“I’ll promise you I’ll do everything they tell me.” Mom stood up. Giving her a much needed hug, Mom looked at her. “You take care as well, my darling. After I’m gone, Margie is going to double her efforts in hurting you.”
Two women came into the room with them and shut and locked the door. Taking Mom to her bathroom, they worked with Mom while Joey waited with Pierce. Neither of them said anything, but he did make notes on a small notepad. It was all she could do not to snatch it from him and tear it to pieces.
“You’re very tense.” She laughed, but it was horrible sounding even to her. “I’d say to close up and not reopen for a while, but I know that’s not a possibility right now. I’ve been reading up on what you do here. Even though it’s only a few weeks from Christmas, you’re getting your summery wardrobe out. My niece, Cybill, handed me some notes on my way out this morning. She’s one of your biggest fans. Her sister calls her a girly girl.”
“Into fashion, is she? I don’t cater to the rich and stupid much. That wasn’t nice, I know, but I don’t do skinny models or clothing that a housewife would never imagine herself wearing. I’m more of a person that makes things for the average person, who either works outside the home and has a busy life or might work from home but still wants to feel pretty.” She got up and picked up the folder she’d been working on all morning. “This is what I was doing for summer this year. I haven’t any idea if anyone will think these colors are the go to colors, but I like them. That’s another thing I do—I do what I want. So far, it’s worked out very well for us.”
“Cybill said you usually pick colors from the color chart that no one has ever seen before. I’m taking notes here on some of the colors I’ve seen here. As for her being into fashion, she is, very much so. Her sister is not only not into fashion, but just the other day, I had to get a few of my sweatshirts from her that she’d taken because where she works is cold. They’re way too big for her, as you can imagine.”
“How old is the sister?” Pierce told her. “She’s not cold, Pierce, but hiding the fact that she might be big chested or something along those lines. I’m betting her sister shows off her body in everything she wears.”
“She does.” The door to the bathroom opened up, and there stood three people. If she had to say one of them was her mom, she’d be hard pressed to know which one it was. Standing up when Pierce did, he introduced her to the two women. “This is Demi. Meadow is the other woman there. Between the two of them is your mom. What do you see?”
“You. You’re there between them.” Joey looked at him, then back at her mom. “How the hell did you pull this off? Mom? Is that really you?”
“Yes. Oh my, it’s working.” They explained to her what was going on. Her mother hadn’t changed, but Meadow had made her mind see Pierce, not her mom. “They said the three of us will walk out of here. Everyone here will think Pierce is gone for the day. But I’ll be safe enough to leave here without any trouble.”
After the three of them left, Pierce stayed in her office for the rest of the day. She was too upset with everything to do much more than stare at her boards. Finally giving up, she made her way to her office and sat down at the computer. Pierce was working on his laptop. She was able to ignore him for the rest of the day and well into the evening. Getting work done had never been so stressful for her.
~*~
Pierce stretched out on the little couch and wished for the hundredth time that he’d thought to bring a sleeping bag. Not that he’d have been able to slip it into the office without raising awareness of it, but he would have liked to have had more than the little piece of material he’d been using since Joey left.
His mate. He’d known she would be when he’d been asked to come here. Not that he was going to tell her yet. She had enough going on that telling her that might make her head explode. Several times during the day, he’d reached into her mind to calm her, and each time he was hit with such a jumble of thoughts and fears that he finally just gave up. Mel spoke to him just as he was getting ready to give up on sleeping.
There are three things you need to know before tomorrow morning. Harvey, her secretary, isn’t playing ball with Margie. He has too much respect for Joey and her mom to turn on them. So I’ve taken it upon myself to give him a little more protection while he’s not at work. He’s really a nice man. Pierce told her that was good. I’ve also put in an order for you to have some things sent to you. They’ll arrive sometime during the lunch hour. The entire staff will be gone, and that’ll be the perfect time for you to get them set up.
I didn’t notice that everyone leaves for lunch here. Some do. What did you do to make it so they’re all gone? She said Meadow made it so they were to get a free lunch at the restaurant across the street. I suppose that will work. What else? You said three things.
Third thing is, and I probably should have started with this, her mom is safe. I’ve put her in one of the houses here so she can get some much needed help with her injuries. I thought about putting her on that cruise they spoke about, but I couldn’t be as diligent in keeping an eye on her if I did that. Also, in addition to that, I’ve taken care that Blake is safe. The man is being hurt by this as well. She went on to tell Pierce about the house she had for him to use instead of a hotel room. Mel said he could use either, but she would prefer that he used the house.
I would imagine there are too many people going in and out of there too. What about Joey? That was who he was most concerned about, and Mel had guessed why.
She’s your mate, isn’t she? Pierce told her she was, but not to tell anyone, or they’d all be there with him. I thought that was your reasoning. I like her so far. She’s cooperating big time, and that is going to end this sooner rather than later. Also, you can show her the pictures I’m sending to your phone. They’re of Becky. It’ll help her to know she’s safe.
That’s a wonderful idea. There are a couple of people here I’d like for you to look into for me. I’m not saying they’re in on it, but they’ve had a huge influx of cash put into their accounts. It was easy enough to break into them since they all have direct deposits for their checks here. He gave her both names. Carole Rankin said she got a windfall from her mother’s estate. I looked—her mother did pass, but I don’t see where she had enough for her to be spending, mostly paying off big debts, the way she is. But I have been known to be wrong once in a while. Could be just some insurance. The other, Wanda Smith, just seems weird to me. Could be she’s just out there, but something about her makes even my bear want to hurt her.
I’ll have you something in a little while. Anyone else I can look into for you? Oh, speaking of which, the name Janice Pike. Is she an employee there? Pierce pulled up the staff’s records and told her she’d been terminated some time ago—five years. She’s still getting a check. See what you can find out about that from Joey. Could be nothing more than her not being taken off the payroll. But to be honest with you, Pierce, I’d think Joey would have noticed a check going out for someone that doesn’t work there.
According to this, the checks are okayed by Joey’s mother. It looks like each check going out is signed by her. Do you think she’s taking the money for herself? Mel told him she didn’t have any idea. I’ll put that on my list of things to talk to her about. The room is debugged daily here, and the blinds are closed against anyone seeing what she’s doing in Joey’s office. I don’t know why, but I’m thinking we’re missing something here. Whatever it is, I can’t seem to locate it. I’ve been all over this room several times.
Which reminds me. Some of the equipment you have coming in is going to help her with debugging her office. It won’t find them, but it will render them unworkable. Just set the device on her desk, and nothing within a five-mile radius will work. He asked her why so far. The parking garage next door is where the employees park. I didn’t want them going out and using whatever they need out there. Plus, I’m betting they talk shit in the
garage. I believe this will render their car bugs unusable as well. But that only works for as long as they’re within the five miles.
After she told him what else he was going to be getting, including the company credit card he’d forgotten, the connection was closed. He wandered around the floor then, looking for things out of the ordinary or even things that would give him a better outlook on the people he was there to check out. Three of them had to go—he’d known that even before coming here. The hard part would be convincing Joey that what he found out about them was worth firing them over.
He’d been planning to have donuts brought in, but since he wanted them all out of the office at lunchtime, he didn’t want them to be too full and not want to go. When Joey came in about six-thirty, he’d already written out some notes for her to go over with him. He’d also made himself a nice pot of tea. Pierce noticed that she mostly only drank water, which was good for her.
“Are we clean in here?” He shook his head, and they went to the board where she had all kinds of different fabrics hanging. “I got an email from your niece last night. I guess you sent her some pictures of the colors I’m using. She told me that she aspires to being like me someday. Creating clothing that just anyone can pull off.”
“She thinks her sister is a slob just so you know.” They both laughed about that, and he handed her a note that had nothing to do with what he was telling her verbally. “These are the colors she suggested. I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve had a look at them, and they do seem to have a little bit to do with everything here.”
Joey seemed to understand and wrote on the paper, “Fire them?” At his nod, she nodded as well. He could do it for her. In fact, he’d enjoy helping her out with this sort of thing. When he handed her the second note, this one about the lunchtime bug out, she only put it in her front pocket and nodded again. He could tell she was upset with all this. Pierce knew he would be as well. Firing people wasn’t fun. But neither was having people spying on you all the time.
“While we’re talking here, can you tell me what this is about?” She took the note he’d made with the name of the person checks were being written to by her mom. “We can talk about it later if you wish.”
“No. It’s fine. Janice worked for me when I first started out. She was amazing. But she was killed one night after leaving here. I’ve been helping her family out since then. I know that I’m not responsible for her family, but she was one of the kindest people I knew.” Pierce told her she was very kind in helping them. “I wish I could do more. Mom and I decided her young children could use a little extra since their mom is gone.”
Chapter 3
Joey couldn’t concentrate on anything. Her mind bounced between her job and her mom to the man that seemed to be right there all the time. Not in an intrusive way. He was never underfoot. He didn’t speak until she asked him something. And when she did ask him, he had a good solid answer that would make her feel like he’d been paying attention to her babbling. Looking out over the people that worked for her, she stared at the two empty seats that had been used by two people she thought she could trust. Harvey came toward her with a few sheets of paper, and when she dodged him, just a little, Pierce took it from him. Harvey didn’t seem to mind and spoke to Pierce about whatever was written on them.
That was another thing. He seemed to know enough about what she was doing that he could even answer calls from buyers and suppliers. She knew that twice he’d had to go and find someone to help him. Asking for help was something she encouraged everyone to do. Joey hadn’t had to say a single word to him about it either.
“I’m having some trouble getting on the Internet.” Her first thought was that it was the device on her desk. She wasn’t too terribly comfortable about it being there and cutting off things. “We’re not allowed to surf the Internet anymore? I do my work, you know.”
Debby, she thought her name was, was on Pierce’s list of potential termination candidates. According to the records he pulled up, she spent about sixty-six percent of her time on the Internet playing games and reading about the royals. Twenty more percent answering her emails from her personal account. That wasn’t getting her work done as far as Joey was concerned.
“We throttled down on the usage of the Internet while on the job. If you’re having trouble, it might be because it’s one of the sites that isn’t on the approval list I handed out this morning.” She said she always checked her email from her computer. Sent things out too. “I’m sorry it’s messing up for you. But I did explain that, since we’re cutting back on staffing, we’d all have to work more efficiently.”
“I don’t care for this. I’m just putting that out there because you said it would be all right if we came to you with a beef. Changing the rules in the middle of the week isn’t very nice.” She pointed out that she’d been told about that company policy when she was hired. “Everyone does it. Why are you singling me out?”
“I’m not. I’m singling out everyone, especially those that don’t cooperate with me on this.” She didn’t break eye contact with the woman but watched as she started away. When she turned and asked where her mom was, she had the answer ready to go. The McCray family had thought of everything. Or so it seemed. “She’s taking some time off. Apparently, she was hurt a few nights ago and isn’t healing the way she had hoped. If you want to send her a get-well card, I’ll make sure she gets it.”
“Since I can’t email her on company time, then I guess she won’t know I care that she’s gone.”
Turning her back on the girl, Joey made a mental note to get her ducks in a row about firing her as well. She didn’t need someone harping on things she’d been doing wrong all along and was only now being told no more.
“Here you go.” She took the tall glass of iced tea from Pierce and sipped it. It was so good; however, she drank it almost straight down. When he winked at her, she laughed. He was like a breath of fresh air today. “There are three things I need to tell you. One of which you may or may not be aware of.”
The note he handed her while he spoke never had anything to do with what he was telling her. It was, she thought, working out very well for the two of them—until now. Looking at the note two more times, she looked up at him.
“Is this right?” He nodded and sat down on the corner of the desk he’d been using. “I see. I guess I should have guessed.”
“No reason for you to have known. It’s not something I tell a great many people. It will only take a nip.” He wanted a taste of her blood so he could communicate with her while they were working. She was afraid someone would get ahold of the notes they were passing back and forth now that she thought about it. “I have some things in your office to make that work if you’d like.”
“Yes. I think that might be a better route than this.” She handed him back the note, and the two of them went into her office. Almost as soon as the door closed behind him, the phone on her desk started ringing. “It’s more than likely a buyer.”
“Nope. It’s your sister. She calls every time you or both of us come in here. Let me nip your flesh. It won’t hurt.” She nodded and put out her hand for him. “I should have told you this the other day when I met you. I won’t do this without you knowing what it means between the two of us. I’m your mate. I know you understand that, as you have shifters working for you. I’m a bear, black in the event you wish to know. All of my family are, for the most part. Mostly more than that, but when you meet them, you’ll get it.”
“Are you sure…? Never mind. I know you are. There are things I should have picked up on, but I’ve been too busy trying to get my shit together. What happens if you bite me? Or if I bite you?” He told her. “That doesn’t seem so bad. I mean, being able to find me is a good thing—especially in light of all this other shit. Also, I don’t know why, but you have calmed me when I need it. Like…I suppose you can feel my needs and can act on them before I explode.”
“I don’t know that you’d explode per se, but I can feel them. Mostly because I’ve been keeping an eye on you. But yes, I’d have a better hold on your emotions so I can help you when you need it.” She nodded. “You decide if this is what you want, Joey. I’m not going to force you into anything. Ever. I want you to be comfortable enough to trust me when you need me.”
“I haven’t any idea why, but I already do.” She looked around her office, then at him. “I’m afraid if you want the truth, not of you, but of all this and what it will do to me. I love what I do, and I’m having a good time. But in the back of my head, all I can think about is that my own flesh and blood is out to get me. Do you think they’re going to kill me if they don’t get what they want?”
“How about we talk about that later? If it comes up.” She thanked him. “No need for that, Joey. As I said, I want you to be in the know of everything going on, and this will make it easier for the two of us to talk. Because of the connection you’ll have with me, if you wish it, you’ll be able to talk to the rest of my family as well. They’re rooting for you to come out ahead. I believe with all I am that you will.”
Nodding, she put out her hand for him. The lick to her palm was sort of breathtaking. The bite, no more than a small prick of her skin, didn’t even make her flinch. When he offered up his hand, he used a pin he had in his hand to cut into his skin. The sight of his blood bubbling up on his hand had her licking her lips. His low growl made her look at him.
“You’re a very beautiful, desirable woman, Joey. Just take my blood before I toss you onto your desk and show you how much I’d like you naked beneath me.” She smiled at him, looked at her desk, then licked his hand. Picking up the phone, she answered it, knowing it was Margie.
“What the hell do you want now? Don’t you think I have more important things to do than to listen to you harp and harp about what you think I should be doing for you? Don’t call here again, or so help me, Margie, I’m going to have you arrested for harassment.” Slamming the phone back down on the cradle, she turned to him. “Was that really her, or did I just piss off some potential buyer with that call?”
Pierce: McCray Bruin Bear Shifter Romance Page 4