“You know your employees better than I do.”
I nodded. “What is this supposed to prove?”
“Nothing so far, but I think we’re getting somewhere. I believe the leaks are coming from the finance department of Townsend. I’ve been able to track them down that much, so far.”
“Deborah has nothing to do with this,” I sneered.
Rick held up his large hands in a surrendering fashion. “I’m not saying she does. I’d hate to be the one to tell another man his wife is screwing him behind his back. I’m just saying, I’ve tracked the breaches to the finance department in your company. Will is one of your top guys in that department. He also is pretty close with your father, so one could speculate that means he has insider information that no one else would have. He knew about your father’s stroke … one of the few who did. Doesn’t Deborah work in finance for—”
“Don’t question me about my wife. Ever.” My voice was coated in steel.
Rick stared at me, pausing for a moment, before proceeding to pick up his knife and fork, cutting into the remainder of his food.
“Just remember, you hired me to get to the bottom of this. And you paid upfront. Cash. So it’s my job to deliver. No matter where the twists and turns lead, I will track them down until I get the answers you asked me to get. Just brace yourself because those answers could end you up in a world of hurt if you’re not prepared for them.”
I watched as he casually bit into his last piece of steak, savoring it as if he hadn’t just delivered me with the possibility that my wife was in some way connected to the deception threatening to take down Townsend Industries.
Chapter Twenty
Aaron
“Mark, hold my calls for the next hour,” I barked out as I passed my head assistant’s desk, striding down the hallway toward the glass door.
“Your meeting with Merc is at two,” he called after me.
“Shit,” I grunted, having forgotten all about the meeting with my vice president. My head was too occupied with outside distractions. Glancing at my watch, I discovered it was just after one in the afternoon. “Reschedule it.”
“What time?” he called again to my back as I’d already pivoted to head for the door.
“Any other day besides today.”
“Okay, and—”
“Mark, if you ask me one more thing before I walk out of this door, I assure you you will not have a job to come back to tomorrow.”
Mark’s lips clamped shut and he didn’t even flinch as he placed his attention on the computer screen in front of him.
With that I turned and walked out of the door, pressing the button on the elevator that led to the private garage where the town car that’d brought me into work was parked. I should’ve felt guilty for threatening Mark, but as the longest assistant I’ve ever had—with close to two years—he understood me. Truth was, I wouldn’t really fire him … well, not over asking another question. Either way, my focus was off at work and I needed to talk to someone about it, so I headed to the one place I thought I might get a little perspective.
“I think this might be the first time you’ve ever been down to the station,” Carter greeted, a stunned expression on his face as he came down the stairs of the fire station. He was dressed in the dark, navy blue pants, and short-sleeve shirt that was his uniform. My eyes drifted down to the bright, white and golden patch that read Lieutenant Townsend, distinguishing him from the rest of his squad. A swell of pride hit my chest, not for the first time, at the sight of him in his newly minted position.
“I was here a few years ago when you were first assigned to Rescue Four.”
His forehead creased, eyebrows dipping, and then rose. “That’s right.” He snapped his fingers, pointing at me. “I recall. That was a long time ago.”
I nodded. Long before either one of us were husbands or fathers.
“What’s up, bro?” he questioned, giving me a wary look. “Everything okay?”
I shrugged. “Not quite. Do you have a lunch break or something?”
He frowned. “I’m on a twenty-four hour shift. We don’t have lunch breaks during those.”
I narrowed my gaze on him.
Slowly, a grin spread across his face and he patted me on the shoulder.
“Calm down, I’m messing with you. I actually just clocked out when Captain came up and told me you were here to see me.”
