by Lexy Timms
“Do you remember anything else?” Derek asked. “Did they say something to you? Did you happen to see them?”
“I put my hand up because I could hear a swoosh behind me. Something that sounded like another blow was coming. I heard a voice, the second strike happened, and I was out after that,” Jacob said.
“You were hit twice?” I asked. “Do you have any idea what they hit you with?”
“You heard a voice. Do you know what the voice said?” Derek asked.
“Didn’t realize your girlfriend was into this kind of thing,” Jacob said.
“She’s just worried about you. Like I am,” Derek said.
“No idea what they hit me with, beautiful. The pain was sharp and quick, despite the damage it did,” Jacob said. “As far as the voice, I’m not really sure. It’s all kind of fuzzy.”
“Do you know what the voice sounded like?” I asked. “A man or a woman? Light or heavy?”
“You’re one of those women who watches those cop shows, aren’t you?” Jacob asked with a grin.
“I enjoy my fair share of them, yes. And one thing I’ve learned from them is that anything you can remember will help whoever’s investigating narrow things down. Doesn’t the garage have cameras or something? Your story might help them pinpoint who’s on it.”
“She’s a strange one, I’ll give you that,” Jacob said. “But she’s smart, and I like that.”
I tried to smile through the sly comments as John stifled his laughter in the corner.
“She’s got a point, though,” Derek said. “Do you remember anything about the voice?”
“It sounded like someone said, ‘that’s what you get.’ I know the voice said ‘bastard.’ That was very clear in my ear by the time the person approached me. But as much as I want to, I couldn’t tell you anything about the voice. It’s like my brain just won’t go there.”
“It’s okay,” Derek said as he eyed me worriedly. “It’ll come to you. And as it does, you talk to me, okay?”
“You got it, boss,” Jacob said.
“I’m sorry you’re in this position. This happened to you because of me. Had I just given into the demands and done what they asked of me, you wouldn’t be here,” Derek said.
“Derek, this is some asshole psycho’s fault. Not yours. But you do need to be careful. They got the jump on me in our own parking garage. And I know you and this lovely woman are trying to keep things under wraps, but she needs to be careful, too. If this idiot finds out you two are dating, she’s a target,” Jacob said.
I’d like to see this jackoff try and take me on. They would get what was coming to them. A good, old-fashioned ass whooping. I looked up at John, and he rolled his eyes, trying to play off the awkward scenario we had all found ourselves in. I still needed to talk to him and figure out what he knew and how he came to be at the hospital. But I could talk to him at a later time. I had enough information I needed to unpack and camera feeds I needed to pull.
“Thank you for being so considerate of me,” I said as I patted Jacob’s arm. “I’m gonna go find some coffee. Do either of you want anything?”
“Beautiful and hospitable. Keep her around, Derek,” Jacob said.
“I plan on it,” Derek said as he grinned in my direction.
I shook my head and left the room to unpack everything that was said. I was more convinced than ever that we were looking at a woman. Approached from behind. Hit twice but no concussion. It screamed woman assailant, and Emma’s face kept popping up in the forefront of my mind.
I needed to get to that damn security footage.
“Sam,” Derek said.
“Yep?” I asked.
“What do you think?”
“I think I have a lot of information that points to a conclusion you don’t like. But I still need those camera feeds. All of them, if we can swing it. But this does prove that your enemy’s reach is limited. They couldn’t get to you in Vegas, so they did something to lure you back here. That is helpful, even though Jacob’s in the hospital.”
“So, are we still looking at a group?” he asked.
“Probably not. A group would be more likely to fan out because they would see their strength in numbers. We’re more than likely looking at an individual. I need to get to your office and check out those feeds. I’m leaving John here just in case, but you need to let someone know that I’m coming by and that I’ll need access to them.”
“Why is my personal assistant going to need access to the camera feeds?” he asked.
“I don’t know. Spin another web and get me in to view them.”
Thirty minutes later and a few well-placed phone calls got me in front of those camera feeds. I had no idea what Derek told his staff, and I didn’t care. I was viewing them from his office, watching the television screens on his computer as my eyes darted around the screen. No one suspicious looking came into the building itself, but the attack had happened in a blind spot. Despite the numerous cameras that lined that fucking garage, they’d found the one spot that was shadowed and out of reach.
Just more circumstantial evidence that this was someone who worked for the company.
If the assailant had knowledge of this place and its cameras, then a blind spot was easy to find. Depending on the lengths the person wanted to go to, they could’ve filtered in cars and parked them in empty spaces just to force Jacob into the parking space he took. This person had placed a letter on Derek’s fucking bed.
In my eyes, they were capable of maneuvering whatever they had to in order to make things a reality.
I picked up my phone and called John at the hospital. I got an update on Jacob and asked about Derek. He was still there, sitting and shooting the shit with his friend, being guilty and unproductive as I tried to track down who the fuck was doing this.
“Need anything from me?” John asked.
“Yes, but don’t give off the fact that it’s me,” I said.
“Read you loud and clear, sir,” John said.
“Did anyone suspicious come into the building today? Anyone unauthorized? Or a third-party contractor for some sort of work?”
“No, sir.”
“So, the attack and the suspect was localized to the parking garage.”
“Far as I can tell, sir.”
“I’m going to rattle off some spaces. I want to know where you were during the attack. Lounge?” I asked.
“No.”
“Lobby?”
“Nope.”
“Bathroom?”
“Not quite.”
“Damn it, John. Are you fucking one of the secretaries?” I asked. “Never mind. Don’t answer that. Jacob’s office? Were you waiting for Jacob to get into work?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I need to know how you knew about the attack. Text it to me. Now, repeat after me. ‘I’ll let him know, sir. Thank you.’ Then tell Derek and John the investigative team has reviewed the footage and the attack happened in a blind spot. Got it?”
“Yes, sir.”
We hung up the phone, and I leaned back in Derek’s office chair. Fuck. I felt like the answer was staring me right in the face. I had all these moving pieces and loose ends, and all it took was one variable to tie them all up.
But that variable had a big ass question mark on top of it.
What John answered seemed to jive with what I saw on the security feeds. Figuring this out was going to require a much deeper dive into the employee list. I’d have to get back to my house or Derek’s before I placed a call to Lance to see what he could dig up, but I knew I could do it. This person was good, but I was better.
I was always better.
My phone buzzed with a message from John, and I opened it. My eyes scanned the words as I got up from the chair. For now, the only hard evidence I had was Jacob and his wounds in the hospital. Plus, I wanted to make sure Derek wasn’t running his mouth on things he didn’t need to be running his mouth on.
Jacob didn’t arrive on time. Went to go f
ind him. Found him face first, unconscious.
That would explain how Jacob broke his glasses and confirms the story of him getting whacked in the back of the head. I was angry that John hadn’t been with Jacob every step of the way, but in his defense, I hadn’t ordered him to do that with Jacob. He was only ordered to watch over the installation of the cameras in and around Derek’s office. He had taken up Jacob’s protective detail of his own volition.
I just wished he hadn’t been so sloppy about it.
Chapter 19
Derek
A Few Days Later
JACOB WAS IN THE HOSPITAL for four days before he was released. I had a new pair of glasses made and rushed to the hospital for him so he could be discharged as quickly as possible. Even though I told Jacob to go home and rest, he still wanted to stop by the office for a few things. So, I told him to meet me in my office as soon as he got to the building.
I was going to make sure this man went home to get some rest.
I was also going to make sure a bodyguard was sent with him.
“Knock, knock.”
“Hey there, Jacob. Come on in,” I said.
“Don’t give me that pitying smile. I promise I’m fine,” Jacob said.
“You were beaten unconscious four days ago. You’re not okay,” I said.
“About that. You told me if I ever remembered anything to let you know.”
“Yeah?” I asked. “Did you remember something about the voice?”
“No, but things are coming back to me a little differently. I mean, I was hit twice, and there was a voice, but I also tried to scare the person off.”
“What do you mean? Did you try to swing at them or something?”
“Have you seen me? Hell, no. But I did respond to them,” he said.
“Do you remember what you said?” I asked.
“I told them special precautions were being taken, and they wouldn’t win. Not when going up against you. I’m wondering if that’s why I wasn’t hit again. You know, to shut me up more.”
“You’re sure you said that,” I said.
“I can hear my own voice clear as day,” he said.
“Well, I still want John on your detail. I know you don’t like him following you around, but you’ve been attacked, and we still don’t know by whom.”
“But it’s scaring people, Derek. Everyone’s beginning to ask questions, and I don’t know what to tell them.”
“You don’t have to tell them anything,” I said. “Just say you feel better with him around after being attacked. That would be anyone’s logical move.”
“It wasn’t your logical move,” Jacob said.
“I wasn't attacked. I’m just getting letters.”
“Is that what you call having your life threatened? Derek, I’m trying to contain the chatter. But people are already gossiping. Sooner or later, this thing’s gonna get out.”
“Then we’ll just have to stop it from getting out because that’s not an option,” I said.
“This person’s probably some disgruntled mailroom guy from the merger, but now he knows things are serious. He’s lashed out. Assaulted me. I have a bodyguard. And if someone’s watching like you think they are, they see all that.”
“You’re calling this person a ‘he.’ Any reason why?” I asked.
“No,” Jacob said with a shrug. “But I’m a pretty tall guy. Wouldn’t it take another tall guy to bash me over the head with something?”
He had a point, and it was a point I was going to bring up to Sam as soon as I was done telling him that John was sticking around.
“I’m worried about this, Derek. It isn’t going to end well. Did you know Gretchen was in here sniffling around?” Jacob asked.
“Wait, what?”
“Yeah. I’ve seen her around the office a couple of times. Just in the lobby, but I didn’t think much of it. Trying to see you. Get a slice of what she left. That kind of thing. But now that you’ve gotten so paranoid and you aren’t letting up on this bodyguard thing, I think it’s worth mentioning.”
“And seeing my ex wasn’t worth mentioning before? When was she here?” I asked.
“The day you left for Vegas and a couple of weeks before that.”
“Uh-huh. Funny. I ran into her in Vegas. Said she got a hot tip about me being there with someone's wife or something,” I said.
“Are you fucking kidding me? Was she really snooping around here for a scoop on you? Isn’t she still in Los Angeles?”
“I don’t know, but now that I know she’s been around here, it’s worth looking up.”
“Holy shit. You think she’s the one who attacked me? I mean, Gretchen’s tall. In heels, she’s eye-level with you.”
“I think those odds are very, very low. Gretch and I left things on good terms. In fact, she was the one who technically broke things off with me, so it’s not like she has a reason to be upset and threaten my life.”
“I didn’t realize a woman needed an excuse to do that,” Jacob said with a grin.
“Usually, I’d laugh with you, but this is serious. Whoever this person is, they’ve escalated from notes to attacks, and I’m pretty sure the only reason I wasn’t the one attacked was that I was in Vegas. I can only assume everyone around me is now a target. Like Emma, for instance.”
“Interesting. I thought you would’ve thrown Sam’s name first,” he said.
“Figured that was a given,” I said with a shrug.
“You think you should get some protective detail on her too? If you’ve got it on me, you might need it on her.”
“What we’ve got going on now is enough. Sam and I are keeping things in a low profile. Romantic evenings in. Not going out together in public. Things like that. She’s good for now, but you’re not. And as much as I know you hate it, John stays.”
“Fine. But if the gossiping gets too bad, it’s not going to matter what I said.”
“I hear you. Now go home and get some rest, okay? I’m serious. Don’t make me come over there and knock you out again just to get you to sleep,” I said.
“With the beating I took, that would be considered foreplay now,” he said with a grin. “I’ll catch ya around, Derek.”
The moment Jacob shut the door behind him, Sam emerged from the washroom. She had a fun little setup in there now to keep tabs on me and the cameras in my office. I turned toward her as she made her way to me, and I could tell by the look in her eye, she had more information to play around with.
“Something Jacob said made me curious,” she said.
“Okay. What’s this fun little curiosity of yours?” I asked.
“I started going back through Emma’s files while you two were talking. In there, it states she worked for LampLight Corporations.”
“I bought that company out during a merger four years ago. Why is that important?” I asked.
“According to newspaper articles, that merger and acquisition resulted in a massive number of layoffs. Some newspapers speculate over five hundred employees were taken out by the time the merger and purchase was complete. Not too long after that, Emma interviewed for your personal assistant position.”
“Wait, was Emma one of the ones who were laid off?” I asked.
“No, Emma quit once her father was laid off.”
“Fuck,” I said.
“You said Emma’s been working with you for around four years, right? If I go back in there and start up my research again, I’m almost certain I’m going to find that she interviewed for your company directly not long after quitting her job at LampLight Corporations.”
“I don’t keep tabs on who was fired because of purchases and mergers. I’m not solely responsible for Emma’s father getting laid off.”
“A disgruntled daughter wouldn’t see it that way.”
“Then why come after me now? That was four years ago, and she’s been working with me for a long time now.”
“She could be working a long-term revenge scenario. Lie in wait long e
nough for the heat of the merger to die down and for it to fall to the back of your mind. It would help cover up her tracks because you would jump to her defense because of your track record with her,” she said.
“I still don’t think it’s Emma.”
“And trust me. I’m not willing to try and convince you any more of that. But this Gretchen thing is weird too.”
“Do I even need to note what Jacob said about his assailant? About him being a tall guy and needing a tall assailant to get the jump on him like that?” I asked.
“Heels,” she said. “Heels exist. And so do long, hard things like crowbars and metal pipes. Can I get back to this Gretchen thing?”
“Whatever,” I said.
“Your ex-girlfriend, who is now a reporter—so she says—just happened to show up when we took off for Vegas. Comes looking for you in Vegas. Finds you in Vegas. And has made another trip to your office prior to the Vegas trip. You know what that means.”
“She’s now a suspect,” I said with a sigh.
“Now you’re getting it. I’m going to look more into this whole Emma debacle as well as get the scoop on your favorite ex.”
“She’s not my favorite.”
“Trust me. She’s your favorite,” she said. “I’m also going to get into Emma’s computer while she’s not here. Don’t worry, I won’t delete anything confidential.”
“I’m not going to even try to stop you anymore,” I said.
“Sounds like a good idea,” she said as she left.
I watched her turn a corner and head toward Emma’s little office. It was down the hall from mine and easily accessible from the elevator. Truth be told, it used to be a storage closet, but I had it renovated so she had a place to go and spend her time. Emma enjoyed her privacy, and she hated having a desk stationed outside of my office like a secretary, so I had tried to provide the accommodations to make her comfortable. Looking back, it was probably what started her thinking I had a crush on her, but having an office for Emma proved to be a good thing. It platformed her into a full-time personal assistant, and she became someone I could trust.