April 18th, 10:30 a.m. Midtown, New York City

This chapter is dedicated to retired cosmetic industry chemist Evelyn Libertelli, who kindly made me realize how little I knew about chemistry and made Kate's role more real.

"Have a seat, dear. This is important."

Vanessa Carrie inhaled a puff from the cigarette she'd been cradling between her fore and middle fingers. The soft olive shaded eyes that Kate knew all too well belied her true persona. A weeping willow of dirty blond hair flowed downward just below the shoulders of her turtleneck knit blouse. It shouldn't have been remarkable that Vanessa had tried to maintain her radiant features well into her fifties, having undergone several nip/tuck adjustments over the past decade. Even so, her face had a rubbery look to it, accentuated especially when she scowled, which she'd been doing quite a bit of lately.

To Vanessa's left, was company Kate already loathed: Frugere's corporate security chief, Gunther McGore, or resident spook, as she preferred. An imposing man whether sitting or standing, Gunther's wavy rust-hued hair and well-groomed beard hid most of his pockmarked face.

Kate had made up her mind that she would have no interest in what Vanessa was about to say, but Gunther spoke first.

"We need you to end it with Jared Darmanian. Immediately."

"He doesn't belong here," Vanessa added.

Her breathing stopped short for a moment. "Why?"

"Halle Ruse cosmetics sent him to spy on us," Gunther answered as his Leonid Brezhnev eyebrows slanted downward to the bridge of his nose. "Having him here puts our trade secrets at risk and we can't have that."

Kate pursed her lips as if she'd just sucked a lemon. A snarky retort was all she could muster. "And what secrets would that be?"

Gunther answered. "He's been on Sid Barnett's payroll for more than a year. We've caught him trying to access our R&D files, asking questions."

"That can't be."

"You seem so sure of that," Gunther said. "Let me ask you something. Has he seen your lab?"

She looked down for a moment as she recalled the times they had indulged in the pleasurable opiate experience. Not something that would look good on her resume.

"Please answer him, sweetie," Vanessa pressed, ever so gingerly.

"Yes. Yes he has, but it was only to help me clean up a couple of times."

Vanessa crushed the spent cigarette butt into her ashtray. "Very bad, Kate! You knew that only the three of us have access. Everything we've worked for, the life I have provided for you, he wants to destroy," Vanessa admonished with the disciplinary timbre of a first grade teacher.

Whenever Vanessa said 'us', Kate heard it as 'me'. "You're wrong! He's a good guy." Kate knew full well it was his portable medicine cabinet that was appealing, but that was beside the point.

"Don't you get it?" the twice-divorced executive growled. "You're being played and you don't even see it."

Having survived the gut punch, Kate tried to look away, but Vanessa's assessment finally sunk in.

Leaning back in her chair, Vanessa continued, "But fortunately, this is easily fixed." She nodded to Gunther.

He reached down to the floor beside his chair to pick up a gift box and placed it on the desk in front of Kate. "Arrange a time to meet after work and break it to him. Then give him this.

."

Oh, brother. Kate groped for inner strength and found none, just more snarkiness. "You can't make me 'not' see him again. And why should I give it to him? Just fire him."

Vanessa handled this one. "We think a token gift will soften the blow for him while not tipping off Halle Ruse that we know about his true intentions."

Vanessa nodded to Gunther to take his leave.

Kate tried to dig in as she seethed inside. How she loved these little mentor-protégé chats. They always ended up being one-way conversations with Vanessa getting the last word in. This was no different. "He's still my boyfriend," she answered, but it wasn't for the reason she tried to project.

"This month," Vanessa snapped, shaking her head with disbelieving superiority. "You've been buying drugs from him, haven't you?"

Kate couldn't help but stare down at the floor, reluctantly acknowledging guilt.

Vanessa looked down as she shook her head in disbelief. "I thought you would be stronger, like the way I raised you."

"I...just want to be happy, for however short a time. I don't want to be alone. Unlike you."

"I'd rather be alone than be with a man who doesn't know me." Vanessa then transformed into a concerned mother as she stood up and walked over to Kate, taking a seat in a chair next to her. "It's like I've told you before, you don't need a man to do that. Wanting a man is one thing. It's when you think you need a man that you get taken advantage of."

"My little golden girl. That's what I always liked to call you, from the very first day I first saw you at...that place. Remember?"

"Zion," Kate said. She knew Vanessa was playing her, knowing exactly what buttons to press. And she knew it was working. It was there, at the ZionRehabilitativeCenter for Girls that Vanessa took an interest in her, just an orphan barely eleven years old.

On the way up to the top, Vanessa chose not to raise children of her own, believing that being a role model for young women in the industry would take the place of that, but it didn't. Not really. Vanessa looked at Kate as a way to raise a girl in her image—strong, self-sufficient and smart. So about fifteen years ago, Vanessa decided to take a more active role in donating to organizations that helped less fortunate girls. Donating grew into participating in community service projects in the city and surrounding area. Every so often, Vanessa would visit local female-only halfway houses on the weekends and speak with some of the residents. For a time, she really thought she could make a difference.

Vanessa moved in close and whispered, "When this is over, you'll be able to pursue whatever you want."

You mean, like you? Kate retracted her hand. "I'm sorry. I want to make you happy, too," she groveled. I'm really confused about everything right now."

"I know sweetie, and thank you for being such a dear. The next time you feel unhappy with me, I want you to think about where you would be if I hadn't been there for you."

And that was the dagger. The weight of gratitude borne out of guilt was simply too great. "I'll handle it," she said after a forlorn sigh.

Now that we've met Vanessa and Gunther, who would go to great lengths to protect their secret, how do you feel about Kate at this point?

Copyright © 2016 by Alan Field. All Rights Reserved.