“Drama Queen.”That was Claudia, directed at Drew, right before she took another sip of her coffee.
“I am not.I was trying to catch him off guard so we could see his reaction in real time.”
“And?Now what do you think?”Jensen asked.“Because I’m telling you that to me, he looked like a guy who just got ambushed in front of all of his co-workers with the fact that his girlfriend is cheating on him with the enemy.”
“Possibly,” Mason agreed with a sigh, taking off his glasses and running over them with a wipe, even though they didn’t really need it.He just felt the need to do something with his hands..“He’s clearly upset, but it could be because of that, or it could be because he is angry that their cover is blown.”
“Oh, come on,” Drew said, turning to Mason with a scowl.“You don’t really believe it’s an either/or, do you?How could he possibly not have known?”
“Cheaters don’t usually announce that’s what they’re doing.”
“Sure, but how did she even meet Devlin?That has to be the coincidence of all coincidences if he’s not up to his neck in it with her.”
“Maybe both are true.Maybe he’s been passing information through her, but he didn’t know she was cheating on him.”This was probably where Audrey would accuse him of being paranoid.
“I hate it when you ‘both sides’ shit,” Drew muttered.
“That’s literally my job,” Mason reminded him.“You got a slam dunk for proving that Noelle and Devlin are connected.That’s not the same as a slam dunk for proving that Zeus knew about that connection, much less was part of it.”
“Well, I don’t trust him.He can’t say anything to make me trust him.”
“Which is why he was right when he said there was nothing he could say in his defense that would make you change your mind.”Mason shook his head.“Any good PR person will tell you that sometimes you just have to let people draw their own conclusions, even if they’re completely wrong, because defending yourself is only going to give them something new to pick apart.Can you honestly say that you hadn’t already thought of a hundred arguments for any defense he might have made?”
Drew’s frown deepened, and he huffed, sitting back in his seat and crossing his arms over his chest.
“That doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”
“It doesn’t,” Mason agreed.“But it doesn’t mean you’re right, either.We need more information.”
“Agreed,” Lincoln said, effectively cutting off the argument.He sighed.“I don’t think Zeus is connected to Devlin.If I had to go with my gut, I would say that he knew nothing and that Devlin approached Noelle for this very reason.He could have even targeted her, but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to assume that’s the case, either.”
“Zeus remains on the team?”David asked.If he was against the notion, it didn’t show in his expression or voice.Though he didn’t sound excited about it either.
“Zeus remains on the team.”Lincoln’s voice was firm.“I’m not going to tell anyone that they have to trust him completely, but I also want you all to remember that Marshall has shown himself to be devious time and time again.Breaking apart trust is one of the things he’s going to aim to do with this team, and I doubt this will be the first effort.I agree with Mason; he could have found out about Zeus’ relationship and approached her for no other reason than assuming we might eventually discover it, and it would both hurt Zeus and our trust in him.”
“In which case, firing Zeus could make another enemy or at least someone who is hurt and angry, especially if it was unjustified.If he wasn’t already passing information along to Devlin, it could be the thing that pushes him to do so.”Mason sighed.“If we were sure… but we can’t be sure.”
“Great.That’s just great.”Drew’s voice was growly, clearly displeased with how the conversation had gone.Mason didn’t blame him, but there was nothing they could do about it at the moment.
Whether or not Zeus truly was trustworthy or if he was a plant of Devlin’s, they would find out in time.In the meantime, cutting him loose could cause harm just as much as keeping him could.So, they might as well keep him.
“Keep your enemies close,” Claudia murmured, echoing Mason’s thoughts.
“This sucks,” Jensen declared, reaching into the bakery box for a muffin.
He wasn’t wrong.
“It’s certainly not ideal,” Lincoln agreed.“Does anyone else have anything to report about Devlin?”
No one did.Other than the brief interlude with Noelle, the man had been doggedly working and making lots of public appearances with MacLeod.Schmoozing.Showing off.
Lincoln dismissed them and went to talk to Zeus.Drew stormed off to his own office.Picking up his trash to throw away, Mason felt his phone buzz and immediately checked it.
A text message from Audrey.
He glanced over at David, who was now talking to Claudia, before opening it.
Audrey: There’s another note.Alexis found it taped next to the back door when she went to accept a delivery.
