Sick Obsession: A Twisted Love Story (5 page)

*****

Darrius received a call from Martha that he may need to come into the office. He had late meetings scheduled for the day that would keep him from having to go to the office early, but because of how Martha sounded on the phone he made a trip to the office. When he got there, he could tell that Martha looked worried.

“Martha what’s going on?” Darrius asked. Martha looked as if she was about to cry.

“Mr. Jackson I am so sorry to have to tell you this,” Martha said. 

“Tell me what Martha,” Darrius responded with apprehension in his voice.

“I have misplaced or lost the file that contained personal information on you and your clients, past and present, along with the staff,” Martha whispered with tears in her eyes.

Darrius’ eyes widened and his jaws tightened. “How the hell did that happen Martha?”Darrius shouted hysterically. “That information is not supposed to leave the office anyway, so how can it get lost?  It’s supposed to be locked up anyway!” Darrius added. Darrius was so loud that other people came out of their offices.

"Mr. Jackson, that is not all,” Martha alleged.

“What do you mean?” Darrius asked, throwing his hands up.

“Mr. Jackson, I really think we should go into your office for what I need to tell you,” Martha said.

“Why?’ Darrius asked.

“Mr. Jackson please,” Martha begged, gesturing towards his office.

Darrius just stood shaking his head and rubbing the back of his neck.  “Fine,” he muttered.

They walked to his office and Martha followed behind nervously. Darrius went and sat on his desk as Martha walked in with her head down and her hands interlocked.

“Should we close the door?” Darrius asked impatiently. As Martha turned to close the door she could see her fellow co-workers standing around looking. She turned to face Darrius who was sitting on the edge of his desk with his arms folded across his chest, looking directly at her with rage in his eyes. “Martha get on with it,” Darrius said with a tight jaw.

“Well not only did I misplace or lose the file, but---,” Martha began but stopped.

“Stop dragging this shit out!” Darrius yelled.

“I am not sure how long the file has been missing,” Martha blurted out.

Darrius could feel his blood pressure rising and his temper flaring.  He was getting so distressed that he became belligerent. He picked up one of his office chairs and threw it across the room. Martha was so afraid that she ran into a corner with her hands over her head. “Martha, how in the hell!” Darrius shouted.

“Sir, I am so sorry,” Martha apologized. “I usually would check the file each week, but we have been so busy lately,” Martha pleaded to him.

“So when did you realize it was gone?” Darrius asked.

“I only noticed it today because of the work you’re doing with Mr. Carter,” Martha said.

“Do you know what that means, or do you realize what could happen if that information gets out?” Darrius asked her.

“Yes, sir I do,” Martha said, now coming out of the corner. Darrius had to compose his self and calm down. He started to pace the floor, thinking of what steps he needed to take.

“First thing we need to do is get in contact with everyone and inform them of what happened,” Darrius said.

“Mr. Jackson shouldn’t we wait? I may find it,” Martha said.

“No! It’s best we inform everyone just in case something comes up.”

“Yes sir, you’re right,” Martha nodded.

“So, I need you to type up a memo to all employees as well as send out emails and letters to anyone we have worked with,” Darrius said.

“Yes sir,” Martha said as she turned to head for the door.

“Make sure I approve it all before you send it out,” Darrius said. As Martha walked out Darrius sat in his big office chair and stared at the ceiling, thinking on how much of a mess this will soon become. Not only is he getting stalked from some random person, but now his business was headed for big trouble.

Darrius closed his eyes and just remembered the good times.  He tried to think where he went wrong but nothing came to mind.  At that very moment his computer made a sound, indicating he had an email.  There is no way she typed that memo up that quickly, he thought. Darrius entered his password to unlock his screen and clicked on his email box icon.

One of the email’s subject lines caught his eye.  It read: MISSING FILE. That can’t be a right, he thought.  He clicked on the email and once it opened, there in the attachment was the file he and Martha were just discussing with the words, LOOKING FOR ME? written at the bottom. “What the hell?” Darrius said as he put his hand over his mouth.  It was at that point he realized that this just got serious.

Chapter 5

“Yo, what’s up bro.?” Darrius said as he opened his door to welcome his brother in.

“Hey man,” Travis said as he walked inside, placed his suitcase down and gave Darrius a hug.

“Sorry about not showing up last week man, things got hectic for me,” Travis said.

“Man it’s okay, just a pleasure to see you,” Darrius said as he led his brother into the living room.

“So how is everything going for you?” Travis asked as he sat down on the sofa.

“Well its going okay,” Darrius lied again, not wanting to speak on what was actually going on at work.

“That doesn’t sound to convincing man. You okay?” Travis asked.

“Yeah, it’s nothing I can’t handle,” Darrius said, trying to sound more convincing, but it was clear from his brother’s face that he was not buying it.

“Darrius let me know what’s going on with you. I can tell something is up,” Travis said.

“Enough about me.  What about you, what’s going on with you?” Darrius asked, trying to change the subject.

“Okay, so you’re still avoiding the question,” Travis said with a slight laugh.

“It’s not that, I just---,” Darrius began, but Lizeth walked into the living room.

“Hi Travis,” Lizeth said as she walked over to give him a hug.

“Hi how are you?” Travis said.

“I am good. It’s so good to see you,” Lizeth said.

“Glad to hear it. I was just telling Darrius that I am sorry I was not able to make it like I planned to last week,” Travis apologized.

“That’s ok.  Well, I don’t want to interrupt you two,” Lizeth said as she walked over to Darrius and gave him a long and passionate kiss.

“Damn bra!” Travis chuckled as he looked on at the two.

“Whatever,” Darrius mumbled jokingly.

“I will be in the kitchen working on some stuff, just call me if you need me,” Lizeth said as she walked out the living room towards the kitchen. 

    Lizeth walked into the kitchen with a sigh of relief.  She thought she was caught. She thought that Darrius was still out on his morning run when she was in his office looking around for something earlier that day and she came across a note that read:

What goes around, comes around Darrius

This note led her to believe that something was going on that he was not telling, or trying to keep from her.  Either way, she wanted to know what was going on and it was clear he was not talking about it.

Lizeth managed to get his suitcase open and that was when she discovered pictures of him and other women and more letters along with emails. What the hell? Many emotions and thoughts were running through her head.  He was cheating on her with multiple women. The more she looked at the pictures the angrier she became. She had to hold her tears in as she looked at the pictures. She was just about to take all of them when she heard Darrius and someone talking downstairs. Lizeth wanted answers, but she did not want to bring it to Darrius’ attention that she knew so she decided to go and visit Martha today before she went into work to get answers on both the notes and emails, in addition to the women in the pictures.  With Darrius distracted by his brother, this would be the perfect time.

“Damn man I can’t believe you’re going through all this,” Travis said in response to Darrius finally telling him about what was going on at work.

“Yeah, it’s just getting out of control,” Darrius said, shaking his head.“I have a person looking into it though,” he added. 

“That’s good.  Do you have any idea who it could be?” Travis asked.

“At this point I don’t have a clue,” Darrius said.

“Can I ask you a question?” Travis said, sounding more serious than before.

“Sure man, ask me anything,” Darrius said.  

“What made you want to mess around on your wife.?” Travis asked.

“To be honest, I don’t really know.  At the time I didn’t care and I felt it was okay,” Darrius admitted.

“Cheating on your wife is never okay,” Travis scolded.

“It’s not like she is going to find out,” Darrius said.

“Well looks like she may,” Travis said.

“I doubt it.  She works now, she’s too busy,” Darrius said.

“You come off like it’s not that big of a deal,” Travis said.

“How, and why you pressing this man?” Darrius said, now getting upset.

“You’re doing the same shit dad did to mom and you should know better!” Travis yelled.

Darrius felt like he was just punched in the stomach.  All he could see was flashes of his childhood appearing and none of them looked as if his mother was hurting or his father had cheated.    

“Watch your damn mouth.  Our father did not cheat on our mother!” Darrius said as he stood to his feet.

“Really?  They said you wouldn’t remember being that you had to go to a therapist because you couldn’t handle it then,” Travis said as he stood and walked towards Darrius.

“Is this the reason you came, so you could tell me some bullshit?” Darrius asked. 

“No, I came because I needed to talk to you on why you haven’t heard from me in a while,” Travis said, now sounding sad.

“Travis what’s going on man? I knew something was up from the moment you were on the phone,” Darrius said, quickly calming down. Both men sat back down and Darrius looked at his brother whose eyes began to water. Travis looked down at the floor and stated to talk.

“I really screwed things up in my marriage,” Travis said.

“What?” Darrius asked, stunned.

“Let me finish,” Travis said.

“Everything was good in the beginning.  We got along and I was happy with her. Somehow along the way I found myself wanting the company of other women.  It was good and I loved it.  She did not know and at some point, I did not care. I got so caught up in it that I failed to even notice my wife was leaving me.  Hell, when I realized it she was already gone,” Travis said with tears now coming from his eyes.

“Man I am so sorry, I didn’t know you were dealing with this,” Darrius said.

“Well, there is more,” Travis said through sniffs. “After she left everything just kind of hit me all at once. I started drinking, and then gambling became an issue for me,” Travis confessed, now sobbing. “I lost everything!” Travis said in between sobs.

“Hey man, it’s going to be alright,” Darrius said as he hugged his brother.

“No man, it’s not going to be alright,” Travis said as he pushed away from Darrius and got up from the seat. “Don’t you see, we are cursed!” Travis shouted out.

“What do you mean cursed?” Darrius said jokingly.

“You think this shit funny?” Travis said.

“No man, but you sounding crazy as hell.  You messed up, so what?” Darrius shrugged.

“Crazy? Not at all.  My ex-wife is expecting a child,” Travis said.

“That’s good to hear man, congrats,” Darrius said.

Travis just stood in silence and turned his head away from him. “It’s not mine,” Travis said softly.

“I am so sorry bra,” Darrius said.

“I just don’t want you to go through what I went through man,” Travis said. “You may not believe me about dad, but I didn’t know about you cheating on your wife until now, and you just found out about what I did to mine.  So, if that is not enough to prove to you, just go and visit the folks. We just repeating the same shit he did to mom,” Travis said.

“Enough with that, our actions are our own, not dad’s,” Darrius said.

“Maybe you’re right, but one thing I know is I allowed my pride and the fact that I am a man get in the way of what was most important,” Travis said as he turned back around to face Darrius.

“And what was that?” Darrius asked.

“Making sure my wife stayed happy,” Travis said.

“Well my wife is not going anywhere,” Darrius said.

“Yeah let’s hope so.  One of us got to get it right,” Travis responded.

*****

Lizeth sat in her car in front of Darrius’ company thinking of how to go about getting information from Martha without coming off as though she is clueless. I will just go in there and demand answers, Lizeth thought to herself. No that would be too direct. Oh well, nothing like the present, she thought as she got out of her car and started walking towards the building. The good thing about not being seen up here often made it easy for her to be excused as a normal person. Once she was on the elevator, two other people were discussing an email that came out talking about a leak where someone could have obtained personal information.

As she listened to the two on the elevator talk, they began talking about filing a potential lawsuit against the company. So it’s deeper than I thought, Lizeth thought as she listened on. The conversation came to a complete stop once the doors to the elevator opened and the two got off.  She wondered if she should follow them.  She quickly recanted her thoughts to follow and remained on the elevator because she did not want to risk missing Martha. The elevator doors closed and Lizeth stood back and waited for it to reach the top. The elevator kept going up until it reached its desired floor, the doors opened and Lizeth stepped out. To her surprise, Martha was standing at her desk as if she was already waiting on her. Martha waved her over. Lizeth walked over to Martha who seemed to look as if she was stressed.

“Is everything okay Martha?” Lizeth asked.

“Mrs. Jackson, I have been trying to reach your husband all day,” Martha said, sounding frantic.

“Martha please calm down and tell me what’s going on,” Lizeth said. As Lizeth sat down with Martha she listened to Martha explain everything that was going on in the office. How she misplaced a file and had to send out the memo to all employees and clients, past and present. She also informed her about all the mysterious emails and letters along with packages that had been coming to the office for Darrius.

After Martha finished telling her this, she looked as if she was relieved, but that moment passed rather quickly once the phone started ringing again. As Martha informed her of all the recent happenings, Lizeth was trying to think of who to call to help save her husband, despite his cheating ways. She started grilling Martha with questions to get to the truth.

“So Martha, who do you think could behind all this?” Lizeth asked.

“I am not sure,” Martha answered.

“Has anyone recently got fired?” Lizeth asked.

“No, no one’s been fired.  I would have to handle that paper work,” Martha told her.

“Did he have an argument with someone or upset someone?” Lizeth asked.

“No I don’t think so,” Martha said.

“Okay, well that gets us nowhere!” Lizeth sighed, clearly frustrated.

“Sorry I can’t be more help,” Martha apologized.

“Well who would have access to this information other than you?” Lizeth grilled her.

“No one,” Martha said.

“Well no one got fired, so did anyone get hired here recently?” Lizeth asked.

“Well, no new hires.  All we had was an intern who was from the college, but Mr. Jackson all of a sudden chose to end the program with the school,” Martha said.

“Why did he do that?” Lizeth asked curiously.

“According to Mr. Jackson, she was getting too attached here and she was not really working out,” Martha explained. Lizeth felt as if she had just found the piece to the puzzle but was still not sure.

“So do you think she could be behind this?” Lizeth asked.

“Well when she was escorted off the property she didn’t seem at all upset,” Martha said.

“She was escorted off the property?” Lizeth asked.

“Yes, Mr. Jackson thought it best,” Martha said.

“Now that you mention it, she did get to work with me once or twice, but I don’t think that she would do this,” Martha said.

Lizeth was sure that this intern was behind this, and she planned on finding out the truth.

“Martha if I wanted to find an intern or this intern for my company how would I go about doing so?” Lizeth asked.

“Well the college is a good choice, they have such bright students.  But if you want to speak with that particular intern I have her information here,” Martha said as she went into her desk and pulled out a folder with ‘Jessica Jones’ printed on it. “You can’t look in it, only I can,” Martha said.

“I understand,” Lizeth nodded.

“That’s weird,” Martha said.

“What?” Lizeth asked.

“Her folder is completely empty,” Martha said. Both women sat in silence looking at one another.

“Well I don’t want to keep you from your work,” Lizeth said, getting up to leave.

“It was nice to talk to you Mrs. Jackson.  Again, I am sorry about our mix-up before.” 

“Tell you what, if you can keep this conversation between me and you I will forget about that mix-up,” Lizeth said as she smiled.

“My lips are sealed,” Martha promised as she gestured zipping her lips.

Lizeth was not too sure if that was really the case, but she hoped she held up to her word. She did not need her husband to know that she was well aware of what was going on.  She could not ask Martha about the women in the pictures being that she was already dealing with so much already. Lizeth entered the elevator and pulled out her cell phone.