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Part One Her mission was far from basic. Basic Black appeared nearly as basic as its name. The walls were painted but it was obvious that the interior decorator had not yet arrived to put the corporate touch on the office. Eve Donovan had to admire the strength and guts it took to start such a company from scratch. And their recent acquisition of the PermaLash account only strengthened their financial future. She balanced the nerdish glasses on her nose pretending to be interested in everything Kate Roberts was saying. Instead, she focused on John Black who was hovering in the hallway talking to his son, Brady. Eve had managed to commit to memory many of the players she would eventually run into. Brady had proved to be quite a curious character. He projected an image that said he hated the world, but Eve could read between the lines. He wasn't as bad of a bad boy as he wanted everyone to think. Brady eyed her suspiciously, but Eve didn't expect anything less from him. She shot him a shy smile attempting to appear as innocent as possible. Her severely buttoned up blouse, modest skirt and sensible shoes would make anyone believe she was who she claimed to be, mousey Evelyn Noble, computer advertising genius. No one would ever believe she had once been a lady of the night years and years earlier. While she was projecting her veiled innocent act, John glanced her way briefly. He didn't seem to recognize her which was a positive on her side. Eve inwardly sighed. Her father had been right. The ISA's make-up team had transformed her exceptionally well. Even her own father had thought the job brilliant. John didn't seem suspicious of her, but Brady was another story. Kate shook her hand welcoming her to the company. Eve smiled as if she was more than grateful for the job. In reality, she couldn't have cared less. She was doing this for her father and her father only. Once it was complete, she would be finished working for the ISA... forever. While Ms. Roberts introduced her around the office, she could sense Brady's gaze following her movements. She gave herself a mental note to keep an eye on the lad. He could prove to be a nuisance. Brady appeared behind her seconds later with a look that said he was ready to rumble. "Kate," Brady said abruptly. "Why don't you introduce me to the lovely newcomer." Eve decided to to save Kate the trouble and flawlessly offered him her new alias. "Eve Noble." She used her practiced British accent learned over the course of her studies in Britain. Her accent was perfect. "And you are?" "Brady." He didn't mention his last name or his association to the company president. His eyes took in every aspect of her facial features as if trying to decide whether she was trustworthy enough to allow into his world. "Great." Kate plastered a smile on her face. "Now that the introductions have been doled out -- let's get back to work. Chop. Chop." She ushered them towards a cubicle area with the wave of a hand dismissing them. "Brady, why don't you show Eve where her work station is." Kate then disappeared weaving herself through the maze of hallways that made up the office of Basic Black. Brady watched Kate leave then returned his attention to her. "So, Eve Noble," he said mysteriously. "Now that we are very much alone -- who are you really?" *** Carrie Horton arrived at the church an hour early but couldn't bring herself to wish Sami a happy marriage with Austin. She found it amazing that the two of them had actually gotten this far, but knowing Sami, she must have manipulated her way to this day in some fashion. For a split second she considered reminding Austin of all the horrible things Sami had done to win his affection. But she was sure Austin was blind to all her faults by now just like he always was. Carrie sighed. Austin was still falling for her sister's act. She had heard through the grapevine that Sami was also infatuated with Brandon Walker. This fact didn't surprise her, it only proved what she had known all along. Sami only wanted what she didn't have. Austin had been enticing because he had been the unattainable. Now that the challenge was gone, would Sami stray? She sincerely hoped not. Carrie wanted to believe her sister could find wedded bliss and a love that would last. But knowing her sister's track record, she was sure Sami would be on the road to destruction sooner or later. And Austin would remain the clueless victim never realizing about the deception until Sami was in over her head. *** Mike Horton grunted in frustration. Not only had his rental car broken down in the middle of nowhere, it was now raining! He slammed his hand against the steering wheel. It had been over two months since he'd seen Carrie. He now was almost sorry he had taken over for that doctor in San Francisco. It had started out as a two week distraction and had ended up two months of hard work. Carrie had returned to Salem for her sister, Sami's wedding to Austin. Neither of them could believe he would fall in love with her after all her lies and schemes. But Austin Reed never had been the brightest color in the Crayola box. Rain pelted his windshield. The sound grew louder and louder with each passing minute. Before he stopped the car, he had noticed an old decrepit mansion just off the highway. He hoped his sense of direction was better than his luck. Mike grabbed his coat, thrust it over his head and dashed for a dry sanctuary. He reached the driveway as the last rays of light slipped behind the storm clouds. Mike knew better than to barge into someone's house, but he was tired and wet and cranky and hoped the owner would forgive his intrusion. Mike wasn't greeted with sights of dusty stairways and cobwebs galore. Instead, he walked into a brightly lit foyer devoid of decoration except the strange looking device mounted on the wall across from him. It looked like some sort of electronic key lock. He barely had time to glance around before two men dressed in brown suits appeared in the room. Mike smiled in their direction glad to find someone around who would assist him. "Is this my lucky day, or what?" Mike asked with a sigh. His wet clothes left a trail of water across the highly polished hard wood floor. "How did you get in here?" one man challenged while the other drew a gun aiming it directly at his chest. "You have thirty seconds to convince me and my partner here not to kill you." Mike's blue eyes grew wide. "I've obviously made a mistake," he said innocently, his voice tinted with fear. "I'm just going to go now." He rose his hands to show he was no threat to them. As he turned to walk back out into the rain, one of them yelled, "Get him!" Mike's breath left his body at the same time his feet pounded the pavement searching for someplace to hide. *** Greta Von Amburg wiped the condensation off the inside of her car window. "Why do I do this to myself," she muttered. She hated driving, but driving in the rain seemed ten times worse tonight. Maybe it was the fact that Austin was getting married. She had tried to push his memory aside but soon found that even with all her hijinks with Jack, Austin's friendship and good heart continued to draw her in. The storm was right overhead pounding on her car's roof. There were still quite a few miles before she made it back to Salem. She would be glad when she finally hit the city limits. "Come on, Greta," she coached herself. "You can do this. You're a princess." Her palms were sweaty on the wheel when a figure ran in front of her car. Greta barely had time to react before her car slammed into something very hard. She stepped hard on the brake hoping whatever she had hit was still alive. The car skidded in a semi circle before it came to a halt on the shoulder of the road. Greta had no idea where the body of the animal she hit would be located. The rain was making it very hard to tell where she was or in what direction she was facing. She sat in the car for a minute contemplating whether to get out and check on the animal or wait until the rain stopped. Finally, making up her mind, she grabbed the flashlight from the glove compartment and aimed it in the direction she thought she had come from. For minutes she couldn't see anything in the near total darkness. Then her light landed on a figure lying in a ditch. Greta cried in horror. She hoped she hadn't killed the animal. It took only a moment for her to realize it wasn't an animal she had hit. It was a man! |