We settled into a nice, comfortable arrangement. Between his two jobs, we didn’t get to spend as much time together as either of us would like, but we made dinners together a priority. Some evenings we stayed at the apartment, and sometimes we went to the fire station and ate with the club, but we always ate together.
Apparently, Spade had destroyed his bike (not in an accident, he assured me), so Wasp helped him find a used 2014 Street Glide. I knew nothing about bikes, but it was beautiful and rode much smoother than his last. I made sure to be on the back of it—with my hands wrapped around his middle—as often as possible. I never could have imagined being a biker babe, but for Spade, I’d strap on leather and change my name to Biker Barbie in a heartbeat.
Thankfully, he didn’t want me to.
About a week after Spade sent Don and Chad’s information to Tap and Morse, the two hackers cornered us at the station to fill us in on the text messages, emails, and video chats they’d found between my boss and supervisor.
“They’re definitely bonin’,” Tap said, handing me a folder of correspondence printouts. “Not only that, Don’s been skimming from the company profits.”
Floored by this unexpected twist, I felt my jaw drop. “Are you kidding?”
“Nope. Serious as an embezzling charge,” Tap replied.
Spade was reading over my shoulder and started laughing. “God, Jess. Read that top page. You thought Chad was taking it up the ass, but that’s not the case. Don is.”
“What?” I dropped my gaze, searching for the passage that made him think that. It wasn’t a single passage. Several of the chats made it clear who was in charge of their relationship. Chad even went as far as telling Don what to wear and making him ditch his underwear and “freeball” at work. Disgusted by the image, I snapped the folder closed. “That’s about enough of that.”
“Holy shit, babe.” Spade squeezed my shoulders. “If anything, that should take away their power over you. Can’t put too much stock into Chad’s opinion now that you know he had to blackmail someone in order to get his dick wet.”
“I didn’t put much stock in his opinion before. Now I know he’s nothing but a desperate, pathetic pervert. So let me get this straight. Don was skimming from the company, and Chad caught him and blackmailed him into sharing, promoting him to supervisor, and… sexual things. Is that about right?”
Morse nodded. “As far as we can tell. All the information we could find is in the file. How familiar are you with the owner of the company?”
“Mike Chentam? I’ve met him at company parties and such, but I’ve never really talked to him.”
“He needs to know what’s going on in his agency,” Tap replied. “Since it would be difficult for you to explain how you got your hands on this information, we can anonymously leak it to him. He’ll never be able to trace the source, and it won’t touch you.”
“But it’ll destroy Don and Chad.” Their careers would be over, and Don’s wife would be crushed.
“You can’t sympathize with thieves and cheaters.” Spade rubbed my back. “Babe, they knew the rules before they sat at the table, but they still chose to play the game. They bid too damn high, cheated to get there, and left their books on the table. It’s up to you to rack those books and play your hand.”
I mostly understood what he was saying. “You really need to teach me how to play Spades.”
Chuckling, he nodded. “I gotta teach you when to be cutthroat, first. I’m sure you get the gist of what I’m saying, though.”
“Can I think about it?” I asked.
Morse nodded. “We won’t do anything until you give us the green light.”
Spade and I thanked the club’s hackers and left. I knew Spade wanted to let Morse and Tap leak the information, but he didn’t hound me about it. In fact, the last thing he said on the matter was, “I’ll support whatever you decide to do, babe. I told you, I got your back.”
The next few days were busy, so I put it out of my mind until Don called me into his office later that week. Chad was already waiting inside. He gleefully watched me enter like we were teens and he’d ratted me out to the principal and was waiting to witness my punishment. Fearing the worst, I took the open seat beside him.
“Hello Jessica.” Don smiled at me, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Thank you for coming in so quickly. How are you?”
I glanced at Chad as more unease crept up my spine. “Okay?” It came out like a question. Clearing my throat, I tried again. “Okay. Good. I’m good. You?”
“I’m a little disappointed. Chad tells me there’s been some conflict between the two of you. Is that true?”
Disappointed? He was trying to play the righteous dad card while stealing from the company and screwing one of his subordinates? Out of the three of us, I was the only one who could claim the moral and business high ground. I sat up a little taller and reminded myself how shady these two were while trying to keep my tone and expression professional. “Chad and I have engaged in a few disagreements on ads for my clients.”
Chad snorted. “Disagreements? Your insubordination is inexcusable and will not be tolerated.”
“Please, Chad.” Don held up a hand. “I’ll handle this. Jessica, you’ve always been one of my most dependable employees.” He opened the file on his desk. “I’ve been going over your file, and I’ve never had a problem with you before.” He flipped through the few pages that held notes and reviews, and his brow furrowed. “There’s no signed non-compete in here.” He looked up at me. “Didn’t you sign one before you started?”
“No sir.”
“That’s an HR oversight. Who handled your onboarding?”
