“Still. You shouldn’t. There’re a lot of corporate secrets on these computers.”
“You’ve worked here a while?”
She nodded. “Since the beginning.”
“You know him well, then.”
She glanced at me, wariness in her eyes.
“If you’re going to ask me about his dating history, you probably shouldn’t. I don’t like gossip.”
“Oh, of course.” That wasn’t really where I was going, but if that’s what she wanted to think, more power to her. “I was just wondering how dangerous it was for him to be the CEO of a place like this. I can imagine people would want a piece of the potential profits of what they do here.”
“I guess they do. He and Jacob both get threats sometimes. And hate mail. But security takes care of it.”
I nodded. Security here was pretty solid. I’d already seen that firsthand when I’d tried to come upstairs without an appointment. They’d followed protocol right down to the letter, just like Lucien had said they would.
“Has anyone ever tried to bribe you to get close to them? Offered money to slip them information?”
“No. But it wouldn’t do them any good. Lucien’s careful that I never see anything sensitive.”
Again, exactly what he’d told me.
“You should probably go wait over there,” Jaime said, gesturing to the couch. “Mr. Montgomery will be back in a bit.”
“Okay.”
I did as I was told, watching Jaime straighten up Lucien’s desk and busy herself with little tasks that came off as just an attempt to look busy while she babysat me. I wondered if someone had sent her in here, or if she’d taken the task upon herself. If someone wanted to get close to Lucien, or wanted to sneak something into this office, she would be a good way to do it. But she seemed loyal. In fact, any doubt I might have had about her loyalty vanished when Lucien came into the room. Her eyes lit up, and she suddenly became less self-assured, her hands moving over her hips to smooth her simple skirt into place.
Like most of the women in this building, she had a crush on the boss. The only question was, was that a good thing? Or a bad thing?
Chapter 7
Lucien
When Jacob found out that Adrienne would be joining us at the beach house this weekend, he suddenly remembered some paperwork he needed to finish at the office. For that reason, Adrienne and I drove out alone. She interrogated me the first forty minutes of the drive, probing my thoughts for any vulnerabilities that would allow someone from the outside to obtain information about our projects. But there were none. We were exceedingly careful about who saw or heard or read anything about our ongoing projects.
She grew quiet, staring out the window as we made our way toward Kemah.
“Did your people figure out who sent the email to me?”
She shook her head. “Not yet.”
There didn’t seem to be much more to talk about.
We pulled up to the house a while later. I have so many fond memories of this house that a sort of peace always settles over me when I pull into the drive. It’s really a fairly modest home. It’s designed sort of like a log cabin with a wide deck that runs all the way around the outside of the house. It has a large, open kitchen, a living room that stretches from the front door to the back deck, a fireplace the centerpiece. Then there’s four bedrooms, each larger than the last, each with its own access to the deck. And, of course, the beach is right outside the back deck, a private stretch where we could skinny dip if we so wanted. And I’d indulged once or twice, back when I was in college…
Adrienne was staring up at the house, her expression—as always—unreadable.
“We should go in,” I said.
She glanced at me. “I think we should lay down a few ground rules.”
I smiled because it seemed like we’d already broken almost any rule she might set. But I nodded.
“Hands above—”
Before she could finish, her door was wrenched open. She jumped, turning so quickly I thought she might do something crazy. It was a good thing she couldn’t hide a gun in that short little dress she was wearing. Rachel, all enthusiasm and laughter, reached in and threw her arms around her.
“I was so excited when Lucien called and said he’d be bringing a girl. Do you know how long it’s been since Lucien brought a girl home? You must really be something!”
Adrienne looked absolutely at a loss for words. It was almost refreshing.
“Let her get out of the car, Rachel.”
“Oh, yeah.”
Rachel backed off, and Adrienne looked at me, her eyes wide. I leaned close and whispered, “Sorry. My sister.”
She nodded, but she still seemed startled. I climbed out of the car, and Rachel launched herself at me, throwing her arms around my neck.
“She’s gorgeous!” she said against my ear.
“Yes, she is.”
“Your taste has changed. But I approve.”