AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We’re past it. Right? Now we’re coming up with a solution.”
“So fire Viola and keep an eye on IT. Back to business.” I pull my hand away.
He sits back in his chair. “We don’t have a solid case against her. She brought the problem to me, but I’m not sure she caused it, even though we know there are some circumstances that would point to her.”
I leap from my chair. “You believed me on the island! We figured out a timeline, why she might have wanted me out of the way. You said she even came to your room!”
Rhett stands with me. “Bailey, I believe you. But none of that is actionable. I can’t fire her over any of that. I need to show that she did more than bring me the problem. Without the logs, I can’t do that.”
“You were happy to firemewithout logs.”
He sits back down. “I was. I did. You’re right.”
I sit down, too. “There was more to it. You know that. I know it now. And I’m saying there is more to this than requisitions. It’s personal.”
Rhett presses his thumbs into his forehead. “I know.”
“Have you told Dougherty yet? Is this something you have to report? There’s not any money lost, so maybe you don’t.”
“I haven’t. And thank you for pointing that out. Without a budget issue, maybe it’s simply an HR matter.”
“Okay.” The phone buzzes. I need to get it. I head for the door. “Viola isn’t here today. If she’s still gone tomorrow, I’ll let HR know they have an issue to handle. They can deal with it. Maybe this will solve itself.”
“That would be nice.”
But as I head back to my desk, I wonder what other unsavory dealings might be going on at Dougherty. Trouble in IT. Sarah. Mysterious Dougherty himself.
There’s a lot we don’t know.
36
RHETT
On Wednesday morning, I leave yet another message for Uncle Sherman. He hasn’t responded to anything I sent him yesterday.
I’m not even sure what to say at this point. Someone tried to fool me into firing my assistant? Maybe a woman who wants my attention?
This sounds ridiculous, and I’m glad he hasn’t been available.
Sarah stops by my office in late morning and sits in the chair on the opposite side of my desk. It’s unusual for her to come here unscheduled.
“What’s going on?” I ask, rapidly finishing out the line I was typing.
“There’s too much unrest for my liking.”
I spin away from my monitor. “What do you mean?”
She sits tall in the chair, stiff in a dark green suit. “Hammond found Luke going through old logs and demanded to know what he was doing. Was that you?”
“Hammond went to you with it?”
Sarah sips from a coffee mug that reads, “If this is full, you’re in danger.”
Only after a pause long enough to raise my annoyance does she finally say, “Hammond stopped by your office. Which was locked. And you seemed…occupied.” Her gaze briefly slides to the door, where Bailey sits outside.
My neck flares with heat. It’s happening. Everything I thought would go down. And the thing is, I haven’t laid a hand on Bailey today. Or yesterday afternoon. He must have come during my conference call with a client.
My reputation is shot. One damn cruise.
