The Luddite Conspiracy Ch. 03

A pause, and he could almost hear her analyzing the situation. "So you bedded the little housewife with lies, and now she's run off to confess to her husband? I assume that means that she knows he's innocent...and you're not."

"I think so, yeah. She suspects it, anyway. Tracy, what am I gonna do? Ineedher..."

"Oh, grow up, Cecile. You've already lost. If Neil's come back early, it probably means he's talked to Paul. If he has, then we'll be lucky to get out of this without going to jail."

"Jail? Why would we go to jail?"

"Are you kidding me?"

Cecile rubbed at his injured toe, and it didn't hurt so much. Bracing himself, he risked climbing down and standing. It throbbed a little, but that was all. "No, I understand what we'd be charged with, but is that really a danger right now? I mean, what can he possibly do? The report comes out tomorrow, and the board is going to stand behind it. Neil is not allowed into the meeting. He will not have a chance to argue the findings. The police will be contacted as soon as it's over, because the company is desperate and scared. Once the rubber hits the road they'll push hard, and not care who they're pushing. They have to. They're in real danger, right?"

"The thing is, Cecile," she drew his name out in a condescending, teacher-like tone, "Neil Fenner can do simple math. He can put two and two together. He knows that something went wrong with the Technica, he knows that it was fine when he submitted it, and he knows that you and possibly I lied to his wife in order to break up his marriage. It won't take him until tomorrow to catch on that I had access to the submitted prints and you had the know-how to change them."

"Who would believe him?"

"Are you kidding me? The golden child of automotive excellence? That's how they see him, you know. How do you think they see me? Or you? Christ, anybody whoknowsus would believe it."

"So what do we do?"

"We go one step at a time. The road ahead just got a lot uglier, but we can make it if we focus. First of all, you have to forget about Gina Fenner. Put her out of your mind for the time being. Second, we need to keep Neil away from that meeting. That shouldn't be too hard, since he's technically not allowed in anyway. Once they've committed to our story, and the results are made public, the company will stick to its guns no matter what. The organization can't afford to have a botched investigation in the news on top of everything else. And it will have the support of the parent company. If we keep Neil and his people away from that boardroom tomorrow, then he will be arrested and we will have a multinational corporation at our backs. That still leaves a lengthy, public trial, and he will try to shift the blame on us as best he can. But we will have plenty of time to look for ways to support our innocence. You will have to go public about your affair, but that will hurt Gina's credibility as a witness more than yours. She'll be the adultering spouse, while you're the good looking up-and-comer." She hummed, and her tone softened. "Actually, we might be able to use that. It could be...suggested...that Neil altered the Technica in order to frame you. That he and his friends were lashing out as retribution for a lengthy affair you were having with his misses. She'll deny it was long-term, but admit sleeping with you, and after that nobody will take her word for anything." She laughed, slow and husky. "Yes. I think we might just pull this off yet, Cecile."

"And my promotion?"

A sigh. "It will have to wait. But I promise you, it is inevitable. I just can't promote you while people are watching us for signs of collusion."

He didn't respond, but sulked quietly.

"I meant what I said, Cecile," she warned. "If we don't do this exactly right, we will go to prison. We will be publicly vilified. We will never, ever recover from the consequences. I know you want that promotion. I know you want Gina Fenner. For now we need to put our heads down and worry about the ground in front of us. I promise that you will get that position in the end. And maybe, somehow, when it's all over, we'll even get you Gina Fenner. She might be angry with you at first, but she's going to be very lonely for a very long time." She clicked her tongue. "I can guess from experience that you probably impressed her last night..."

Cecile knew it was bullshit. But he wanted to believe.

"Tell me what I have to do," he said.

"First of all, you do not under any circumstances contact that woman. In fact, you need to keep away from the Fenners altogether. Shit, Cecile, just keep away from everybody. The report is presented at nine tomorrow morning. Any decisions will be made by ten. You come in late...say eleven o'clock...and I'll make sure that Neil goes nowhere near that board room. Understood?"

He thought about Gina, and he ached. "Understood," he said. And it wasn't really a lie, because he hadn't actually agreed to anything.

-=-=-

Tracy hung up the phone and cursed. She wasn't sure who was worse: Neil Fenner or Cecile Schaefer. Between them, they were hell bent on ruining her life.

Fortunately, Cecile was less and less of a threat the longer this went on. And now he had found a new toy, one he wanted so badly that he barely remembered what it was he wanted before. Even if he didn't get the promotion, he wouldn't care for very long. His fixation was on Gina, for now.

That left Neil. What was he going to do next? Surely he had to realize that tomorrow was the day that would decide everything. What might he be thinking? What did he know, and what did he only suspect?

Did it matter?

Paul definitely knew about the FMEA report, and if he knew it then Neil would too. But Tracy didn't think there was a chance in hell the two men could get into that meeting. If they tried, they'd be forcibly removed. And while, on the one hand, their rush to defend themselves might create some small amount of doubt regarding their guilt, the fact that they knew about the report ahead of time would in turn make them look paranoid and willing to break with proper procedure. The harm would outweigh the healing.

More importantly than any of that, Tracy Bunkley had a storyline explaining their motives that would sell to board members, press, and the unthinking public with such ease and volume that they'dwantit to be true. All she had to do was get the ball rolling. Cecile's chances of promotion would be gone, but at the end of it all Neil Fenner would still be eliminated as a threat. Tracy would come out looking like she'd helped save the company, in front of reporter-of-the-moment Moira Adams no less. Her position would be safe. She may even be able to springboard into something bigger.

Still, she refused to assume victory. Neil was a smart man. He would have a plan. If only she could determine what it was.

-=-=-

Gina hugged her legs to her chest and tried not to cry.

It had taken a lot to shake her faith in her husband. The arrows had had to come from every direction before she really began to consider the possibility that he would betray her. The bond between them was strong, the trust natural. So it wasn't taking much to repair that faith now. A single conversation, without evidence or corroboration. Just like that, she began to believe it.

Now he was out there somewhere, with Paul, talking about who knows what. About her? Perhaps. About what she'd done? Probably not.

About whether or not it was worth coming back to her? No. He wouldn't involve his friends in this mess. Not if he could avoid it.

She shook her head. Cecile had told her to be careful. What he'd said was true: it was easy to accept Neil's story without question, because she wanted it to be true. More than anything, she wanted to believe that this could all go away and she could have her marriage back. Any path that lead in that direction had appeal.

But he'd also been right when he'd pointed out that Neil, too, now had a betrayal that he would have to forgive. She knew her husband could forgive. What she wasn't sure about was whether or not forgiveness meant continuing on together.

Still, she wished she had more answers. Where was this letter? Why didn't Neil have Paul come and explain his phone call to her? And could she possibly believe that Cecile was capable of putting people's lives at risk for the sake of a job? Capable of lying to her about her husband, a man who was his friend and coworker, out of some naïve notion of conquest? Even if the rest of it were true, that was so far removed from what she'd seen that it seemed impossible. The young man she'd spent the last few days getting to know wasn't like that. There wasn't anything there that struck her as matching Neil's description.

Cecile was so gentle, so patient and caring. Ambitious? Impatient? Gina saw neither of those things. He came across to her as a sensitive, loving individual with a strong sense of humor. And if he was perhaps a little immature in his approach to his emotions, he was also very honest regarding them. Where was this supposed liar hiding? There hadn't been any deception to his attention, to his courting. Just bald desire. It had been nice to have a young man-

No. No, she wasn't going to do that. Whatever happened now, she couldn't go turning her mistake into a daydream, or a fond memory. A mistake is a mistake is a mistake.

So if she believed Neil, but didn't believe Neil, then where did that leave her? If she pushed to save their marriage but doubted his sincerity, and if he refused to push at all because of what she'd done, did they have any chance at all?

The phone rang. Gina rushed over and picked it up. "Hello?" she asked.

"Gina. Hi. I know I shouldn't be calling you right now, but I..."

She sighed. "Cecile. You're right. You shouldn't call, ever again. I'm sorry for the mistake we made, and I'm sorry to brush you off like this. But right now I have to try and save my marriage."

"Wait! Please! Let me say something before you hang up."

"Goodbye, Cecile."

"Gina! Please! It's important!"

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Make it quick. And then we're done."

There was a pause, and she could almost hear his anxiety translated over the phone. "I wasn't supposed to call you, Gina. I promised I wouldn't. But I had to. Don't you see? I'm in love you. With everything that I am, I love you. We're meant for each other. I felt it the moment you opened the door, that first day. I know it's sudden. I know it's crazy. But isn't that what love is supposed to be? Isn't that the best case scenario? I know you have feelings for me, too. And I understand that you're mixed up right now. But we'regoodtogether. You can't deny it. You can't ignore it."

Gina bit her lip. "Cecile," she said quietly, "what do you mean you weren't supposed to call me?"

A pause. "What?"

"You heard me. You said you weren't supposed to call me. Who told you not to call me?"

"I...a friend. A friend told me that I needed to give you space. She said-"

"She? She who?"

"Just a friend! You don't need to be jealous, Gina-"

"Cecile," she blurted out, not even really realizing what she had discovered until the words poured out, "what else did Tracy tell you today?"

The silence went on for an eternity, a total admission of guilt. She waited, listening to his heavy breathing, as the seconds threatened to become minutes.

"Gina," he whispered at last. "Iloveyou." He sounded petulant.

That was all it took. She knew, now. She knew what he'd done. "Where is the note, Cecile? The one my husband left for me when you picked him up?"

"I don't know what you-"

"Where is the note, Cecile?"

"Gina, please don't-"

"Can I tell you something, Cecile? You were right. I have been...developing feelings...for you during the last few days. And I would never lie to you, because of those feelings. It's the same reason that I had to tell Neil the truth about what we did. It's the same reason that it hurt me so much when you told me he'd been having an affair. The truth is important, Cecile. There is no room in love for lying. So don't lie to me, now. Tell me where the note is."

He didn't respond at first, and she wondered if she was wasting her time. Then, almost inaudibly, he said, "I did it forus, Gina. I did it because I knew we could be happy together."

She felt the tear's soft tickle as it ran down her cheek, but not the accompanying sadness. In fact she felt almost nothing at all. "Where is the note, Cecile?"

"Between the fridge and the cabinets. I....stuffed it in there when I came to visit you on Thursday." Then, in a desperate rush, he went on. "I didn't plan it, I swear! I took the note without thinking. I came over Thursday to return it, to make sure you got it, but then you opened the door and you were so beautiful. I just knew that...that we...." the words both slowed and faded in volume, until he wasn't saying anything at all.

"Cecile?"

"Yes?"

"Don't ever call here again. And, please, go to hell." Hanging up, Gina rushed over to the spot he'd indicated. Unable to make her fingers fit into the small gap, she grabbed a rubber stirring spoon and pushed it as far back as it would go. Pressing the tip to the ground, she skidded the spoon back towards her. Sure enough, in addition to some dust and lint it snagged a sheet of paper, dragging it into the light.

Her heart was a thunderstorm, but her pulse felt tired and weak. The world was a tunnel, blurry and unimportant, as she sat down heavily on the tile floor and unfolded the little, handwritten note.

-=-=-

The world was dark when Paul dropped Neil off in his driveway.

"Do you want me to come in?" he asked, taking a pull from his cigarette. "Talk to her about it? Tell her what I was really saying when-"

"No," Neil said. "We both need our rest. And, to be honest, if I have to get your testimony to convince her of my innocence then that will say a lot about where we're at."

"It can't hurt anything, Neil."

"Let me say it another way: I won't need your testimony, because I am innocent and my wife is a smart woman."

"You sound pretty sure."

"I am pretty sure. Go home, get some rest, and don't bring your cigarettes to work tomorrow."

Paul smiled. "That'll make it hard to focus."

"Our balls are getting rubber banded as we speak. That should turn out to be quite the focuser, I think." He climbed out and said his goodnight, then headed inside.

Gina was sitting at the kitchen table when he entered, a red-eyed and puffy smear of a woman. His note lay in front of her, almost exactly where he'd left it. She stared at him, a deep well of sorrow with nothing to offer. He stared at the note a long time, thinking.

"Cecile called. Or, you called him," he said.

She nodded. "He called."

He bit his thumbnail. "He didn't call with the intention of admitting to anything, I'd guess. So you must have confronted him. And you were persistent, because you got him to admit to something that he would desperately want not to admit to." She nodded again. He smiled sadly. "I'm glad for that. I'll have to tell Paul you proved me right, when I see him tomorrow. So..." he tapped the note, "does it matter?"

She blinked. "Of course it matters! How could you think-"

He waved his hand dismissively, and she stopped talking. "I guess it's hard for me to understand where I stand with you right now," he shrugged. "Maybe it's hard to know where you stand with me, too."

"I can tell you where you stand with me-"

"Don't. I'm not interested in it tonight."

"Neil?"

"I said I'm not interested. Listen...I understand the weight of the evidence they threw at you. It's a lot. And I know that without that letter my actions probably looked dubious at best. But it took you three days of thinking the worst to climb into another man's bed. Three days. Not even a man's bed...a boy's, really. And, even if it had taken a week, or a month, the point is that that's where you ended up. This thing happened. Regardless of what I feel for you, or you for me, that's going to be a very sizable issue that we are going to have to face."

He could see her fight the urge to cry, but she shook her head. "We can beat it, Neil. I know we can. I-"

"Maybe you don't really understand what we're up against, Gina. What do you think is going to happen right now, tonight? I'll tell you. I'm going to go and sleep in the guest room. And here's why: it wasn't but just a few hours ago you still thought I'd been having an affair. Think about how that felt. Would you have felt comfortable getting undressed in front of me, thinking I'd been with another woman? Or would you have been self-conscious, nervous about how you look? Wondering how you measured up? Would something simple, like stumbling a bit as you pulled your socks off, still be something simple? Or would you feel clumsy, stupid? Would you be able to concentrate on anything at all, aside from how awkward and wrinkled and tired andnormalyou must look? Because I don't think I could."

She shook her head. "No. I do realize all of that. And I also realize that I had the good fortune of not having seen your mystery woman. I could at least tell myself little whispered reassurances. I could imagine that she might be our age, or less fit. I could pretend that her figure might not be as good as mine. And I could never actually picture you in bed with her, loving and touching each other, because I had no face or form to put you next to. Just an idea. You, on the other hand, know Cecile. You have a face to put in your nightmares. It must all seem that much more real to you because of that. It's not an abstract idea that you're dealing with...'Gina had an affair,'....it's a physical reality, full of visual and auditory input." She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "If you think I haven't thought about this, Neil Fenner, you're wrong. I am fully aware of what I'm up against. And It's a lot...maybe too much. I hope you understand that that doesn't mean I quit."

He nodded, then looked at the clock. "Okay. You're not quitting. I'm not quitting. That's something. But it still will have to wait until after tomorrow." He poured himself a glass of water and headed towards the guest room.

"Neil?" she called after him.

"Yeah?" He hesitated in the doorway.

"Do you...can you prove what they did?"

"No. But I have a few tricks up my sleeve."

"Could I...help?"

"You're my wife, Gina. They'll take anything you say with a grain of salt, if they even take it at all. Leave the note out, though. I think I can use that."

"How?"

"Just leave it out. I'm tired, honey. I want to go to bed. It's...been a day."

"Neil?"

He sighed. "Yes, Gina?"

"You're really not quitting on me?"

He turned around. She looked so small, so certain of her doom. "I won't promise you anything, Gina, because it's a bad time to be making promises. But I did tell you already," he smiled, "that I'm through running."