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Veronica picked up right away. “Good morning, Liam Quigley’s office.”
“Veronica,” I said. “I was just calling to see if Josh was in yet.”
“Yes, he went to get a cup of coffee. He should be right back. Would you like me to have him call you?”
I looked up the side of our building, visualizing Josh fixing his morning cappuccino. “No thanks. I’ll call back in a bit.” I hung up and turned to Agent Dixon. “We’re a go.”
The two agents clad in navy windbreakers with FBI in large yellow letters on their backs followed me into the building. The three of us made quite a spectacle traversing the lobby to the elevators.
After a quick ride, the elevator doors opened, and I led them out.
“At the desk right there.” I pointed out our mole.
The lead agent, Dixon, strode up, with his short companion following.
I stood back and watched from beside the elevator.
“Veronica Feibush,” Dixon said loudly. “You are under arrest for trade secret theft and conspiracy. Please stand up and put your hands behind your back.”
Her jaw dropped.
“Stand up, please,” Dixon repeated.
This time she complied, her mouth a thin line as she stared daggers in my direction.
What could she possibly be angry at me about?She had betrayed me, not the other way around.
Agent Parsons rounded the desk and placed handcuffs on Veronica. She pulled out a card and began reading her Miranda rights, finishing up with, “Do you understand these rights as I have explained them to you?”
The blood had drained from Veronica’s face, and a feeble “Yes” was all she said.
By now, the spectacle had drawn dozens of cubicle denizens out to watch the boss’s personal assistant get arrested, humiliated, and hauled off to jail. Josh was in the gathered group, looking as surprised as the rest.
Veronica’s eyes were now downcast, avoiding eye contact with any of them.
As I had racked my brain to come up with a candidate for the mole, a few names had come to mind, but never hers. It showed how easily I could be fooled.
I’d avoided my office as much as possible since I’d found out. It had been a difficult week, resisting the urge to confront her and find out why. Finding out thewhywould have to wait.
She shot me a scowl as the agents led her past and into the elevator.
I didn’t join them. This evening, I would catch the news footage of the perp walk downstairs. It would add some spice to the newscast, and we’d invited a reporter from the business journal as well. I would also enjoy reviewing that coverage. I wanted everyone in town to know the cost of crossing me: humiliation and cuffs.
When Nick had called to reveal her as my mole, I’d considered everything from egging her house to slashing her tires. Luckily, he had talked me down off that particular ledge and convinced me to turn her in to the feds. Sweet revenge.
With the elevator doors now closed, I walked toward my office. “Okay, the show’s over. We can get back to work now.”
A multitude of whispered and mumbled reactions passed among them as the group broke up and returned to their cubicles and offices. This was certain to be the main topic of lunchtime conversation for at least a week.
Josh followed me into my office and closed the door. “You didn’t tell me about this.”
I took my seat behind the desk. “I didn’t tell anybody, not a soul.”
He took his normal chair. “What’s the arrest for?”
I leaned back. “She’s been passing information to Winterbourne. That’s how they’ve been stealing our deals.”
His brows shot up. “No,” he said slowly. Then he nodded. “Now it makes sense.” His eyes narrowed as he contemplated his coffee cup. “Why didn’t you tellme?”
