He closed the folder and stared at the now empty mug then gazed over at the picture. Whatever was going on here was a bit more complex than he’d first assumed, that was for sure. It was time for him to do some more digging.
Harper waited for the elevator impatiently, eager to leave for the day, even if it was only four o’clock. Hardly anyone in the building used the elevator aside from the employees with offices on the upper floors, so why was it always so damn slow? She tapped her foot as she pushed the button again and mulled the day over. She hadn’t heard back about Logan finding out who changed the addresses. Then again, it was also possible he’d been the one who had changed it, and he was going to tell Gertie it was her. Then she would probably lose her job. Better to come up with evidence against him sooner rather than later so she could prove to Gertie what he was up to.
Turning around she headed back into her office, tossed her purse and coat onto her desk, then stormed off down the stairs to the basement area to see what exactly Logan had been doing with those lights.
She walked briskly through the storage area and into the room with the lights. She looked them over, paying close attention to the cords. Nope, everything seemed fine. Well, there might be a light missing. That would be odd though, and she wasn’t sure since she hadn’t counted them all when she’d been in here before. Besides, what would someone do with one light?
As she left the room quietly she caught Ben and George inside one of the small storage rooms out of the corner of her eye. They had a cart with a computer on it, piquing her interest. She approached them slowly, thinking what she should say. Maybe they knew who had access to the files on the server. Or, maybe one of them was trying to screw things up.
“Hey, guys. What’s going on?” she asked them casually, nodding towards the computer.
“Nothing exciting here, just entering inventory,” Ben replied in a bored tone. “It’s never ending.”
Harper took his lack of enthusiasm as a good way to pick their minds about the inventory system, which of course would lead to how they store the info on the server, who has access, and anything else that might help her figure out who had messed around with the file. She knew people loved to listen to themselves talk when they were asked for their opinion on something, no matter what it was.
“Really? That’s pretty cool. Is it efficient? It seems like maybe just using paper and pen would be just as good, and you wouldn’t have to worry about pushing that cart around and making sure there’s power for the computer and all that kind of stuff,” Harper said.
“Well, I guess it’s efficient, it would take time to do the inventory for this place no matter what,” Ben said.
Harper walked into the cube, making a show of looking at the computer setup. “My first job here was managing the inventory. But we didn’t have this new system you guys have. Basically, I just had to keep track of everything manually, which was kind of a nightmare.”
“Oh yeah, it’s definitely better than doing it all manually, like with a paper and pen,” George piped in. “We just enter it here, then once it’s in the system, it’s all set, and anyone can access it to make changes.”
Harper watched as George showed her how he entered the quantity of each item into the database, quickly clicking through the screen.
“Have you guys ever used a scanner? You know, like bar codes?” she asked.
“No, but Gertie’s mentioned it. The only issue with that is when we have temporary equipment, like this fashion show stuff, putting the bar codes on isn’t really ideal.”
Harper nodded her head in agreement.
“So, you guys can pretty much access all the files on the server, right?” Harper asked, using her most casual innocent tone.
George gave her a funny look. “Huh? Why would we even want to? We just go into the inventory program and update it. It’s faster if one person does the count and reads it off and the other person enters the numbers.”
“Yeah, I only know how to access the inventory program. The less I know how to do stuff in this system the better anyway, I don’t do too much work in it. Leave that to the computer guy,” Ben mumbled.
“Wouldn’t it be easier if you had access to everything?” Harper asked, baiting them a bit. She knew it was a stupid question, but she was also playing the part of the dingbat office worker. Well, at least she was trying to.
George and Ben both looked at each other and shrugged.
“Not really,” they replied in unison.
Noah appeared suddenly, handing a piece of paper to George.
“See, look here,” George said, holding the paper out so Harper could see it. “This is how it all works. We input the inventory items into the system, then Noah makes a master list and turns it into a diagram. It’s like a cool blueprint of where everything is physically located.”
“Yeah, but I only know how to do that part, really,” Noah said, looking at Ben. “Ben does most of the entering, like this morning you spent a lot of time on it didn’t you?”
Ben looked at Noah weirdly. “Umm, well, yeah. The stuff has to be entered, like constantly. Usually, at least twice a day.”
Harper nodded her head enthusiastically, said a quick thank you and headed back up on the elevator. It didn’t sound like any of them had the know-how to change that file, was one of them putting on an act about not being very tech savvy? If so, which one?
As the elevator stopped and the doors whisked open she stepped out into the hallway and almost collided with Sarah.
“Ah! You scared me!” Sarah laughed, stepping to the side, and grabbing her chest.
“Sorry! We should really stop meeting like this.” Harper laughed. “Feel like grabbing a quick iced coffee? We got some new flavors in that are pretty good.”
Sarah nodded yes, and the two headed inside the spotless room.
“So, how are things going?” Harper asked, as she poured herself some vanilla mocha iced coffee from the container in the fridge. Since Sarah had confided about her problems with Raffe, Harper was feeling a bond with the girl. It wasn’t that long ago she’d had major man problems too. Now she was past the hurtful stage, she found herself wanting to help Sarah through that too. Maybe Gertie’s tendency to help those who were down-and-out was rubbing off on her.
“Okay, I guess. Gertie made me an offer to work here and I’m happy about that. I know she’s super picky. And, based on the clientele, I will be able to make some great creative dishes and ones that are different for every event, instead of the same food off a menu, with an occasional special. But Raffe wasn’t exactly thrilled when I broke the news to him I was leaving. I guess I assumed he knew this would be coming, but he seemed shocked. It threw me off guard and left me questioning my decision to be honest.”
Harper nodded her head sympathetically, knowing all too well how it felt to question your decisions. “Follow your gut instinct. You’ve had the feeling for a while that working together wasn’t good for your relationship.”
They both sipped from their iced coffees in silence, the ice from the ice maker in the corner clinking loudly and breaking the silence.
“Overall, I think it’s for the best. Change is good, plus I’ll be able to see TJ more,” Sarah finally said.
Harper could sense a “but” coming by the way Sarah was speaking.
“But, I’ll be working with Veronica. And I don’t really know if that’s the best idea. We do have a bit of a history.”
Harper was aware they’d had some problems in the past, but she hoped they could leave it there. Veronica could be a bit harsh, but deep down she wasn’t that bad. Plus, Harper certainly didn’t want any catty drama around here.
“Well, maybe getting to know her better will give you the opportunity to see she’s good for your brother,” Harper cheerily said, trying to be positive and upbeat.
“Working with her before wasn’t exactly the best experience,” Sarah said dryly.
“Well, maybe she’s changed. I’ve only worked for her a
short time but she’s really not that bad.” Harper was stretching the truth a bit, but that was okay. “The past is all over and done with. Don’t dwell on it. Veronica’s done some really good things since she’s been here. She did go above and beyond to make sure Marly’s wedding was perfect. And earlier this morning she circumvented another big problem for the fashion show. I don’t think she would have done either of those if she was the same person who wanted to cause problems, right?”
“Yeah, you have some good points there,” Sarah reluctantly said. “And Marly trusts her now, which is saying a lot. She says she has been really great with the fashion show planning. I guess I should just trust her too and not jump to conclusions about her intentions with TJ. It probably doesn’t help I feel my relationship with Raffe is on its last leg. Maybe I am just taking out my negativity about relationships on Veronica. I don’t even know what I want anymore, to be honest. Maybe I’m just not destined to find love.”
Harper wondered the same thing about herself when it came to being negative about relationships. Truth be told, Logan was the only guy she’d felt even a small spark for since the big breakup, and she found herself hoping he wasn’t doing something wrong in that room with the lights. But he was the IT guy, and as far as she could tell, there were no computers or servers in that room. So, what in the world had he been doing in there?
7
After her chat with Sarah, Harper grabbed her things and again made her way down to the lobby. Myrtle was seated at the receptionist desk, as usual. A sneaky smile crept across her face seeing Harper approach. Wait a minute, she knew that look …
Myrtle’s mischievous eyes drifted over Harper’s shoulder and she whipped around to see Logan walking up behind her. Was he following her or something? Had he overheard her conversation with Ben and the others earlier, or possibly seen her in the storage room that had the lights in it? Why did he always seem to show up in the same place right after her? Shouldn’t he be doing computer things? He was the IT guy, after all.
He continued to walk past them simply nodding his head instead of saying hello, then disappeared down the hallway.
“Well, it looks like you have a stalker!” Myrtle said in a singsong voice.
“Huh?” Harper asked, confused. Could Myrtle read her mind?
“Logan. Was he following you or something? First this morning and then now. And you did see how he looked at you, right?” Myrtle waggled her eyebrows up and down with a grin on her face.
“Yeah, right. Time to get your glasses checked.” Harper shook her head. If anything, he was looking at her with suspicion.
“Well, I still think you two would make a cute couple.” Myrtle tilted her head to the side, causing her spikey hair to sway to one side.
“I don’t want to be a couple with anyone, Myrtle. Really. I am fine being alone, with no one to bug me.” Or to lie to me and break my heart.
“Now, now dear, be careful what you wish for! I can sense you’ve been hurt, and I know how that feels, but you know the saying, when you fall off the horse you have to get back in the saddle! Besides, you’re much too young to be so jaded about love. Save that for when you’re ancient, like me.”
“You should listen to her, honey, you deserve someone nice.”
Harper spun around to see her Uncle Tanner walking towards her, holding a gigantic white and turquoise glass vase stuffed full of flowers. The arrangement was stunning, a mix of vibrant oranges, purples, and yellows, all nestled among greens and baby’s breath. As Tanner came closer, Harper could smell the floral scent and see there were also lilac-colored roses scattered throughout the arrangement.
“Oh my, what beautiful flowers, Tanner!” Myrtle exclaimed. “You’re here to see Gertie, I assume?”
“Yes, I am, and I hope she thinks these are just as beautiful as you do.” Tanner winked at Myrtle as he held the giant vase up.
The front door opened again, and Edward came walking in, his smile quickly turning into a scowl when he saw Tanner holding the giant flower arrangement.
“You! What are you doing here?” he demanded of Tanner.
“I brought Gertie flowers to wish her good luck with the show on Friday, not that it’s any of your business.” Tanner held the vase higher for Edward to see, as if he couldn’t already.
“Oh please. I am quite sure Gertie does not want your gaudy flowers.” Edward rolled his eyes.
“Let’s let Gertie decide that, not you,” Tanner said.
“That monstrosity looks far too heavy for you to carry, I’ll take it up to her.” Edward reached for the vase and grabbed it towards the bottom, trying to yank it away from Tanner’s grip.
“Hands off! I will take it to her!” Tanner yelled, his knuckles turning white as he tightened his grip and pulled the arrangement back towards him.
“Boys, boys! No fighting! Jeez! I will bring the flowers up to Gertie myself for crying out loud!” Myrtle had come out from behind her reception desk and grabbed the arrangement, setting the vase on her desk then turning around to face them both, giving them an over-the-glasses stare.
“Now, is there anything else, Eddie? Tanny?” she asked them, hands on her hips and eyebrows raised.
Harper knew that look meant both Edward and Tanner had better not say yes.
Edward’s face was red with fury. He opened his mouth to say something then snapped it shut again.
“No, thank you very much, Myrtle. I’m sure Gertie is very busy,” Tanner said, earning a pointed glare from Edward.
Edward immediately grabbed his phone, placed it to his ear and rushed out of the lobby door like the building was on fire.
Harper and Myrtle exchanged a look Harper knew meant “men.” Tanner turned and walked towards the door after Edward, saying goodbye to them over his shoulder.
Harper was smiling at their foolish shenanigans, but her smile quickly faded as she gazed over at the abundant arrangement. Flowers to wish Gertie good luck with the fashion show on Friday. It was now past five o’clock and she only had three days left to prove Logan was the culprit, or if he isn’t, to figure out who is. She had a lot of thinking to do and it was best done at home in her lonely apartment where she wouldn’t be interrupted.
“Hey, Uncle Tanner! Wait up, I’ll walk out with you.”
Logan walked back through the lobby, glancing outside to see Harper leaving with Tanner. Hmm, that was interesting.
That Tanner was her uncle, and he’d tried to ruin things for Gertie before, didn’t sit well. Sure, Tanner made things right in the end, and, according to him, Harper had not been involved, but it gave one pause.
Could Harper and Tanner possibly be trying to work together to destroy the fashion show? Maybe, what happened at the reception had been practice runs, and a way for them both to feel things out here, before they did something big. He needed more details on exactly what happened at the last event, specifically, what Tanner had done to try to ruin the wedding reception.
While he was at it, he also needed to find out what Harper had been doing down in the basement earlier. She'd briefly gone into the room that held the lights for the show again, and he'd also seen her talking to Ben, Noah, and George.
The giant vase of flowers sitting on top of the reception desk broke his thoughts, and he stopped to look at them, rising on his tiptoes to peek over at Myrtle, who was sitting down behind them.
“This is quite the flower arrangement.” He reached out and touched one of the vibrant orange lilies. “You must have an admirer.”
Myrtle laughed. “Ha! It’s not for me. You could help me out by delivering it to Gertie though, I’m pretty busy with these new invitations.” Myrtle barely looked up, her polished nails clacking away on the keyboard.
“Of course I will.” Logan reached out to grab the heavy vase.
The lobby door opened, and a delivery person walked in, holding another humungous vase filled with flowers, this one even bigger than the one Tanner had brought in.
“Gertie O’Rourke?”
The delivery man raised a brow at them as he placed the flowers on Myrtle’s desk, making a thud then wiping his brow.
“Yes, I’ll take them. Thank you.” Myrtle reached out for the card nestled inside the flowers and nodded her head grinning.
“Yup, just as I thought, from Edward. He called the florist when he was rushing out of here, to order flowers that would outdo Tanner’s arrangement. There’s no flies on him, that’s for sure.”
“Oh, so that arrangement is from Tanner?” Logan pointed to the other arrangement.
If Tanner had come here to drop off the flowers for Gertie then maybe he wasn’t trying to plan something bad with Harper at all, Logan thought with relief. Then his cop instincts kicked in. Maybe the flowers were part of Tanner’s plan.
“Yes. That one is from Tanner, now this one is from Edward, and the overwhelming floral scent is starting to make my head spin and my allergies flare up!” Myrtle stifled a sneeze, the motion causing her red, purple, and silver beaded eyeglass chain to clatter.
“I’ll take them both upstairs to Gertie for you.” Logan tried to maneuver the giant arrangements in both arms as he shuffled towards the elevator, tilting his head to the side so he could see the buttons for the elevator.
“Whoa, need some help there?” someone asked him from behind.
The flowers were so high Logan struggled to see around them, but he knew the voice was TJ, and he was more than happy when TJ grabbed the larger of the arrangements from him as they both stepped into the elevator.
“Thanks for the help.” Logan pressed the button for Gertie’s floor.
“No problem. These are probably the biggest flower arrangements I’ve ever seen,” TJ said, laughing as he parted a few of the flowers with his hand so he could see Logan. “What’s the special occasion?”
Careful What You Wish For (Corporate Chaos Series Book 4) Page 5