Chapter Fifteen
Trace
Ivan slurped hiswonton soup while I poured both of us more tea. The savory scent of sizzling stir-fry wafted around us as we ate our lunch in Chinatown. Ivan loved Chinese food and Asian women, so whenever I suggested we meet for lunch, Chinatown was his choice—more specifically, Golden Lotus Restaurant.
I poured hot sauce over my kung pao chicken. “What have you found out?”
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, then sipped the steaming tea. “You have a leak.”
“I fucking know that.” I was paying the guy premium bucks to learn what I already knew. Years before, a business colleague had referred Ivan to me. The guy had been going through a messy divorce and had a mistress who’d been blackmailing him, and he’d ended up walking away without much of a financial disaster. I’d been impressed and had used Ivan’s services whenever the need arose.
“You didn’t let me finish. There is a definite leak, but I still don’t know who it is. DTG is a sham. It’s set up just to ruin Velocity, but it’s aimed at you. There are several smokescreens surrounding the company, and I’m working on clearing them up.”
I shook my head. “You mean DTG doesn’t do any business other than steal Velocity’s accounts?”
Ivan raised his eyes as he shoved the spoon in his mouth. Then he nodded. “They don’t have any other accounts. They only have a handful of people working there.”
“How in the hell can they operate a campaign, then? When they steal our clients, what the fuck do they do with them?”
“Subcontract the campaign with another ad agency. The client thinks it’s working with DTG, but another agency is doing the work.”
“That’s financial suicide and fucking crazy.” A knot formed at the pit of my stomach, and suddenly the taste in my mouth was bitter. I pushed the dish away from me.
“Agreed, but the whole existence of DTG is to ruin you. Whoever set up the company is goddamn vindictive and crazy. You’ve pissed someone off real bad. Any husbands want to kick your ass?”
“I don’t date married women. I can’t imagine who’d be out to get me like this. Maybe it’s not me. It could stem from business dealings my grandfather had in the past.”
“Maybe. I’ll know more when I hear back from some of my contacts. Which reminds me, I need a couple thousand bucks as an advance. I’m going to have to go out of town to do some of the work.”
I nodded, not really listening to what he was saying anymore. Who hated me enough to want to destroy the company? It wasn’t just about me now; it was about the employees who would be out of their jobs if Velocity started to lose money. I’d stop over at my grandparents’ after work to talk over what Ivan had just told me.
“I’m also looking at your employees. I’ll keep you posted.”
Glancing at my watch, I pulled out fifty bucks and gave it to Ivan. “I’ve got to get back. This should cover lunch, and I’ll wire the two grand when I get to the office.”
Once outside, I waved over a cab since it was later than I’d thought. Normally I’d walk the short distance to the office, but I had an afternoon meeting with Lindsey, Doug, and Gwen on the new sports account and I didn’t want to be late.
The building lobby was teeming with people, which was common for a Friday afternoon. I glanced over at the coffee kiosk as I did every time I came into the building in the hopes that Cierra would be there. Pretty lame, I knew, but she’d wiggled her way into my life without even knowing it. When I’d first seen her at Beta, I thought she was damn hot and would be a good fuck. But as I saw more of her and got to know her, she stirred something inside me that was deeper than the desire to screw her. I wanted to know everything about her and be part of her life.
The day we’d spent together was burned into my mind. I didn’t know what the hell she wanted from me. She ran hot and cold, and it’d pissed me the hell off when she’d pushed me away. I’d wanted her more than anything, my dick harder than a fucking rock, and she’d left me aching for her. I swore that was it, that I’d make it a point to prove that I could forget about her, but I failed miserably. She’d been slinking in and out of my mind all week, and I’d kept waiting to hear her soft knock on my office door, but it never came.
Instead of pushing the button for my floor, I pushed Cierra’s and leaned against the cool gold-toned wall. I just wanted to make sure she was okay. She’d made her intentions clear to me the Saturday before, but we worked together, and it was natural for a boss to make sure his employees were doing well.
What a load of shit.
I walked down to her office, but she wasn’t there. Walking inside, I could smell the lingering scent of vanilla and musk and Cierra, warm and sweet and sensual.
“Cierra left early, Mr. Prescott.”
I spun around and a curly haired woman stood in the doorway with several files in her arms. I’d seen her around, but I couldn’t recall her name.
“Thank you. I just wanted to go over a couple of things before tomorrow night. I’m sorry but I don’t remember your name.”
“Sofie. Do you want me to call her for you?”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll connect with Lindsey.” I walked toward the door and Sofie stepped back.
Lindsey came out of her office. “Trace. I was just going up to your office for the meeting. What brings you down here?”
