The note would do the trick. Donald Baranski was nothing if not tenacious. He slipped the folded paper into the briefcase that luckily sat open on Brad Martin's desk. As he sauntered back to his office, he offered a wink and a smile to the secretary. She blushed prettily, but his tastes ran a little richer these days. He spied the boss's daughter coming towards him and straightened his tie. Speak of the devil, he thought with a wicked grin.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Evangeline Martin walked towards her father's office. She noticed that her father's secretary, Miss LeDeux, gave her a jealous scowl. Then she saw her father's partner Donald Baranski staring at her. His eyes were as dark as his mahogany colored hair. He was a handsome man, but there was something unsettling about the way he leered at her.
Evangeline was more than the rich daddy's girl many people believed. She prided herself on her savvy business sense and her killer shoes. Nothing else mattered to her, least of all people's opinions. She was too busy making a name for herself in the fashion marketing industry to take time for her private life, which was sadly lacking.
Relationships were superficial. Her last boyfriend had been so obsessed with her that she found herself working longer hours and finding excuses to break their dates. When he confronted her about it, she ended the relationship. She had no friends to speak of. Men or women, it didn't matter; they all brought drama.
If there was one thing Evangeline despised, it was drama. When it came to business, she could charm the pants off a priest. In the business world, negotiations and deals were part of a game she could easily manipulate to her advantage. But outside of these office walls, when she was merely Evangeline, not Miss Martin VP, she felt inadequate.
She shivered as she brushed past Mr. Baranski. An odor of overpowering cologne and faint cigar smoke wafted off him. "You look lovely today Miss Martin." His voice was pleasant, but Evangeline wanted nothing more than to be away from him.
"Thank you," she replied, smiling sweetly. "If you'll excuse me, I have a few things to attend to." She entered her father's office and shut the door behind her.
Making her way to his desk, she saw her briefcase sitting on the top. Her father had given her that briefcase for Christmas last year; it was identical to his. It wasn't the first time her father had been in such a hurry that he'd grabbed the wrong case. She smiled at the thought of her father.
She was about to close it when she saw the small folded note. Evangeline opened it and felt the blood rush to her head as she read it. The note was one sentence:
Mr. Martin. If you want continued safety for your daughter,
you will meet my demands. ~ X
Blackmail? Evangeline stared at the note in horror. Her father was in meetings all afternoon, and she needed to know the meaning behind this. She would leave a message for him to meet her for dinner. He's not telling me something. I have to know. She scrawled a quick note and left it on his desk. Then grabbing her briefcase, she returned to her office and buried herself in work, ignoring the foreboding creeping up her spine.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Cedric snapped his cell phone shut and placed it back in his hip holster. This job was wearing on his nerves. The rich old man was paranoid, but he paid good money to have his daughter taken care of. He had hired Cedric several weeks ago to keep a watchful eye on his protégé, his little girl.
He scoffed. Little girl, he thought, hell, she is a full grown woman with a full blown attitude. The first time he saw Evangeline Martin, his heart had nearly stopped. She was a looker with a mane of long black curls framing a deceptively angelic face. He knew from his research that she was a lion in this industry. Thanks to Daddy and his deep pockets, he figured.
