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Scarlett noticed a post-it on Tom’s desk. On it he had scribbled ’15 Ways to Spice up Your Love Life.’ “If you need any help with that, just holler,” she said. “I can think of way more than fifteen ways to spice up your love life.”

A blush spread across Tom’s face. “You can?”

“Oh, absolutely. In fact I could show you ways no one has ever tried before except me.” She leaned in. “I have an adventurous streak when it comes to enjoying the pleasures of the flesh.”

Tom gulped a little.“Do you now?”

“There’s things a man can do to a woman that will guarantee she will hang on to him forever, Tom.” She spoke earnestly, looking deeply into the man’s eyes. She had taken a seat at the edge of his desk, and was thinking that if only he’d get rid of those glasses he’d improve his attractiveness with at least a factor of ten.

“Things… a man can do to a woman?” he asked, adjusting his glasses.

“If you want, I could show you,” she suggested, shifting her position on the desk. She’d popped a button or two on her blouse, and as she leaned in, there was a certain wiggling going on, and a certain jiggling, causing Tom to redden even more as he was granted a certain measure of insight into certain assets.

He cleared his throat.“I could use a few p-p-pointers, f-f-for sure.”

“Well, that’s settled, then,” she said, leaning back again. She could see that the kid was suffering from an acute case of vertigo, and didn’t want him to pass out on the office floor. “Why don’t we get together this afternoon, and I’ll share some of these insights with you, mh?”

“A-a-absolutely,” he stuttered. “Too kind.”

“No problem. See you later, Tommy.”

“See you later… Scarlett.”

CHAPTER 11

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Dooley and I had returned to Natalie’s desk, and decided to stick around for a while, picking up any clues we might gather as to the young woman’s state of mind. I could see that Scarlett was ‘working’ on Tom, using her not inconsiderable charm to educate the young man on the ways of how to seduce a member of the opposite sex. But if Gran’s plan was to be successful, we also had to disentangle Natalie’s complicated love life, which probably was a lot harder to accomplish.

And as we settled in for the duration, a woman came stalking through the office with purposeful step, darted one scathing look at Natalie, then waltzed into Madison’s office and slammed the door. Moments later the blinds were dropped, and Madison and his visitor were obscured from view.

“Oh, God,” Natalie groaned. She clearly had recognized this visitor.

Gran, who didn’t miss a trick, came hurrying up. “What’s happening?” she asked.

“Madison’s wife just arrived,” said Natalie.

“Bad news?”

“Very.”

Which is when the screaming began. We couldn’t understand what was being said, but whatever it was, it wasn’t happy or kind!

“Madison’s marriage is in trouble, is it?” asked Gran.

“Oh, absolutely. Wouldn’t surprise me if Deith is planning to divorce him.”

“They’ve got kids? Madison and his wife?”

Natalie hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.“No kids.”

“At least there’s that. The moment kids are in the picture, it’s that much harder.”

Natalie darted a quick look to Gran, clearly wondering what she knew, but said nothing.

“He’s something of a player, though, isn’t he, Madison?” Gran continued to pry. “I mean, I don’t know the guy, of course, but he looks like a real playboy.”

“He’s very loyal… to the woman he loves,” said Natalie.

“Which isn’t Deith?”

But Natalie wasn’t to be drawn out so easily. “I wouldn’t know about that,” she insisted.

“Oh, come on. You’ve been the guy’s PA for how long now?”

“Five years,” said Natalie, fiddling with a ring on her finger.

“So you must know the guy inside and out.”

“I take care of his professional life, not his personal one.”

Gran nodded.“Of course you do, sweetie. Of course you do.” She gave Natalie’s arm a gentle squeeze, causing Natalie to cast down her eyes and bite down on her bottom lip. Her emotions were clearly very near to the surface, and she was afraid they would come spilling out under Gran’s gentle nudging.

The door to Madison’s office opened again, and his wife came stomping out, slammed the door behind her, and stalked off through the office once more, drawing all eyes to her, and causing people to start whispering furiously the moment she had passed.

“Looks like that divorce is happening sooner rather than later,” Gran said.

Hope momentarily flashed across Natalie’s face, and when Madison called her into his office, there was a pep in the young woman’s step, causing Gran to comment, “Poor thing. She’s still hung up on the guy, even though he’s treating her like crap.”

“If Madison gets a divorce, maybe he’ll marry Natalie?” Dooley suggested.

“Never,” said Gran. “Guys like Madison don’t marry their secretaries.”

“I thought Natalie was his personal assistant,” I said.

“Different name, same job,” said Gran, shaking her head.

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