For a moment Tanya was speechless, and was annoyed at the cold chill she felt in her stomach.
“Who are you?” she snapped.
“Never mind. You are cheating on your husband Chris with your gym instructor, Ray. I want you to tell Chris the truth and ask for forgiveness.”
Luigi came to the open part of her glass office and was waving some receipts frantically, but she didn’t seem to see him.
“Hmmm...I don’t know who you are. I have never cheated on Chris. I don’t even know how you know him. But I have never...”
“I have the evidence...photos taken, the things you two talk about...everything.”
“What!” Tanya sprang to her feet and walked out among the tables and out through the front door. She was in the parking lot now, in front of the restaurant. “Did he ask you to stalk me? Did he hire you?” She was furious now. How dare Chris have her followed! Chris was insecure but that did not warrant having her followed all day long by a private detective or something!
“I’ll kill him!” she yelled. “How dare he?”
She noticed that she was attracting attention and tried to keep her voice down. How did this man have photos taken with Ray and overhear those silly gym conversations unless a bug had been placed on her like happened in the movies?
She winced as she remembered those gym sessions when she was alone with Ray. He was always trying to throw her a few lines and seemed the kind of guy who would be all over her if she gave him a mere inch, regardless of whether she was married or not. Some men didn’t care whether you were married or not, they still “tried their luck.” But they would not condone another man trying his luck on their wives!
“I’ll kill that bastard!” she screamed, livid.
“You are not listening,” the voice spoke again, calm as ever but with a faint sadistic touch. “I will personally ask Chris to forgive you.”
Tanya flared up. “And who the hell do you think you are, asking my husband to forgive me?”
“Well, I hope you have cleaned yourself first, mister,” she said angrily. “So you take photos of my gym instructor holding my shoulders or hugging me and you call it cheating? Then you overhear things like he’s loving my new gym-induced shape and you think I’m sleeping with him? You think you are so right you can go spying on what other people are doing? I’m sure you have got a lot of dirty laundry hidden somewhere.”
“Let’s get to the thick of it,” the man spoke in his infuriatingly calm voice. “I’m not a blackmailer or any such vile thing.”
Tanya snorted. “I’m sure you are not!”
“All I need you to do is to call Chris and ask him to forgive you, and tell him you will never do this again. I convinced him not to punish you. And yes, he hired me, but that’s not the point. He wanted evidence that your newfound love for the gym has something to do with your gym instructor, I supplied the evidence, now you two need to make ammends.”
Tanya was silent for a minute. “And check on your mom too,” the man spoke again. “You have neglected her.”
“Now wait a minute! How do you know about my mom?”
“As I said, I’m watching.”
“Okay, you win. I will talk to Chris.”
“Okay. Bye.”
The man hung up.
Tanya frowned as she walked back to hear Luigi yelling at her. “Why do you have to leave your office to go and spend an hour on the phone? I hate this incompetence!”
“Incompetence!” Tanya flared up. “Do you think I should spend every second of the day doing your chores? I have some private life, Luigi. It’s not all about the restaurant.”
Beverly, who was standing near the kitchen counter with a tray, said to Olivia: “Drama as usual, with no regard for the customers.”
Apparently the customers were used to this kind of scene because they hardly gave Luigi and Tanya any attention.
Another incoming call. Tanya entered her glass office and noticed that it was Chris calling. “Hello?” she spoke.
“Chris....some weird-sounding guy just called me. He says he has evidence that I’m cheating on you. He used a private number. He wouldn’t say who he is.”
“What did he say to you?” Chris asked.
“Stuff like he has photos of me apparently in the arms of my gym instructor, and he has even bugged our conversations in the gym.”
“Only that?” There was a trace of suspicion in Chris’ voice.
“Should there be more?” Tanya snapped. “Isn’t that sufficient evidence for you? How much did you want him to unearth?”
“Hmmm. Just wondering...does this mystery guy know more about you than I do?”
“What on earth is that supposed to mean?” Tanya snapped.
Luigi banged on the window as he passed a heap of orders to her. “Another urgent phone call?” he called, making a helpless gesture.
Tanya hung up on Chris.