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“Okay. Good to know.” Based on Lauren’s expression, the information was cold comfort. She started pacing. “I guess there’s nothing else we can do right now…”
“I’m
going out there to look for her,” Ash said, closing his screen. “Some of the guys are already tracking down those plates. I’ll check in with them, and I’ll check the residential areas near the airport. If we could find her before the meeting…that could change everything.”
“Do you want company?” I asked, anxious to be useful.
Ash shook his head. “Not this time. Take care of your own business for right now—I have a feeling the rest of this week is going to be busy.”
“I’m going to meet with Agent Marks, my other contact, and also check in with my friend from the NSA,” Levi said. “I need everything they’ve got on Li Na’s operations. I’ll check in with you later—keep security with you, and stay safe.” He and Ash headed out.
I turned to Lauren. “What do you want to do? Are you going to head to the office?”
Lauren’s face was pale, with two hectic spots of color dotting her cheeks. “I should. I need to tell my people about what’s going on…about the status of the sale.”
“Have you thought some more about my offer? Because it still stands.”
She reached out and took my hand. “If you’d be willing to give my people a home at Dynamica, that would mean everything to me.”
“What about you?” I smiled, trying to lighten the mood. “I’d love to have you in the office next to mine for…reasons.”
“Ha.” But she knew I meant it. “I’m thinking about it, and I want you to know how much it means to me. But I can’t make a professional commitment right now. I don’t feel capable.”
I pulled her into my arms, feeling anxiety rolling off her in waves. She was wound taut, close to fraying. “Take your time. When you’re ready, make plans for the future—for our future.”
She buried her face in my chest. “I will. Just let me get through the end of this week, okay? I have to deal with this one step at a time.”
I kissed the top of her head. “Of course.”
Since there was nothing left to do at home but wait, we both decided it would be better to be busy at work. I went to Dynamica, and Lauren went to Paragon—with Timmy and three other security guards, at my insistence—and she promised to check in later. I called Olivia, my disgruntled London partner, when I got to the office. “Our conversation’s been on my mind. I know you don’t want to reveal your source, but I need to know who gave you the information about Paragon. It’s important.”
“You’re putting me in a bad spot,” she said.
“I’m still asking.”
“I’m really not at liberty to say, which I know is going to bother you. But I will tell you that you need to watch your back, and so does Lauren.”
“What the hell does that mean?” We were already busy watching our backs—and trying to pull Li Na’s preexisting daggers out.
“I can’t tell you, because I can’t have this coming back to me.” Olivia sounded firm. “I might need more information from this person, so I’m not burning the bridge.”
“Even if it means you’re burning a bridge with me? I know business is more important than friendship, but we have been friends for a long time, Olivia.”
“I know. So trust me when I say that you really don’t want to know who told me.”
“Call me when you come to your senses.” I hung up before I started yelling.
I spent the rest of the morning drinking coffee, feeling distracted, annoyed, and wary. Someone had compromised our confidentiality—someone who was looking to undermine the sale of Paragon to Jiàn Innovations. But the circle who knew about the impending transaction was small, and it was tight.
I swallowed a bitter taste in my mouth. I knew the person who’d done this was close to us. I’d get to the bottom of it. Whoever I met down there had a lot of explaining to do.
I pushed the issue to the side—I would have to deal with it later. If I was offering Lauren’s people positions, I needed to make sure everything at Dynamica was in order. I spent the rest of the day going through compliance reports, meeting with my department heads, and checking in with the rest of my international distributors. There was no sign that information about the sale had been leaked elsewhere, but what was happening in London hadn’t taken place in a vacuum. I had to isolate the problem and deal with it quickly.
And when I said deal with it, I meant exterminate it—before Li Na learned that people wanted out of the sandbox before her grubby paws got into it.
I sent Lauren a text as the late afternoon turned into evening. Meet me at the Stanford hotel? I think we could both use a break tonight. She’d been so tense at the house. I wanted to do anything I could to cheer her or distract her. She’d mentioned The Stanford before—it was one of Hannah’s favorite places in the city, but we’d never taken the time to check it out.
She called a minute later. “What’s up?”
