Opportunity (Office Roulette, Book Three)

by Kennedy Layne

  “Cynthia and I are old friends,” Kurt explained with a rigid smile, tightening the belt around his dress coat. “How may I help you, Detective?”

  “I have some questions for you. I also believe that the interview should be conducted at the station.”

  Detective Nielsen let his gaze linger on Cynthia, most likely waiting for her to verify Kurt’s claim on why he was in her apartment building. She held steady on her black high heels.

  “I’m sure you’ll understand that I need to contact my lawyer before answering any of your questions.” Kurt wasn’t a man who minced words. Neither was he one who wasted time, which was why it didn’t surprise her when he brushed past the detective as if this entire matter was an inconvenience. Any fear he displayed earlier was gone. “I’m a busy man, Detective, as you well know. Let’s get this over with so that I can get to my own business.”

  Cynthia was lucky that Detective Nielsen hadn’t taken her into the station for questioning as well, but that didn’t mean she got away without a warning.

  “Ms. Ellsworth, I’m sure you’re well aware of the reason I’m bringing Mr. Langston in for questioning. Is there anything you’d like to tell me before this goes any further?”

  “Meredith Manon came into my office Friday morning with a copy of a letter she’d found in Brad’s home office.” Cynthia had nothing to hide. Had Kurt not shown up at her apartment building this morning, she wouldn’t even have known that the letter had nothing to do with her. “I told her the same thing I’m going to tell you. Kurt and I had an affair three years ago. I did not know that he was married, and I ended things the moment I found out. As to what the letter was in regard to, you’ll have to ask him. I have nothing more to say on this matter.”

  Detective Nielsen nodded after she’d finished speaking, though she was sure this wasn’t the last she’d see of him in the coming days. His speculative expression told that he didn’t quite believe her explanation. They said their goodbyes, and Cynthia watched on as he and the two officers took their leave.

  Numerous thoughts ran through her mind as she tried to prioritize her day.

  First thing on the agenda?

  Cynthia was going to call one of the top criminal defense lawyers in town.

  CHAPTER NINE

  “How were you, of all people, able to obtain Justin Monroe as your attorney?” Smith asked, sitting down in one of the high back leather swivel chairs surrounding the conference room table. “He told me that there was a conflict of interest to take on any more clients regarding this case.”

  “And one of the reasons Justin mentioned the conflict of interest to you was because I hired him the second Grace had all charges dropped against her. It’s amazing what a few crisp dollars can get you these days.”

  Gareth admired the way Cynthia handled the multitude of questions thrown her way after she’d shown up at the office. She’d quickly herded all those close to the situation into the conference room, though he didn’t miss the frown of displeasure Marilyn tried to hide. He had to wonder when her staged revolt would eventually take place.

  He was still reeling from the fact that Kurt Langston had the balls to show up at Cynthia’s apartment after what he’d done to her. The guy was a real class act, and one Gareth wanted to ensure was brought to his knees.

  Unfortunately, it appeared that the police and media had dibs, but Gareth knew that revenge was a dish best served cold.

  The last segment of the news Gareth had seen before Cynthia had strolled through the glass doors of Manon Investments with her head held high was the fact that the press had surrounded Kurt Langston’s residence. His wife would now know for certain that she’d married a lying, cheating asshole—as if she didn’t already know that deep down inside.

  Cynthia had been right all along about someone leaking this to the press.

  “Are you saying you anticipated that you’d need Justin’s services?” Paul asked as he ventured into an allied minefield. What the hell was wrong with him? “Cynthia, now is the time to let me know if any more surprises are coming down the pike. If you know something the rest of us don’t, you should tell us now.”

  Gareth walked past Cynthia’s chair, brushing his fingers over her shoulder in an attempt to ward off what could potentially be a rather heated discussion. Paul had all but accused her of knowing something probative about Brad’s murder. That wasn’t going to go over well with the present company.

  “Paul, it’s called covering one’s ass. You should be familiar with that particular preventative measure. You’ve used it on numerous occasions yourself.” Cynthia leaned back in the black chair and crossed her legs. He could easily see that she was controlling the narrative. She’d rested her hands on the arms of the chair as she took in each and every individual in attendance. Gareth walked over to the window overlooking the city and leaned against the sill to watch the rest of the conversation play out. He could easily picture Cynthia wearing a crown to denote her place at the head of the table. “What I’d like to know is if any of you are aware of a connection between Kurt Langston and Phil Colbert.”

  A round of negative replies went around the group that included Paul, Smith, Laurel, and Grace. This small assembly was obviously made up of those individuals Cynthia trusted, but Gareth doubted that she’d get the answers she sought.

  “Cynthia, why don’t we call Phil in here and ask him directly? He’s a good guy.”

  “Because that would be interfering with an active homicide investigation, much like Meredith attempted to do by coming to me with that letter on Friday.” Cynthia compressed her lips together to smooth out her lipstick in a habit he’d taken notice of months ago. She only did so when she was deep in thought. “Paul, Phil has always been Manon Investments’ go-to technology analyst. Grace has spent the last hour searching our records for any trades involving Kurt’s tech company. I came up empty. Do you remember if it was ever discussed out in the trading room or behind closed doors with Brad?”

  “No, but I was rarely in those meetings Brad had with the analysts regarding stock picks.” Paul sat back in his chair and held his hands up in the current setback. “We could—”

  Cynthia cocked an eyebrow, all but daring him to suggest they bring Phil into the loop.

  “What about Steve?” Smith suggested, looking around the room for anyone on board with the new idea. “He’s been here from the initial opening of the fund, and he attended most of those meetings.”

  “We’re starting to sound a bit paranoid,” Laurel interjected, sharing a look with Grace. “We have no proof that Kurt’s letter has anything to do with Brad’s murder. I know he came to your apartment building this morning, Cynthia, but we can’t assume anything unless the police find proof that whatever business Kurt conducted with Brad led to his death.”

  Everyone began talking at once. Gareth wasn’t involved in the business side of things, other than his money was at stake along with every other investor based on the decisions this firm made since inception. From a business angle, whatever Kurt Langston had done or hadn’t done wouldn’t be so obvious.

  “We might be looking in the wrong direction.” Gareth waited until all eyes fell on him. “We’re assuming that letter had something to do with Kurt’s company, but what if it’s about another tech firm? Who was his competition back then?”

  The silence was deafening.

  Gareth now had all eyes on him, but it was Cynthia’s smile that told him he might have just found something to make all their troubles go away.

  “Grace?”

  Cynthia only had to say her friend’s name to garner the appropriate response.

  “On it,” Grace quickly replied, already out of her seat and walking toward the door.

  “I’ll give Detective Nielsen a call to let him know what could potentially be at stake,” Smith shared before he followed quickly behind Grace, though not before brushing his hand across Laurel’s shoulder. Had Gareth not been looking, he wouldn’t have seen the intimate exchange
. “Maybe he’ll let something slip about his conversation with Langston.”

  “Cynthia, is there anything I can do?” Laurel asked, her concern evident for Cynthia on a much personal level. “You realize it’s only a matter of time before the media descends on us again, right?”

  “I know, which is why I’m going to come up with a statement before Kurt Langston has the ability to spin this media circus in his direction.”

  Gareth continued to sit back and listen as Cynthia discussed various methods with Laurel and Paul that would allow Manon Investments to control the narrative. She was a born leader and right in her element at the helm.

  Sure, she wasn’t on the board of Manon Investments, but it was clear her opinion held a massive amount of weight. It was also evident that she enjoyed her career, though Gareth couldn’t help but stop to think about the change she could implement in the various charities his family held sway over.

  With Cynthia’s attitude and perseverance, the two of them could change the world.

  “I’ll contact the journalist who hosts the financial news during the morning premarket blitz.” Cynthia had decided what tactic to take after several were debated between the other two employees at the table. Gareth noted that the board members had not been a part of this meeting, which had him wondering if Paul had attended to clue them in on what had transpired during this morning’s strategy session. “Paul, don’t inform the board of this. Not yet. Give me time to get the phone interview rolled out so that no one can throw a wrench into the works on this and leave us hanging out to dry.”

  That set off another five minutes of discussions and what the plan would be if any of this backfired on them, but Cynthia had a pretty damn good handle on the situation. It wasn’t long before the conference room cleared out, leaving Gareth alone with Cynthia.

  “Do you really believe that Brad and Phil made some type of bid to sabotage another tech company?” Cynthia remained seated, her blue gaze remaining steady on him as he finally moved away from the windowsill. “They could have taken a short position in another tech firm, running the price of the stock down. For what purpose, though? A takeover? I don’t recall Kurt ever talking about a takeover or merger with another firm.”

  Gareth figured Kurt Langston wasn’t a man to mix business with pleasure.

  “I know this isn’t what you want to hear right now,” Gareth said, pulling up the chair that Paul had vacated. He rolled a bit closer so that he could lean forward and take ahold of her hands. What he was about to suggest was rather crass, but he’d never met a more self-assured woman. “Is there a chance here that Langston got involved with you just to give him additional leverage over Brad?”

  “It’s all I’ve thought of since our run in this morning.”

  Gareth was already in tune with where her thoughts were taking her. He didn’t like it, but he understood her need to speak with Langston again…only this time without a police presence bearing down on them.

  “You’re not going to be alone with that man,” Gareth warned, unsure of how much danger she could be putting herself in by walking down this path. A man was already dead, others had been dragged through the mud, and a firm was about to be under siege. “I want to be with you when you confront him.”

  “I—”

  Neither one of them were expecting the conference door to open, which caused them both to immediately look that direction.

  “Cynthia, could I speak with you in private?” Phil Colbert stood in the doorway pushing his black-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose. “In my office?”

  “Of course,” Cynthia replied, releasing Gareth’s hands and rolling the chair backward with the back of her knees. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

  Both Gareth and Cynthia waited for Phil to close the conference room door, but it was evident he wasn’t pleased with the delay.

  “So help me…make that Paul Salter…if he went to Phil without allowing me to look into this matter first,” Cynthia muttered, turning back to face Gareth with annoyance. This wasn’t how they’d pictured the first workday after such a wonderful weekend. Then again, it had been foolish to assume that anything could move forward until the individual who murdered Brad Manon was behind bars. “I’ll make his life a living hell.”

  “You don’t know why Phil wants to speak with you. It might not be about anything related to Langston.” Gareth was somewhat removed from this business matter, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t made a few phone calls regarding Langston and his business. It was always better to know everything one could about one’s adversary before going to battle. “I said it before, and I’ll say it again. I want you to watch your back, Cyn. Someone had the ability to get into the building’s security feed and shut it down for a night. Speaking with Smith, I’m inclined to agree it’s someone that is employed by Manon Investments.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Cynthia stopped by her own office first to make the phone calls required to set up the phone interview, not surprised in the least that the network jumped at the chance. This wasn’t the route she’d wanted to take, but it was better than the alternative of turning the initiative over to Langston. There was no way in hell she was going to allow Kurt Langston’s past misdeeds to interfere with her personal or professional future.

  “Cynthia, do you have a moment?” Vern asked after he materialized in her doorway.

  She stifled her immediate response, which would have been hell no. But Vern wasn’t responsible for the lack of time she had in the day. Her stomach growled, reminding her that she never drank that smoothie Gareth had sitting on the desk in the guest office. Lunch was still at least an hour away, though she doubted she’d have time to eat anything.

  “I have a meeting with Phil, but I can spare a minute or two,” Cynthia said honestly, hoping to curtail whatever topic Vern needed to cover today. “What’s up?”

  Cynthia wished she’d stayed behind her desk so that she could take a seat, because Vern quietly closed her office door. That could only mean that this conversation was going to take a hell of a lot longer than sixty seconds. She used her desk as leverage, leaning against the edge as she rested her palms on either side of her.

  “I wanted to be upfront with you before this situation gets out of hand.”

  Vern leaned against the door, his graying combover causing him to look older than he really was at the age of fifty-one. His years of experience was the reason Rye Marshall put an offer on the table, though Grace had mentioned that Vern had been the one to seek out the other firm. No one could blame him, considering that Brad hadn’t been easy to work with in the last few years of his life.

  If Vern wanted to get something off his chest, then it appeared that Marilyn may have been talking out of turn. The receptionist was the glue that held this company together, but that didn’t mean she didn’t miscalculate when prying into the private lives of the employees. The woman always had her ear to the ground and her eye on the prize.

  “You know about my upcoming interview regarding Kurt Langston,” Cynthia said, deciding to cut right to the chase. “For the record, I asked Paul to keep it under wraps with regard to the board until the segment airs. This is on me, and the board is going to have to accept my decision for doing the interview. It’s better to get out in front of this before Kurt can swing the narrative his direction. I won’t have my professional life sullied by that cheating bastard and his bag full of lies.”

  Cynthia waited for Vern to become judgmental, all but accusing Cynthia of being the woman Kurt cheated with on his wife. It wouldn’t be a lie, but no one ever bothered to hear both sides of the story before jumping on the bandwagon.

  Grace and Laurel were constantly telling her that she needed to have more faith in people, but that was hard when everyone seemed so hellbent on proving her right in her original assessment.

  “Cynthia, you’re a straight shooter. I appreciate that more than you know, which is why you don’t need to hide the fact that you’re aware of my offer to g
o to work for Marshall Securities. I’m taking it.” Vern hesitated, almost as if he were about to change his mind as to why he’d come to talk to you. “I’ve spoken to Detective Nielsen at length regarding this transition and the reasons why.”

  Cynthia braced herself for more bad news, and that was saying something.

  “It’s common knowledge that Brad changed after his divorce from Meredith, and not for the better. They both claimed to remain good friends, but we all know how that kind of crap goes. His mood swings set people on edge, he began taking chances that were a bit too risky for even some of the analysts’ positions, and he started gambling with his personal savings on the side.”

  Vern wasn’t telling Cynthia anything she didn’t already know, and that included the bit about the gambling. Everyone was well aware of Brad’s personal vices, and those weren’t few. Hell, the first thing she thought of when she’d gotten the call from Grace regarding Brad’s death was that he’d gotten into debt with the wrong people.

  One thing stood out that she wanted to clarify before Vern left the firm.

  “You realize that those professional risks Brad wanted to take panned out, don’t you?” Cynthia wasn’t so tense now that she’d been made aware of the territory they were entering. “Upon the analysts’ disagreements with some of the trades Brad wanted to make back then, he decided to execute them himself through his own personal account. Seeing as the firm held no shares in those companies, he was completely free and clear to execute them personally. Bottom line? He made a pretty hefty profit for himself. It was when he began withdrawing funds from his 401k to increase his odds that he ran down his account. In the end, he took too many risks and drained his personal funds.”

  It was at that exact moment that she realized what they’d all overlooked.

  How could she have missed it before?

  “Vern, I could kiss you.” Cynthia quickly walked over to her credenza and opened the drawer. It didn’t take her long to find the folder, but what was inside brought her up short. “Fuck.”