Elena nodded. While she walked through the hallways, her breath caught in her throat. A glance at the desk told her that her boss wasn’t at the office yet. Was he trying to avoid her as much as she was him? Her cell phone buzzed, and she pulled it from her pocket to read a message from Matthew.
Meet me on the roof. Now.
Why on Earth would he suggest that? They had only talked on the roof once before, and she imagined that was an emergency-only-go-to-place. Well, whatever it was, she marched back and called for the elevator. If Devon arrived, she’d tell him the truth. I was meeting with your brother who thinks you are stealing from the company. Sort it out yourselves.
When she reached the rooftop, she walked over to Matthew.
He was pacing the cemented ground in small circles, hands in his pockets. His shirt had its sleeves rolled up, and there were wrinkles on his pants. Hhhmmm…very strange. “Elena. I have to talk to you.”
“Good, because I have to talk to you too,” she said, before she lost her courage. Growing up with four older brothers should have taught her to stand her ground, not fear commanding men. Or had that been a memento from her marriage? “I’m way over my head. I’ve wanted to help you, but this is getting way out of hand, Matthew. I don’t want to go on his personal files. It’s illegal and wrong.” Especially after I kissed him. Twice. And liked it.
He came to a halt and stared at her, his green eyes darkening. “My wife has left me.”
“What? Why?” she blurted out. “I’m so sorry,” she said in a low voice. She made herself a mental note to call Sandra to check in on her.
Running his fingers into his short curly hair, he sighed. “I guess I had it coming. We weren’t getting along for a long time. I thought she could change. Damn it, I thought I could change too.”
She folded her arms, then confused, uncrossed them. What could she do? “People don’t change,” she said, her drawl a tad more bitter than intended.
He drew in a breath, and nodded. The contours of his face hardened, and she wondered if he was talking about her ex-husband or herself. “I know.” His moss green eyes watered, and she closed the distance behind them and hugged him. His hug had always been like a warm bowl of homemade mac and cheese. Comforting, and extremely safe. Much different than the irrational thoughts his half-brother instilled in her, like her body was a freaking war zone and she’d lose either way.
When she disengaged from him, he rubbed his eyes. A part of her softened. A grown man was trying his best not to cry. Not to lose it. Oh noes. Was this the best time to ask for resignation? “You will be okay, Matthew. Not right now, obviously. But you will be alright in the long run.”
“I hope so.”
“If you ever need to talk, I’m here for you. You know that, right?” she asked, just in case. “Thanks to you, I didn’t have to do it alone. You shouldn’t either,” she added, as flashes of her break-up hell zapped through her memory. Matthew’s firm hands squeezing her shoulders. Tears that flowed freely from her eyes, like a river streaming down a pitiless fall. Pain. So much pain.
“Thanks. I have so much crap to do. I’m not ready to tell anyone about this yet. Especially not with the possibility of the CEO position. I don’t need any instability.”
She lifted two fingers to her mouth. “My lips are sealed.”
“Good.” He shuffled his weight from foot to foot. “And, hey, I know this isn’t the best moment, but about Devon.”
Devon.“I’ve been thinking. I don’t want to let you down, but when you asked me to help you out, I figured I’d keep track of his tardiness or possible bad work ethics. Little things you could use to your advantage. I didn’t imagine it’d be so hardcore. I realized that when I almost got caught on Friday.” She rubbed her temples and looked away from him. Letting him down hurt too. Bile rose in the back of her throat. The only person she had trusted. The friend who had been there for her. “I understand what’s at stake, but I could be charged with corporate espionage too. And who knows what else.” And I can’t control myself around him. Sometimes, I don’t even know if I want to.
Matthew scratched his chin, eyes narrowing at her like he was coming up with something. “Chill. I have a new favor to ask.”
She drew back. “Oh?” So she was indebted to him. So her Catholic guilt prevented her from just walking away from it all. But, another assignment? What the hell. Was this some slapstick version of a James Bond movie?
“I may be hiring a hacker to do that. The computer stuff. I didn’t want to, but over the weekend I met this guy I feel I can trust. He may also give me quicker results.”
She sighed. “Good. Good.”
Matthew smoothed his hand over his shirt, then started to fix his tie. “There is a new possibility. Devon kissed someone. There is a rumor he’s banging someone from the company.”
Her eyebrows shot to her hairline. “He…is?” she said, and touched her neck in a silly attempt to prevent the flush from spreading across her cheeks. Could she tell him she’d been the one? Should she tell him? She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
“Yes. Stupid idiot. So I want you to find out who she is. If there is proof he’s having an affair with a coworker, I can take this to my mother and the board, and he can be fired. Dating subordinates is completely against the company’s policies. There is no way he can be the next CEO. And, if it is true, that means he’s taking advantage of someone under him. That’s unethical.”
And spying on him isn’t?“Right. But how do you know it’s not just a rumor? People make up stuff all the time. Hell, there’s a whole industry that feeds on that.”
“I don’t. Which is why I need your help.”
She threw her hands in the air, distraught. “This makes me uncomfortable. We don’t know anything, and for all I care she could have seduced him. Maybe the poor fool wanted him. Who knows? Is it worth it to expose both of them, like this?”
“Elena, whose side are you on? The man is in the wrong. And I couldn’t give a shit about what she wanted. She could have stripped in front of him for all I care. What’s right is right, and what’s wrong is wrong. I just need some evidence. A picture, a text, anything that I can use to show my mother and the board that he is unworthy of a title. That he is an unredeemable playboy. You said yourself, right? People don’t change,” he added in a huskier voice, cocking his head to one side.
Whoa. What the heck was happening? “But that’s more spying for me. What if this woman is someone I know for instance? What if I find out she’s this lovely hard-working person who made a mistake? She could lose her job too. And what if she needs the money?” she asked, and for the life of her didn’t know why she sounded so freaking irritated.
