Sweet Revenge thriller

Chapter Fifteen

SHIVERS OF EXCITEMENT ripple. I'm finally getting somewhere.

I slam my laptop shut and make a plan. I'll start tonight, either call on him, stalk him or something. I'll get to the bottom of this one way or another. I can't wait. But in the meantime I need to work out how I'll handle him. I sit in thought for several minutes before my eyes focus on my kitchen sink. Didn't I use to be house proud? Before, well before my current situation. Slovenly describes me now. Dirty dishes... God knows how long since I'd actually washed anything... scatter across the stainless steel benchtop which when I glance at the metal bench and see dozens of angry gouges reminds me that one of my previous tenants must have had a dangerously scary temper... or was the damage done by me?

White floor tiles cover the entire apartment and need a damned good clean, not to mention my scatter rugs which now have red dots here and there...obviously I hadn't sunk all the red wine down my gullet! I walk around the coffee table which is on its side and I puzzle as to how it toppled. I leave it as it is.

I shower, wash my hair and leave the conditioner on for the longest time while I make a plan. I know where Sleaze Bag lives. He'd invited me to his place dozens of times prior to our incident.

I'm pleased it's the weekend, I'm confident he will be home at some stage. Once my mind is made up that I will call on him, and even if I have to hole up outside his apartment block for the rest of the weekend like a deranged stalker, I'm gonna get answers!

When I arrive at his residence, it doesn't look at all how he described. It's one of those tenement flats and he's on the second floor, not even facing the city. His window is less than one metre away from the adjacent tower block. I imagine his abode is dark and gloomy.

I rush up the stairs two at a time and gulp a deep breath before I knock on his door. I wonder how he is going to react to me suddenly appearing. He could slam the door in my face.

So, when Steve opens the door and creases into a smile, I am relieved, if not surprised. There is no hesitation in his demeanour. 'Red Picasso! Now you are a sight for sore eyes.' Such a cliché! However, I smile brightly and let him lead me inside his flat.

'Hey,' he starts. 'I'm glad there's no hard feelings about the other month. I'm really sorry, but, you must know you are one hot chick!' I nearly throw up as his second cliché leaves his mouth. But, still I smile warmly.

He gestures to his couch and we sit down. 'Steve,' I say, 'I need you to be straight with me. I want to know what you meant when we...you know...had that altercation in the board room.' I say it sweetly and disguise my inner turmoil as we both go back to that day.

We were in the Board Room at Provincial Securities. 'We need to go through these figures,' he told me and for the next thirty minutes we pour over the monthly financial accounts I had produced prior to the impending board meeting.

'The accounts are wrong. I was going through the numbers last night and there's an anomaly with the current debtors figures,' he had said with gusto. He then leant back in his chair and raised his eyebrows whilst taking in my reaction to his claim.

I remember being pleased he'd pointed it out, because I'd fudged the figures on purpose. I had discovered a fake invoice during the month and Steve was at the top of my list as a thief. There was something sneaky about the guy and it had nothing to do with him always having his hands in his front pockets or that his eyes were too close together. It was more on account he always seemed to click his computer screen to a screen saver whenever I came near his desk. But, pointing out a mistake in the debtors figures, proved to me he wasn't the culprit of the forged invoice.

'Oh, really?' I answered. 'I'll relook at my figures and if you're right I'll alter the accounts accordingly.'

'I am right,' he had said with a gleam in his eye. And fair enough. If I had been in his shoes right then, I would have handled it the same way.