Page 29 of The Mood Board

“Someone is targeting me,” I finally admitted. “They sent Bailey a letter, no return address or name, threatening to expose that I had used illegal money during the first round of capital for the company. Except that, as far as I know, I didn’t.”

“You’ve checked all the numbers?” Janelle asked.

“Double-checked them. Triple-checked them—then and now. Jordan and the accountants have been pouring over every document attached to that period, and they haven’t found anything. If there is some sort of illegal tie, I never knew about it. I still don’t.”

“Is that what was going on in that back room?” It wasn’t a question so much as a statement—Janelle had been curious about it.

“That was it,” I sighed, brushing hair from my eyes that had fallen over my forehead. “So I have no idea what the FBI or police found. If they weren’t there already, I know the FBI will be at the offices this morning, seizing all the paperwork.”

“At least it’s all ready for them.” The tilt to Janelle’s mouth was sarcastic now. I tried to muster a smile for the joke, but nothing happened except a twinge.

“Anyway, they won’t find anything there. So whatever evidence they have, whatever got them the arrest warrant, it has to be something fake. Or something else I can’t think of.”

“That’s quite a conundrum.”

I nodded at Janelle’s statement, letting my head hang—it was far worse than that, but I didn’t even want to put the words out there.

“I’m sorry you’re going through this. Whoever is doing this must be particularly terrible,” Janelle said, her voice soft.

I nodded. “Yeah, it is. It’s a nightmare.”

When I looked up, Janelle was studying me, but I couldn’t name the expression, especially being so tired and foggy. It made me feel better just to see a familiar face.

“Janelle, you have to help keep the company on track. You know we’re going to get bad press on this, and I know you’ve steered businesses through stuff like this,” I said.

“Worse than this,” Janelle replied.

“Even better. Look, you know how to handle this. Jordan hasn’t ever been forward-facing, and Tom will get angry and tongue-tied when the press comes to call, as they will.” I held her gaze, hoping it communicated my earnestness.

“Liam, I—” she started, and I knew she was going to refuse.

“I know you’re new, but you have to be the face of the organization. You know how to do it better than anyone there right now. And if you don’t, the company’s going to sink. You know it, and I know it—we’ve both seen it, and I can’t let it happen. I believe in our work, and we have to be able to keep doing that work regardless of what happens to me. Please, Janelle.”

She looked at me, then nodded. “I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

A slight curl of her lips, and she met and held my gaze again.

“I’ll do whatever I can to help you, too,” she said softly.

As I talked, my hand had come to rest on the bars, and I felt something brush against them before Janelle’s hand settled on them. She was still holding my gaze, and I felt an odd trill of alarm buzz through me.

I took my hands away and stepped back from the door without thinking, watching Janelle, confused even as my heart hammered in my chest. There was no way she had been suggesting what I thought she was suggesting, right? My new CIO knew I had a fiancée—she had helped us with the venue just the other day. More than that, we had barely known each other for more than a few weeks. And I had been in jail all night.

No, there was no way she was coming on to me. I knew I had to be imagining things—she had been comforting me, that was all.

“I’m counting on you,” I told her, fisting and unclenching my hands to dispel the odd feeling still buzzing around my fingers where she had touched them. “But more than that, the company is counting on you, all the employees are counting on you, and so is everyone who relies on our technology.”

Janelle’s expression hadn’t changed, and she nodded again. “I’ll do my best.”

That should have been enough to reassure me—Janelle was more than qualified to steer the ship while I was dealing with this mess.

So why did I feel so unsettled? A feeling that didn’t go away, even at the sound of her heels fading back down the hallway.