by Jamie Knight
“I’m fine. Everything is fine. Go away,” I ordered.
She didn’t move.
Annoyed, I looked up. Sloane stood in my doorway, her narrow face pulled into a sneer.
Oh, what now?
“Sloane, leave!” I barked.
She didn’t move. She was looking down in disgust at the broken box and the nipple clamps.
“Sloane!”
“The mentee program wasn’t what I thought it was, was it?” she asked, still looking down.
I slouched and fell into my chair. I didn’t feel like fighting with this stuck-up princess—not today. It wasn’t worth it.
“Perhaps not,” I confirmed.
Still slumped, I tapped my fingers on the arm of my chair.
“You know that’s a tell of yours?” she asked, stepping over the mess on the carpet and taking the chair in front of my desk.
“What?” I snapped angerly— her familiar tone was making my blood boil.
“You tap the arm of your chair when you’re nervous,” she said snidely, pointing to my hand.
“I also do it when I’m angry,” I snapped. “What do you want, Sloane? Spit it out or you’re fired. I’ll call you father and tell him what a bitch you are.”
She huffed and crossed her slim legs.
“No need to get in a fit, Kane. I’m actually here to help you.”
I tried to laugh, but it came out as a choking sound.
“What can you do to help? All you ever do is think of yourself.”
She stood quickly and frowned.
“Fine. Fire me then, Kane. It you think I’m such a pain, fire me and get it over with. Daddy and I will figure things out.”
She stalked towards the door.
Part of me started to feel guilty about my harsh treatment, so, I waved my hand at Sloane to stop. She turned around and raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow at me.
“What did you have to say, Sloane?” I asked, keeping my voice calm.
“Linda hated Reese. I suggest you talk to her.”
She gave me a look but didn’t elaborate.
Turning quickly, she walked back out the door.
Linda?
Linda hated Reese?
This new information merited looking into.
It was probably nothing, but I should talk to her anyway.
I pressed the intercom.
“Melissa, can you have Linda come up here? I need to discuss a few things with her about Ms. Peterson and how we can stop this from happening again. Call Ray, too.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
Melissa sounded nervous and sad over the intercom.
“Get a time machine and take me back to the first time I saw her. It’s not the money—”
“I know,” she said softly. “We were all fooled. Every single one of us. And that’s what hurts the most.”
“There’s no fool like an old fool,” I said with a bitter laugh.
She sighed sadly.
“You’re not exactly old, Kane.”
“Next time I even mention fucking someone from the employee pool, slap my face until I come to my senses.”
“I’ll do more than that; I’ll make you wear the chastity belt you’re so fond of.”
I smiled.
“Do that.”
Thirty minutes later, Ray and Linda sat opposite me, and for over two hours, we discussed putting new security measures in place, and at the end of the meeting, I said, “Thank you both. We’ll make sure this never happens again.”
“She had it coming to her,” Linda said, with a twist of her red lips.
My fingers gripped the edge of my desk.
“What do you mean by that?”
I sat forward in my chair and remembered what Sloane had said.
“Nothing,” Linda said, a little too brightly, as she collected her files and notebook. “She just seemed to be getting too big for her britches, and then she got her claws into you… It was all anyone could talk about. I knew it was bound to explode in her pretty little face.”
“Ray, can you please leave us for a minute?” I asked him. “Linda and I need to have a chat in private.”
Her body froze for a second, but she didn’t look up at me.
“I really should be getting back to my desk,” Linda said, standing and gripping her bag tightly. “I have a lot to do.”
“A few more minutes won’t make a difference.”
I gestured for Linda to sit.
Ray glanced from me to Linda and then back to me again.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?”
I shook my head.
“No, it’s fine. I’ll call you later.”
With that, Ray left my office.
I walked to the front of my desk and perched on the edge of it. Linda looked up at me, her wrinkle-free face held impassive—probably aided from all the plastic surgery she had had done to it.
Her eyes narrowed into slits. She held a bit of anger just under the surface of her emotions; she was trying to hide it, but it was there in the rigidity of her body. Her hands were clamped tightly in her lap.
“I wasn’t aware you were having problems with Reese. From what I understood, you were happy with her as an employee.”
I kept my tone light, trying to sound like a concerned boss.
Linda cleared her throat and crossed her legs.
“She was a conscientious and hard worker. Too conscientious, it seems.”
“She said you reviewed her work a lot and gave her several evaluations during her time here. Was there any reason for that?”
She let out a small sigh.
“I had to make sure she followed our guidelines, Mr. McKenzie. Mom and pop companies like the one she came from often don’t have the same stringent regulations that we have.”
I nodded.
“When you were checking her work, did that ever mean that you had to login to her computer, under her username?”
An inkling began to take shape in my mind. Something I needed to be punched in the balls for not thinking of sooner.
“I kept a close eye on her because she had an awful habit of disappearing to the restroom every day,” Linda said, without answering my question.
She reached up and ran her hand through her black pixie-cut.
“God only knows what she was doing in there. Maybe that’s where she made her secret calls to Simon.”
“Perhaps,” I said, with a smile. “So how are things with you?”
She smiled back at me, suddenly looking relieved that I wasn’t questioning her management techniques anymore.
“Oh, you know, busy but fine. Nothing new with me.”
“You used to be friends with Simon, correct?”
Her cheeks reddened, and she licked her lips.
“If you mean work colleagues, then yes, we used to be friends, but other than that, no, I wouldn’t consider us friends.”
“Have you heard from him recently?”
I glanced out the window, trying to keep things feeling casual.
“Not a word.”
“Ah, okay.”
I got up from perching at my desk and walked back to my chair.
“I noticed you’ve requested some time off next week. Going anywhere nice?”
“Nowhere. After everything that’s happened, I’m taking some time off to regroup. It’s been stressful for everyone.”
“It has, hasn’t it? Thanks, Linda. I won’t keep you any longer.”
She quickly picked up her bag and left, without another word.
The second Linda left my office, I picked up my phone.
“Ray, lock Linda out of the system. Don’t give her access to anything and call the police. I know exactly who’s behind the missing money and I have a feeling I know why.”
“On it.”
It wasn’t Reese, and it may not have been Simon.
All along it’d been Linda.
She may not have admitted it, and I may not have an
y proof yet, but in my gut, I knew it was her.
I should never have doubted Reese, and now it was probably too late to get her back.
Chapter Thirty
Reese
You look like shit,” Mandy said, concern filling her kind eyes.
She and Eileen sat opposite of me in a greasy diner a few blocks away from my apartment.
“Thanks.”
I held a coffee mug to my chest, but I hadn’t taken a sip.
For the past two days, I hadn’t been able to eat or sleep. I hadn’t showered and even brushing my teeth took herculean effort. Depression had taken a deep hold on me.
I missed Kane so much it physically hurt. I hated that he hated me. I needed to put things right but I didn’t know how.
“I’ll be honest,” Eileen said, picking up her mug. “We haven’t found out much. Anything really. Whoever’s behind this, knows their shit. I’m sorry we can’t be of any more help.”
She glanced at Mandy, who nodded in agreement.
“The files you were looking into are all locked down. For the bosses’ eyes only, or some shit. We would have to have higher security clearance to access them,” the petite woman said with a frown.
I smiled sadly.
“I appreciate you guys trying. I guess I should go on the lam. Disappear before the police come get me. Orange is not my color,” I said, trying and failing to crack a joke.
Eileen and Mandy both smiled slightly.
“If I could get you into the system, could you do it? Could you find out who did this?” I asked.
Eileen blew out a breath and looked at Mandy.
“How are you going to do that?” she asked. “You can’t even get into the building.”
I took a sip of my coffee and resolved myself for my plan of action.
“I’m going to go to the dark side and ask my arch enemy for a favor. Sloane will probably tell me to fuck off, but I think beneath her spoiled princess exterior, she’s a good person who knows right from wrong. At least I hope she is.”
I’d been mulling over asking Sloane for help. I had a premonition that she’d be able to help me.
Maybe even thinking about it was a mistake.
But what if it wasn’t?
What if somewhere beneath her prissy princess exterior was a soul and a beating heart?
I had to try.
There was no other avenue I could go down.
“Oh, Reese.” Mandy frowned deeper. “I’m not even sure that Sloane has high enough clearance to look at the files. She would need access to Ray’s PC or password or…”
She swallowed and looked down.
“Or she would need Kane’s. I doubt that she would be able to get to either one.”
I leaned back and stared at the ceiling.
“Well, fuck that for an idea. I guess I’m screwed and should lawyer up. Know anyone?”
“A few.”
Mandy started looking through her purse for her phone.
My own phone rang, and I fished it from my bag. The number was familiar.
Melissa?
Why was she calling?
To tell me how disappointed she was in my actions? How I’d let her and Kane down? To let me know the police were on their way?
No thanks.
But as usual my curiosity got the better of me, and I answered.
“Melissa,” I said coolly.
“Reese, can you please come to Kane’s office as soon as possible?”
Her tone was serious but not unkind.
“He has several things he needs to discuss with you, and it’s better to do so in person rather than over the phone.”
I snorted.
“You want to frame me for something else? No fucking way. You probably have the police there, waiting to arrest me.”
“Please come in, and we’ll explain everything when you get here.”
I hung up and looked at my friends.
“They want me to go into the office.”
Eileen’s and Mandy’s eyes went wide.
“Are you going to go?” Mandy asked.
I chewed on my bottom lip and stroked my pendant.
“What if it’s some kind of trap?”
“What if it’s not?” Eileen pointed out. “I’ll go with you. See what they have to say. My brothers and my father are lawyers. I try not to advertise that fact, because then everyone and their mother wants free legal help. But I’ll do what I can to see if they would represent you if necessary. You’re not just anyone. And I know enough legal jargon to help you out.”
I shook my head.
“You don’t have to do that. I don’t want you getting in trouble or fired because of me. You two have already done enough. It’s time for me to face the lions in their den.”
“Tell us what happens immediately, Reese,” Eileen begged.
A worried frown played on her full lips.
“Don’t admit to something you didn’t do. I hate you going in there without representation.”
“Yeah but if I go there with all guns blazing, it’ll look like I’m guilty.”
Damned if I do; damned if I don’t.
I stood and gave them both a hug.
“Thanks for your help, guys. Thanks for trying.”
“We weren’t much help,” Mandy said, with a shrug.
“You were. You believed me when no one else did.”
****
During the cab ride to McKenzie’s, I felt like I was going to my own funeral. I should’ve told Melissa to fuck off, but the stubborn part of me wanted to try to get my point across one more time.
I wanted to try to get them to listen and realize it wasn’t me. I didn’t embezzle so much as a dime.
I wasn’t rich, but I wasn’t destitute. I could pay my bills and keep a roof over my head, and I had a small nest egg in case times got rough.
I wanted nothing materialistic from Kane.
I didn’t want his money.
I didn’t want his house.
I didn’t want his cars or exotic vacations.
I had only wanted him and nothing more.
After the cab driver dropped me off, I stood outside McKenzie Tech for eons, debating back and forth about going in. There was no sign of squad cars or undercover cops, so maybe I wasn’t going to get ambushed and arrested, after all.
Finally, I went into the lobby, half expecting to be thrown out on my ass, but Tony smiled and instructed me to go on up.
On the way to the penthouse, my legs shook, and my stomach churned.
Was I doing the right thing?
The elevator shuddered to a stop, but before I stepped out, I took a deep, centering breath in an attempt to settle my nerves. Whatever happened when I walked into Kane’s office would affect the rest of my life.
Even if I fought and cleared my name, I would never get another job doing what I loved best. I would be blacklisted forever.
A deafening silence blanketed the top floor.
Where was everyone?
There was still no sign of any cops, which could only be a good thing.
I walked down the hallway, my sneakers squeaking off the polished hardwoods with every step.
When I reached his office, I rapped my knuckles against the door, and when I heard him say “come in”, I swallowed hard.
This was it.
This was my chance to face my accusers and somehow convince them of my innocence.
Keeping my head held high, I pushed the door open, walked inside and gasped. Sloane, Melissa, and Kane where there.
“What’s going on? Why are you all here?”
I felt my knees go weak and struggled to stand up straight.
“Please sit, Reese,” Kane said. “We need to talk. We all owe you an apology.”
“I see,” I said.
My heart thundered so fast and hard, I felt I would have a heart attack at any second.
I inched towards the gray couch and sat down hard.
“Why do you all me an
apology? Was it the rumors about Simon? The accusations of larceny?”
“We discovered that Linda framed you,” Kane explained matter-of-factly.
He leaned casually against his desk.
A wisp of wind could have knocked me down.
“Linda? How? But she was always so nice and helpful.”
“I haven’t ever really liked you,” Sloane chimed in, and we all turned to her. “I thought you didn’t deserve a job here and quite frankly, I’ve thought that you’re a real bitch, but I’m over it now and you don’t deserve to go to prison.”
The room began to spin.
“Okay, Thanks. Can someone please explain?” I asked, while I put my hands up to rub my temples.
Sloane continued. “After we walked away from you, the day you confronted us on the steps, Linda said something I found odd. She said she couldn’t wait until you went away forever. And that maybe then Kane would realize the mistake he’d made by not pursuing a relationship with her. I acted like I gave a crap and asked her to explain what she meant. She went into detail about what being Kane’s mentee meant—gross, by the way—she said that a few years ago, she was meant to be his.”
I glanced at Kane, who had the decency to look uncomfortable.
“Did she say she framed me?” I asked.
“She didn’t go that far, but it’s not hard to put two and two together.”
Sloane turned her attention to Kane.
“Am I done here? Happy now?”
Kane nodded and said, “You’re done.”
“Can I be sure you’re not going to fire me or have my father disinherit me?”
She glared at him.
“Melissa,” Kane said, “can you see Sloane out? Reese and I have some things we need to talk through.”
“I’m still not sure I like you,” Sloane said, sweeping out of the office.
“You don’t have to,” I retorted. “But thank you for coming to Kane and telling him what Linda said.”
I knew she wasn’t as bad as she seemed.
Sloane shrugged.
“For some reason, she thought I was her friend. I may be self-centered, but I don’t like to see anyone manipulated. What Linda did was wrong.”
Without saying anything further, she and Melissa left.
When Kane and I were alone, neither of us spoke for the longest time. I remained seated with my arms crossed, staring at the Manhattan skyline. Sloane’s words were hard for me to swallow. All along, it was Linda.