“Message received. Go back to the office.” She stands and rounds the counter to set her cup in the sink before leaving without another word. I like that about her. She gets when to talk and when to just not.
I reach for the envelope holding the deal memo that caused so much hoopla, pulling it out. It takes me all of two minutes to know this isn’t about bending him over. It’s an investment in a nonsense business that has to be a bribe of some sort. Considering this new business is located in Boulder, where our trucking division is, it’s a good bet it’s related to that. I don’t even want to know what that means about what is going on there. I’ve had enough of this crap to last a lifetime. I text Jessica. Find out if there was, or is, a Nina Thompson working for the trucking division in Boulder.
I don’t wait for her reply, dialing Seth. “I need those files on the stockholders, yesterday.”
“I have them and more I need to talk to you about. Where will you be in an hour?”
Working in this apartment clearly isn’t a success. I stand up and start packing my briefcase. “I’ll see you at the office. Before we hang up, I need you to have your security people run the name Nina Thompson in Boulder. I’ll explain later.”
We end the call and I make my way to the hallway, pausing to put on my jacket before I head toward the elevator. Once I’m there, I start to push the lobby button and instead, punch the seventh level. My phone buzzes with a text from Jessica. Ex-employee who left abruptly a month ago. Confirmation that the deal memo is a front for a payoff. I pocket my phone again as the elevator jolts to a halt. I exit, quickly locating my father’s new rental and knock on the door. It opens almost instantly and I’m faced with a woman in her twenties with long dark hair wearing jeans and a tank top. She’s also a younger version of my mother with features way too damn similar, and my stomach rolls with the certainty my mother chose her for that reason. My mother, who is far more manipulative than I’ve given her credit for.
“Can I help you?” she asks.
“You’re fucking my father because my mother’s paying you to. So here’s what’s going to happen. I’ll double your money, but I want reports on everything you tell my mother and don’t tell her. Understood?”
She barely blinks. “Okay. How will this work. How do I reach you? How do I get paid?”
“Seth Cage, my right-hand man, will be your contact. He’ll be in touch. And if you make a deal with anyone else, and I find out, which I will, I’ll go to the med school, and give them proof of how you’re paying your tuition. “
I turn and walk away, heading for the elevator. Now, time to deal with my father and this deal memo.
EMILY
It’s nearly one o’clock in the afternoon, and I’m still chilled to the bone from this morning’s run in the rain, not to mention that my feet in high heels didn’t appreciate it. Just to leave a man I didn’t want to leave, but all is not lost. I have a job now and I’ve made it through human resources, a tour, and my new boss has already given me work, despite never even looking up from his desk to acknowledge that I’m his new assistant.
So here I am at my new desk, a list of things to do and some comfort in knowing I’m beginning again. Of course, the job comes with the complication my one-night stand working in the same building, but I’m not going to think of that now. I grab the file in front of me and proof the document that needs to be taken to the courthouse for all the appropriate signatures.
I start jotting down everything I’ve been told about Brandon Enterprises because writing things down is what my mother said would keep me from missing things. It’s control for me. It’s organization. It’s something I can manage. And right now, things I can manage feel really good. The intercom on my desk buzzes. “Call Shane until you get him to answer.”
I can almost feel the blood run from my face. Shane. He said Shane. I grab the receiver and pick it up. “I’m sorry. Who is Shane?”
“My youngest son. He’s in the Rolodex on your desk or he damn well better be. If you can’t get him yourself, walk over to his office and stand at his assistant’s desk until she gets him on the line.”
“Yes. Yes, sir. On it.” The phone shakes in my trembling hand and I press the receiver to my forehead, squeezing my eyes shut. Oh God. It can’t be my Shane. Actually, how can it not be him? I met him here in this building but I was sure he worked in the law firm, five floors down.
I lower the receiver to the desk, suck in air, and will myself to calm down. I grab the Rolodex, and I turn right to Shane’s contact information, but I can’t dial him. Tabbing forward, I find his assistant and punch her extension. She answers immediately with, “This is Jessica.”
“Hi. I’m,” I hesitate on my name considering the circumstances, and settle on, “Mr. Brandon Senior’s new secretary. He’s trying to reach … your boss.”
She snorts. “Of course he is. Shane’s not here. Tell him he has the deal memo and he’s reviewing it.”