by Jamie Knight
“I wasn’t aware you were having problems with Reese. From what I understood, you were happy with her as an employee.”
I kept my tone light, trying to sound like a concerned boss.
Linda cleared her throat and crossed her legs.
“She was a conscientious and hard worker. Too conscientious, it seems.”
“She said you reviewed her work a lot and gave her several evaluations during her time here. Was there any reason for that?”
She let out a small sigh.
“I had to make sure she followed our guidelines, Mr. McKenzie. Mom and pop companies like the one she came from often don’t have the same stringent regulations that we have.”
I nodded.
“When you were checking her work, did that ever mean that you had to login to her computer, under her username?”
An inkling began to take shape in my mind. Something I needed to be punched in the balls for not thinking of sooner.
“I kept a close eye on her because she had an awful habit of disappearing to the restroom every day,” Linda said, without answering my question.
She reached up and ran her hand through her black pixie-cut.
“God only knows what she was doing in there. Maybe that’s where she made her secret calls to Simon.”
“Perhaps,” I said, with a smile. “So how are things with you?”
She smiled back at me, suddenly looking relieved that I wasn’t questioning her management techniques anymore.
“Oh, you know, busy but fine. Nothing new with me.”
“You used to be friends with Simon, correct?”
Her cheeks reddened, and she licked her lips.
“If you mean work colleagues, then yes, we used to be friends, but other than that, no, I wouldn’t consider us friends.”
“Have you heard from him recently?”
I glanced out the window, trying to keep things feeling casual.
“Not a word.”
“Ah, okay.”
I got up from perching at my desk and walked back to my chair.
“I noticed you’ve requested some time off next week. Going anywhere nice?”
“Nowhere. After everything that’s happened, I’m taking some time off to regroup. It’s been stressful for everyone.”
“It has, hasn’t it? Thanks, Linda. I won’t keep you any longer.”
She quickly picked up her bag and left, without another word.
The second Linda left my office, I picked up my phone.
“Ray, lock Linda out of the system. Don’t give her access to anything and call the police. I know exactly who’s behind the missing money and I have a feeling I know why.”
“On it.”
It wasn’t Reese, and it may not have been Simon.
All along it’d been Linda.
She may not have admitted it, and I may not have any proof yet, but in my gut, I knew it was her.
I should never have doubted Reese, and now it was probably too late to get her back.
Chapter Thirty - Reese
You look like shit,” Mandy said, concern filling her kind eyes.
She and Eileen sat opposite of me in a greasy diner a few blocks away from my apartment.
“Thanks.”
I held a coffee mug to my chest, but I hadn’t taken a sip.
For the past two days, I hadn’t been able to eat or sleep. I hadn’t showered and even brushing my teeth took herculean effort. Depression had taken a deep hold on me.
I missed Kane so much it physically hurt. I hated that he hated me. I needed to put things right but I didn’t know how.
“I’ll be honest,” Eileen said, picking up her mug. “We haven’t found out much. Anything really. Whoever’s behind this, knows their shit. I’m sorry we can’t be of any more help.”
She glanced at Mandy, who nodded in agreement.
“The files you were looking into are all locked down. For the bosses’ eyes only, or some shit. We would have to have higher security clearance to access them,” the petite woman said with a frown.
I smiled sadly.
“I appreciate you guys trying. I guess I should go on the lam. Disappear before the police come get me. Orange is not my color,” I said, trying and failing to crack a joke.
Eileen and Mandy both smiled slightly.
“If I could get you into the system, could you do it? Could you find out who did this?” I asked.
Eileen blew out a breath and looked at Mandy.
“How are you going to do that?” she asked. “You can’t even get into the building.”
I took a sip of my coffee and resolved myself for my plan of action.
“I’m going to go to the dark side and ask my arch enemy for a favor. Sloane will probably tell me to fuck off, but I think beneath her spoiled princess exterior, she’s a good person who knows right from wrong. At least I hope she is.”
I’d been mulling over asking Sloane for help. I had a premonition that she’d be able to help me.
Maybe even thinking about it was a mistake.
But what if it wasn’t?
What if somewhere beneath her prissy princess exterior was a soul and a beating heart?
I had to try.
There was no other avenue I could go down.
“Oh, Reese.” Mandy frowned deeper. “I’m not even sure that Sloane has high enough clearance to look at the files. She would need access to Ray’s PC or password or…”
She swallowed and looked down.
“Or she would need Kane’s. I doubt that she would be able to get to either one.”
I leaned back and stared at the ceiling.
“Well, fuck that for an idea. I guess I’m screwed and should lawyer up. Know anyone?”
“A few.”
Mandy started looking through her purse for her phone.
My own phone rang, and I fished it from my bag. The number was familiar.
Melissa?
Why was she calling?
To tell me how disappointed she was in my actions? How I’d let her and Kane down? To let me know the police were on their way?
No thanks.
But as usual my curiosity got the better of me, and I answered.
“Melissa,” I said coolly.
“Reese, can you please come to Kane’s office as soon as possible?”
Her tone was serious but not unkind.
“He has several things he needs to discuss with you, and it’s better to do so in person rather than over the phone.”
I snorted.
“You want to frame me for something else? No fucking way. You probably have the police there, waiting to arrest me.”
“Please come in, and we’ll explain everything when you get here.”
I hung up and looked at my friends.
“They want me to go into the office.”
Eileen’s and Mandy’s eyes went wide.
“Are you going to go?” Mandy asked.
I chewed on my bottom lip and stroked my pendant.
“What if it’s some kind of trap?”
“What if it’s not?” Eileen pointed out. “I’ll go with you. See what they have to say. My brothers and my father are lawyers. I try not to advertise that fact, because then everyone and their mother wants free legal help. But I’ll do what I can to see if they would represent you if necessary. You’re not just anyone. And I know enough legal jargon to help you out.”
I shook my head.
“You don’t have to do that. I don’t want you getting in trouble or fired because of me. You two have already done enough. It’s time for me to face the lions in their den.”
“Tell us what happens immediately, Reese,” Eileen begged.
A worried frown played on her full lips.
“Don’t admit to something you didn’t do. I hate you going in there without representation.”
“Yeah but if I go there with all guns blazi
ng, it’ll look like I’m guilty.”
Damned if I do; damned if I don’t.
I stood and gave them both a hug.
“Thanks for your help, guys. Thanks for trying.”
“We weren’t much help,” Mandy said, with a shrug.
“You were. You believed me when no one else did.”
****
During the cab ride to McKenzie’s, I felt like I was going to my own funeral. I should’ve told Melissa to fuck off, but the stubborn part of me wanted to try to get my point across one more time.
I wanted to try to get them to listen and realize it wasn’t me. I didn’t embezzle so much as a dime.
I wasn’t rich, but I wasn’t destitute. I could pay my bills and keep a roof over my head, and I had a small nest egg in case times got rough.
I wanted nothing materialistic from Kane.
I didn’t want his money.
I didn’t want his house.
I didn’t want his cars or exotic vacations.
I had only wanted him and nothing more.
After the cab driver dropped me off, I stood outside McKenzie Tech for eons, debating back and forth about going in. There was no sign of squad cars or undercover cops, so maybe I wasn’t going to get ambushed and arrested, after all.
Finally, I went into the lobby, half expecting to be thrown out on my ass, but Tony smiled and instructed me to go on up.
On the way to the penthouse, my legs shook, and my stomach churned.
Was I doing the right thing?
The elevator shuddered to a stop, but before I stepped out, I took a deep, centering breath in an attempt to settle my nerves. Whatever happened when I walked into Kane’s office would affect the rest of my life.
Even if I fought and cleared my name, I would never get another job doing what I loved best. I would be blacklisted forever.
A deafening silence blanketed the top floor.
Where was everyone?
There was still no sign of any cops, which could only be a good thing.
I walked down the hallway, my sneakers squeaking off the polished hardwoods with every step.
When I reached his office, I rapped my knuckles against the door, and when I heard him say “come in”, I swallowed hard.
This was it.
This was my chance to face my accusers and somehow convince them of my innocence.
Keeping my head held high, I pushed the door open, walked inside and gasped. Sloane, Melissa, and Kane where there.
“What’s going on? Why are you all here?”
I felt my knees go weak and struggled to stand up straight.
“Please sit, Reese,” Kane said. “We need to talk. We all owe you an apology.”
“I see,” I said.
My heart thundered so fast and hard, I felt I would have a heart attack at any second.
I inched towards the gray couch and sat down hard.
“Why do you all me an apology? Was it the rumors about Simon? The accusations of larceny?”
“We discovered that Linda framed you,” Kane explained matter-of-factly.
He leaned casually against his desk.
A wisp of wind could have knocked me down.
“Linda? How? But she was always so nice and helpful.”
“I haven’t ever really liked you,” Sloane chimed in, and we all turned to her. “I thought you didn’t deserve a job here and quite frankly, I’ve thought that you’re a real bitch, but I’m over it now and you don’t deserve to go to prison.”
The room began to spin.
“Okay, Thanks. Can someone please explain?” I asked, while I put my hands up to rub my temples.
Sloane continued. “After we walked away from you, the day you confronted us on the steps, Linda said something I found odd. She said she couldn’t wait until you went away forever. And that maybe then Kane would realize the mistake he’d made by not pursuing a relationship with her. I acted like I gave a crap and asked her to explain what she meant. She went into detail about what being Kane’s mentee meant—gross, by the way—she said that a few years ago, she was meant to be his.”
I glanced at Kane, who had the decency to look uncomfortable.
“Did she say she framed me?” I asked.
“She didn’t go that far, but it’s not hard to put two and two together.”
Sloane turned her attention to Kane.
“Am I done here? Happy now?”
Kane nodded and said, “You’re done.”
“Can I be sure you’re not going to fire me or have my father disinherit me?”
She glared at him.
“Melissa,” Kane said, “can you see Sloane out? Reese and I have some things we need to talk through.”
“I’m still not sure I like you,” Sloane said, sweeping out of the office.
“You don’t have to,” I retorted. “But thank you for coming to Kane and telling him what Linda said.”
I knew she wasn’t as bad as she seemed.
Sloane shrugged.
“For some reason, she thought I was her friend. I may be self-centered, but I don’t like to see anyone manipulated. What Linda did was wrong.”
Without saying anything further, she and Melissa left.
When Kane and I were alone, neither of us spoke for the longest time. I remained seated with my arms crossed, staring at the Manhattan skyline. Sloane’s words were hard for me to swallow. All along, it was Linda.
I found myself on my feet and heading towards the door. All of this still didn’t change the fact that Kane thought it was me.
“Please sit,” Kane finally said, breaking the silence and trying to stop me.
“I’ll stand.” I stopped and turned towards him. “I’m guessing you realize I didn’t steal the missing millions.”
He gave me a solemn nod.
“We realize. Linda wasn’t on our radar. She’s been with us for fifteen years. She was one of our first employees. What happened to you is my fault, Reese. I’ll never be able to apologize enough. You’re in this situation because of me.”
My lower lip wobbled, but I wouldn’t cry. I’d cried enough in the past few days to last me a lifetime.
“Why did she do it?” I asked. “Why did she single me out?”
“Years ago, after Sadie died—”
“Sadie?”
Pain filled his face, but he continued, “My fiancée. She was killed ten years ago. I should have told you about her from the get-go.”
“I agree, you should have.”
His fiancée’s death was the reason for the haunted pain I sometimes saw in his eyes. That was why he didn’t want love.
“Linda and I went on a few dates soon after Sadie died. I thought maybe she could fill the void inside me, but there was no chemistry between us. She was kind and always had a smile for me. Brought me meals and checked in on me often, but I wasn’t ready to date,” he said with a small shrug. “Things between us never went further than a couple of dinners. She made no secret that she wanted more.”
“Where do I come into this? Why did she single me out?”
“I think it’s obvious.”
Exhaustion weighed heavy on my shoulders.
“Maybe you need to spell it out for me.”
He blew out a long breath.
“She wanted to pay me back for, I guess, what she saw as rejecting her. She wanted to hurt you to hurt me. Turned out she’d been stealing from us for years, but hid her tracks well. So well that not even Ray saw her transgressions. She’s smart. Smarter than any of us gave her credit for.
“The first few years, she stole a couple of thousand every few months. Nothing that would be missed. Something that could be written off. But when you arrived and when she discovered you were my mentee, she knew it meant I wanted you and was ready to move on from Sadie. Jealousy and revenge made her set you up. And step up her thievery, since she didn’t want to be around me anymore, since I
didn’t want to be with her and it was now obvious that I never would be.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose.
“And she admitted this?”
“Not all of it, but enough. She’s been arrested and will spend many years behind bars.”
“Why didn’t you have me arrested when you thought I was the one stealing from you?” I asked.
His lips twisted down as if he didn’t want to answer the question.
“Maybe I was hoping to be proved wrong.”
The anger that had been simmering inside me boiled over.
“Bull. Shit. You wanted to protect your pride. Don’t try to tell me you didn’t think it was me. The way you looked at me when you found me in your office showed me exactly what your opinion of me was.”
He held his hands out.
“I’m sorry, Reese. I understand if you can never forgive me. What I accused you of is unforgivable. Seeing you in my home office after hearing all the things they’d said you’d done… I saw red. I was in shock. I was wrong, and I’m sorry. You’ll never know how sorry I am.”
He came to me and fell to his knees.
“I love you, Reese. I don’t want to lose you; please tell me I haven’t lost you. Please. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
His pleading and sorrow-filled eyes almost broke me. Almost broke down the shield I’d erected the second I walked into his office.
I loved him so much it hurt, but there was no way I would let him, or any man, humiliate or doubt me the way he had, ever again.
I needed to stay strong. I wouldn’t bend, and I wouldn’t break. I held my hands in fists and looked him in the eyes.
“Thank you for saying all of that. I appreciate your honesty, but it’s too late. I can’t be with someone who would think me capable of such deceit. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but whatever it is, it’ll have nothing to do with McKenzie Tech. I never want to see you again. The second you accused me of stealing from you, you lost me.”
And with that, I walked out of his office. Somehow, from somewhere, I got the strength to do it without breaking down.
Melissa waited by the coffee bar.
“Leaving so soon?”
I turned towards her and glared.
“So, you’re my friend now?”