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“Mostly, I think they chose the wrong people. I don’t know how much of the plan came from here and how much was Ivor Ramsay, but Phelan Idris was kind of an idiot, and I think Ramsay had an overinflated sense of himself. He miscalculated severely in dealing with Merlin.”
Roger gave a slight smile as he rubbed his fingertips together. “So, wrong people. What else?”
“The plan was maybe a bit too complicated? He went through all that song and dance to try to make Idris into a credible threat before he made his move, and that probably hurt his cause.”
“How would you take over MSI?”
“If I knew that, I’d be there, running the place, instead of here,” I said. I was being sarcastic, but he nodded as though it made total sense to him. And it probably did. That was the way he saw the world.
Roger then asked for our impressions from the meeting. Bex didn’t have a lot to say; she seemed pretty shellshocked from the whole affair. Trish commented mildly, “I take it this place is pretty cutthroat—you really have to watch your back. That’s what the pranking was about, right?”
“Everyone’s looking for any advantage possible,” Roger said with a shrug.
“Then maybe the way to set yourself apart is to not stoop to that level. That’s a distraction.”
“Right, right,” he said, nodding.
When it was my turn, I really didn’t know what to say. “I don’t think your boss cares about that petty stuff. I doubt he noticed who stood when he entered. I think if I were you, I’d focus on what I wanted to achieve rather than worrying about competing with anyone else. There were some powerful people in that room. I don’t know enough about them to know who’s smart. But I wouldn’t stop work on the day-to-day stuff while going after the big prize. If you don’t land the big prize, then maybe you can still work your way up gradually.”
He grinned, and I got the feeling his plan had just clicked in his head. That made me wonder what he was going to do next.
*
The ride home that evening felt longer than normal, but I wasn’t sure if that was just perception, if we got stuck in traffic, or if the driver was trying to lose a follower by taking a different route. I stopped in the vestibule of my building to check the mail before going upstairs and was surprised to find a pink envelope addressed to me. There was no return address, and the address was a label printed on a computer. I might have tossed it as a piece of junk mail, but it had a real “Love” stamp on it rather than having been run through a meter, so I tore open the envelope as I climbed the stairs.
It was a Valentine’s card with a cartoon dog on the front. I opened the card and had to stop halfway up the stairs to catch my balance because I recognized the schoolboy-perfect handwriting inside. Owen had managed to remember the holiday in spite of the circumstances. I felt bad that I hadn’t done anything for him, but I was sure he’d understand.
But the message written inside wasn’t a love note. It was a cryptic instruction to visit a bakery at a particular address. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I felt a surge of hope. Just in case, I ran up the stairs, dropped off the rest of the mail, and ran to my room to change into something a little nicer—cute enough not to feel out-of-place in a romantic situation, but not so cute that I’d look like I was going on a date. After touching up my hair and makeup, I ran out and headed for the address on the card.
Along the way, I tried to temper my expectations. It could have just been his way of giving me a gift. I’d find a cupcake there with my name on it, which wouldn’t be a bad thing. It would be better than I’d expected when I started the day. Rather than let myself get carried away with romantic fantasies, I focused on being aware of my surroundings, making sure I wasn’t being followed.
I reached the bakery and my heart sank when no one was there waiting for me. I approached the counter. “Hi, I was told I needed to come here,” I said, realizing as I said it how odd that sounded.
But the guy at the counter didn’t seem to think it was weird. “Are you Katie? Yeah, I’ve got something for you. Just a second.” He went to a rack behind the counter and came back with a white box. “There’s a card with it. Happy Valentine’s Day.”
I could smell the chocolate without opening the box. If this was all I got, it wasn’t a bad consolation prize. I slid the envelope out from under the ribbon binding the box and found a small card inside. Instead of a romantic message, it gave another address a few blocks away.
That address turned out to belong to a florist, where a bouquet of red roses was waiting for me. The card on the bouquet gave yet another address, one that looked like an apartment number rather than a business. It was a newer building, and it had a doorman. I approached him at his post in the lobby, awkwardly moving the bakery box and the roses into my left arm so I could hand him the card from the roses. “I was told to come here.”
He handed me a key and said, “Go right up.” He was definitely expecting me. I didn’t think he’d hand out keys to random people who showed up.
I went up on the elevator and found the apartment. Inside, there was a dining table set with china and more roses. Classical music played softly on a stereo. I set down the bakery box and roses and slipped off my coat, grinning like an idiot. There were two places set on the table, so this had to be a date.
But where was he? I cleared my throat, in case he was lying in wait to surprise me and didn’t realize I was there. I noticed an envelope propped against an ice bucket with a bottle of champagne in it. The note said, “Have a drink while you wait.” I got the bottle open and poured a glass, then sat down to wait.
I was starting to get worried that something had gone wrong when I finally heard the door unlock. I had a split second to fear that it might not be who I was expecting before Owen appeared in the doorway, carrying takeout bags. I jumped up and ran to greet him. It had been way too long since I’d seen him, and one sight of him made me realize how much I’d missed him. “This is amazing,” I said, hugging him. “I can’t believe you pulled this off.”
“I wasn’t going to miss another Valentine’s Day,” he said, beaming. “I didn’t think you being undercover would count as an excuse.”
“I might have let it slide just this one time.”
He sighed. “Unfortunately, my plans are going to have to change. Someone seems to be watching me. I don’t know if it’s because of you or because of my position. I think I shook them, but we can’t risk blowing your cover.”
That dampened my good mood. “I think you’re a target,” I said. “You were a big part of foiling their plans before.”
“Either way, I don’t want them to be able to link you with me now. We’ll have to take a rain check on the romantic dinner and get you out of here.” He set the takeout bags on the table, and I put on my coat. I reluctantly left the roses where I’d set them, since they were rather unwieldy in case I had to maneuver, but on my way out, I grabbed the cake box. I might be deprived of my date night, but no one was taking my chocolate from me.
I paused to give Owen a good kiss before I left. “Thank you for thinking of all this. You made my day.”
