Benny was late. He had just made his way hurriedly into the company when Julie Bratton; Alex’s secretary rushed in right after him.
“You need to see this!” She yelled after him. “Don’t be dramatic! Deal with whatever it is. I have enough on my table already!” Benny fired and marched towards his office.
Julie walked after him and threw a tablet in his face. Benny scanned through the headline on the page displayed on the tablet. His steps receded and he gradually came to a halt.
“What the heck!” He muttered and grabbed the tablet out of Julie’s hold.
He could not believe what he just read. Lense Clinic; one of Evans’ contemporaries had succeeded in designing one of the most unique and dynamic machines originally made by Evans.
The news filled the internet. Writers and bloggers did not help matters, they framed different headings for the news; ‘LENSE CLINIC; THE CODE BREAKER.’ ‘THE UNPRECEDENTED BREAKTHROUGH.’ ‘EVANS MECHANICS IS BROKEN AT LAST.’
The subject attracted different headings and different discussions. The discussion was shifted from the feat wrought by Lense clinic, it focused on how Evan’s was finally broken.
Evans Mechanics has been around for about a decade. Shortly after its inception, it rose to stardom and had been the god of mechanics. None of her rivals was able to reproduce most of her designs.
There were rumors that Evans machines were designed by an expert that remained hidden and unknown to the public.
Benny’s phone buzzed repeatedly. He received text messages and mails from his co workers questioning him on what went wrong.
“This is unbelievable,” he thought. “There must be a leak somewhere. The machine was like a signature design. We uniquely arrived at the design based on an error. There is no way an engineer who wasn’t part of the team would reproduce the design without seeing the data. This is a major blow especially at this time of crisis,” Benny thought.
*****
Jeff showed up at Jane’s as he had promised. “I am sorry, I had a lot of stuff to fix at the office, I could not make it down before noon,” Jeff apologized.
“I am glad you are here,” Jane said and blew him a kiss. She picked up her hand back and led him out.
“Where are we headed?” Jane asked. “Good Times Eatery, of course,” Jeff replied. “I love it there… The pool is fascinating,” Jane said hesitantly as she remembered her last ordeal at the eatery.
“Can you swim?” Jeff questioned.
“Not at all,” Jane replied and laughed out loud.
Few minutes later, Jeff drove into Good Times Eatery. He eased the car into the parking lot and brought it to a halt.
As usual, he held the door for Jane and walked her down into the eatery.
“It’s my treat today.. make your orders,” Jeff said while Jane smiled wide as she scanned through the menus.
“It’s great you’re in good mood today. You sounded so dull yesterday,” Jeff said. “Really?”
“Yeah… So, what’s up? What is it about your client? I know I should not be asking but I can’t just seem to ignore anything that bothers you,” Jeff pushed.
The hostess returned just in time with their orders. She served and Jane picked up her cup of ice cream.
“Normally, it’s not ethical that I share my client’s information, but I will make an exception. You know what? The victim is not just a client. She happened to be a childhood friend.” . t.
“I see… Little wonder you feel attached,” Jeff cut in.
“I think you get the picture now. My friend is at the verge of losing her mind. She was raped by an unidentified man and duped in sums worth millions.”
“What?!” Jeff stuttered and blinked hard. Cold shivers ran down his spine and he tried to maintain his cool.
Jane stuffed her mouth with ice cream and slurped hard at it. “Isn’t it weird? The weirdo took pictures and videos of the rape scene. The pictures were used as blackmail to get money from her. He has done that twice already,” Jane added.
Jeff’s mouth went dry. Cold and heat coursed through him and it took all his strength to remain still. He picked up his glass of wine with both hands and drained the glass completely. “Incredible! Isn’t that so brazen?” He said forcefully.
“I am sure it is not the first for the culprit. It was so bold of him to have blackmailed her twice. I am sure he carefully selects his victims. He was sure my friend wouldn’t pursue the case because she is a celebrity and the daughter of a public figure.
“Can you disclose her identity? Is she someone I know?” Jeff asked subtly. “No way… I am not going to disclose her identity,” Jane said and Jeff backed off.
“We are taking things on a full fledged investigation. We will nab him if he makes another demand,” Jane said.
“This is big.. I think you should involve the police,” Jeff said. “Of course, an investigator is involved already,” Jane mentioned.
“Good. I trust in your capabilities. Just be careful, okay? Such guys are always armed, they are dangerous,” Jeff advised.
“You’re right,”Jane nodded in response and delved into her meal. Suddenly she stopped eating and looked straight at Jeff.
“Come to think of it, you did not ask about my profession and many other personal matters when you asked me out,” Jane said.
“Oh, that was because I thought you would naturally head one of your father’s companies, just like it is for me. I didn’t know you had carved out another path for yourself. I am so proud of you. You’re everything that I am not,” Jeff responded.
“Like seriously? Wait, did you do a background check on me? Did you approach me because you probably know about my background?” Jane questioned.
“Janet Clinton, the investigative journalist, am I being investigated?” Jeff asked and stuffed a spoon full of ice cream into her mouth.
“What the heck?!” Jane laughed and tried to swallow the ice cream.
“I will be right back… let me use the restroom,” Jeff said and escaped the scene.
Jane stared at him suspiciously as he walked away.
******
Lisa drove down to pick up her kids from school. She had skipped her early morning visit to Alex and had taken her time to deliberate on what she wanted. She realized she had no choice but to follow her friend’s advice.
“Mum? Are we still visiting dad today?”Jerry asked as they took their seats in the car. “Of course babies, we are heading down to see him right away,” Lisa said and the kids exclaimed joyfully.