AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ll do my best to use that power wisely,” he told Marlowe with just the faintest hint of a smile curving his lips. “Don’t forget to call and tell me the time and place that we’ll be meeting,” he reminded her as the elevator doors shut, removing her from his view. “Or I’ll be back,” he called out, raising his voice, although he doubted that she could hear.
Marlowe uttered a few choice words in response to his parting ones, but the doors had closed by then, sealing her off from him.
It was just as well, she thought. Why had she ever even bothered to talk to the man at the conference? Yes, what came afterward could easily be described as the best, the most remarkable night she had ever spent in her life. But at what price? Marlowe asked herself. And could she really say that it had been worth it?
In view of the present situation, she couldn’t honestly say yes. But then, she couldn’t really say no, either.
With all these diametrically opposed thoughts going on in her mind, Marlowe felt as if her head was liable to explode at any moment.
She knew she was dangerously close to being on overload, with just too many shocking pieces of unsettling information bouncing around in her brain, all accumulated in such a short amount of time. She didn’t feel able to sort them all out without drowning in words and feelings.
C’mon, Marlowe, get a grip. If you fall to pieces, everyone else will, too. You have got to get it together! For everyone’s sake, she admonished herself.
Marlowe realized as she quickly walked down the long corridor that she was consciously or unconsciously pinning all her hopes on Daniel, fervently trusting that somehow he would come up with something, preferably the name of the person who had sent them that unnerving email. She was convinced that he had it in him to save the day.
The boyish, studious-looking IT director was only six years older than she was, but in her opinion, he looked younger. Despite his looks, however, he possessed a razor-sharp mind, and if there was anyone who could unearth the name of the person sending them this awful email, it was Daniel.
His door was wide-open, and she knocked on the door frame as she crossed the threshold into the office. It looked like the other two people who were part of his department had already left for the night and that Daniel was just about to leave the office himself.
“Daniel?” she said, walking toward his desk. “Do you have a minute to talk?”
Whatever humorous retort he was about to offer instantly faded without a single syllable even partially emerging when he saw who was approaching him.
“For you, always,” the tall, thin man told her. Rather than just paying lip service for the effect it had, she knew Daniel truly meant what he had just said. He felt boundless loyalty to the family that had taken a wet-behind-the-ears computer science graduate and placed him in a department where he worked in positions of respect and power, something he had never experienced before.
In return, Daniel had gone to great lengths to show them that he was worthy of the faith and trust they had placed in him. Even so, he never took anything for granted. She knew for a fact that there were a lot of other people in his graduating class who were still struggling to pay off their school loans, while he was able to move around completely debt free because the Coltons had been willing to take a chance on him.
“Something’s come up,” Marlowe began, trying to find just the right words to use in order to present and explain the dilemma that they all—especially Ace—found themselves currently facing.
“Please, have a seat,” Daniel said, gesturing toward a chair that was facing his desk.
At first, Marlowe looked almost hesitant to sit down. But then she finally did, sinking into the chair almost in slow motion.
“Go on,” he urged.
After a beat, Marlowe took a deep breath. “Maybe it would be easier if I just showed you, Daniel,” she said, because saying the words just might have made her choke, she thought.
“Whatever works for you,” Daniel responded amicably. He waited for Marlowe to make the next move or say the next thing.
He watched in silence as Marlowe dug into her skirt pocket and pulled out her phone.
Marlowe forwarded the anonymous email and looked at the explosive piece on the screen in front of Daniel.
“This was sent to all six board members a few hours ago,” she told the IT director. At least she assumed that was the timeline, although for all she knew, her father had been aware of this email’s contents longer than that. She had no idea how she knew, but she just had a feeling.
She fell silent as she allowed Daniel several seconds to read the words.
Once he had finished reading and then rereading the email, Daniel raised his eyes to meet hers. “Is this on the level?”
“Whoever sent it seems to think so,” she answered grimly.
“Do you know who sent it?” Daniel asked next.
Marlowe shook her head. “No. That’s where you come in, Daniel,” she told him. “I was hoping that you could track down whoever sent this to the board and find him for me.”
“You said him—we’re sure it’s a he?” Daniel questioned.
Sighing, she shook her head again. “Daniel, at this point we’re not sure of anything.”
