Searing Lies (Love, Power & Sin)

by Marie Astor

  “Who is this guy? Does he have the credentials for the job?” Dennis asked.

  “Er …” Janet’s face grew warm. Her personal opinion of Alex was that he was not worth the ground he walked on, but then she was biased. Alex did graduate from Columbia Law, albeit only because Janet had contributed to that fact substantially by letting him copy her homework assignments and class notes, but who was counting, right?

  “Dennis, listen to me,” Ham snapped. “As far as the big men at the top are concerned, Kingsley’s qualifications are irrelevant. The only thing that matters is that he’s the man they want for the job, and I’m not.” Ham looked away. “All the years of hard work down the drain … If there’s one thing I learned through this experience is that moral flexibility is paramount. If I had caved in when they told me, I would still have my job today.”

  “What do you mean, caved in?” Dennis asked.

  “Our Enforcement Division had postponed the hearing three times. I should have gotten the hint.”

  “You mean they are in on it?” Janet blurted out.

  “Hank Dooley, the chief of Enforcement, is a political shark. He’s got his eyes set on Washington, and he’ll do anything to get there—” Ham broke off, shaking his head. “There’s no use talking about this now: what’s done is done, and I don’t intend to spend my time dwelling on the past. As much as I’ve enjoyed chatting with you young people, I ought to get going. I have a dinner date with my wife, and Neely doesn’t like it when I’m late. Boy, she’s going to be excited about the retirement package.” Ham rubbed his chin, his eyes brightening up. “You know, I think I’m starting to warm to this retirement idea after all.”

  “We’ll miss you, Ham.” Dennis’s voice was somber and sincere. “I’ll miss you.”

  “I’ll miss you too, both of you. This is not the way I expected my career to end, but when life slips you lemons the only thing to do is to try to turn them into lemonade. Make nice to the new boss. I hear he’s been told to clean ship, so don’t give him any pretext to do so.” Ham rose from the chair and extended his hand to Janet. “The few months we’ve worked together have been a pleasure, Janet. I’m sure you’ll have a stellar career, regardless of where it might be.”

  “Thank you, Ham.” Janet tried not to read too much into the “wherever it might be” part.

  “Dennis, I don’t mean to sound patronizing, but you were truly like a son to me and you always will be. I know I busted your chops at times, but that was only because I wanted to see you reach your full potential. You are a damn good investigator, and if it were up to me I would name you as my successor. But, as things stand, it’s no longer up to me. I hope there won’t be any hard feelings.”

  “None, sir. Thank you, sir. It has been an honor and a pleasure to have worked with you.”

  Ham nodded. “Thank you, son. I’d better get packing: they want me off the premises by five.”

  “Goodbye, sir.” Janet took one last look at Hamilton Kirk. Unlike Dennis, she had not worked with the man for long, but in the brief time that she had known Ham she had grown to respect him greatly. Ham was honest, principled, and fair. These were qualities that were rare in any man and were certainly not among the traits that Alex Kingsley possessed.

  Chapter 2

  Janet Maple stared at her cup of coffee and untouched bagel. She did not have much of an appetite this morning, but neither would most people in her situation: having your ex as your new boss was not exactly a heart-warming prospect.

  There was a knock on the door of her office. “Come in,” Janet called out.

  “Janet?” Ann Smith, Ham Kirk’s former secretary, walked into Janet’s office. Ann had worked for Ham for the past ten years. The shock of the previous day’s events was written on her face.

  “Hi, Ann.” Janet was always glad to see Ann, but this morning she was especially so. She was about to say how horrible it was that Ham had been let go, but Ann interrupted her.

  “Janet, Mr. Kingsley would like to see you.” Ann’s lips were drawn together and her eyes downcast.

  The idea of Alex being addressed as Mr. Kingsley seemed preposterous. “But he wasn’t supposed to start until next week.”

  “Apparently, his start date has been moved up,” Ann replied matter-of-factly. “He said he wanted to see you right away.”

  Janet was about to ask her what it was about, but seeing the closed-off expression on Ann’s face, decided against it. “Very well. Tell him I’ll be right there.”

  After Ann left, Janet took a moment to collect her bearings. The thought of Alex—correction, Mr. Alex Kingsley—made her cringe. The man was positively evil: suave, ambitious, and pretentious beyond bounds. The pompous prick did not even have the decency to say hello. Instead, he had sent his secretary to do his bidding.

  On her way to Alex’s office, Janet stopped by Ann’s desk and immediately understood the reason behind Ann’s strange behavior: Ann’s cubicle was filled with cardboard boxes. “Ann, I’m so sorry.” Janet touched Ann’s shoulder.

  “I was offered a generous severance package, and I opted to take it,” Ann replied evenly.

  “But he can’t just force you out! You’ve worked here for years!”

  Ann looked away. “I believe that Mr. Kingsley will be hiring an assistant of his own choosing. My severance is conditional on the confidentiality agreement that I signed,” Ann added.

  Janet shook her head: it had not even been twenty-four hours since Alex’s arrival but already he was reshaping the department according to his needs. “I understand. Good luck, Ann. I sure will miss you.”

  Alex’s office door was open, but Alex was busy looking at something on his computer screen.

  Janet knocked and waited for Alex to acknowledge her presence. In the few hours that Alex had been the occupant of Ham’s old office, he had transformed the space into an unrecognizable state. Ham’s modest office furniture had been replaced with an antique wooden desk and two plush armchairs that faced it. The chair that Alex sat on looked like a throne made of leather. The formerly empty walls were now lined with paintings in heavy frames. Next to Alex’s desk stood a gigantic bookcase with glass doors; its shelves were filled with law tomes with brand new bindings.

  “Janet, how wonderful to see you!” With his arms outstretched, Alex rose from his chair.

  End of Chapter 2