Chapter 3 – A Familiar Face
"Mr. Dimera, that strange lady is here to see you again..." Stephanie Johnson's voice pouted over the intercom.
Tony swerved about in his office chair, groaning in exhaustion and frustration.
"She's been hounding Chelsea and me for days," his administrative assistant continued. "She won't leave her name and she won't go away. Will you please see her, Mr. Dimera?"
"If she won't leave her name, she is probably not a serious client, Stephanie," he answered back decisively. "And we only take serious clients at Dimera Advertising.
"But..."
"Now for the last time, DO NOT INTERRUPT ME AGAIN!!" he roared into the intercom.
Swirling back in his chair to glare at the blonde viper across the room, Tony continued in an icy calm voice.
"Now...you were saying?"
Anna Dimera smirked slightly before breaking out in a triumphant laugh.
"Temper, temper...my dear. Is that any way for the president of an advertising company to behave?"
Tony glowered at Anna. She was casually posed on a cushy large white sofa across from his desk, perfectly attired in a stylish white business suit. She looked every bit like a model right out of a fashion magazine published on Madison Avenue.
Yes, Anna played the part of the ambitious advertising executive convincingly enough. But Tony knew better. She could care less about her new job with the rival corporation that he was competing with. All she cared about was making him suffer!
When Tony had been stranded on Stefano's island for so many years, he clung to the memories of his sweet wife. His beautiful Contessa...who could be romantic, sexy and funny. Dancing with him until dawn. Making love with him around the clock.
Yet the old adage was true. Absence indeed could make the heart grow fonder.
He had forgotten how insufferable Anna could be when she felt she had been crossed. And she always knew how to press his buttons and make him turn positively brutish!
"Let us cease with these games, Anna."
"Games?" Anna asked, batting her eyes with feigned innocence.
"I cannot believe you'd do to us!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, Tony," she answered. "There's an 'us'? Really? When did that happen? I must have missed that."
"Taking a job with the competition, trying to undermine me...just because..."
"I warned you not to underestimate me," Anna smoothly countered with a sly smile. "You know what they say. Hell hath no fury like a..."
"I NEVER SCORNED YOU!" Tony cried out, slamming his hand down on the desk in anger. "Okay, I didn't propose marriage to you, but I certainly never scorned you! All I recall doing is taking you to the Mediterranean, buying you expensive dinners and jewelry, making love to you day and night. What a horrible monster I am! However did you bear it?"
For a moment, Anna looked as if she were actually listening to him. She even seemed a little ashamed of her own behavior.
"No, you're not horrible, Tony. I never said that. Those were wonderful days...and nights. In fact, they were magical...like a dream that I never wanted to wake up from. And that's why I..."
"But I'll tell you what...!" Tony interrupted, having no interest in hearing her seductive words. " I'll be damned if I'm going to propose to a conniving back-biting..."
The expletive exploded out of his mouth like a bullet from a gun.
"OH!!! HOW DARE YOU!!!" Anna cried out in outrage, standing up from the sofa and clutching at her purse.
"Not that I actually find you and that company a threat in any way!" Tony sniped back. "This little venture of yours is sure to fail. And then I suppose it will just be a matter of time before you come crawling back to me or to Roman or to whatever man will..."
An antique vase shattered against the wall behind him, only several inches away from his head.
"I hate you, Tony Dimera!" Anna raged, storming out of his office. "I hate you. I hate you! I HATE YOU!!!"
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The beautiful woman slammed the door of Tony Dimera's office before raging out, paying no notice of any of the women in the front office.
"There they go at it again!" the girl named Chelsea sighed as she sharpened a pencil at her desk. "Seemed like there was more peace and quiet at the sorority house, wasn't there, Steph?"
"You got that right."
Phoebe stared at the back of the woman in the white suit who was stalking furiously down the hallway, leaving the building. For the first time since she saw Tony Dimera's picture in The London Spectator, she had that strange feeling. Only this time, it was about that woman. She knew her from somewhere in the past. She was sure of it.
"Does she work here?"
"Who, Anna?" Chelsea answered. "No, thank God, or this place would be a total war zone!"
"Chelsea..." Stephanie whispered at her co-worker, hinting that they should make an attempt to be more professional.
"Anna..." Phoebe said the name to herself, straining to remember something. "Anna."
But nothing was coming to her.
After a few moments, Phoebe was aware that the two secretaries...no, they were Administrative Assistants...the one named Stephanie had made that very clear to her...the two Administrative Assistants were staring at her.
"Chelse...this lady's freaking me out..." Stephanie whispered.
"I know. She is kind of...strange, isn't she?"
Phoebe pretended that she hadn't heard their conversation. She needed to see Tony Dimera! If she could just get these questions answered, then she wouldn't seem so scary to people.
But she had to admit that she was nervous.
After she had heard Tony yelling over the intercom, Phoebe was almost afraid of him. And if that woman, that Anna, was any indication, he was probably very mean-spirited. Just the thought of going toe to toe with him gave Phoebe one of her stress headaches. But she had to do it. It was the only way.
"Do you think Mr. Dimera might see me now?" Phoebe persisted.
Stephanie shook her head sympathetically.
"I'm sorry, Miss. If you would just leave me a name and number, I could make an appointment for you to see him."
Phoebe fretted. Who should she say she was? Obviously, she couldn't say she was Renee Dimera. Should she admit that her real last name was Donovan and that she was married to Shane? Shane said that he had crossed paths with Stefano...and Phoebe had no way of knowing how that would affect Tony. On the other hand, maybe her last name would be the key to getting in the door to see him. At this point, anything was worth a try.
Taking a deep breath, Phoebe took the plunge.
"Phoebe Donovan."
Stephanie nodded with encouragement, reaching for the intercom.
"Mr. Dimera, Phoebe Donovan is here to see you."
Silence.
"Make an appointment for later, please, Stephanie."
Apparently, the name of Donovan meant nothing to Tony Dimera. At least, not as far as Phoebe could tell.
Stephanie shrugged.
"Sorry, I tried. Do you want me to make an appointment for you to see him? I can get a slot for tomorrow morning."
"I guess if that's the only way..."
Stephanie wrote her name down in the appointment book.
"And this is the number of where I'm staying."
Phoebe handed Stephanie the business card of the Salem Inn.
"You're from out of town?"
"Yes. And it's very important that I see him."
Yes, Phoebe thought. She needed to see him right away while she could still afford to stay at the Salem Inn. She would hate to have to go back crawling to Shane in England, just as broke and as clueless as she was when she had first started.
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Reaching for the built-in bar inside the dark oak desk, Tony poured himself a brandy. Usually he was not much of a drinker, especially during business hours. He should continue on with his day as if the quarrel hadn't happened. He should see that potential client who was waiting outside of his office. The strange woman who had to be coaxed to leave a name.
But Anna could lead any man to stray off course and straight into on a bender!
Good Lord, hadn't he been through enough?
Tony did not like to waste time on self-pity and regret, but truly how much could one man stand? Didn't that woman have any compassion for him after all he had been through with Stefano? Did she really have to make him endure petty quarrels now...when he was still just trying to figure out how to function in 2008 with all of its slang and new-fangled technology?
Things were so much simpler on the island!
Tony mulled over the last few weeks with Anna and all of their battles. He knew that she was angry that he had not proposed marriage to her. And if he were sane, he would buy the biggest diamond ring he could find and slip it right onto her finger. But the fact of the matter was that he was simply not ready for that sort of commitment. How could he make her understand?
During his life on the island, Tony had convinced himself that he was happy and carefree. Everything was wonderful, even if he was there courtesy of Stefano Dimera. He had even insisted to Marlena and John when they had come to get him that he didn't want to leave the island.
But the truth was that Tony only convinced himself of that to keep himself from going mad with ineffectual rage against Stefano. He simply could not wrap his mind around the fact that his monstrous "father" had manipulated and imprisoned him yet again. It had been humiliating enough when he had been Stefano's captive for nine months. But this time, it had been for over twenty years. He had to convince himself that he was at peace with how things were. He had no other choice if he was to keep his sanity.
But once Tony had returned to what was known as Real Life, he became painfully aware of all he had missed. Yes, horrible things had happened in Real Life since his absence. Tsunamis and terrorist attacks and wars. But there were beautiful things in the world as well...beauty that Stefano had deprived him of. Friends and family...children...youth. So many opportunities had passed him by.
And now that Tony had his first taste of freedom at last, he could not give that privilege up. Not even for Anna. He wanted to go where he wanted, when he wanted and with who he wanted. If that made him a selfish man, so be it! Wasn't he entitled to just a little selfishness after everything that had happened?
Miserably, he downed his snifter of brandy.
He did love Anna. But sometimes love was not enough when life could be so complicated.
And here he was, Tony thought, morosely studying his immaculate new office...trying to create this new company and make the Dimera name stand for something besides evil. How could a mere little advertising company erase decades of all of the damage that Stefano had caused? Murders, kidnappings, faked deaths...those words were synonymous with the Dimera name, not advertising.
Still, he reasoned, refusing to see a brand new client was no way to start his new venture.
"Stephanie?"
"Yes, Mr. Dimera?"
"Is that client...that..." Tony strained his memory. "That Miss Donovan still out there?"
"No, she left, Mr. Dimera. She has an appointment to see you tomorrow morning."
"Fine."
Tony sighed miserably. At least, if he had seen that Miss Donovan, he might have been able to forget about his problems for a while.
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So here I am all dressed up with no place to go, Phoebe thought sourly.
She had not been in business attire exactly, but she had made an attempt to look presentable. Actually, donning a lavender silk dress and dark cashmere coat along with pearl earrings, Phoebe had attempted to look attractive. No mean feat, considering what she had in her suitcase to work with.
And she couldn't even get past Tony's secretaries...oh, excuse me, Administrative Assistants.
Sighing in frustration, Phoebe wandered the streets of downtown in no hurry to go back to that smelly old room at the Salem Inn, even though the winter weather in Salem was brutally cold. And with finances stretched so thin, she did not dare to even splurge on lunch or a cup of coffee. But she noticed that the University of Salem Library was only a few blocks away. That would be a great place to kill time for the rest of the afternoon, at least. And perhaps she could even do more research on Renee Dimera there.
Her spirits lifting, Phoebe strode over towards the library, feeling like the day had not been a complete loss.
Luck was on her side for once. There was one last available spot in the crowded Media Center for a computer. Phoebe eagerly grabbed the spot and proceeded to do a search on 'Renee Dimera'.
Renee DuMonde had come to Salem in 1980. Her life had never been an easy one. She had been under the belief that her mother, Lee DuMonde, was her sister. She had been nearly killed by the Salem Strangler twice. After she was engaged to Tony Dimera, she found out that Stefano was her father after reading Lee's diary. And later on, Tony discovered he was not Stefano's son. She then married David Banning.
The details of Renee's life became a bit sketchy after that.
Tony Dimera had married Anna. The woman in the office, Phoebe remembered.
In 1983, Stefano faked his first 'death' and set Renee and Tony in a competition with their respective spouses as to who would provide the first Dimera heir. But a second will was discovered by Alex Marshall, leaving all of the money to Renee. Alex married Renee for her money, but when Renee found out about the will, she threw a big party when she more or less told Alex...along with the rest of Salem...off. This was the party in which Renee was murdered. Although Andre was the ultimate killer, there had many suspects involved in the case. Apparently, Renee made a lot of enemies along the way.
Phoebe was a little depressed reading about the person who she suspected that she was. The life she was returning to...if she indeed was Renee...was not a happy one. But it was her life, for better or worse.
And Phoebe began to understand why she had such intense flashbacks about Tony. They had become engaged again right before her death. Their relationship had only lasted for two years but it had been an intense one. And Andre Dimera had pretended to be Tony for the first time when he killed Renee. No wonder she kept having flashbacks of that face. The face of her lover...and of her killer.
How was she going to get up the nerve to see him tomorrow? How would she just waltz in his office, looking like Renee? But she didn't know any easy way to deal with the situation. It would be a shock for him to know of her existence no matter how she proceeded.
Phoebe continued to read about Stefano Dimera and some of the victims who suffered at his notorious hand. Roman Brady. Marlena Evans Black. John Black. Hope Brady. Steve Johnson. As she read article after article, a pattern became apparent. Almost all of them, at one time or another, had been assumed dead or had amnesia...or were both at the same time. So according to this scheme, it was not so out of the question that she could be Renee Dimera. And that she had survived. Ironically, for once, she fit in some place...even if it was in this crazy collection of science fiction stories.
More than ever, Phoebe was certain that she had made the right decision in coming to Salem, all heartbreak with Shane aside, all trepidation about Tony Dimera aside.
"Miss, excuse me..." A pleasant-sounding lady's voice startled her out of her contemplation.
"Sorry, I didn't meant to startle you, but I couldn't help noticing some pictures you have on screen there."
"Oh?" Phoebe asked nervously, turning to look at the woman.
With frosted dark hair, the older woman was beautiful, extravagantly dressed in expensive flashy clothes. She seemed not to take notice of Phoebe, but was pointing directly at the computer screen.
"Yes, that's my son, David. Do you know him?"
When the woman turned to make eye contact with Phoebe, her eyes widened in something like shock. Fear, even. For a moment, Phoebe worried that the stranger would keel over with a stroke.
"OH DEAR GOD!!!"
Phoebe looked around nervously, wondering if there was a security guard or something nearby since this woman was becoming completely unhinged at the sight of her deceased ex-daughter-in-law.
"Julie!" A gray-haired man cried out from across the computer room. "Calm down, darling! What's wrong?"
"Oh, Doug!" she cried out in distress. "I don't believe it!"
"Believe what?!"
The man, probably the woman's husband, rushed over to them.
"I'm s-s-sorry," Phoebe stammered. "She seems to be upset about something..."
"RENEE!" Doug cried out. "Dear God, Renee! Is that you?!"
The realization finally came to Phoebe that the woman said she had been David Banning's mother. Of course, Doug and Julie Williams! She had just read about them. Oh, this was so not good!
Julie Williams began to glare at her with fury.
"But, then again, you're a Dimera. AND NONE OF YOU EVER DIE, DO YOU?!!"
Heart racing, Phoebe jumped from her seat and frantically reached out for her purse.
"Look, lady. I don't know what you're talking about...but..."
"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about!" Julie Williams spat with venom at her. "Why are you looking up pictures of David? Don't you dare go and see him! Because of your stupid fake murder, he was nearly put in prison! I was nearly put in prison when I confessed!"
"You confessed?"
"Don't play dumb, dear!"
"Now, Julie," Doug coaxed. "Now just try and control yourself!"
"You're not that good of an actress! So what are you doing, taking up the torch from your dear old Daddy Dimera? It makes perfect sense. Finally, he can't hurt us anymore...so now you've been dug up from the grave to torture us all! Well, you're not going to get away with this. I'm calling the police right now!"
Terrified, Phoebe pushed at Doug, all the while hoping she hadn't hurt the old man. Then she ran for her life, flinching as she heard Julie call out for the police. Dashing down the side streets of downtown in her high heels, she made her way back to Dimera Advertising, almost knocking down Stephanie when she got there.
"Please..." she panted, trying to catch her breath. "I...have...to see...Mr. Dimera..."
"Look, Miss Donovan..." the young girl pouted. "It's after office hours, OK? Get a life!"
With that, the secretary stormed off to her car.
"But you...don't understand..." Phoebe panted. "That...just what I'm...trying to do..."
Looking frantically at the office building of Dimera Advertising, Phoebe once more entered the building as a place to hide out if nothing else. Shivering from both the panic and the cold, she waited until a security guard came up.
"Sir?" she asked. "Excuse me, I was temping here today...and I left my purse upstairs and..."
"Go ahead," the guard said, apparently not too concerned about her as a security threat. "But just smile for the camera, okay?"
Click. Flash.
Great, Phoebe thought. More incriminating evidence against her if Julie and the police ever find her!
Making her way to the 33rd floor, Phoebe was gasping for breath as she frantically rushed down the long hallways. The offices were creepy looking with most of the lights turned out.
But...there was a light on in Tony Dimera's office.
And she rushed towards that office, knowing that she could no longer stop what destiny had in store for her.
