The Prince Charming Hoax (38 page)

Roxie came out of the bathroom, toothbrush in hand, which she waved at Leah.
“
I told you so.
”

Leah stuck out her tongue and threw a pillow at Roxie, who agilely skipped back into the bathroom, laughing.
“
And, don
’
t keep me up with your tossing and turning, either.
”

Leah fell back on the bed, covering her face with the remaining pillow. This was going to put a major crimp in her plans.
“
Damn it!
”
she hollered into the pillow, muffling herself so she wouldn
’
t disturb the other guests. She took the pillow off her face and sat up as she pulled off her clothes.
“
Oh hell, I
’
m in New York. Nobody here pays any attention to what
’
s going in the same room, much less next door. Damn, damn, damn,
”
she shouted and beat the pillow. Immediately, she heard a pounding on the wall from next door.

“
Keep it down, will ya?
”

Roxie came out of the bathroom, shaking her head. She picked up the pillow from the floor and threw it back at Leah.
“
Welcome to New York, Leah Gold. Now go home. Oh, right—you don
’
t have one!
”

Chapter
33

Roxie entered the lobby of her condominium, feeling glad to be home and alone—at last. Her good mood was short-lived, however. Upon her arrival, the doorman wasted no time informing her about the excessive amount of mail she had received in her absence. There was so much, he said, that they had to hold it for her in a bin in the package room. The volume of letters exceeded the size of her mailbox the first day after she left.

His warning, however, in no way prepared her for the sight she was to behold. The cloth bin, the kind the maintenance crew used for transporting supplies and equipment, was overflowing with envelopes of all sizes. Roxie grabbed a handful off the top and told the doorman that she would back later to retrieve the rest or tell them what to do with it.

Once in her apartment, she retreated to the bedroom and unpacked her suitcases. She had thee piles on her bed when she finished: laundry, dry cleaning, and new. She dumped the laundry in the hamper, the dry cleaning in a bag for pick up, and hung up her new purchases in her closet.
Like Ali, she preferred to take her new things with her, not send them home.

She sat on her bed and picked up her phone. Her first order of business was to call her former office and steal back her assistant.

“
Blackman Realty. This is Elaine. How can I help you?
”

“
Hey, it
’
s me. I
’
m back in Florida and starting a new business. I need an assistant immediately. I
’
ll double whatever salary Iris is paying you, and you
’
ll qualify immediately for commissions as well. Are you in?
”

“
Roxie! Hi, I
’
ve been trying to reach you. Of course, I
’
ll come work with you. And you don
’
t need to double my salary. I
’
m miserable here without you. When do you want me to start?
”

“
A deal
’
s a deal. The offer stands as proposed. It
’
s time you started earning what you
’
re worth. Start here at my apartment tomorrow morning. I
’
ll start looking for real office space right away. But I have some mail for you to handle in the meantime. In fact, if you want to quit right now and tell that bitch what she can do with her J-O-B, you can come over and start today. I
’
ll be here.
”

“
You know, I think I will quit now. But I want to take the afternoon off to savor the experience.
”

“
Do me a favor before you leave and get in touch with the Vanderholts. Iris is kicking Leah out of the penthouse. See if you can buy her some extra time until she can find something else.
”

“
No problem. I
’
ll see you tomorrow. Thanks, Rox.
”

Roxie went into the kitchen to check her answering machine. She frowned, looking at her computer set up on the counter. This set up will never work for Elaine, she thought. I don
’
t mind standing and using this thing while on the phone, but she
’
s going to need her own space.
So Roxie went online and quickly ordered a new laptop and small desk to be delivered the next day. Remembering that she hadn
’
t yet checked voice messages, she looked over at the LED display on the machine. It read
“
ERROR.
”
She smacked the machine. That explained the lack of calls and messages.

On the message pad next to the phone she wrote,
“
To do
”
followed by
“
Get voicemail!
”
in the number one position.

Her intercom buzzed. She figured it was probably the doorman wanting to know what she planned to do about the mail. The damn condo, she thought. He would tell her she was breaking some rule like exceeding personal postal allowance or something.
“
Hi, John. Tell the condo commandos not to worry. I
’
ll be retrieving my mail first thing tomorrow morning.
”

“
Miss Stein. You have a visitor. Mr. Johnson is here. Should I send him up?
”

“
No!
”
Roxie felt a chill go through her. The long-lost D.J. had returned.

“
What shall I tell him, Miss Stein?
”

Roxie thought of a few choice items, but decided to deliver the message herself.
“
Tell him I
’
ll be right down.
”

Passing the powder room on the way, Roxie looked in and checked herself in the mirror. She quickly brushed her hair and applied some lipstick. Roxie rolled her eyes, remembering her mother
’
s advice,
“
Never leave the house without looking your best.
”

I should be more concerned with what I
’
m going to say than how I look, she thought. Oh well, it will come to me when I see him. It always does.

She kept this positive thought alive until the elevator door opened and she saw him standing there, looking exactly like the first time she laid eyes on him. Blonde hair tied back in a ponytail. Denim shirt open to mid-chest tucked into a tight pair of jeans. Brown cowboy boots. Same unreadable look on his face. And, of course, no smile. He strode over the elevator when he saw her.

“
Why are you here, D.J.?
”

“
We need to talk.
”

“
I have nothing to say.
”

“
Then, you
’
ll listen. Let
’
s go upstairs.
”

Roxie didn
’
t like the tone of his voice or the impudent look on his face. She especially didn
’
t like that he was moving in on her, trying to back her up against the wall.

She stepped forward to show him she wasn
’
t frightened. Her heart was pounding, but she saw there were enough people in the lobby to ensure her safety.
“
No. We can talk here or outside on the pool deck.
”

He nodded toward the pool.

She turned and walked out, letting him trail behind her. Sitting at one of the patio tables, she motioned for him to sit across from her.
“
I
’
m busy. What do you want?
”

He pulled a chair out, turned it around and sat with legs straddling the seat. He leaned forward and looked into her eyes.
“
Looks like your little scheme backfired, didn
’
t it?
”

This is beginning to resemble some grade-C Western from the Fifties, she thought.

She sighed audibly.
“
D.J. I told you I
’
m busy. I don
’
t have time for games. What
‘
scheme
’
are you talking about?
”

“
You thought you could put that little bitch up to ratting on us. But, it didn
’
t work, did it? Just got her rich daddy into a lot of hot water.
”

“
You think that girl
’
s complaint was my doing?
”

“
Don
’
t act so innocent. I saw you and Belle talking that night outside the Party Room. You were pointing over to me and that dimwit blonde. What
’
d you do, track her down in the girls room and put her up to this?
”

“
Don
’
t flatter yourself. When you saw me talking to Belle, she was trying to prevent me from pouring a pitcher of ice water on you. It was bad advice. You needed cooling off.
”
She shook her head.
“
You know, if I had done what I wanted, maybe that whole mess never would have happened.
”

“
Yeah, right. Listen, I
’
m warning you, Roxie. You pull one more stunt like that and it will be the last thing you ever do.
”

Roxie stood up and leaned in, hands on the table, her face coming within inches of D.J.
“
Let me tell you something, turkey boy. Here
’
s what
’
s going to happen. You are going to get the hell out of here and never call or come near me again. If you stay away from me, I won
’
t press charges against you and your club for the time I was drugged and raped by you and Rita. Otherwise, you
’
re going to jail.
”

“
What are you talking about, girl?
”

“
You heard me. Ask your lawyer to explain if you don
’
t understand.
”

D.J. pushed back off his chair and stood up. He stood glaring at her, and for a brief instant Roxie had the feeling he was going to hit her. Suddenly John appeared at the table.

“
Is everything all right, Miss Stein?
”
He put himself between Roxie and D.J.

Roxie never took her eyes off D.J.
“
Yes, John. Thanks. Mr. Johnson was just leaving.
”
She stepped back and waited.

“
I
’
ll show you out, Mr. Johnson,
”
John said. D.J. knocked over the chair in defiance and moved toward the lobby.

Roxie watched through the glass doors as he exited the lobby and out the front doors. Leah was right, she thought. I should have trusted my first impression of him. He is a jerk.

She went to the front desk.
“
Thank you, John. Your timing was great.
”

“
Yes, Miss Stein. You
’
re welcome.
”
He smiled at her.
“
Is there anything else I can do for you today?
”

“
No. But I will write to the condo management and tell them you
’
re doing a fine job. If there
’
s any time I can help you with a letter of recommendation or anything else, please let me know.
”

“
Thanks, Miss Stein.
”

Roxie walked to the elevator. When she reached out to push the button, she saw her hand shaking. She got in the elevator and clasped her hands together to steady them. Her mind was racing. She was lucky that detective told her about the possibility of bringing charges against the club and D.J. She smacked her hand against her head. That
’
s why Santiago had been so insistent! He must of have guessed that D.J. would come after her. She needed to thank him.

Back in her apartment, she rummaged through her purse again to find his card. This time she programmed his number into her cell. She pushed
“
Send.
”

The phone rang four times and his voicemail picked up. She decided to leave a message.

“
Detective. This is Roxanne Stein. I
’
m back in Florida. Please contact me as soon as possible.
”

Roxie stretched, then looked at her watch. Four o
’
clock, already! No wonder she was hungry. She got out her Deli Diva takeout menu and called in an order for a roast beef hero and French fries. She checked her refrigerator while on the phone and added six diet sodas and six bottles of water to the order. Tomorrow she
’
d send Elaine to the grocery store.

She flopped down on the couch and spread out the paperwork she and Leah had put together on the plane while brainstorming ideas for home businesses. Her eyes kept closing, so she decided to lie down until the food arrived. She
’
d look over the papers while she was eating. It seemed like she had just closed her eyes when the intercom buzzed. Groggy, she got up and pushed in the button.
“
Send him up, John,
”
she said.

When the doorbell rang, she was waiting with her wallet in hand. She swung the door open expectantly, only to find Detective Santiago standing in her doorway.
“
Oh, hello
”
she said, holding up her wallet.
“
Once again, I was expecting my takeout delivery.
”