The Devil You Know (34 page)

Rose waggled the tips of her fingers the way the Southern belles did as she jumped into the lift. She wouldn’t have any trouble from him.

Maw-Beth’s area was deserted. P,.ose passed her desk and tugged at the drawers. They weren’t locked. White’s office was locked, but this was good enough. Her heart beating wildly, she ran to the photocopier. Rose’s hands shook as she fed the papers through’ghe machine. What if MaryBeth decided to come in early? Or anybodff, for that matter? Were there more guards, doing their rounds? ,[

She carefully slotted the papers back together and fitted them back in Maw-Beth’s desk drawer. Next up, the filing room.

Rose checked her watch. Ten past six. She had a lot more papers to get through. Better speed this up …

Maw-Beth watched Rose Fiorello through narrowed lids, artfully done in a wash of green-and-gold shadow.

She couldn’t stand her. Look at her, that little cow. Thought she was better than Maw-Beth, better than all the girls here. Her wellcut clothes and minimal make-up felt like a reproach to the Southern girl. She reminded Maw-Beth of her sister Louisa who was always going on about being a ‘career girl’. Maw-Beth didn’t like Louisa all that much. either.

And somehow, this chick had scored a date with-Jacob P,.othstein! Jacob. Maw-Beth sighed. She had been concentrating her fire on Richard White, because she knew to pick the easy target. Richard was lousy in bed, though, despite the pretty trinkets he bought for her, and he showed zero signs of moving the relationship forward to

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the ring stage. But Jacob would have been a much bigger prize! Water-cooler consensus was he didn’t soil his own doorstep.

If only she’d known.

Jacob’s reputation had reached tLothstein Realty. Some of the girls avidly kept scrapbooks of his appearances in the press; the gorgeous society chicks he was seen out with seemed to change every other week.

Legendary between the sheets, gave awesome jewellery, goodlooking, and heir to … everything she saw around her.

And he wanted this little workaholic. Why, she was half a dyke! MaryBeth glared at Rose.

She wondered if there was any way to get back at her …

Rose worked tirelessly. She sat in White’s office, as usual, taking notes, but excused herself every chance she got. She’d been assigned a little cubicle in front of MaryBeth’s desk, and she sat in there shovelling photocopied documents into the briefcase she’d brought with her.

There were coffee breaks, a lunch hour …. She snuck off down the hall to the filing room whenever she could. Rose cursed herself for being lazy. She should have done this copying before now, but she hadn’t wanted to attract at{ention, and she’d thought she’d have much longer at lLothstein. Supervising the Rego Park deal was not

something she’d be able to do after hours …

‘Excuse me.’

Rose spun around, flushed with guilt. Shit. She’d been working too feverishly, had gotten careless about checking to see that the coast was clear.

MaryBeth stood there, her arms folded across her chest, one skyhigh heel tapping away furiously.

‘I’m just wondering what y’all are doing in here.’

Rose froze for just a second.

‘I’m getting some stuff for Jacob Rothstein,’ she said.

Maw-Beth sniffed. She didn’t believe her for a second, but what could she say? Just in case it was true.

Tm going to have to report this to Mr White,’ she said, and pirouetted away.

Shit. Shit. Rose had over thirty confidential leasing agreements in her briefcase, including names and addresses of some of Rothstein’s biggest customers. Hurriedly she snatched up her latest batch of papers and stuffed them into the briefcase.

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Then she stood and thought.

Come on, Rose. Come up with something. Fast.

She raced back to her cubicle. White’s door was open; she could see MaryBeth in there, gesticulating wildly to her boss. White was looking angry, standing up …

Rose went over to MaryBeth’s desk and flipped through the

company directory. Rothstein, Rothstein … here he was … She punched in his direct number and crossed her fingers. Please be there. Please be there … ‘Jacob Rothstein.’

Rose breathed out. ‘Jacob, I need your help … it’s Richard

White … can you get him off my back?’

‘What?’

‘I can’t explain fight now, but I will in a second.’

‘Rose, I don’t interfere in employee things,’ Jake said flatly. ‘Jacob …’

White was at the door now. He was frowning thunderously at her. ‘What the goddam hell are you doing on the company phone, missy?’

‘I’m just talking with Jacob,’ Rose said sweetly, covering,,the

receiver with one hand.

‘With Jacob Rothstein?’

She saw White hesitate.

“

‘Hand me the phone,’ he snapped.

‘Mr White wants to speak to you, Mr Rothstein,’ Rose said demurely.

‘Rose …’ Jake sighed. ‘Put him on. You’d better have a real good explanation for this.’

Rose handed White the phone, and stepped back.

‘She was sneaking about in the file room,’ White almost bellowed. ‘My girl caught her …’

Rose flushed a rich, hot red. Her fingers clamped around her briefcase. The executive fell silent.

‘She was? Oh, she was.’ He glanced murderously at Rose. ‘If you

say so, Jacob. Sure, I’ll send her right up.’

White hung the phone up.

‘He wants to see you. And in future, if you need to do something for Mr Rothstein, clear it with me first. We have a chain of command in these offices, Rose. Don’t think you can make an end run around me.’

‘Yes, sir,’ said Rose meekly. ‘Sorry, sir.’

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She grabbed her case, and ran to the elevators. So much for seeing

out the week; she wouldn’t be coming back here.

One down, one to go.

The lift was mercifully empty. As soon as the doors hissed shut, 1Lose dropped the case, stepped out of her shoes, and ripped off her hose and panties as fast as she could. Fumbling, she stuffed the hose into a pocket of her knee-length, bias-cut skirt, and then dropped the snatch of caramel-coloured lace into the top of her briefcase.

She had just managed to get it closed when the doors hissed open and she almost jumped out of her skin.

Jacob was standing there. And he looked furiously angry. ‘Come here.’

Rothstein grabbed her by the arm. His grip was strong, almost painful. He hustled her into his office, past a gloating Ella, and slammed the door.

‘I can’t have this, Rose. I don’t run my office that way. Favouritism.’ He passed a hand through his hair, his eyes glinting With fury. ‘I don’t want people pulling out their influence with me, bullying my employees, especially a senior VicePresident. You may not like him, but he’s been here years and he -‘

‘Jake. I couldn’t let him see what I was putting in the briefcase.’

‘You shouldn’t be putting anything in a briefcase. Why do you even need a briefcase for the notes you take …?’

Rose snapped open the brass locks and flashed him a look of the tiny scrap of lace.

1Lothstein blinked.

‘I was changing in there …’

He grinned and looked at her. ‘Mmm.’ Then he reached into the

briefcase and dangled the panties between his thumb and forefinger. ‘Jake!’ Rose hissed. His office had glass walls. ‘Cut that out.’ ‘You were planning something?’

He pulled her closer to him and ran a hand up her skirt, caressing the bare flesh.

Rose felt his touch as though it were white-hot. She stiffened and pushed him away.

‘Not here, OK? I was just going to . .’

She couldn’t think what she had just been going to do. She hadn’t expected him to touch her. Now she felt vulnerable and exposed before him. Demeaned. She wanted to ran.

‘To do what? Flash me?’

24o

‘Yes.’ Flash him, right. ‘I wanted to warm you up for Friday night.’

Jake chuckled. ‘You thought that was necessary?’

Rose dug him in the ribs and pointed to Ella, who was sitting at her desk outside Jake’s office, staring at them jealously.

‘You’re making such a big deal, you’re kind of causing a scene. I

better go back to work. See you on Friday night.’

‘Yes, you will,’ he said.

She pirouetted on her heel to leave and Jake slapped her lightly,

possessively, on the butt.

Rose fled.

As soon as she got into the lift, she punched the button for the next floor down. P,.othstein was laid out on one plan; the women’s bathrooms - small, cramped affairs - were always in the same place on every floor, in the c6rridors that stretched to the left of the elevator bank. Terrified that she would trip or catch a gust of wind or something, Rose bolted out of the lift and raced for them.

A secretary saw her and started to shout. ‘Hey! What are you doing here?’

Rose knew she looked guilty, and that she wasn’t acting like “in employee. But that was too bad. She had to pull her panties on. Sl-if bolted into the bathrooms and raced into a stall, locking it quickl}{i

Frantically, she flicked open the briefcase and retrieved her underwear, pulling it on. She wasn’t going to bother with the hose. She snapped the case shut, concealing the precious data, and let herself out, walking out into the corridor to find the secretary, a petite redhead with a blouse open one button too low, just reaching it.

‘I don’t know you. Who are you? Shall I call security?’

‘I’m tose Fiorello, I work in Dick White’s office,’ Rose said calmly. ‘I got off on the wrong floor.’

‘Richard White,’ the girl said, shocked.

‘I think of him as Dick,’ Rose replied, enjoying herself. ‘I was just seeing Jake Rothstein upstairs, I got off on the wrong floor.’

The girl scowled. Rose saw she had correctly assumed that the gossip bush telegraph had informed everybody about her putative romance with the boss.

‘Then why were you running like that?’ she demanded.

Rose put her fingertips to her forehead and made a face. ‘Sudden wave of nausea. I think it might be morning sickness. See ya.’

24I

She retreated to the elevators and hit the button for the lobby. That would give them something to talk about.

She did like leaving on a high note!

Her pulse didn’t properly slow until she got home. Rose took the papers out of her briefcase and locked them in her safe. Then she went out to the liquor store along the street and bought herself a bottle of chilled vintage champagne; Veuve Grand Cru. She popped the cork and poured a flute of the icy-cold wine, taking a big gulp,

letting the alcohol calm her and the bubbles fizz on her tongue. Well. This was it.

Rose drained the first glass, then set it down and dialled Rothstein Realty.

‘I want to talk to Joan in Human lesources.’

‘This is Joan,’ came the response after a second. Rose pictured the mousy girl sitting at her desk. This conversation would have to be handled subtly; she wanted to still the alarm bells for as long as possible.

‘Joan, this is Rose Fiorello, the intern in Richard White’s office?’ ‘Yes?’ came the unenthusiastic reply.

‘Joan’ - Rose pretended a ,sob had caught in her throat - ‘I’m afraid I’m going to have to resign as an intern. The pressure’s too much - I just don’t understand a lot of what’s going on and I don’t think I’m cut out for real estate.’

‘Uh-huh. Thought you might.’ There was undeniable relish in the other woman’s voice. ‘I did tell you that this is hard for women, you know.’ A note of reproach crept in. ‘There were a lot of guys who applied for that intern spot who didn’t get it… it’ll be too late to start anyone new on the programme now.’

‘I know. I feel really awful,’ Rose whimpered.

Yeah. How terrible that another spoilt frat-house king wasn’t gonna get his shot at Rothstein Realty, to learn greed and sexism

from the masters. She was all cut up about that.

‘You’ll need to send in your pass.’

‘I’ll drop it in the mail today,’ Rose whispered contritely. ‘Thank you for being so understanding.’

‘Yes. Well.’ The young woman sniffed. ‘You should have tried Human Resources or PR, Rose. Those are more up your alley. Leasing is very business-oriented.’

Tll remember that next time,’ Rose said solemnly.

She hung up and poured herself another glass of champagne. So

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what if it was only eleven and she hadn’t drunk in years? This was a celebration …

She took a bath, got changed into something warm and comfortable, and drank half the champagne before getting totally bored.

Face it. She just wasn’t cut out to be a lady of leisure.

Rose drove out to Queens and parked opposite the hotel.

Mmm. The potential. Great access to Manhattan, to Long Island City … Rose drew the complex in her mind. Definitely gates; a high, thick wire fence with a guardhouse. That would be much cheaper than wrought iron or brick. She would have to be careful not to over-improve, to keep her costs at a minimum.

The secret to being a wealthy seller was to give buyers what they wanted, and nothing more.

Here, that was going to be a matter of large, cheap apartments with fresh paint and linoleum, security outside, and maybe some new kitchen appliances. Every condo comes with a microwave, Rose thought, and brand-new ovens and freezers. She could get a great discount deal, and it would pay for itself many times Over. There would be a luxurious-looking lobby - she’d keep those brass railings - and there were so many apartments that maintenan@ charges to pay for a doorman and security guard would be minimal.

Then she was going to sell them at fifteen per cent below market value. And just hope it worked.

Otherwise, she’d be in the hole to Salerni for millions. And the Mob weren’t known as the most patient bankers.

Rose shivered, and it wasn’t from the cold. She had an urge to start right away. She stepped out of her car and walked into the hotel.

Time warp. It was exactly like the last time she’d been in here, months ago. There was the same air of furtive shabbiness that came with being a pay-by-the-hour joint for hookers and drug dealers and people who couldn’t afford anything better. And there was the same gum-cracking receptionist, on the day shifts, no doubt, sitting behind the .desk.