Boss: Romantic Thriller

by Sienna Mynx

  Tarek smirked. “Yes sir.”

  Alek smiled. “Good.” He turned and wheeled his chair toward the door. Dale, who must have been listening with his hand on the door, opened it for his father. “Now, make me more money.”

  And then Alek was gone. Tarek paced his office. He was not done. Not by a long shot. First he needed to cover his tracks. And that idiot Bill Havarti had lost critical information that could not fall in his brother’s hands. Information he suspected was stolen.

  The phone rang on his desk.

  Tarek picked it up. “What do you have me for me?”

  “You were right to have me start digging again, her name isn't Angela Brown. It's Kassandra Turner. And get this. She belongs to the E.P.U.,” his private investigator Cash Dagwood said.

  He walked over to his chair, and sat down. “E.P.U., huh?”

  “Check the email I sent,” Cash said.

  Tarek clicked the mouse and scanned his mailbox. The E.P.U. was some goody-two-shoes, liberal bullshit group called the Environment Protectors United. They had YouTube videos exposing big corporations that they accused of polluting the land and drinking water. For the past eight years they’d protested against the Marshalls in the press, and through social media. They even had a small group arrive every morning to their Gulf Shore office with picket signs. They were as relentless as PETA in their pursuit of his adopted father's empire. But he’d never let them get close. He was surprised and angered by the news.

  When Tarek opened the email he uncovered the undeniable truth. His darling Angela Brown, was playing him for a fool. She was indeed Kassandra Brown, and from what he could tell she was from Plano Texas. He didn't read much further. Instead he clicked on the attached j-peg for the images.

  “I would have called you earlier this week—”

  “You should have called earlier,” Tarek remarked.

  The images were of Kassidy sitting inside a restaurant with a man. And then outside of the restaurant by her car kissing. It was the kiss that threw the gasoline over the flame of anger burning hot in him.

  “Who is the man?”

  “That man is the loudmouth Daniel Messina. He runs the EPU.”

  Tarek blew out a deep breath.

  “I’ve tailed her for two months when you were away. Nothing. But last week she began to have meetings with this guy. Always at the same place. This meeting happened on Wednesday.”

  Tarek slammed down the phone. He got up from his desk and went out of his office door. He’d fire her entire team, including that slut Reese who fucked his brother Dale, and pranced around the office as if her vagina was the golden ticket. The moment he stepped out into the hall, his vision swung left. He saw Kassandra standing at the other end. She was speaking to Reese and his brother Dale. His Pops was in his wheel chair leering at her with a big smile. Some pair they all made. The old guy patted her on the thigh before saying a few words. She looked uncomfortable about his touch, but she nodded and said something to him. She and Dale seemed quite cozy too. Maybe his brother was fucking her, and telling all their secrets during pillow talk? Was that the reason why his father was so confident. Did she tell them what he’d done in Alaska? How much did she learn about him in pillow talk? Yegor was right when he told him to end the affair and focus. That’s why he called it off two months ago. His feelings for her rattled him so bad he had to keep his distance. He was falling for her, and it was a distraction. She was only in his bed for this?

  The predator in him wanted to strike. He narrowed his eyes on Kassandra. Her gaze was drawn to him as his brother spoke to her. There were only a few times when their eyes met, and she didn’t drop her eyes away. This was one of them. She bit down on her ruby lips and cut her eyes back to his brother. But again she glanced his way. He saw it. Saw her. And then his family walked off toward the elevator.

  Tarek stood there contemplating.

  He could fire her ass.

  No.

  He would fire her ass. But not before he learned what damage was done, and how much of it incriminated him.

  16.

  Kassidy could breathe easy only when she made it back to her cubicle. She really couldn’t stand the lecherous manner of men with power. Alek Marshall always touched her when they conversed. He acted like it was his right to be so personal. And what was even more disgusting, the other women in the office, including Reese, tolerated the behavior. She loathed it. The year was 2015 not 1950. It was insulting bullshit. At least his asshole son showed more restraint, and just stared at her breasts or ass when she entered and left a room. Disgusted she dropped in her chair.

  The phone rang. She snatched it up. “Daniel?”

  “You need to get out of there”, he said in a panic, “Now!”

  “What?”

  “He knows. Tarek knows. My guys tracked down the inquiries. An investigator named Cash Dagwood. He's been following you for weeks. How soon can you meet me?” he asked.

  “It’s snowing already and they’re dismissing the office. I’ll email you the files I have on my laptop.”

  “No. Not from their server. It’s illegal, Kassidy. I told you that,” Daniel said. “Tarek Marshall is on to you so it's too late. Take what you have and get out. Now!” Daniel said.

  “All of this is illegal.” Kassidy told him. “And he is not on to us. I just had a meeting with him, and he didn't say a thing.”

  “Listen to me...”

  “Guess what, that information on the USB drive isn’t useless. I did my own digging for you. They are account numbers to Russian banks. This is the connection of money laundering to the Kovalevsky’s and...”

  “Listen to me damn it!” Daniel shouted.

  Kassidy fell silent at his outburst.

  “You aren’t the only person working for me. He didn’t buy your act Kassidy. Before he returned he started investigating you, us. I’m on his radar too. Get your ass out of there. Now, I’m serious!”

  “Are you positive?” Kassidy whispered.

  “I’m positive.”

  “If I go then this is it. I can't get back in.”

  “We go to plan B!” Daniel said. “I’m bringing you in. I got a place you can lay low at.”

  “Okay. Where do we meet?” she asked and began to pack up her things. “The weather is getting worse,”

  “Do you have the USB drive?”

  “Yes,” she said.

  “Perfect,” Daniel sighed.

  “I got something else. I Xeroxed contracts for Havarti again today. I still have the copies. I didn’t deliver them to his team.”

  “Okay. Uhm, meet me at Busy Bee’s. I’m not far from there now,” he said.

  “Okay.” Kassidy hung up. “Shit!” she cursed. She just remembered that she left the USB drive at home. She couldn’t worry about that now. She could have one of Daniel’s people pick it up. She reached for her purse and turned in her chair. Kassidy gasped loudly.

  Tarek stood in her cubicle, towering over her. She looked up into his dark grey eyes. Did he hear her? What had she said? Oh God, did he hear her?

  “Do you have a minute, Ms. Brown?”

  “Ah, I’m so sorry, but, uhm, I really don’t,” she said. She turned and began to collect her things. She expected him to insist, and already had a counter explanation. The snow. The office was clearing. Texas wasn’t the kind of state that could handle a snow storm like this. Traffic jams and mayhem were certain to follow the rest of the day. When she glanced back over her shoulder, she saw him standing and watching.

  “The storm... It’s coming. I think we should all leave,” she said with a quiver of uncertainty in her voice.

  “Cut the bullshit, bitch. I want you in my office, Now,” he said and walked off.

  Kassidy gasped. She stood. She watched him go. He never looked back. Her stomach was twisted into a pretzel knot. He knows. He knows. Daniel was right!

  She was screwed. She couldn’t meet with him. She didn’t dare. It was now or never. She grabbed her purse and her
things. She grabbed the black binder with the documents in it. She saw several other employees at the other end of the hall chatting. Tarek was in his office. She bolted from her cubicle and ran for the emergency exit door. Kassidy pushed it open and quickly headed down the stairs. Her heart was in her throat. Her legs were cramping from running down stairs in four-inch heels. Still she pushed on. And when she breeched the last floor she finally allowed herself to breathe.

  She arrived into the lobby of the twenty story Marshall Towers building. The security guard desk housed three different guards, each seated in a direction that allowed them clear view of those arriving and leaving. She collected herself and tried to walk normal.

  Security doesn’t know, Kassidy. You’re being paranoid. Just walk out and no one will stop you. She hitched her purse higher on her shoulder and kept going. When she passed the security guards, she began to relax.

  “Ms. Brown!” Clifford the tall, dark skinned security guard called out.

  Kassidy froze. She closed her eyes, but she couldn’t stop the frantic beat of her heart.

  “Ms. Brown, can you come here, please?”

  She opened her eyes and looked at the door. If he had called down to security to stop her, then he possibly called the police. The only advice Daniel ever gave her when she decided to work with him to gain leverage on the Marshalls was to deny everything, confess to nothing. But in her briefcase was enough evidence to have them both criminally prosecuted. How could she deny it?

  “Ah, Ms. Brown?” Clifford said in a raised tone.

  She turned and smiled. He waved her to him. He didn’t look angry. He didn’t look concerned. She prayed as she took each step toward him. The other two security guards ignored him. He reached down and pulled out a sheet of paper. He handed it her. “I forgot to give this to you. It’s the form you have to submit on your new car. Bring it when you come back with the license plate number, and we will make sure it has a decal for parking.”

  “Oh? Okay,” Kassidy sighed. “Okay. Thanks.”

  17.

  Tarek grew tired of waiting. He would drag the conniving witch into his office by her hair if he had to. He pushed up from his desk and stormed out. Half the office was gone. The other half was headed to the elevator. He frowned. Where the fuck was everybody going?

  “Tanya, come here,” he said.

  “Yes, Mr. Marshall?” The marketing manager walked over with her coat on, and purse on her shoulder.

  “Where the hell is everyone?” he asked.

  “Early release. You saw the email right?”

  Tarek’s brows lowered in confusion. “Email?”

  “The storm. It’s coming in fast. Your father left ten minutes ago,” she smiled.

  Tarek’s gaze swung to Kassidy’s cubicle. He pushed past Tanya. He marched over and found she wasn’t there.

  “Shit!” he shouted.

  “She left a few minutes ago,” Tanya called out to him. “You better get out of here as well. I-20 is at a standstill. It might be best to take the back roads.”

  Tarek went to his office. He snatched up the phone and dialed.

  “Security?” A man answered.

  “This is Tarek Marshall—”

  “Oh hi, Mr. Marshall, this is Cliff—”

  “I need Kassidy... ah, Angela Brown stopped. She is not to leave this building,” Tarek said.

  “Ms. Brown just left,” Clifford began. “I think she’s out of the parking garage by now.”

  Tarek slammed the phone down. He grimaced. He glanced to his computer screen. He knew the restaurant in the picture. Everything in him said she was headed there. Tarek plucked up his coat and keys, and was out the door. There were back roads he could take that would surely cut her off, and get him there before her.

  18.

  “Unbelievable!” Kassidy groaned. She hit the steering wheel and honked her horn. The expressway was a nightmare. Traffic was at a standstill. The wipers on her Toyota worked frantically to wash away the large flurries falling from the sky. If she hadn’t been so spooked by Tarek, she might have remembered to take the back roads.

  Her cell phone rang and she glanced to her dashboard. The number connecting was Daniel’s. Kassidy breathed a sigh of relief, and punched it up to take the call.

  “Hey? Did you get out? Where are you?”

  “Stuck in traffic,” she said. “Are you there?”

  “Yeah, but they are closing. So we can try for your house instead?”

  “No! No, Daniel. You were right as always. Tarek Marshall is on to us.”

  “What happened?” Daniel asked.

  “Nothing, I got out of there before he cornered me. We need to meet now. Traffic is crazy and this snow... I don’t understand how it could be snowing like this?”

  “Are you sure you can get here?” Daniel asked.

  She glanced over and saw several cars traveling in the emergency exit lane. It was illegal to do so, but she cut her wheel over and followed.

  “Kassidy?”

  “Yes, I’m sure. Don’t worry. I have what you need, just wait for me in the parking lot. I know some side roads to take,” she said.

  “I'm sorry about the fight we had Kassidy. You were right. This is worth the risk sweetheart. We couldn’t fight a company and a man as powerful as Tarek Marshall without you. You know that right?” Daniel asked.

  “Yes, I know,” she mumbled. Daniel was wrong. She hadn’t regained her focus. Her vendetta only resumed because of how much she hated and loved Tarek. Something she probably would need years of therapy to explain.

  “Those bloodsucking bastards will get what is coming to them. I promise,” Daniel continued speaking. She was barely listening. “The Russians? They are doing this with the Russians? We are going to crush them!”

  “I’ll be there in ten minutes, maybe sooner. I don’t think the back roads are as bad as this, at least not yet.”

  “I’m waiting for you in the parking lot.”

  She ended the call. The traffic she braked through only moved in the emergency lane, but not fast. She kept pumping her brakes and squinting through the snow. The exit ahead led to Garland Road. She could take that one directly to Maple Street, and then cut through a housing subdivision. Kassidy turned on the radio in search of a weather report. Only commercials for title loans blared through. Maybe the snow wouldn’t last as long as predicted. Either way the storm was a perfect cover. The city typically became immobilized during the rainy season or winter. She needed a place to hide. If she didn’t know anything about Tarek she knew how ruthless he could be. She’d just raised the stakes in the game. And he would be out for her blood.

  19.

  Tarek Marshall loved his toys, and he possessed many. Cars and recreation vehicles were collected like rare stamps, and housed in an eight-car garage at his ranch. But his favorite by far, was his Ford F-150 Sema truck, with off-roading tires. He could drive it through an apocalypse and not feel a bump. It was wise of him to choose the Sema to drive today.

  The snow surprised him. Even in his truck, he felt uncomfortable by the relentless way it covered and began to freeze everything in his path. Within ten minutes, he arrived at the tavern called ‘Busy Bee's’. There were only three cars in the parking lot. One vehicle had fogged over windows, and exhaust smoking out of its tailpipe. The windshield wipers on his truck swiped back and forth to clear his view of the vehicle. Tarek reduced his speed to a manageable cruise through the lot. He believed Cash told him that Kassidy drove a red car—a new one. He forgot the model. It was not among the ones parked in the lot. Had he arrived too late? No. He felt certain with the traffic congestion that he’d gotten around the cars stalling on ice along the roads. He backed into a parking spot. His dark tinted windows covered him completely. He considered that the meeting may not be scheduled to occur until maybe another day. He considered that Kassandra Turner had decided to go home instead. But he dismissed that speculation. He saw it in her eyes. She knew she was busted. And in this storm, it made
sense for her to meet her accomplice here, now. It's what he would do. Tarek sat behind the wheel contemplating his next move, when a gift was offered to him.

  The third car, parked closer to the front of the restaurant, door opened and a man stepped out. He wore a skullcap over his head and a heavy fatigue jacket. He closed the door and blew into his cupped hands as he began to pace. Tarek couldn’t see his face. He was patient enough to wait. And then came the final reward when the man looked directly at his truck. It was Daniel Messina, the founder and chief organizer of the E.P.U. Tarek smiled. Daniel couldn’t see him from the distance and angle of his parked truck. He itched to get out and make a proper introduction. He’d hated the fucking bastard for years. And here he was.

  Tarek reached for the glove compartment where he kept his gun, but stopped himself. There was no need. Instead he reached for the car door handle when another car came zooming into the parking lot. A red car. Tarek’s brows lowered. Part of him was a little disappointed. Kassidy’s rebellion meant he underestimated her bravery. And Tarek was rarely blindsided by an opponent.

  Kassidy saw Daniel. She drove across the freezing parking lot at a risky speed and in her excitement she nearly skidded into the parking spot. He smiled at her and she smiled back. It was over. At least this part would end rather cleanly. The fallout and ramifications hadn’t even begun. Kassidy glanced over to the black binder, and again considered the consequences of her actions. She knew she was in the right. She believed in the cause.

  There was a knuckle tap at her passenger window. It appeared that Daniel was more anxious than she was. She sucked down a deep breath of courage, and grabbed the binder and then her purse. She got out of the car. He waited in the cold with his hands shoved down into his pockets. Daniel was tall and lean with a thick mustache and beard that covered half of his face. His glasses were pushed up on his nose and magnified his eyes. It was a definite turn off. She handed him the binder.