The Shudder Lingers Read online

  She returned to her desk and accessed all the files and emails she could get on Jackie. Scouring through these did not produce anything of interest. In addition, her lack of administrator rights limited her ability to search everything. She was so engrossed in the computer screen that she had not heard someone enter behind her. She sensed a presence and spun around. It was Emily, who smiled and pointed at her watch.

  Stacey realised that she was due for a conference call with Clyde to prep for her next meeting with Daniella. She nodded and opened the meeting request and dialled into the call.

  Clyde jumped right in, “So how is the new boss doing?”

  Stacey fumbled for words, feeling somewhat guilty about her spying activities during the day “Slowly trawling my way through and trying to find my way.”

  He replied, “Good. I will be in later this week, and would like to spend some time with you, so that I can give you a good sense of the financial matters that are pertinent for you to know. Anyhow, you called to discuss Daniella. How can I help?”

  She provided him with a summary on the interaction on her first day and the threat about not following Daniella’s rules.

  He whistled softly, “She really is something else. I really don’t know what she is after, but I don’t trust her at all.”

  They spent the next twenty minutes discussing options on how to handle the next interaction with Daniella. She marvelled at the enormous insights that he had in running a business and understanding all the cognitive behaviours associated with people in the business environment. She ended the call by saying, “Thank you Clyde, I really appreciate all your sage advice and I value the wisdom that you constantly share.”

  He chuckled softly, “Only a pleasure. Good luck and let me know how it goes.”

  She pushed her chair away from her desk, thinking about the day, and felt a sense of accomplishment on having successfully changed the application code. She glanced at some of the files that Emily had placed before her the day before, and realised how little real work she had actually done for the day. She sighed heavily before saying to herself, “Best I get stuck into that tomorrow.” As she took the short drive home, her mind was preoccupied with Jackie, and how she had possibly been involved with Wilson and Wang.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Stacey was in the office early the following day, browsing through the files, agreements and staff matters that needed urgent attention. Once she had ploughed through the various documents, she realised that the business issues were not as daunting as she had first anticipated. By applying common sense from her business studies, she found the matters to be relatively simple, and said out loud, “It looks as if running this business is going to be interesting.”

  The sound of someone thundering towards her office caught her attention. Daniella barged in shouting, “What is your problem? Within the first week, you seem hell-bent on breaking all the rules. This is not going to end well for you!”

  Stacey felt a shudder running down her back, and immediately was on full alert, “Good morning. Please enlighten me, what on earth are you talking about?”

  She replied, “You have deliberately changed the drone application code. Who gave you permission to march in here and start making changes? I have warned you, this is my business.”

  Stacey felt alarm bells flashing, but paused to reflect on the advice Clyde had given her. She got up slowly, and leant on the desk with both hands, “I am feeling quite cheesed off that you come in here making all sorts of accusations, so let’s get a few things straight. Firstly, whether you like it or not, I have been appointed the managing director, secondly, you are a shareholder not an employee, and finally, as regards the drone application, you will recall that I wrote it, so I can change it. By the way how did you know that I had changed the application?”

  Daniella appeared to be briefly taken aback by Stacey’s boldness, but quickly recovered, “I know everything that happens in this business. As regards your little tirade, you only fill that seat because I let you, and because of that I will be keeping a close eye on you, so that you don’t screw things up.”

  Stacey felt her blood boil on the inside, but kept her cool, replying, “I don’t know what game you are playing or why you need to be so involved with WKJD, but I will find out.”

  All she got from Daniella was a loud burst of laughter. The woman pointed her finger at Stacey and said rudely, “Sit down. So, let’s get the rules sorted out. Firstly, as of today, I will be an employee with my own office, secondly, I have other things on my plate, so I will choose my work hours, thirdly, I will be emailing you a delegation of authority which reflects what decisions I will have veto rights for and finally, you will be appointing Cheung Lee as your deputy, which also implies that he will be involved in all decisions.”

  Stacey was scrambling for a response, taken aback at the audacity of the woman and all the advice from Clyde seemed to have turned into vapour. Her mind was racing, trying to assimilate the data points and find logical links as to why Daniella was so interested in WKJD. She wondered if it was the money she was after or whether she had been involved with the perlemoen smuggling. She replied coolly, “Not that I am agreeing to any of your demands, but help me understand what it is that you will be doing as an employee and why should Cheung be my deputy?”

  With visible tension running through her body, Daniella replied, I will be doing business development and marketing. As for Cheung, I think he has a good business brain.”

  Stacey was quick to latch on, “I’m curious, how you would know that Cheung has a good business brain? After all, he only pitched up at WKJD last week.”

  A slight blush seemed to rush across her face, and she whispered, “His credentials are available on social media! He seems to be highly qualified, and Wang once told Wilson and me what a bright business mind he has. Instead of attacking me, maybe you should consider what you can learn from him.”

  Stacey had enjoyed the moment of awkwardness and decided to push through with the slight advantage she had, “About your other demands, any delegation of authority for me and any senior appointments as you have suggested will come from the Board. I’ll make sure the two points you have requested are raised at the monthly directors’ meeting.” This seemed to anger Daniella, and for a moment it appeared as she would launch herself across the desk and throw a punch. Stacey stepped back and gingerly felt her nose, reminded of their encounter a few weeks ago.

  Daniella realised that she had physically intimidated her and laughed derisively, “Best you understand, things will be on my terms,” as she turned and headed for the door.

  Realising that she had lost the physical advantage, Stacey opted to continue seeking a mental advantage, “Tell me one more thing, were you involved with Wilson and Wang in the perlemoen smuggling?”

  Daniella spun around and aggressively strode back into the room, “You really seem determined to get on the wrong side of me. For your own health, I suggest you don’t make false accusations.”

  Stacey spread her hands. “It was a question, not an accusation. But for the record, over my dead body will there ever be any smuggling or money laundering in this business.”

  All she got was a loud guffaw, “Over your dead body? So be it!” And with that, Daniella walked out backwards laughing ever more loudly. When she had exited Stacey fell back into her chair shaking, realising that her life was in as much danger, as it had ever been before.

  Emily entered with a cappuccino and an empathetic smile, “Morning, I thought you could do with one of these. I overheard the last few sentences. I know it is none of my business, but I definitely have your back covered.”

  She earnestly replied, “Thanks Emily. I will need all the help I can get.”

  Next Slade entered and walked up and gave a big hug, “I saw Daniella in here. How did your discussion go?”

  She clung to his embrace before looking intently into his eyes, “Not great. She frightens me. There is something sinister in her that
I don’t trust, yet oddly enough, I feel an inner strength growing to fight the evil and corrupt forces that seem to be pervasive around WKJD.”

  He hugged her again, before saying “By the way, I have been offered a weekend at a family friend’s place in Hermanus for next weekend. I think it would be good to get a weekend away.”

  She stated appreciatively, “Sounds awesome.”

  He continued, “The place sleeps ten people, so I will invite a few friends. Any suggestions?”

  She replied, “Yes, let’s invite Lizzie and Kate. I’m sure your friends will also want to join us.”

  He nodded, “Perfect. I will call and make the arrangements. Anyway, I need to get some work done, before the boss gets annoyed.” She smiled as he left the office.

  Unable to focus on the computer screen, she replayed the encounter with Daniella in her mind, concluding that she had hashed it, and that it did not go as planned. Her thoughts then drifted to Slade and hoped that their relationship could withstand the constant external challenges and the fact that she was now his boss. She closed her eyes and prayed for strength and wisdom.

  She gathered herself and sent a short text message to Clyde, promising to call him regarding the meeting. Her thoughts returned to the earlier confrontation, and she opened various social media sites and did a search on Cheung Lee. Her search provided limited insights on him, but he clearly enjoyed sharing his multiple qualifications. On a hunch she again went to the email servers and searched for his name. There were several emails between Cheung and Wang. With a flurry of excitement, she also saw emails between Cheung and Daniella’s work email address. The messages were cryptic, but she noted with interest that the two of them had agreed to meet for dinner on several occasions in the recent past. “Very interesting” she said aloud.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The next few days appeared to follow a similar pattern, with Stacey engaging herself in running WKJD and even finding time to contribute on some of the client projects. Evenings were spent with Slade as they happily discussed work, projects and life in general. She even allowed herself to believe that this newfound equilibrium was here to stay, and that Daniella’s earlier demands would quietly go away.

  She was sitting in the coffee pause area chatting to staff when Emily entered, “I have a guy waiting in reception for you. He says it is urgent and will not leave until he sees you.” She excused herself and headed to the front desk.

  Gerald jumped up when he saw her, “I need to see you urgently, but not in your office.” She sensed the urgency in his voice, and guided him to the outside balcony, with the magnificent view. He stood next to her, staring out over the ocean, “I’m afraid, I have bad news. The perlemoen smuggling has started up again, despite Larney and some of the guys still being under arrest. One of my informants advised me that another shipment left last night. He was able to obtain information, and believe it or not, WKJD’s name was on the documentation again. He was also told that there have been a couple of shipments in the last few weeks.”

  She gaped in disbelief, “That’s impossible. How can it be?”

  He replied, “I have no idea, but there must be something on your systems that is linked to the shipment last night.” He opened his mobile phone and shared an image of the invoice and shipping documents, and then forwarded the images to Stacey. He suggested, “Can we have a look at your systems, to see who prepared the documentation?” She nodded, and they headed inside.

  Stacey sat down behind her desk and went into their business systems searching for the invoice number. After a few minutes she looked up and was about to talk when she saw Gerald’s eyes darting between herself and her mobile phone. She saw a message from him, which read, “Don’t talk or continue, you have a mini camera focused on you.” He said, “Well I must be off, nice catching up with you.”

  She followed him out of the office and whispered in the passage, “What was all that about?”

  Leaning close to her he replied, “Your office is bugged, and it appears as if there is a mini camera pointed at your computer. With your permission, I will come in tonight and do a sweep and clear any bugs.”

  She nodded in agreement, “Come back around six thirty this evening, it should be quiet then.” He nodded and headed for the elevator.

  She went and sat at her desk, and being conscious of the bug, was eager to turn around and find it. Sound judgement prevailed though, and she engrossed herself in the various work matters she needed to deal with. She even had time to indulge in some project work, which allowed the afternoon to whizz past. She found Slade and shared with him what Gerald thought he had seen and the plan to sweep the office later. He agreed to be available to support them.

  Gerald arrived at the scheduled time and opened up a small backpack with various devices. He asked her to wait while he went in to her office. After about twenty minutes he opened the door and motioned for her to come in. His face reflected the satisfaction of his work as he proudly held up three mini cameras and three listening devices. He let out a deep breath, and said, “Whoever set these up are professionals. They had you covered from every angle. My guess is that by tomorrow morning early, they will know that you have found and removed them. I also just want to sweep the area where your personal assistant sits.”

  As they opened the office door, they were both startled by the presence of Jackie, standing right at the door, apparently eavesdropping. Appearing sheepish, she mumbled something under her breath and moved on. Stacey immediately felt a shudder running down her back, and again her suspicions about Jackie were alerted. It struck her how the shudders, which at first were only eerie, had become her sixth sense, alerting her to danger or circumstances which were not what they seemed. Gerald was somewhat oblivious to Jackie, as he was intent on sweeping Emily’s open plan office. He completed the sweep and also checked the boardroom but found no further evidence of bugs.

  Slade appeared with a somewhat troubled look on his face. She asked, “What’s wrong?”

  He replied, “An odd thing just happened. Jackie came up to me said that I should be aware that you are having an affair with Gerald. She intimated that she saw the two of you coming out of your office with, as she claims, very satisfied looks on your faces.”

  Stacey fumed and was determined to charge down the passage and confront Jackie. She snarled, “That’s a really sneaky move after being caught eavesdropping!” She knew she should reassure Slade, so she said, with a soft smile, “The satisfied look was because we removed all the cameras and bugs.”

  He seemed embarrassed by his previous comment, and coyly said, “Of course. Shall we head home for dinner?”

  She replied, just give me a few minutes, “I want to search for something on our servers. I could do with your help.”

  Aware that she was not being recorded, she quickly accessed the various servers, but nothing untoward cropped up. She gazed at the ceiling and asked him, “If you had to hide information at WKJD, where would you do it?”

  He paused for a second, and remarked, “I would hide it on a second server or have it stored on a web server.”

  She nodded, “Of course. Can you help me find it?”

  He pretended to shoo her away from her chair and promptly took control of her laptop. He punched away at the key board and after about twenty minutes shouted, “Eureka! I think this might be it, but of course it is password protected.”

  She gave him a high five and said, “I think I know the answer to that. She tried the same simple password of Wang’s and was immediately given access to the server. She searched for the invoice number on the server and found it immediately. One folder contained all the invoices raised, all for shipping services, and relatively small amounts. There was nothing that appeared to have any link to the perlemoen smuggling. Stacey said, “It is clear that the smuggling business is alive and well judging by the frequency of the transactions. Next we need to find out who is involved, but we will leave that for another day. Let’s head home, it’s bee
n a long day.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Friday afternoon had arrived, and they were all headed for Hermanus, which was about a two-hour leisurely drive from Cape Town. Due to the heavy traffic, the drive was slow, and Stacey gratefully took the opportunity to take in the scenery of the Cape, including wine farms, mountains, fynbos and numerous birds perched on the fence poles. Everyone else in the car was chatting away excitedly and laughing at the slightest opportunity, and it soon rubbed off, as she joined in the banter and laughed at the silly humour. She sensed that everyone needed a good weekend to escape from the business rat race. Traffic slowed again as they passed a wildfire, brought on by the drought that had gripped the Cape recently. As they approached Hermanus the stark contrasts of the dry bush and the deep blue sea seemed to reflect some of what was happening in her life, the stark issues of the smuggling world and the deep richness of her relationship with Slade. He seemed to read her mind and reached across to give her a kiss on the cheek. She pretended to melt in her seat and blew a kiss back.

  The home at which they were staying was lavish and set against a dramatic mountain slope with expansive views of the ocean all around. They unpacked the food and dropped their bags in the rooms. Lizzie was quick to urge them to hurry along, “Let’s go everybody, I can’t wait to see the whales.” Everybody was in full agreement, and they rapidly made their way back into the vehicles. A short drive took them to Marine Drive which overlooks Walker Bay, home to numerous Southern Right whales during their breeding season. As they got out of their cars the sound of the Whale Crier’s kelp horn could be heard, signalling to all around that whales were present below the clifftops. They excitedly headed to the cliff tops and within minutes were delighted with the sight of several of the magnificent whales going about their frolicking activity in the expansive bay below. For many of them it was the first opportunity to see the majestic whales, and they all enjoyed the experience. Nobody seemed to enjoy it more than Kate, as she took endless pictures with a small digital camera, as she indicated, “Officially theses whales have just become my favourite mammal.” Numerous heads nodded, which seemed to spur a fresh round of her taking photos. They headed home to shower and change before heading off to dinner at a local restaurant in town.