A Dangerous Affair Chapter 53

A Chapter by Repgreece

All seemed to be going perfectly...

Stephanie and Tom put their heads together and came up with a possible story they could tell Brick that they were working on. It wasn’t the most thrilling of stories and it was almost old news now, celebrity gossip, but it would placate Brick for a while until they heard back from Samantha. They spent the rest of the day working on the ‘new’ story as they decided that they may actually have to write it and there was little else they could do about Carlton at that point.

Finally the working day neared an end and Tom managed to persuade Brick to let them go early so that they could work a little more on the story at home. It was an excuse on Tom’s part, he just wanted time with Stephanie alone. He put his arm around her as they headed out into the car park.

“How about I take you for a night on the town tonight Stephie? You know where ‘everything’s happening,’” he quoted her.

She smiled. “Why not? That would be nice.”

His face lit up. “Great. I’ll take you home and then I just need to pop back to my place to pick up some more clothes. I’ll get changed there and then we can get a taxi into the West End. How does that sound?”

“Perfect,” she confirmed as they got into his car.

“We’ll get something to eat and then just see where the night takes us,” he suggested as his grin widened.

*************

As soon as Tom arrived back at his apartment he stripped off his clothes and headed for the shower. He sang out loudly as he soaped himself down, amazed at how well things had gone between himself and Stephanie over the last twenty-four hours. He thought about what a great night they were going to have and he wondered how the evening would end.

Stepping out of the shower, he reached for a towel, wrapped it around his waist and strolled into the hallway towards the bedroom. Before he reached it however the sound of the telephone in the kitchen caught his attention and he did an about turn, entering the room and snatching up the receiver.

“If you’re calling for a chat I’m going out on a date tonight so I can’t talk. Please leave your name and number and I’ll get back to you,” he said, not having a clue who the caller was and not really caring.

“You’d better hope someone’s there. We have business to talk,” came the sinister reply.

Tom’s face fell. “Who is this?”

During the remainder of the phone call every bit of colour drained from Tom’s face. He stood listening to the man who gave him little opportunity or option to answer back. He replaced the receiver and his mind was in turmoil. His first instinct was to dismiss the call and reject all demands that the man had made, however he had to rethink the situation as it occurred to him that it wasn’t just himself that he had to think about anymore. He wasn’t used to that. He was used to relying on his instincts and flouting the rules to get results in his own way. But now Stephanie was involved. The man had made that clear. And he realised with frightening clarity that anything he did from that point on could jeopardise her life. He was stuck, cornered. And the man knew that. How did he know that? Tom had some suspicions but for now he couldn’t act on anything, he couldn’t risk it. He would submit to the man’s demands and bide his time. With that thought he picked up the receiver again and telephoned Brick’s office number, informing him that they needed to talk, alone.

By the time Tom had arrived back at his apartment he was livid with himself, livid with Carlton and livid with the world in general. He stormed around his apartment, snatching up random personal belongings that meant nothing to him and throwing them into an open suitcase. When he entered the kitchen he had worked himself up into a frenzy, sweeping objects off the table and counter tops and sending them crashing to the floor. He only stopped when there was nothing left to break and he stood staring at the telephone which was lying on the floor, making a loud beeping sound. He picked it up and dialled Stephanie’s number, completely clueless as to what he was going to say.

“Stephanie.”

“Tom?” she said with a questioning tone. He sounded odd.

“I’m going to have to postpone our date tonight sweetheart. I’m sorry.” It sounded lame but what else could he say?

“Are you alright?” she came back immediately.

Every fibre of his being screamed no! No, he wasn’t all right!

“Yeah. Something’s come up and I need to stay here tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, hanging up and feeling completely wretched.

He thought to himself that he wouldn’t see her tomorrow. He wondered when he would see her again.

The following hours were spent with him sat at his kitchen table staring at nothing in particular. He didn’t want to think. He would be better off leaving there and then but he knew in the back of his head that he had unfinished business. He had to go to Stephie’s. He couldn’t not. But he also couldn’t face her. As the light of the day faded he struggled with his thoughts, surrounded by the broken remains of his life in London.