“That’s pretty spectacular.” She nods as she takes a seat across from me.
“I notice you didn’t identify yourself as FBI.”
She smiles broadly. “Well, we don’t want to show our panties to just everyone yet.”
“Good point.”
“You employ over five thousand people here in San Francisco?”
“We do. There are roughly a thousand in this building doing administrative and design work, and the remaining work in our factory in South San Francisco.”
“That’s impressive. What made you want to produce here at home and not where labor is less expensive?”
“Pretty simple, really. I wanted to be able to visit my manufacturing at any time, just like I go over to Nordstrom or other places that carry our lines and see what they look like on the shelves and watch how people respond.”
“I’m impressed.”
I sigh. “It would be a giant mess if this shut us down.”
“It would be pretty debilitating to San Francisco as well.”
I sit back and look out at the view we were just admiring. “Yes, it would be hard on a lot of people. But I will tell you in confidence that I’ve already decided that, no matter what, I will personally finance the company to get us through all of this. It isn’t my preference, but I have the money in a trust from my grandfather. I pay well for San Francisco, but I still know how difficult it is to live here. Many of my employees live check to check, so I’d rather make sure everyone is able to cover their debts while we realign our plans.”
“Not many CEOs would do that.”
“No, but Metro isn’t your typical company. We do our best to care about our employees.”
“You do know that Walker’s going to use this information.”
“He’s a politician through and through.”
“I think he likes you.”
I smile, and I know Cora could become a friend after this mess is over. “I think he likes me for what I bring to the table, not me personally.”
“Don’t be so sure of yourself. He’s really going hard at the director of the FBI over how the White-Collar agents dropped the ball. I’m glad it wasn’t my team.”
“Honestly, I’m just grateful that somebody picked it up.”
“Yes, me, too. I love your cosmetics and would hate to see you have to close.”
I smile. “I love to hear that you like our products. We’ll make sure that before you leave, you’re well stocked. We don’t have our latest line, obviously, given it’s what introduced us, but I think you’ll like what we have.”
“Honestly, I shouldn’t take anything for ethics’ sake.”
“I understand. What we have here are all free samples that we give to people and donate to homeless and abused women’s shelters across the city.”
“Well, nice segue into the reason I’m here. I understand you met with Walker about the plan.”
I nod.
“I would like my team to formulate the emails you follow up with. Do you currently have something you routinely send as an attachment to an email?”
“Probably about a half dozen or so things regularly.”
“Great. Can you forward a few to me? My team and I will go through them today and send you an email that we can have them open on their cell phones that will ghost their phones. We’ll be able to track anything they do with any Metro-related email. Even if they forward it to a personal account, we will then know if it’s forwarded elsewhere and where the email is opened and how often.”
“What if they don’t open the email on their phones?”
“We can attach it to a cat video or something they’d like. Believe it or not, it’s not hard to find something that people will click.”
“Good to see it’s so easy,” I reply snarkily.
“I’m hoping, like you, that this proves all of your staff is clean and we need to concentrate our efforts elsewhere.”
I knew I liked Cora. She read my mind—or she’s talked to Walker about why I think we’re looking in the wrong direction.
“I understand you’ve worked out with Walker what you’re going to say and to whom,” she continues.
“We did.”
“Are you comfortable with that?”
“My biggest concern is what it’ll do to our company culture. I’ve worked so hard on building it for the last ten years.”
“I can see why that’s a concern, but we should know somewhat quickly what information is being moved around. My team will also be working in the background when you send emails to any of the suspects.”
“How does that work?”
“The original emails will be customized to each person. They’ll have the others cc’d on them. They’ll get emails, and through some algorithms we set up, they will know that any email that goes to, say, Evelyn, is supposed to talk about launching, but with Angela’s emails, it’ll talk about a name change. That way, everyone is in the loop from a unique perspective. It may sound complicated, but it happens so quickly that most won’t even notice the difference.”
“If I respond from my cell phone, does that change anything?”
“Not at all. For anything that goes through your email system, there is an algorithm that makes the adjustment happen.” We sit in silence a few seconds. “I understand your concern about the reaction if your team finds out you did this without telling them. My suggestion would be that once you know no one on the team is involved, you can say someone outside the company—or maybe your mother—talked some sense into you and just beg for their forgiveness. Most people understand you’re not perfect.”
She must read all my “fan mail” that Christy goes through. “Thank you. It’ll be rough for a while, I’m sure, though if it gets out, I think they’ll understand. At least I hope so.”
“When are you talking to them?”
“I was planning on it tomorrow, but maybe we need to wait to send out this ghost software and the emails first.”
“If you can forward me emails this afternoon, we’ll be ready for tomorrow. That’s no problem. My team does this quite often.”
“How often do you not catch someone?”
“What matters is we know something quickly.”
I notice that she didn’t answer even remotely. The thought disappoints and depresses me that someone I trust with everything has done this to me.
“I meet with Christy every morning at about eight.” I bring up my computer and look at my schedule. “Right now, I have one-on-one meetings with the rest of the team throughout the morning.”
“Then we’ll ghost their cell phones this afternoon.”
“Thanks.” I hate that we have to resort to this, but in the back of my mind, at least I know this will clear my team.
“You’re going to pull this off without any problems,” she assures me.
“I’m really glad you guys are here to help me.”
“We want this to work. We don’t want you to have to dip into your trust to keep your company alive and save this beautiful view.”
“Are you from the Bay Area?”
“No, I grew up in Colorado. My father was a professor at Colorado State University.”
“Really? What did he teach?”
“Philosophy.”
That’s shocking to me. When I think of a philosophy professor, I think of a guy with long hair and Birkenstocks, a real hippy who likes to contemplate the meaning of life. “Wow. What does he think about you being an FBI agent?”
“He’s an old hippy from the sixties, and I’m the youngest of eight. He hates it, but all my brothers and sisters are in law enforcement. My oldest brother is in bond enforcement, two are lawyers, one’s a police officer, one works for the Sheriff’s office, plus me in the FBI.”
I like Cora. She’s really down to earth and easygoing, and I feel like I may have someone for her to date.
“Are you single?”
“Unfortunately, yes. Not many men are comfortable with a woman who carries
a gun. Although in this town, they worry more about my working in Cybercrimes.”
“Oh, I bet. So many feel they’re amateur hackers.”
“Exactly.”
She puts her hand on my arm. “This is going to be okay. There are a lot of eyes on this.”
“I appreciate all your team’s help. I should warn you—I consider myself a part-time matchmaker.”
She laughs. “I’ve been to a few partners meetings. You’ve pretty much matched most of the team, haven’t you?”
“Not quite. A few found them on their own. I know a lot of people, so I make introductions between people who seem to work well together.”
“When this is over, I’m open if you think you know someone who might want to hang out, but I’m waiting to see how your matchmaking goes for yourself.”
I smile. “It’s something that’s been in the works for a long time, but it’s a slow, slow process. I’m not pushing him in the least.”
“That’s fine, but make sure you take care of yourself.”
“Oh, I’ve got myself covered, but for you, let’s see if I can find somebody who’s a little less intimidated by your technical and gun-slinging skills.”
“Just don’t make it Walker Clifton.”
“God, I wouldn’t do that to anyone.”
She laughs as we walk out of my office. Christy has a large sack full of cosmetics ready to go. “Here you go.”
“Oh my goodness! What am I going to do with all of this?”
“Wear it proudly knowing that we do not test on animals and that these samples are available in any department store, so it isn’t any kind of bribe. They’re fun to try and share them with any of your friends.”
“Caroline, I appreciate this, and thank you. It’s very kind of you.”
“Of course.”
I wave to her as she gets on the elevator, then return to my desk. Christy hands me a stack of messages.
“Any of them interesting?” I ask.
“Walker Clifton wants to go out for drinks tonight.”
“That’s not interesting—that’s boring.”
“Maybe it’ll get Mason to move a bit faster.”
“He’s only been out of the hospital a few weeks, and we’re practically living together. How much faster should we be going?”
“I’m ready to roll up my sleeves with your mother and a wedding planner.”
I laugh. “Slow down. We are not anywhere near that.”
I pick five emails and forward them with attachments to Cora.
Within an hour, she sends me the email she’d like me to send to the team. If anyone doesn’t open them tonight, the team will send them something they will open that matches their interests.
I pick up my cell phone and call Mason. I just want to hear his voice.
“Hey, beautiful.”
It warms me to my toes when he says that.
“Hi. I met with Cora Perry this afternoon.”
“Are you all set?”
“We’re close. What are your plans for tonight?” I ask.
“I’m still down in Orange County.”
“That’s disappointing. I miss you.”
“I miss you, too. Soon, sweetheart. I promise.”
“I’m going to head home shortly and take a long bath with lots of bubbles and drink some serious wine.”
“Do you want me to call you later tonight? It doesn’t have to be a saucy call.”
“I’d like that.”
“I’ll call you when I get back to my hotel room, then. It’s all going to work out. I can feel it in my bones.”
“I know. I can, too. Cora said they do this more often than we want to know.”
“That’s scary.”
“I agree,” I say. “She also didn’t tell me that it never works.”
“What do you mean?”
“When I asked, she didn’t deny that they’ve never found the culprit.”
“CeCe, I know you trust each of these women like your best friends. We’ll get through this together and get it all figured out. I have to admit, I’m a little jealous that you’re catching your saboteur faster than we’re catching ours.”
A feeling of calmness overcomes me. “Thank you. That’s what I needed to hear.”
I hang up and finish a few more things in my office. Heading home a bit later, I do exactly as I promised: I eat a small dinner that my housekeeper left for me and then draw a bath with lots of bubbles and a lilac scent. Soaking in the tub, I mentally prepare for my day tomorrow, walking through what I’m to say and how I want to share my news.
A text message pops up from Cora: Everyone has opened the message and downloaded the ghost software. You’re good to go.
My anxiety rises. This needs to go well.
When my bathwater turns cold, I climb out and dry off leisurely, then lay out my clothes for tomorrow, needing to do something to calm my nerves. I have a new designer who did a piece for me, a cross between business and couture. The pants are a dark forest green, wide but not obnoxious. The top matches the pants and has geometric cutouts around the zigzag collar, and the blazer is the same color in silk with a tunic collar. I have a tan pair of Manolo Blahnik mules to go with it. I always feel better in a new outfit. The green will make the gold flecks in my brown eyes pop.
I debate taking a sleeping pill but worry I’ll have a hangover from it tomorrow, so I just climb into bed.
I toss and turn. I never hear from Mason, which bothers me, and I begin to wonder why he’s in Orange County. I don’t recall any of their investments being there. This gets my brain going, and I try to put it aside, to no avail. The clock ticks by two, then three thirty. I remember looking at the clock again at almost five.
I must have finally fallen asleep just as my alarm goes off at six. I’m not a morning person. Life sucks this early. I know people like to work out in the morning, but even just the thought gives me hives. I want so much to cover my head in the blankets and just go back to sleep.
Misty looks at me from the side of the bed. She needs to go out. Thank goodness I live across the street from a large city park, so it isn’t too bad. I grab her leash and a ball, and we walk across the street. The morning is brisk and cold. She does her business quickly, even for her, and starts tugging me along back to my house. “I don’t blame you, Misty.”
We walk back inside, and she immediately goes to her bed and parks herself, burrowing under a blanket and looking at me like I’m crazy to go back out in the ugly morning.
“I’d love to stay and cuddle, trust me, but I have to go in today.”
She tilts her head to the side as if asking me if I’m sure.
My car service will pick me up in an hour, so I quickly shower and blow out my hair. When I’m ready to go, Angela has a cup of coffee ready for me. “Would you like a quick breakfast, Miss Caroline?”
“Thank you, no. I have a meeting this morning.”
“Dinner tonight for you and Mr. Mason?”
“He’s traveling right now, so I’m not sure. We can order in if he comes over.”
I head out the door and close my eyes, trying to meditate during the drive over. I’ve never really done the meditation thing, but I’m looking for anything that can help me right now.
Chapter sixteen
Mason
Jim and I are eating our third breakfast together. This was supposed to take a half day, but now we’re at three.
“My team is turning Orange County upside down trying to locate Annabelle again,” Jim explains. “She never went back to her car and seemed to just disappear. We have someone sitting at the house she was staying in, but she hasn’t shown up. My team breached her sister’s home yesterday, and we’re confident she hasn’t been back.”
“Have you checked any flight or train manifests?”
Jim takes a drink of his orange juice. “We have. And we’ve checked her credit cards, and her sister's cards. They aren’t showing any transactions.”
“Where could
she have gone? Have you found any reason she’s being so evasive?”
Jim has a mouth full of scrambled eggs and simply shakes his head.
“This isn’t good.”
“We’ll continue to watch her sister’s place, and we’ll step up on her friends’ places in San Francisco.”
“I’m going to return to San Francisco,” I tell him. “I have too much to do to sit here and wait for her to resurface.”
The fifty-minute flight back to San Francisco was shorter than the ride from the airport to my office. I miss those heliports that New York City has. When I finally get to the office, many are out at lunch, which is almost a welcome reprieve; I’m able to start up my computer and do a few things before the line forms out my door.
Cameron comes in and places a cup of coffee in front of me. “How was New York?”
“Productive. I had some good meetings afterward. I go back again next week.”
“We should get an apartment in New York so you can leave clothes and toiletries and just get on a plane.”
“Not a bad thought. It would be a decent investment, and a possible perk for the employees. But that’s not why you want to talk to me.”
Cameron shrugs noncommittally. “I guess I’m looking to get an update on Annabelle.”
“Did you know that I left New York on Thursday and flew to Orange County?”
His face is a combination of surprise and confusion. “No. Does anyone know? Did you see her?”
“I talked to her for a minute and then she disappeared.”
“Disappeared? How did she do that? She’s half your size. I would think your long legs would be able to keep up with her.”
“She ran into a bathroom, and we waited. When one of Jim’s team went in the bathroom a few minutes later, she wasn’t there.”
“Was there a second entrance?”
“Nope. We don’t know what happened. She’s in the wind.”
“She’s showing she’s not innocent.”
“I agree.”
Cameron slaps his hands on his thighs with a loud clap. “Finally!”
Fascination: (Billionaire Venture Capitalist #9): A Friends to Lovers Romance Page 15