Sugar Rush (2 page)

Jeff Barnett sat patiently
in his car, waiting for the light to change. His fingers absently tapped on the
edge of his steering wheel, in rhythm to the song playing on the car’s radio.
The windows were down, letting in the cool breeze. It was a sunny January
morning, and the few white clouds in the sky were quickly dissolving into the
blue canvas. If the weather reports were to be believed, by mid-noon the
temperatures would reach the seventies. 

He watched as a young
woman hastily traversed the crosswalk, impatient to reach her destination.  An
oversized leather handbag was draped from her right shoulder, and she held it
tightly to her side as if it contained something of great value. He noticed she
kept looking behind her, as if she was being followed. He found himself
glancing in the direction she kept looking, but saw nothing suspicious.

 The oversized bag
looked awkward on her small frame; he doubted she was even five-feet,
five-inches tall. Forgetting for a moment the local high school was out for
winter break, he first assumed she was a high school student late for class and
the bag held her books.

When she reached the
middle of the crosswalk and glanced his way, he realized he guessed wrong. He
knew that face. While he’d never seen it in person, he’d spent enough time
admiring her portrait in his employer’s office. She was Ethan Beaumont’s
granddaughter, Lexi Beaumont.

Jeff wondered where she
was going in such a hurry and why she was walking. He and Ethan had just
arrived home from Europe early that morning, and he was under the impression
Beaumont was anxious to see his granddaughter, so he was surprised that his
employer had summoned him to the estate. Jeff would have appreciated some down
time, but as Ethan Beaumont’s executive assistant, that was rarely possible.

Jeff wasn’t too annoyed
at the summons, because he assumed this would be his opportunity to finally
meet Lexi Beaumont. He’d been working for his current employer for almost two
years, and in all that time he had never met the young heiress. Either she was
off at school or—when she was home for the holidays or summer break—he was
typically at one of the company’s European offices, handling some situation for
his employer.

While observing Lexi,
he heard a horn honk, and both he and Lexi glanced toward the sound. A red
Volkswagen bug had pulled up along the curb in the cross street. He looked back
to Lexi and noticed she was now smiling and waving at whomever was in the car.
It was obviously her ride. That somewhat explained why she didn’t have her car,
but he wondered briefly why her friend hadn’t picked Lexi up at the estate.

Perhaps she simply
enjoyed a morning walk. He did. Of course, that didn’t exactly fit the picture
he had of Lexi Beaumont, as described by her grandfather. Some girls enjoyed a
vigorous hike in the fresh air, while others enjoyed a comfortable ride in a
limousine. According to Ethan Beaumont, his granddaughter was the second type
of girl.

She was dressed
casually in denims, a hoody, and jogging shoes. He wasn’t sure what she wore
under the hoody. He would never have expected her to be out in public dressed
like this. The Lexi Beaumont he’d heard about was a high maintenance ball of
fluff—sexy and cute, but more an accessory on some man’s arm than a standalone
woman. From what Jeff knew, this girl would be more comfortable wearing trendy
designer clothes and stylish but uncomfortable high heels, and certainly not
carrying that enormous handbag.

When discussing his
granddaughter, Beaumont insisted he loved her, and only wanted what was in her
best interests, yet explained he knew her limitations and purpose. While Jeff
was never attracted to empty-headed nymphs, he liked to look, and even in the
casual garb, Lexi Beaumont was nice to look at.

The light turned green
seconds before Lexi reached the Volkswagen. Jeff was just driving through the
intersection when she got into the car. A few moments later, he glanced up into
his rearview mirror and watched the Volkswagen drive off in the opposite
direction.

The massive wrought
iron gate guarding the front entrance to the Beaumont estate was open when Jeff
arrived a few minutes later. He turned into the private lane, driving his car
over the red-paver driveway that led up to the main house.

He immediately noticed
the silver Honda Accord parked along the edge of the drive. That was probably Lexi’s
car, he guessed. Perhaps Ethan was punishing his granddaughter for not parking
the automobile in the garage, which would explain her morning walk. Ethan
Beaumont was almost obsessive about parking his cars in the rear garage.

Jeff found his employer
waiting for him in the study. The elderly man sat behind his oversized mahogany
desk, talking on the phone when Jeff entered. Ethan waved him into the room and
pointed to the chair facing the desk.

“I believe I saw your
granddaughter,” Jeff said, when Ethan finished his call and placed the handset
back in its cradle.

“Did you? How did you
know it was her?” Beaumont studied his young assistant.

Barnett hadn’t changed
his clothes since the two parted ways early that morning at the airport. The
younger man still wore tan slacks and a red-and-tan golf shirt. He hadn’t had
an opportunity to shave in over 24 hours, and the thick stubble covering his
normally clean-shaven face distracted from his preppy look. Even his neatly
trimmed, light brown hair looked uncharacteristically disheveled.

Not as tall as
Beaumont, the twenty-six year old assistant’s stocky physique barely reached 5’
11” in height. Regular trips to the gym kept the younger man’s muscular body in
prime shape.

“The portrait,” Jeff
explained.

“Yes, that portrait is
a remarkable likeness. Excellent artist. Where did you see her?”

“She was getting into a
red Volkswagen, at the Mission and Third Street intersection.”

“Ah, very good. Then
you’re ahead of the game.”

“Excuse me?”

“That’s why I called
you here. You’re the only one I trust to handle the situation.”

Jeff didn’t respond. He
sat, silently listening, curious about how getting a glimpse of the
granddaughter had anything to do with his job.

“What I’m about to tell
you is to be kept in the strictness confidence.”

“Certainly, sir.” Jeff
sat up a little straighter in the chair, focusing on every word.

“It’s been arranged for
some time that my granddaughter and Jerome Peters are to be married.”

Jeff didn’t respond to
the news, although it wasn’t what he expected to hear. Jerome Peters was much
older than Lexi, and not a particularly handsome man. Actually, that was a bit
of an understatement.  Behind Peters’ back, Jeff overheard a couple of the
women from the office refer to Peters as a troll. Beaumont’s partner was,
however, a very wealthy man. It was not unusual for attractive young women to
marry rich older men, even when those men looked like trolls.

“Let’s just say the
girl has had a change of heart. Lexi’s always had a bit of a rebellious streak,
like her father. Of course, I can’t let that personality flaw destroy her
future like it did my son’s. Soon, she’ll discover she was behaving rashly, and
come back home and do what is the best for her future. In the meantime, I can’t
have the vulnerable girl exploited by some opportunist who might seduce her or
lead her down some unsavory path. I need you to keep an eye on her, and report
back to me what she’s doing.”

“You want me to spy on
her?” Jeff asked, trying to conceal his distaste for such an assignment.

“I want you to put her
under surveillance. You have the necessary technical skills. I’m sure you’re
perfectly capable of setting up some sort of concealed recording device. I
don’t want her to know she’s being watched. It’s for her own good.”

“Yes, sir.” Jeff
shifted uneasily in the chair, wondering how long this little assignment would
last. While he wouldn’t mind spending time watching the lovely, yet not-too-bright
Lexi Beaumont, the thought of bugging the girl made him uncomfortable.

“The red Volkswagen
belongs to her friend, Angie. That will put you ahead of the game; we now know
where she went. Before you leave, I’ll get you the address. I imagine she
called Angie from her cell phone, when she left here, asking for a ride. I
suppose I should have anticipated that, and had her cell phone disconnected.
I’ll take care of that later.”

“I don’t understand.”

“My granddaughter’s had
it very easy since she moved here. She thinks that, now that she has graduated
from college, she’s free to do whatever she wants. That is technically true, of
course, but she doesn’t realize that to earn her freedom, she can’t expect me
to pay her way. When she learns the world is not so easy when someone isn’t
picking up the tab, she’ll be back, and do what is ultimately best for her
future. Someone like her can’t survive on her own. Unfortunately, she’s just
like her mother. I need to teach her a lesson, before she gets herself in
serious trouble. That’s why I need you to keep an eye on her. Report back to me;
let me know what she’s planning.”

Beaumont’s words
sounded a little odd to Jeff.
Didn’t he just say she was like her father? Is
she like her father, mother, or both?
Jeff wished he had the luxury to tell
Beaumont he hadn’t been hired to babysit or play Sherlock. Unfortunately, he
couldn’t risk being abruptly terminated. In the current economy, one needed to
be employed before finding a new job. He understood how lucky he had been to
land such a well-paying position after completing his Master’s Degree. Perhaps
it wasn’t his dream job, as he was often sent on tedious tasks, but it did
include interesting travel and good medical benefits.

Beaumont handed Jeff a debit
card and told him how much he could spend. Jeff thought the budget was
excessive, considering the task. Ethan rummaged through some index cards on his
desk, until he found what he was looking for. He handed a card to Jeff. It was
the contact information for Lexi’s friend, Angie.

“Assuming Lexi will be staying
with her friend, I want you to rent an apartment at Angie’s complex. Try to get
one as close to her unit as possible. Lexi will undoubtedly be staying there.
Purchase whatever you need to set up surveillance.

“As soon as you can
verify she’s there and has her computer and camera with her, contact me
immediately. I’ll be filing theft charges this afternoon, and will need to know
where she and the stolen merchandise are.”

“You’re having your
granddaughter arrested?” Jeff was appalled and forgot to conceal his reaction.
Ethan only chuckled at his assistant’s response.

“Don’t worry. I don’t
intend to have her actually hauled down to the police station and locked up. I
don’t believe Jerome would care for a wife with an arrest record, and I
certainly don’t want our family name tainted. It’s just to scare her a little,
and force her to give up her precious electronics. If she wants a fancy
computer and camera, she can get a job and buy her own. Consider this necessary
character building.”

“Once you file charges,
won’t they have to take her in?”

“Perhaps I misspoke. Technically
I’m not filing charges at this time. Just a nice chat with the police chief, who
is an old friend of mine.”

Jeff was relieved Ethan
Beaumont didn’t intend to have the granddaughter arrested. Had that been the
case, he might be forced to turn down the assignment and risk losing his job. It
would be difficult to find a new position if his former employer refused to
give him a recommendation, something that would probably happen if he crossed
Beaumont.

As he left the estate,
he was approached by the housekeeper, who passed on some disturbing information
regarding Lexi and her grandfather. It heightened his hesitancy about the
unsavory assignment.

Reluctantly, Jeff
followed his boss’s instructions. His first stop was to the bank to pull out
some cash using the debit card Beaumont had given him. The next stop was an
electronic shop to pick up surveillance equipment. Questions of moral ethics
and the legality of using such equipment made him uncomfortable, yet he made
the purchase.  The final stop would be the Hillcrest Apartments, where Angie
lived, to see if there were any vacancies.

“I still find it hard
to believe, even for your grandfather,” Angie said as she led the way into her
apartment and tossed the keys on her kitchen counter. Lexi followed her friend
and closed the door behind them. “Isn’t Jerome Peters that creepy little man who
finds it impossible to keep his hands to himself?”

“I’m afraid so. But to
his credit, he’s never
accidentally
touched me when Grandfather was in
the room.”

“Gross. And your
grandfather expected you to marry him?”

“I confess; this one
totally caught me off guard. While walking to meet you, I kept running the
morning over in my mind, asking myself how I might have handled the situation
differently. But I couldn’t come up with anything.”

“I still can’t believe
he kept your clothes! What does he think he’s going to do with them?”

“I imagine he’ll throw
them away. I really don’t care about the clothes, but I have a couple of boxes
in my closet upstairs that I should have grabbed. But I was so desperate to get
out of there before he asked for my computer and camera—since he paid for
those, like he did the car.”

“I thought they were
birthday gifts.”

“Yes, all three were
gifts, but Grandfather giveth and Grandfather taketh away.”

“The old bastard. What
was in the boxes?”

Although Lexi
considered Angie her best friend, they had known each other for less than two
years, having met during their junior year at college. They had initially met at
a party hosted by a mutual friend. Once they realized they were both going to
the same school, and each would be graduating in December instead of June, they
had decided to see what else they had in common.

Lexi had majored in
graphic design and Angie in photography. Angie came from a close-knit family,
with supportive parents and overbearing brothers, while Lexi had been raised by
her wealthy and emotionally detached grandfather.

“Some sentimental stuff
from my parents. After they were killed, he hired someone to clean out our
house—got rid of everything—before selling the property. He never even asked me
if I wanted anything, and I was still in shock. I never thought to ask. Hell, I
was only ten at the time.”

“So, what was in the
boxes, if he got rid of everything?”

“My parents had some
really close friends, Joe and Carolyn Manning. They didn’t have kids, but I
remember they were always really nice to me, and they often vacationed with us.
I remember one year going to Hawaii. It was a blast.

“After my parent’s
funeral, I only saw them one other time. They stopped by my grandfather’s
house. It was probably a month after the funeral. Grandfather was on one of his
business trips, and I was left with the housekeeper. They brought me two boxes,
filled with random stuff like photographs and some things Mom had loaned Carolyn,
but hadn’t yet been returned.

“Carolyn and Joe stood
up for my parents when they eloped, and she had some great pictures. Those were
in the box, along with photos from trips we’d all taken. Fortunately, I scanned
all the pictures a long time ago, so those aren’t really lost to me, but I
would like to get the originals back.”

“Lexi, if you say your
grandfather sold your parent’s house, wouldn’t that be your money?”

Lexi laughed ruefully
at the question. “I asked him that when I was in high school. I confronted my
grandfather once, and he informed me my father had borrowed a considerable
amount of money from him. When my parents died, and their estate was
liquidated, all proceeds went to pay off my grandfather.”

“I really don’t
understand how you’ve been as nice to him as you have all these years,
considering the mind games he loves to play.”

“It’s all about
control. Grandfather has an obsessive need to control everything around him. He
tried it with my father and failed. I’m all he has left.”

“I never understood why
your parents appointed him as your guardian, especially considering their
relationship with him. Hell, my sister-in-law made a point to make me guardian
of her and my brother’s son, if something happened to them. She said her
parents would be the last people she’d want to raise Joey.”

“I suppose my dad loved
his father. Maybe he felt Grandfather was in the best position to give me what
I needed financially, since my parents died broke. And I suppose that was true,
to an extent. I went to good schools; I never went hungry. And even though he
took the car back, he can’t take away my education. I’m pretty lucky to have a
degree and no student loans.”

“True. And you still
have your computer and camera, which will help generate some income until you
land a job. You can stay with me, like we planned.”

“Something about the
computer and camera is bugging me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t think my
grandfather expected me to walk away from the car so quickly. I’ve a feeling he
assumes I’ll come home after I think about it. But I won’t, and knowing him, he’ll
start obsessing on the camera and computer. I have this gut feeling he’ll want
them back.”

“Well, tell the old
bastard to shove it, because they belong to you now!”

“I suppose, but just in
case,” Lexi opened her bag and removed the laptop. She placed it on Angie’s
kitchen table and turned it on. The password to Angie’s Wi-Fi was already in
the computer, so when the laptop powered on, it immediately connected.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to move some
of my files to my Dropbox and change some security settings. If my Grandfather
finds a way to get this back—and knowing him, he will—I don’t want any of my
personal files left behind.”

“Now you’re just being
paranoid.” Angie scoffed. “If he was going to take it away from you, he would
have already. Anyway, I’m not about to let that old bastard into this
apartment.”

“I’ve just learned to
never underestimate my grandfather. Plus, I find it especially unsettling that
I didn’t see the Jerome Peters thing coming. He totally slipped that one by me.
This is precisely the reason I got my own cell phone.”

“I always thought it
was kind of strange, having two phones, especially when your Grandfather was
paying the phone bill.”

“Right, and the minute
he’s mad at me, he yanks away the phone, and all the numbers I’ve saved are
gone. I don’t think so. Did you forget the story I told you about how quickly
he sold Cricket when I got in trouble at camp?”

Angie remembered hearing
about the incident. It had been devastating for Lexi, to lose the horse she
loved, especially so because her parents had given it to her the year before
their death. But her grandfather had stubbornly sold the animal, insisting he
had every right to, since it was his money that paid for the horse’s keep, and
if she could so easily throw away money he spent on camp, then she didn’t
deserve the horse.

It was true that she had
never wanted to go to camp—that was something Ethan insisted she do each
summer. He certainly didn’t want a young girl underfoot when school was out.
But she hadn’t caused the incident that had gotten her sent home. She was the
victim. Ethan Beaumont wasn’t interested in some story about how the orphan had
become the target of several rich girls, teased unmercifully and forced to
endure one cruel prank after another, until one prank caused a fire in the dorm
and it was Lexi who was blamed. Without a guardian’s support, no one was
interested to hear her side of the tale. The next summer, she was sent to a
different camp.

“When looking back, I
think the worst part was that Grandfather made me feel guilty, as if my actions
forced him to sell her. Now that I’m older, I understand he was looking for an
excuse to get rid of her. He planned it all along. He was just waiting for me
to slip up so he could use it as one of his
lessons
.  Had it not been
the trouble at camp, it would have been something else.”

When Lexi finished
removing the files from her laptop and updating her security settings, she
turned the computer off.

“You don’t have to work
at all today?” Lexi asked her friend.

“No. I cancelled the
photo shoot after you called the second time.”

“Then, do you think you
could take me to the mall? I need to pick up some clothes, a toothbrush, and a
few other things.”

“It’s too bad we don’t
wear the same size, then you could just borrow some of my clothes for now, and
slowly build your wardrobe.”

“The only thing I’m
getting at the mall, in the way of clothes, is something nice to wear on a job
interview and some underwear. I thought we could stop at the thrift store after
the mall. For now, this girl is dressing budget. I’m not about to blow my
savings on a new wardrobe.”

* * *

Jeff was rather pleased
with himself. Lucky for him and his employer, the apartment complex had a
number of vacancies, including a furnished unit across the walkway from Angie’s.
It was one of the few complexes in town that rented short-term. Confident the
manager would run a background check and see he was already renting an
apartment nearby, Jeff told the manager he only needed the unit for the rest of
January, as his apartment was currently being renovated. The moment he told the
falsehood he regretted it, realizing he had no idea if the manager had any
knowledge of his complex. When the manager didn’t seem that interested in the
information, Jeff told himself he was being paranoid.
I’d make a crappy spy.

He wasn’t sure what he
was going to do or how he would proceed. Although he was tech savvy and would
be perfectly capable of bugging the apartment or hacking into Lexi’s computer,
he wasn’t prepared to do either of those things, in spite of the fact he’d
already purchased the items necessary to bug the apartment.

Since leaving the
Beaumont estate that morning, he had cooled considerably at the notion of
playing spy, yet understood he couldn’t walk away without the risk of losing
his job. For now he would keep an eye on Lexi—from a safe distance—and
hopefully, she wouldn’t get herself in too much trouble, thus jeopardizing his
job.

Lexi and her friend
Angie were just leaving the apartment when he was unlocking the door to the
unit he’d just rented. So as not to be seen, he quickly ducked into his
apartment and shut the door behind him, leaving it open just a crack so he
might overhear the girls as they walked by the door.

From their conversation,
it was obvious they were on their way to the mall. A moment later, he looked
outside and watched as the two climbed into the red Volkswagen and drove away.
Jeff opened his apartment door and went outside again. He stepped off the
sidewalk and looked into Angie’s window. She hadn’t completely shut the blinds,
and he spied Lexi’s large handbag and a laptop computer sitting on the kitchen
table.

Jeff turned around and
went back into the apartment he had just rented, and closed the door behind
him. Pulling his cell phone from his back pocket, he called his employer.

“She left her bag with
the computer at Angie’s apartment.” Jeff explained when he had Ethan on the
phone. He assumed the laptop belonged to Lexi.

“Where did she go?”
Ethan asked.

“I overheard them say
something about the mall.”

“Did they both go?”

“Yes, they left in
Angie’s car.”

“Good job, J.B. Call me
the minute they get back.”

“Yes, sir, I will.”

Jeff took a few minutes
to look around the rented apartment. It was one bedroom, sparsely furnished,
with a tattered
Naugahyde sofa and recliner
and a particle board coffee table and end table in the living room. Smaller
than Angie’s unit, there wasn’t room for a dining room table. A breakfast bar,
separating the tiny kitchen from the living room provided dining space.

It seemed clean enough,
but the furniture was worn and outdated. There was something a little
depressing about the unit. He assumed he would be expected to sleep here, and wondered
for how long. Walking into the small bedroom, he pulled back the bedspread and
discovered there weren’t any sheets on the mattress.

He’d left his purchase
from the electronic store in the trunk of his car. Before the girls returned he
decided he’d better make a quick trip to his own apartment and pack an
overnight bag. Maybe he’d also stop at the store and pick up some beer and a
few groceries.

Giving the depressing
little abode a final glance, he turned off the overhead light and exited the
front door, locking it behind him.

On the way to his
apartment, he asked himself if perhaps this was a good time to start looking
for a new job. It was always better to find a new position before getting
fired. He didn’t have a terrific feeling about this assignment or how it would
all end. He cursed himself for getting sucked in, yet he wasn’t sure how he
might have avoided it.

Back at his own apartment,
he stayed longer than he had intended. He took a shower, happy to wash away the
hours of travel. Instead of shaving off his stubble, he decided this was a good
time to grow a beard. He’d return to his clean-shaven former self when this
assignment ended.