“Bee,” Alan calls, pulling me from my thoughts. “I’d like to see you in my office.”
Oh, fuck. Have I been made?
I grip my necklace in my hand. “Of course,” I nod and give him a tight smile. “I’ll be there shortly.”
Grabbing a pen and paper, I walk towards his office, ignoring my crying colleagues.
Now that I know what they do to those who turn against their organisation, I’m not sure I can be responsible for any more deaths. I’ll need to speak to Cahir and Silas before they move on to the other coordinates I’ve given them. We need to ensure my colleagues are safe.
I knock on Alan’s door and wait for him to reply.
“Enter.”
“Door open or closed?” I ask as I step inside.
Alan’s gaze is flinty as it lands on me, very different from the usual lecherous looks we’re given.
“Closed.”
I do as he asks and walk towards him.
“Sit,” he orders.
It takes everything in me not to reach over the desk and punch him in the face at the tone he’s using. Taking a deep breath, I remind myself that breaking his face means breaking my cover.
Alan studies me like a bug under a microscope. His eyes dart to the ring on my finger, but he doesn’t remark on it. He stares at it for a minute before he says, “Since John is no longer with us, I want you to take over his accounts.”
My eyes widen with surprise before I can school my expression.
“You’ve proven your skill on our accounts team over the past six months. I know you can handle the increased workload of locating the discrepancies.”
He pauses as if waiting for me to complain, then continues when I remain silent. “You’ll be compensated for the additional work, of course.”
I nod. “Understood. The extra money will be welcome as I now have a wedding to pay for.” I wait for a few seconds before asking, “Do you need me for anything else?”
My nonchalance seems to surprise Alan, and his eyes widen slightly. His gaze becomes shrewd and assessing. I’m not sure exactly what he’s looking for. The cool façade I’ve projected since I started working here is now firmly in place.
“I noticed you came back from your weekend away engaged. Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” I stand. “If that’s all, I’ll get back to work.”
He nods and waves his hand toward the door. “That’s all. I’ll have the ledgers dropped off to you later today.”
I nod and turn on my heel. I need to get out of this office before I shoot him with the gun tucked against my lower back. It’s so light, I almost forget it’s there. Thea knows what she’s doing when it comes to weapons.
“One word of advice, Bee,” Alan says as my hand reaches for the door handle. “Keep your head down and do your job. I’d hate for anything to happen to your new fiancé.”
Ice spreads through my veins. I have to rein in my temper as I imagine all the ways I could kill him while he sits there threatening the life of the man I love with all my soul.
Gritting my teeth, I give him a curt nod. “Understood.”
Wrenching open the door, I stalk to my desk and sit down. I don’t want Alan to think anything is wrong, so I force myself to boot up my computer and start my day, but inside, I’m seething.
How dare he threaten Copper?
I’ll die before I let anything happen to him.
Alan leaves his office at lunchtime. As soon as he’s gone, I grab my bag and tell my still-weepy colleague that I’m going to lunch.
