Deceptive Nights (15 page)

She loved Jacoby.

Staring at the phone, she wondered if she
should make the attempt to call and speak with him. Assure him she
was just doing this as a favor for Lawrence to help him get this
account by buttering up the client with the children. Obviously the
ploy had worked because Lawrence had come here just to ask Mr.
Quinn for a trial period for computer services to his five
different business ventures that needed server service. Yet by the
end of dinner, Mr. Quinn was thinking about signing Lawrence’s
company to a five year a little over five million dollar deal. That
would be wonderful for his company and Lawrence looked ready to
pass out.

Picking up the receiver, she started to dial
Jacoby’s phone number, but then changed her mind. Even though Mr.
Quinn had said it was all right to make long distance calls, she
didn’t want to over extend her privileges. Hanging up, she sighed
wistfully with a grave sense of dread.

Lying down in bed, she glanced back at the
phone wondering if she had made the right decision.

Chapter 18

They returned early Sunday morning and she
put the twins to bed immediately then with her mother checked the
house. Patricia called her to the back porch where there were
overturned planters. They looked at each other knowingly.

“
Do you think he knew we
were out of town?” Phoebe asked worriedly, wrapping her arms around
her waist from an invisible chill creeping through her
senses.

Patricia started straightening up the
planters. “I think so. I guess that alarm system did come in
handy.”

“
Momma, why would he be
watching us?”

“
He’s broke. He has nowhere
to go. He thinks he can get back in like Flynn because of what he
thinks he can do to you. Men are so one tracked. I know that ass
like the back of my hand and in about a couple of days I bet he
shows his broke ass up on our doorway making apologies.” Patricia
was clearly perturbed.

Phoebe had been thinking the same thing and
didn’t feel so bad to think such things now that her mother had
said the same thing. “I’m going to unpack then check my emails.
I’ll cook tonight. You’ve had a long weekend Momma, get some rest,
okay?”

“
Yes baby.” She kissed her
daughter’s cheek then looked into Phoebe’s eyes as if trying to
read her thoughts. “Can he get back in, Phoebe?”

Without hesitation, Phoebe said, “No, Mother,
I no longer love Daniel or fawn over him. And I won’t let him hurt
me again.” These words she was sure of.

****

Abraham Blue was a big man of six feet five
and three hundred pounds. He missed no meals, and was the best
negotiating lawyer Jacoby had ever met. He had a son and daughter,
who were also lawyers and worked with their father learning how to
be the best like him. Yet, as big as Abraham was, his looks belied
his gentle side.

So it wasn’t odd that when he met Jacoby and
Desmond at Fishbone’s in Downtown Detroit for lunch on Monday, he
gave them spine breaking big bear hugs. His laughter boomed to the
ceiling because he was very happy to see them and tell them of the
wonderful time in Davenport, Ohio. He had the papers for Jacoby to
sign, and the layout plans for Desmond to work on for new software
and computer systems.

Desmond was slightly perturbed because of
what Jacoby had done earlier that morning for Phoebe, but he kept
his comments to himself being reserved and defensive. Jacoby didn’t
really care how Desmond felt about his relationship with Phoebe,
but he at least expected Desmond to be a little happy he had found
a woman he could trust and wanted to be with. Desmond was always
saying how Lawrence and Jacoby needed to find good women and settle
down like he was about to do, yet now that Jacoby had found one, it
was as if Desmond was dreading that it had happened.

Jacoby concentrated on the meeting and not on
what Desmond thought of his involvement with Phoebe.

“
You bought yourself a
steal. This company’s on the cutting edge of setting up Internet
research technology that people will pay big money for. There is so
much information the company has, it was just never filed and
managed properly. I figure with a great computer program, the
information to cure the Ebola virus might be hidden in all that
shit they’ve complied. Hey Jake, did you ever find yourself an
office manager for Detroit?”

Jacoby sighed tiredly, “Not yet, but I had
plans to steal someone in particular.” A wicked smile graced his
lips.

Desmond’s eyes widened. “You can’t be
serious. Madeline would be a fool to let her go.”

“
Madeline doesn’t know how
to appreciate a good thing,” Jacoby protested.

Abraham agreed wholeheartedly, “She sure as
hell knows how to take advantage of people though. That bitch don’t
fool me with her pretty looks and soft style of speech. She’d screw
the pope out of his robe if she needed it to make a penny.”

“
I think you all are being
pretty harsh on her,” Desmond said defensively. “Madeline’s helped
us in a lot of ways, with contacts, setups and so on.”

“
To get something out of
us,” Jacoby said, matter of fact. “You don’t think she doesn’t know
we’re using her? She’s all business, Desmond. You’re only charging
her about fifty percent less than what you charge other clients.
When she doesn’t need us anymore, she’ll throw us to the
curb.”

Abraham added, “Let’s just hope we can get up
and walk away if that happens too soon, but I can tell you now, I’m
getting mine and getting gone before that bitch decides to throw me
to the curb.”

Desmond shook his head. “I haven’t seen one
deceitful bone in Madeline’s body.”

Jacoby asked, “So inviting me to stay at her
place while I’m in town is no indication she is up to something?
When we both have an understanding that we won’t be seeing each
other anymore.”

“
No. She’s only being a
friend,” Desmond defended.

“
My ass she is, Desmond.
That woman’s got something up her sleeve and I don’t trust
her.”

“
You don’t trust any
woman,” Abraham pointed out.

“
I bet you trust Phoebe,”
Desmond said quietly.

“
Who’s Phoebe?” Abraham
asked, seeing the tension between the friends.

“
Madeline’s office manager
that your client decided to dip his tool in, while dipping in the
boss too.”

“
I didn’t know she was her
manager when I was dipping and I told you Madeline and I had an
arrangement. I used her and she used me for one
purpose.”

“
You mean that girl
Maddie’s been bragging she got for a peso, but she’s worth her
weight in gold?” Abraham asked, sucking greedily on some
crawfish.

Jacoby was far from hungry and pushed his
plate away. “Yes, the one and the same, Abraham.”

Abraham looked grievously. “Damn Jacoby, does
Maddie know?”

“
Not yet,” Desmond
said.

“
And when Maddie does find
out, hopefully Phoebe will be out of that situation and getting
paid what she should be getting paid.”

“
Maybe Phoebe likes it
there and you just fucked it up for her,” Desmond said angrily.
“Maybe you don’t know shit and you shouldn’t be so selfish. There
was life before you, Jacoby, and you should open your eyes before
just going after people.”

Jacoby had a feeling that Desmond was upset
about something else other than what they were really talking
about. He decided to change the subject and get Abraham out the way
before talking with Desmond.

Once the meeting was over with, Desmond and
Jacoby headed to Madeline’s apartment not too far from where they
had lunch. Madeline called Desmond on his cell phone to let him
know she was on the way over to meet them at the apartment for
testing.

“
What the hell is going
on?” Jacoby asked as they took the elevators to the fifteenth
floor.

“
I’m just saying, your
involvement in Phoebe’s life needs to be just business if you don’t
want to get hurt.”

“
Hurt by whom?
Phoebe?”

Desmond took a deep breath of regret. “Both
of you are my boys and I don’t want to see any woman come between
us, but she’s playing both of you like a deck of cards.”

The elevator doors opened as Jacoby was just
catching on to what Desmond was trying to say. They arrived
immediately at Madeline’s apartment.

“
What’s going on Desmond
that I don’t know about?” he demanded to know.

“
One day she’s with you,
the next she spending the weekend with Lawrence at Quinn’s. She’s
got you so wrapped around her finger if she unwrapped you, I think
you might fall so hard you’d never get up, but I can’t keep my
mouth closed another minute. I don’t want to see the two of you
hurt. Lawrence likes her a lot and so do you, but the way it looks,
she could give a fig about either one of you.”

The door to the apartment opened and Lawrence
stood there innocently. “It’s about time-” He was cut short as
Jacoby’s fist connected with his jaw.

Desmond held Jacoby back from taking another
swing.

Jacoby exclaimed furiously looking heatedly
at Lawrence, who was still in shock over the blow. “You son of a
bitch, you knew how I felt about her and you still tried to move in
on her!” Jacoby fought to be released from Desmond, but Desmond
wouldn’t let go.

“
I’m the son of a bitch?”
Lawrence said, coming to his senses and realizing what Jacoby was
mad about. “I’m not the one trying to buy her pussy.” He suckered
punched Jacoby back in the jaw.

Desmond was knocked back from the force of
the blow and released Jacoby. Jacoby wasted no time swinging back
and landed several punches to Lawrence’s mid section, before he was
tackled against the wall and Lawrence gave him two sharp blows to
the stomach.

They were oblivious to the fight until
Phoebe’s voice screamed, “Stop! Stop! Dammit Stop!”

They looked around to see Madeline, Simon,
and Phoebe standing in the apartment staring at them as if they had
lost their mind.

Jacoby shoved Lawrence away and faced Phoebe
directly. “Was this all a game for you? Did you have fun fucking us
both? How much did he have to pay for your pussy, bitch?”

The room was so quiet, a 747 flying above
could be heard clearly.

Phoebe’s eyes narrowed to slits as her hand
came up and slapped him as hard as she could. The slap didn’t seem
to budge her, but the stinging in her hand was evident as she held
it close to her chest. She turned and ran out the apartment.

Lawrence shoved Jacoby out the way and
followed Phoebe out. Jacoby looked over at Madeline, then turned
away and went into the bathroom not caring how Desmond decided to
straighten things out.

Chapter 19

Phoebe made it down to the street looking
around desperately for a cab as the tears fought to escape her.
Lawrence pulled up beside her and honked the horn. She ignored him
still searching for a cab.

“
Get in, Phoebe,” he
ordered unlocking the doors.

“
I don’t want anything to
do with either one of you. Just stay the hell away from me,
Lawrence,” she ordered, wiping her wet face with the back of her
hand.

“
You don’t mean that, now
get in the car and let’s discuss this,” he insisted blocking her
from crossing a street by pulling his white Lincoln Continental,
with burgundy furnishings interior, in front of her.

She knew the bus station was a long way from
where she was and she had on heels instead of her walking shoes,
she regularly changed into before leaving work. Reluctantly she sat
in the passenger seat, but kept her eyes straight holding her purse
close to her chest as if at any moment she would jump out the car
and make a run for it.

He drove - slowly - going towards her office,
which was two minutes from Madeline’s new apartments.

“
Look, I told you what
happened between you and Jacoby meant nothing to me,” he insisted.
“I still want to be friends, Phoebe.”

“
It’s not you, Lawrence,”
she said in all honesty. “I don’t want to have anything else to do
with Jacoby and since you’re his close friend, I don’t think we
should see each other anymore.”

“
I value your friendship
Phoebe. I don’t want to lose that. Please don’t deny me this little
pleasure that I treasure.” He pulled near the side of her office
building, which was near Cadillac Square. “Plus, hopefully Desmond
will work out what just happened and you’ll be alright in
Madeline’s book. You did nothing wrong in my opinion to Madeline.
How could you have known you were getting involved with a guy
already involved with someone else. He’s the one that needs to do
all the explaining not you. I think he would be wrong to blame all
this on you. You’re the innocent one in all of this. Don’t feel
guilty because he should have made some indication to Madeline that
he wasn’t going to be just hers.”

Phoebe bit her lip staring deep into
Lawrence’s cool brown eyes. What was Lawrence’s game? Even though
his words sounded sincere, he didn’t sound as if he knew anything
about Madeline and Jacoby’s arrangement. Phoebe knew more than
Lawrence did about the arrangement. Why was he trying to make her
hate Jacoby? Did he really want to be with her that bad? Did he
really have true feelings about her? Was that what he was trying to
do and should she try to become more with him, since he didn’t care
about what she did with Jacoby?

Looking away, not wanting to show her
doubtfulness to Lawrence, she said, “I just need time to think
about us, Lawrence. You are a good friend, but I do have a lot of
personal issues I need to work out before I even think about having
close friends in my life.”