Page 44 of Prey

My stomach lurches. I read it again, hoping the words will rearrange themselves into something less final. They don't.

"What is it?"

Cain's voice is rough with sleep. He's propped himself up on one elbow, watching me with those gray eyes that see too much.

"HR," I say. "Meeting. Eight, I need to bring legal counsel."

He's out of bed before I finish the sentence. No hesitation just movement, his phone already pressed to his ear.

"Leo," he says. "I need the security logs from the executive floor. All of them. Timestamps. Access records. Everything from the past six months. And I need it before 8 AM."

There's a pause, then: "I don't care if it's too early. I don't care if you're in the shower. Send it to me now."

He hangs up, looks at me, I'm still in bed, phone still in my hand, frozen.

"Grey."

I look up.

"Get dressed."

"I don't think I can do this."

He walks back to the bed and sits beside me. His hand finds my knee.

"You have to darling, but I can do it for you."

"What if they fire me?"

"Then they fire me too."

"Cain."

"I'm not leaving you alone in that room." His voice is Final. "I don't care what it costs."

I want to argue. I want to tell him to stay away, to protect himself, to remind him that he's the CEO and I'm the secretary who broke all the rules. But the words won't come. Instead, I nod.

I dress in the same clothes I wore yesterday. My shirt is wrinkled. My tie is crooked. I don't care. Cain doesn't comment. He just watches me with that unreadable expression and hands me coffee I can’t stomach.

Conference Room C is at the end of the hallway. It's smaller than the boardroom. More intimate. More dangerous. No windows. Just a long table, eight chairs, and a camera in the corner that I know Rose has access to.

There are three people waiting when we arrive.

Cassidy, HR Director. Fifty-two years old. Kind eyes that have fired more people than she can count. She's been at the company for fifteen years. She knows where the bodies are buried because she helped bury them.

Trevor, Staff Counsel. Young. Too young. He's here because someone told him to be here, not because he has a stake in this.

And Leo.

Leo is sitting at the far end of the table. His hands are folded in front of him. His face is pale. He looks like he hasn't slept in days and when our eyes meet, he looks away.

"Mr. Micheals," Cassidy says. "I didn't expect you to attend."

"Grey is my employee," Cain says. "I'm here to observe."

She doesn't argue, she doesn't have to. Her smile is professional. Patient. The smile of someone who knows she has all the leverage.

"Please, sit."