THE ART OF DECEPTION

CHAPTER 4

Third person's POV

Linda immediately realizes that she should not have blamed her best friend for her own actions. She knows fully well that Katherine has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with what happened that night but for some reasons to Linda, it felt really good to put the blame on someone.

Linda releases a small sigh and hastily apologies for her sudden outburst. Katherine nods her slowly not picking offense in any of Linda's words because she understand that Linda is still overwhelmed by the news and it is messing with her head and her choice of words.

"Let us reason things in a calmer way Linda. I need you to first of all stop crying. I know you must be feeling overwhelmed by everything but you and I both know that crying will not solve the problem but only stress you even more. The next right thing to do is to come up with a resolution and in order to do so I need your mind and body to be at total rest, alright?" Katherine speaks up in gentle tone. Linda nods her head like a little child obeying the instruction of their parent. She wipes off the tears from her cheeks and sit upright ready to hear what Katherine has to suggest.

"Okay Katie. I am ready, what can we do?" Linda asks in a desperate tone.

"Okay uhm. I need you to think Linda, do you have any idea where he work? His phone number? His full name maybe? Anything that has to do with him? The littlest detail can be of great help." Katherine says.

It suddenly clicks to Linda's memory that when she woke up, she had seen a wad of cash and a business card on the desk. She had ended up locking it all in her drawer.

"Oh my God, that is right Katie. How could I forget? When I woke up the next morning, he had disappeared but he left a brown envelope that had money and his business card in it." Linda says dashing towards the drawer where she had locked it alongside a lot of other things important to her like her father's paintbrush. Her dad was a talented artist and he had a favorite paintbrush he was obsessed with. After his death, Linda had decided to get a tattoo of that exact paintbrush in honour of him and as a mark of a new beginning into her own artistic journey. While Linda is not working at the restaurant on weekends, she is usually spending time alone painting anything.

"What a jerk. How could he disappear and leave money behind? What does he take you for and who the hell does he think he is?" Katherine yells angrily as she imagines the thought of humiliation Linda must have felt at that exact moment when she had found the cash.

"It is not the time to get angry now Katie. Let us just focus on the resolution. Remember those were your words." Linda says unlocking the drawer and fetching the brown envelope out of it.

She rips open the envelope and the wad of cash alongside the business card litters all over the bed. Katherine places her hand over her mouth in shock at how plenty the money is.

"I know right. Those were my exact thoughts when I saw the cash for the first time. This is enough to cover all my debts and take care of my siblings but I could not find myself spending the money because I believed that it would only make me appear as a cheap girl that can easily be bought with money." Linda says.

Katherine nods her head and gives her a reassuring smile.

"I am so proud of you darling." Katherine says reaching for her shoulder and rubbing it gently. Linda nods her head and brings out the business card.

"There is a number attached to it." Linda says.

"Alright, call the number." Katherine says nodding her head towards the direction of the phone. Linda's heart starts to race fast in anxiety.

"What do I say Katie? It has been weeks since it happened. What if he does not remember me?" Linda asks her best friend with fear laced in her tone.

"Oh come on Linda. Cut the crap, are you trying to say he has been sleeping with other girls asides you. What sort of unserious human being does that?" Katherine questions with an irriated look on her face.

"Well, I am just saying." Linda says with a small shrug.

"Can I see the card?" Katherine asks. Linda nods her head in response. She hands Katherine the card and releases a small sigh.

"Oh my goodness!" Katherine yells out loud as her eyes stare abruptly at the business card in her hand. Her hand shakes and she gulps down a lump in her throat. Linda becomes afriad of Katherine's sudden outburst. She tries to read the look on her best friend's face but she can not seem to place what kind of reaction Katherine has on but she knows it is in between one of shock and most likely fear.

"Linda, why did you not tell me it was Donald Clair?" Katherine exclaims with her eyes wide open.

"I don't know, who is Donald Clair and why should I have told you that?" Linda asks scrunching her brows in confusion.

"THAT IS MY BOSS LINDA!! FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST, DONALD CLAIR IS MY BOSS!" Katherine exclaims placing her hand over her head, Linda gasps in shock at Katherine's words, she places her hand over her mouth and realizes how complicated things have gotten for her.

"I am so sorry Katie! I must have messed up real bad!" Linda says through gritted teeth.

Katherine releases a heavy sigh and rubs her temple in frustration.

"It is fine Linda. It is not your fault at all, I just can not come into terms that Donald Clair had a one night stand with you. I mean all of men it just had to be Donald Clair, he is a man of integrity and he does not have a great history with women. He just mostly focuses on work." Katherine says.

Linda releases a heavy sigh and bows her head low.

"What can I do now Katie? Do you think it is a bad idea trying to call him? I mean I do not want to get involved into anything and I am freaking out about the whole situation. I do not know how to react to everything and worst of it all I do not know how he would react to the news too. What if he denies it? What if he does not remember because he was drunk that night?" Linda pours out her heart to Katherine.

"Come on Linda. I thought we have gone past this stage. Call him and let us hear what he has to say. We can not just jump into conclusion yet plus I doubt he would actually deny it. He has a reputation to keep up to so he would not just deny it and if he tries such, we will call him out on it." Katherine says, she makes sure her last statement comes off as a threat and she utters it with a proud smirk.

"Katie, he is your boss, I hope you are not forgetting that?" Linda says staring at her best friend in disbelief.

"So what? No one messes with my best friend." Katherine says proudly. Linda smiles at the full support her best friend is giving her. She nods her head feeling a bit confident. Her hand reach for her phone and she dials the number on the business card. She gulps a lump down her throat and presses the call button.

"Hello? Who is this?" A masculine voice blares out through the speaker on the third dial.