than I could ever offer him. I’d never dreamed of becoming a single parent, I’d wanted a happy marriage like my parents, but life hadn’t worked out that way for us.