The Love Game

by Regina Hart

  “I still don’t think any of them did it.” Iris turned to him. Her cool-blue, short-sleeved blouse and pencil-thin navy skirt made her look both professional and sexy.

  “Neither do I.” Tyler shoved his hands deep into the front pockets of his black Dockers.

  “They were forthcoming, relaxed, direct. They didn’t seem to have anything to hide.”

  “I know. Dammit.” Tyler paced his office, searching for inspiration. He was like a rat in a maze, going in circles without a sense of direction. There was no way out.

  “What do we do now?” Iris’s question brought his spinning thoughts to a halt.

  Tyler checked his watch. It was after ten o’clock. “I need to give my father an update on the investigation by the end of the day. I hope someone calls me for that confidential chat before then.”

  “What will you do when you get that call?”

  “It depends on the reason the old test results were leaked.” Tyler shrugged. “It may not have been a malicious act but that doesn’t change the fact that confidential information was sent to the media.”

  Iris’s elegant features reflected her concern. “I can’t wait to put this whole episode behind us. It’s cast a shadow over the good work you’ve done.”

  “The good work we’ve done.” Tyler crossed the room to take her hand. “We’re a team, remember?”

  “A darn good one.” Iris squeezed his hand before slipping hers free. “I’d better finish that social media policy. You’re going to need a full-time person to handle your presence. We’re getting a lot of likes on Facebook and retweets on Twitter.”

  “Great.” Whatever that meant.

  Iris opened his office door, then nudged the doorstop into place with her foot. “Call me if you need me.”

  “You do the same.” Tyler watched Iris disappear beyond his door.

  If he called her every time he needed her, he’d be on the phone every minute of the day. How had he come to need her that much in just three short months? Was it a good thing—or not?

  * * *

  Iris exhaled, kicking off her shoes and carrying the Chinese-food takeout into her kitchen Monday evening. Their traditional family dinner was Wednesday but Tyler was working late and she really needed to see her sisters tonight. That’s why she’d sent the 911—teriyaki chicken and veggies at 6 text message on her way home. Rose and Lily should arrive any minute.

  She set the dining room table before transferring the chicken and vegetables to a serving bowl and settling that within easy reach of the three place settings. The doorbell rang. Iris hurried to answer it.

  She checked the peephole before pulling open her front door to welcome Rose and Lily. “Did you two drive over together?”

  Rose crossed the threshold and kissed Iris’s cheek. “No, we just arrived at the same time.”

  Lily squeezed in behind Rose and locked the front door. She turned to Iris with a smile but her cocoa eyes were watchful. It wasn’t every day that the sisters sent each other 911 texts. “Dinner smells terrific.”

  “It’s not as good as your cooking.” Iris leaned down to kiss her older—but significantly shorter—sister on the cheek. “Thanks for coming.” She led the way to the dining area.

  “Let’s talk and eat. I’m hungry and curious.” Rose left her purse on a chair at the dining table and began serving herself. She then passed the bowl to Lily. “What’s happened?”

  Iris took a deep breath. “Anderson Adventures has a leak.”

  Lily tilted her head. “What kind of leak?”

  “The ‘someone sent damaging information to the press’ kind.” Iris accepted the serving bowl as she brought her sisters up to date.

  She kept her explanation brief. Her sisters didn’t need to know Tyler had called her his good-luck charm or that he made her feel like an accomplished, creative, desirable woman.

  Or that they’d made love twice in one night while attending an industry convention as consultant and client. Yikes!

  Rose lowered her knife and fork to pin Iris with an incredulous look. “An Anderson Adventures employee sent the failed test results to the media? Are you kidding me?”

  “Those test results were outdated.” Iris shook her head. “‘Osiris’s Journey’ has passed two recent tests with flying colors.”

  “That just makes it worse.” Rose was adamant. “A trusted employee knowingly sent damaging and erroneous information to the press.”

  Iris lifted her hand, palm out. “We don’t think the leak came from an Anderson Adventures associate.”

  Rose shrugged. “Just because you think you can trust someone doesn’t mean you can.”

  Iris sighed. “Does every conversation have to lead back to Ben?”

  “Do you have any leads on who might have sent the information?” Lily’s quiet question put a cork in Iris’s rising temper.

  “None.” Iris stared at her plate of untouched food. “One of the worst things about this is that I was completely blindsided.”

  “You see.” Rose pointed her table knife toward Iris. “I knew you shouldn’t have taken this account. It’s too much for you.”

  Iris frowned. “What do you mean it’s too much for me?”

  “It’s a lot for you to handle,” Rose replied. “You’re a one-woman show.”

  Iris was offended, though she tried to hide it. “What could a bigger firm do that I didn’t?”

  Rose shook her head as she forked up more vegetables. “I’m not knocking your firm. I’m just telling you the reason you were blindsided by this debacle is that you’re not equipped to handle a project this big.”

  “You still haven’t told me what a bigger firm would’ve done.” Iris guarded her tone.

  Lily gave Rose a quelling look. “There isn’t anything a bigger firm would’ve done that you didn’t do.”

  “Oh, that’s fine for you to say.” Rose waved her fork at Lily. “You’re the one who got her into this mess.”

  “You’re welcome.” Lily stabbed a broccoli spear covered with teriyaki sauce. “But it’s pointless to argue now whether Iris’s firm is equipped to handle unanticipated problems. The question now is what should Iris do?”

  “I don’t know what to do. I’m fresh out of ideas.” Iris went back to pushing her food around her plate.

  Rose shifted in her seat to look at her. “You need to explain to Tyler Anderson that you’re out of your league.”

  “I was hoping for more constructive advice.” Every word from her sister’s mouth added to Iris’s self-doubts.

  “The leak may just be a symptom of the problem.” Lily’s tone was pensive. “The real question is what was the point of the leak? Was it to hurt Anderson Adventures, Tyler Anderson or Iris?”

  Iris frowned. “What do you mean?”

  Lily shrugged her narrow shoulders. “To figure out who leaked the test results, you need to identify the reason that information was leaked. Who’s trying to hurt whom?”

  Iris stared at her sister. “I hadn’t considered that. Maybe someone is out to get Ty.”

  “Find the saboteur before he or she does more damage.” Lily sipped her ice water. “And let me know what I can do to help.”

  Rose sniffed. “By helping her land this Anderson Adventures account, I think you’ve done enough.”

  Iris arched a brow at her elder sister. “Rose, what do I need to do to prove myself to you?”

  Rose’s dark eyes dimmed with concern. “You don’t have to prove anything to me. I just don’t want you to be disappointed.”

  Iris lifted her chin. “The only way I’d be disappointed is if I didn’t try. And Ty has worked too hard to lose everything now.”

  “Ty?” Rose’s winged eyebrows rose. “What about you?”

  “Iris, are you falling in love
with Ty Anderson?” Lily searched Iris’s expression.

  Iris hesitated. “I think I am.”

  Rose gaped. “You’re kidding, aren’t you?”

  Iris turned to Lily. “I know it wasn’t smart—”

  “You’re right. It wasn’t.” Rose rubbed her temples as though her head was beginning to ache.

  Iris ignored her eldest sister’s comment. “I couldn’t help myself. He’s different from the men I usually meet. There’s something so sexy about the way he’s unaware of his appeal.”

  Lily reached over to cup Iris’s hand. “How does he feel about you?”

  “I think he has feelings for me, too.” Iris met Rose’s gaze. “He was cautious about me at first. But now he’s realized I’m a competent professional.”

  “So he says.” Rose shook her head. “Men, you can’t trust them.”

  “This one trusts me.” Iris thought of the night she and Tyler had spent together in San Diego. He made her feel mysterious, desirable, beautiful. Cherished.

  “Be careful, Iris.” Lily looked worried. “I don’t want you to be hurt.”

  “I won’t be.” Iris was confident. “I know it’s not smart to mix business and pleasure. But you can’t always choose the time and place you fall in love.”

  Chapter 12

  “How did it go?” Xavier settled onto one of the gray guest chairs in Tyler’s office. Donovan claimed the other.

  Tyler glanced at his watch. It was just after six o’clock on one of the longest Mondays in world history. He wished he’d left with Iris when she’d stopped by his office to say good-night. He’d been more focused on work and what he would say to his father.

  Tyler rubbed the back of his neck, easing the knots that were straining those muscles. “About as well as could be expected.”

  “Ouch.” Donovan gave him an empathetic look. “Is Foster going to delay his retirement again?”

  “Probably.” His father’s plan to promote Tyler to chief executive officer so Foster could retire probably had taken a serious hit after this company leak. Would Foster make good on his threat to look outside the company for his successor? Tyler glanced at his empty coffee cup. Was it too late to make a fresh pot and pour himself a refill?

  Donovan settled his left ankle on his right knee. “Is there anything we can do?”

  “Can you turn back time?” Tyler visualized again the associates who’d gathered with him in the lounge nine hours earlier: Ted, Malek and the rest of his team. “There’s no way anyone can convince me our associates had anything to do with this.”

  “If not them, then who?” Donovan spread his hands.

  Tyler slouched back on his chair. “We could drive ourselves crazy, going around and around with that question.”

  Xavier looked from Donovan to Tyler. “If we rule out everyone on the inside, who’s left?”

  Donovan shifted on his seat to face Xavier. “Say what’s on your mind, X.”

  Xavier shrugged his shoulders under his dark green shirt. “What do we know about Iris?”

  Tyler tensed. Was Xavier accusing Iris of being the leak? “My father asked me to contact her.”

  “That’s a pretty strong professional reference, if you ask me.” Donovan’s tone was dry.

  “Why would she try to damage the release she’s working on?” Tyler hadn’t felt this violent toward his cousin since they were twelve.

  “Maybe someone offered her money.” Xavier settled his hands on the arms of his chair.

  Donovan’s eyes widened. “We offered her money.”

  “Iris would never accept a bribe to betray a client.” Tyler would bet everything he had on that. She had too much integrity. “Besides, she doesn’t have access to the tests or their results. I’ve never shown her any of the documents.”

  “She might have gotten them from someone else.” Xavier shrugged again.

  “Which brings us back to the theory that an associate leaked sensitive information to an outside party.” Tyler shook his head. “I don’t believe our people would do that.”

  Nor do I believe Iris would betray our trust.

  “Where is this coming from, X?” Donovan looked at the vice president of finance as though he’d never seen him before. “This doesn’t sound like you.”

  Tyler agreed. “You usually have more than speculation before you make accusations.”

  Xavier met Tyler’s eyes. “I know you have a thing for her.”

  Donovan tossed him a grin. “Good choice, by the way.”

  Tyler tensed. “My attraction to Iris isn’t clouding my judgment.”

  “Good.” Donovan nodded decisively. “Then we don’t have anything to worry about.”

  “We have a big issue.” Xavier looked at Donovan. “The leak still hasn’t been found.”

  “I’ve asked IT to search our email system to identify the account that sent the tests to Tipper.” Tyler didn’t want to invade his associates’ privacy but what else could he do? He needed to get to the bottom of this.

  “I know the decision wasn’t an easy one for you.” Donovan sounded sympathetic. “Especially since this task will take them away from the final adjustments to ‘Osiris’s Journey’ before the release.”

  “How long will the search take?” Xavier asked.

  Tyler shook his head. “We’re just looking for transmissions between The Gamer’s Seat and Anderson Adventures. I should have something by tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Are they checking every account?” It was obvious his cousin wanted to know whether Iris’s account was included in the search.

  Tyler considered Xavier. These accusations were out of character. “Every account on the network.”

  “Then for better and worse, this should be over tomorrow.” Xavier stood.

  Donovan rose from his chair, as well. He looked concerned. “Don’t stay too late. There’s nothing we can do until tomorrow.”

  “I’ll leave soon.” Tyler watched them walk through his door.

  Yes, for better and worse, they’d have an answer to the mystery of the security breach tomorrow. Knowing who had leaked the test results would help determine what procedures should be put in place to ensure it never happened again. At the same time, the leak was someone who had betrayed their trust. How would the identity of the traitor affect their company?

  Xavier seemed to think Iris had something to do with the leak. The idea was absurd. For one thing, a failed launch for “Osiris’s Journey” would reflect poorly on her company. For another, Iris didn’t have access to the test results. She couldn’t be responsible for the leak. Tyler wasn’t that poor a judge of character.

  * * *

  Iris paced her living room Monday night. So many questions bombarded her mind: Who’d leaked the old test results to The Gamer’s Seat? When had he or she contacted the reporter? What made him think he could get away with something like this? Most important, why would someone try to hurt Anderson Adventures?

  Iris dropped onto her sofa, resting her head on its back. Tyler had seemed devastated when she’d gone to his office to say good-night. He hadn’t called to tell her how his update with Foster had gone. That couldn’t be a good sign.

  She sat forward, cupping her face in her palms. In her mind’s eye, she pictured the ten members of the product-development team and Sherry as they sat in the associates’ lounge eleven hours ago. No one had looked, sounded or acted guilty. Instead, they’d been surprised and angry. Someone had leaked damaging information about their game. They were personally and professionally insulted.

  She sat up. Speaking with Rose and Lily had helped some but Iris needed another sounding board. She glanced at the clock on her cable box. It was just after 8:00 p.m. Was Tyler home? Iris shook her head. They’d been debating, dissecting and discussing the situation
since Friday. She needed a fresh perspective. Iris grabbed her cordless phone and punched in Cathy’s number.

  “Hello?” Her friend answered on the third ring.

  “Are you busy? I need to pick your brain.”

  “Shoot. You can have whatever’s left.” In the background, the sound of Cathy’s television suddenly silenced.

  Iris stood to pace her living room again as she brought Cathy up to date on the Anderson Adventures leak.

  “So you don’t think it was an inside job.” Cathy made the statement after a brief pause.

  “No, neither Ty nor I believe an associate was involved.” Iris lowered herself onto her sofa. “I don’t think the executive leadership believes it was someone in their company, either.”

  “Then it was someone on the outside.”

  “How do I figure out who did it?”

  “I can think of one person.” Cathy’s voice was dry.

  “Pete Kimball.” Iris sighed. “I thought of him, too. But what would he get from hurting Anderson Adventures? What have they ever done to him?”

  “They hired you.” Cathy’s response was quick and decisive.

  “Be serious.” Iris leaned back on the sofa. She stared blindly across the room, imaging Cathy sitting on her own sofa in her own living room.

  “I am.” Her friend certainly sounded serious. “He lied to Ty Anderson about the reason you left RGB, remember? He’s capable of sabotaging their new release.”

  “The jerk.” She’d never forget Pete Kimball’s lies. “But someone within Anderson Adventures would still need to send Kimball the test results.”

  “Kimball has worked with Anderson Adventures before. He knows the employees. He probably has their email addresses and direct phone numbers.” Cathy’s words came faster as she fleshed out her scenario. “He could have called someone, made up some story about the reason he needed the documents, then casually asked for them.”

  Iris considered her friend’s theory. It had legs. “You have a point. But how could this be about me?”

  “Kimball’s not happy that you got the account. He’s probably trying to make you look bad.”