Chapter Ten
“What does this mean?” Matthew asked the next morning, when the video stopped playing. He handed Elena the cell phone, and she tossed it inside her bag.
She looked around the crowd inside the coffee shop a block away from the company. Most of them stood in line to order a lunch to go, but a few sat around the scattered tables and munched on salads and sandwiches. She only recognized a few Wilder and Company employees in the room. Even then, she didn’t know them well.
“This means Devon was at Toby’s birthday celebration at the exact time one of those transfers happened. He couldn’t have done it. He’s not your thief.”
“Online transfers can be scheduled. This doesn’t prove anything.” He bit into his ham and Brie sandwich.
She shuffled from one foot to another. Choosing to stand while he sat on a stool had been the right decision. Even the chicken salad she ordered remained half eaten. “Matthew, you are stubborn.”
“How do you know the exact moment the transfers were made? I never showed you any papers.”
Oh shit.She lifted the iced tea to her lips, and took a big swig to buy her a few seconds. “Does it matter? You told me to dig, and find stuff. Now you’re questioning my tactics?”
His green eyes darkened, and he leaned forward. “You told me you weren’t going to snoop wherever his things were concerned.”
“Exactly. I do think this has a lot to do with the company, though.”
Reaching for the napkin on the counter, he flashed her a suspicious glance. “How did you get access to those files, Ells?”
She smoothed her hand over her ponytail. “Doesn’t matter. My point is, Matthew, you’re wasting your time if you focus your hunt for the criminal on Devon. He’s not your guy.”
Matthew ran a hand down his face. “Is he your guy?”
A lump lodged in her throat. And a hot throb followed. “What?”
“You keep defending him. What’s going on?”
No. More. Lies.
She glanced around to make sure no one would hear them. Buck up, Elena. Staying true to both brothers and not implicating either of them was a challenge. Staying true to herself…a done deal. “I was the one he kissed at the park,” she said, and lifted her chin. Who cared if her blood ran cold?
Matthew crushed the paper napkin. “I knew it. I knew he wasn’t going to keep his hands off of you.”
She drew back. “You…knew it?”
He nodded, and straightened his tie.
“Was that the reason you insisted I help you with this? Because you wanted him to come on to me, then I’d report back and he would lose his job or be dropped from the race?” If she thought her blood ran cold a second ago, now it had iced into an arctic glacier. Had it been a game to her supposed friend all along?
“I expected him to make a pass at you, yes. But I didn’t expect you to go along with it.”
She slapped his face, hard. “How could you do this to me? After all I’ve been through with my ex? How could you want to throw me into the arms of a guy you think is a prick, a thief?” Elena kept her voice low, but she didn’t bother to hide the venom boiling beneath the surface. “You are a first-class jerk, Matthew. And a crappy friend. After everything I’ve been through—you still wanted me to work for Devon, use me as bait, when you believe Devon is a bona fide whorebag.” And she believed Matthew was wrong about his half-brother. After all, Devon had been way more considerate to her than any man she’d ever known.
Matthew peered around, and touched his cheek where her open palm had landed. Of course her hand ached, and there was not even a scratch on his smooth brown skin. “Calm down,” he said, urgency dripping from his voice.
She took a second to study their surroundings. A few curious patrons watched them, but the moment her gaze challenged them to keep observing, they turned their faces and pretended to go back to whatever they were doing. Drinking coffee, reading, typing on laptops.
“It wasn’t supposed to be like that. I told you who he was. You weren’t supposed to accept his advances or encourage him. You aren’t getting involved with him, right? Devon trying to come on to you is enough. We can go to Imani and tell her what happened.”
“No. If we go to Imani, I will tell her the whole thing. I’ll tell her that you schemed for this to happen from the beginning, and you had me work under him so I could spy. How do you think that will make you look?”
“Why would you do that? I thought we were friends.”
“So did I. I will stick around because now I am invested in finding out who stole from the company,” she said, leaving out she had promised Devon. “I’ll save you some time from snooping around some more, Matthew. I slept with Devon. It was my choice, my idea, and I won’t lie about that. I experienced not having a say in sex for too long to lie about it. If you report him about sleeping with me, I’ll tell the whole truth.”
“You slept with him?” Matthew’s eyes widened. “In all the time I have known you, you have never even dated. How would I know you would fall for his game?”
