Keeping the tally

If I had hoped the town to quieten down I was not to get my wish as my day started with a busy morning going over papers with Jojo as he, Royce and I were going to restart their business. This was so they could honour their contracts and Jojo warned me it would mean he would be on the road again for a few weeks to get things rolling. I scowled at the news, saying no way as he would just bring home another bimbo and he stopped dead in his tracks giving me such a stricken look that I had to giggle while he grabbed me tickling for my cheekiness.

The person who amazed me the most was Royce, for once he started to speak about his own business, he was pure Vanderhaven as I could see shades of Jago and Braith in him and I thought that his family had totally underestimated both his drive and intelligence. I guess because he was busy with his own dreams for he and Jojo were very professional and deadly serious about getting this off the ground. At first Royce was a little worried about me coming into the business as they had just been controlled by a crazy Gervais and I explained that although I was happy to be a part of their business I was not interested in the day to day running of it. I had not told Jojo yet but I rather wanted to go back to work for Chantal for as annoying as she was I did handle the running of the restaurant without too many problems and it was never boring. The job I had liked the most was working for Peter and the cars but with the way things went with Simon I could not deal with going back there.

The boys took the papers over to my accountant to look over, if all was well we would sign an agreement and they were back up and running. It felt really nice to be a part of something and thwart Gervais at the same time and I was enjoying this thought when the phone rang. I answered to discover a Coco so full of gossip she was practically breathless as no sooner than I had thought of Gervais Coco had rung with gossip about him, it never ceased to amaze me the wretched karmic link I had with the Dubois family. Gervais had not as it was speculated by the town had an affair with Taryn, no Gervais had focused his very dubious charms on the powerfully unhappy Tiah. Feeling abandoned by her father and ignored by her selfish mother Tiah was a bleeding heart waiting for anyone to pick her up and Gervais would never have allowed such an opportunity to pass giving her what resembled sympathy pouncing when she was busy lapping up the attention.

After Coco broke the news to me I called up the only person I knew who was never afraid of Gervais, Zizi, and asked her if she could think of anything to do. Zizi snorted in her usual blunt fashion saying that Tiah was not only about as dumb as they come, she would resent being rescued and further more when would I understand that he did these things in the hope I would come running in to rescue people. She told me that my obligations lay with Jojo now as Tiah would have to learn to fight her own battles and she was right, I was not in a position to help anyone. This did not stop me seeing that Gervais was lining up everyone I knew and then picking them off, one by one. I hung up and wondered if there was any point in approaching Liselle as now that she was with Jago she might have some sympathy for Tiah but after our last meeting where I had threatened her I didn’t think she would be open to any pleas I threw her way.

I went and sat on the terrace feeling angry and impotent for I knew these people were unknowingly heading towards disaster because of me and I waited for the inevitable call from Gervais as I knew he would want to taunt me with his latest conquest but none came. When he called I at least got to shout at him for being tortured from afar was at least better than having Gervais whispering evilly in my ear but his silence was worse for I knew he was still enjoying whatever he was doing. There was nothing I could do to help Tiah, I assumed she was up his compound for there was no news of them holed up in a hotel suite. If Liselle was off my list for those to appeal to then Ladonna was as unlikely to come to her aid, for most people in the town had the attitude that if you were dumb enough to play with the devil then expect bad things to happen. I knew that sooner or later Gervais and I would have a deadly reckoning and the rate his destruction of my life was going that day was not too far off.

Previous Next