Page 78 of Hating the Boss

“And I need you to pull up this morning’s security footage immediately.”

“What time?”

“The past several hours. Pull it up now,” I said gruffly. “I’m coming down now.”

I slammed my phone in the receiver and walked out of my office. I noticed a few employees had arrived, and judging by the way they looked at me warily, I must have looked angry. I was angry.

I rode the elevators down to the second floor where the security offices were. I could see a man scrambling on a computer, while another was watching several frames on a large television, his head darting up and down and side to side. I stood in the doorway and cleared my throat as I crossed my arms.

“Mr. Ashcroft!” said the man behind the computer. “We are gathering the footage now. May I ask what happened?”

“Someone was in my office, going through my personal belongings and files,” I said, a frown pulling at my mouth. “This person could be dangerous.”

“I assure you, we’ve never let anything like this happen before,” he said worriedly, his eyes wide. “There must be some mistake.”

“It’s no mistake. It’s my former fiancée, Angela Green. She pulled the wool over your eyes,” I said frustratedly.

I knew it wasn’t their fault. They knew Angela. They had met her before. They wouldn’t have known that she was up to anything sinister.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Look, it’s no one’s fault. You couldn’t have known we aren’t on good terms anymore. I just need to see that footage now.”

He nodded, turning back to the computer and pulling up several files. He played each one on the television, as his partner watched.

“There!” he said suddenly, pointing at the screen.

I leaned in and saw Angela entering the lobby.

“Keep it here,” I said, watching the screen.

I watched as she stopped and chatted with security. The two of them laughed about something as she touched his arm. I noticed a small box adorned with a red ribbon tucked under her arm. There was the so-called gift that there had been no sign of. She held it up and the security nodded, gesturing toward the elevators.

“Switch to my office now,” I ordered.

The guards did as they were told, and the screen cut to my empty office. I thought back to all the times I had turned the cameras off when Sarah and I had our sexy rendezvous, and thank God for that because these guards would be able to see from all angles. Luckily, I had always remembered to turn them back on for circumstances such as the one we were in right now. Angela strode in a moment later, looking over her shoulder cautiously. Once inside my office, she shut the door and went to Sarah’s desk. She lingered there a little while, opening a few drawers and attempting to log in to her computer. With no luck, she walked over to my desk.

I watched as she began going through the drawers, her eyes focused as if intent on finding something. She sat in my desk chair and began skimming through papers, quickly reading each one before moving to the next one. Finally, she stopped on one. Her mouth spread into a small smile as she stood from the desk.

“Can you zoom in?” I asked, pointing to the paper in her hand.

The security guard hit a button and the camera moved in, but I couldn’t make out what the paper was. It was the backside, so I was met with blank white. With an annoyed sigh, I continued to watch as she left my office, not leaving the box behind. The box had just been a ruse to get her in.

“Where else does she show back up?” I asked, putting my hands on my hips as my eyes darted to each file that was pulled up.

“Let me see here…” said the guard, scanning the files on his computer.

“Here,” he said, pulling up the footage.

It was of Angela walking down the hall of the office, back toward the elevators. The paper she had taken was tucked under her arm. I could see words printed on it from this angle.

“Pause. And zoom in there,” I said, pointing to the paper.

A click of a button and I could see the paper clear as day. It was Sarah’s résumé she had brought when she came to interview. I furrowed my brow, trying to figure out what use Angela would have with it. Then my eyes fell to the footer of the page where there was not only Sarah’s phone number, but her address too. My stomach leapt to my throat as I started to put pieces together in my mind. I didn’t see the puzzle as a whole, but I knew that whatever Angela was up to, it wasn’t good.

Chapter 31 Sarah

Brittany groaned as she entered my bedroom, wearing a cream knit blanket over her head and a pair of my sunglasses she must have borrowed from the entryway table. I laughed as I sat up in bed and saw how ridiculous she looked. She was a walking hangover.

“How you feelin’?” I asked with an amused expression.