His eyes lasered in on her. “Is anyone hurt? Is anything going to hurt the company?”
“No and no.” She chuckled.
“Who?” His teeth ground.
“Mr. Dupart, Mr. Walter, and Dr. Montgomery.”
“Find Dupart and tell him I want him in my office ASAP. You never saw me if Walter and Montgomery ask again,” Kieran grunted, entered his office, and slammed the door.
Julian stuck his nose around the corner. “Chère, thank you.”
“Fair winds and following seas.” She laughed.
Julian knocked on the door, and at the loud, “Enter,” he went inside.
“You wanted to see me, Boss.” Julian stepped into parade rest.
“I believeyouwanted to see me. Ass in a chair.” Kieran Chase was considered the volatile Chase brother. The Chase Group, though still young by business world standards, was now a billion-dollar company with a venture capital division and a private security company. In addition, buried deep within Chase Security, was a covert agency called Eagle’s Talon, which performed Homeland Security missions and provided non-traditional government intelligence and defense work at home and abroad.
Julian slid into the seat and looked up at his boss. The fifteen men who formed Chase Security with Kieran and Ian were more than colleagues; they were brothers. Most served together as part of the US special forces. Julian, now the reserve rank of lieutenant commander, served as Ian Chase’s executive officer for SEAL Team Three. The company was formed by the two brothers after Kieran almost died on a mountaintop. Deciding to do things their way and not be influenced by politics, the brothers turned an inheritance into the nest egg that built the business.
“I got a call from my brother Taggart in San Diego. Seems he walked into a weird case at the Fairmont. Some French model opened a bottle of seltzer, and, by luck, knocked it to the ground, where it started to eat through the stone.
“After questioning, it appears she’s been receiving letters and having strange things happen that her manager dismissed as an ordinary course of business. Tag is waiting to hear back to see if this is product tampering, but his gut is telling him it’s more than that. He also said he was not impressed by her personal security. He gave her the Chase business card. I just wanted to give you a heads up.”
Kieran steepled his fingers over his nose and stared at Julian. “This is why you had Verna running interference for you? What did you promise?”
“Um, I told him maybe I would fly out there this weekend for a visit and perhaps talk to the model.”
“I’m sure Delphine will be pleased with that.” Kieran mentioned Julian’s wife.
“Merde, you are a genius, Boss. Del and I haven’t spent a lot of time together recently. I figure we could take a long weekend. Walk along the beach, do what married people do.” He waggled his eyebrows.
Kieran laughed. “Fine. Tell me what happened with the Sullivan walkthrough?”
Julian blew out a harsh breath. “It wasn’t great; I think they’re setting us up for a fall. Everything we suggest, they dismiss as too cost inefficient. Doesn’t make setting up encryption easy. Maybe you should send Kip. They always think he’s so sweet, but maybe he can get them to understand.”
“I’ll send him. Now, what is the name of this fashion model?” Kieran steepled his fingers.
“Monique Lillier,” Julian said.
“Get out of here and do some work.” Kieran flicked the back of his hand at Julian.
Julian’s laugh could be heard rumbling down the hallway. Kieran opened up his desktop computer and googled Monique Lillier. What he saw was a simple headshot. His blue eyes twinkled at the picture staring back at him. Black hair framed a perfect heart-shaped face. Her blue eyes peered right into his soul, and her lips were the most kissable he’d ever seen.
He shook his head. “Hmm, I am due to head out to San Diego to check on things. Maybe this weekend will be a good time.” He buzzed Verna and asked her to make travel arrangements for him.
The door to his office flew open. “Dupart, what did you…?” Kieran frowned.
Hunter Montgomery, head of their Employee Health Division, stood with his arms crossing his chest. PA Pete Walter from Employee Health stood beside him. He placed a large jug on the desk in front of Kieran. The label readGoLYTELY.
“You ditched your colonoscopy for too long,” Hunt said.
Kieran sighed. Pete saved his life and risked his own, plus his license, to operate on him when he was carried off a frozen mountain in Afghanistan. “This is emotional blackmail,” Kieran groaned.
“Four liters. One cup every ten minutes. I’ll see you in Employee Health at 2000 hours. Walter is going to stay with you in case you need him.” Hunt walked out.
“Pete, it’s not personal.” Kieran blew out a breath. “Those were a helluva ninety-six hours.”
