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Maybe deep in her heart, she knows Gavin is innocent, too. Maybe she wants to help him, too.
I use the piece of paper as a guide and make my way to Owen’s office. The door is closed but not locked. I look around before opening it, then slip in and quickly close it behind me. As soon as I’m in, I see the laptop on top of the desk. It’s on. As I run towards it, I’m hoping that it isn’t locked. But it is.
I frown. I’m not giving up, though. Fiona said Owen always writes down his password, so it should be somewhere around here.
I open the topmost drawer of the desk, hoping to find a pad of Post-its with something scribbled on the first sheet, or a small notebook. None. I open the second. None either. I go to the third. This one has only one item in it- a copy of Business Insider that has Gavin on the cover.
What?
I pick up the magazine and realize that it’s the edition that features the year’s hottest businessmen- and Gavin is at number one.
Amazing.
I quickly flip through the pages and see a few pictures of him in a suit, some with handwritten notes. Owen’s? Too bad I can’t read them.
There are notes on the pictures of the other men on the list, too, making me scowl. Don’t tell me he’s planning to bring down all these men so that he can be more successful than they are.
But if so, what better place to start than the top?
I put the magazine back. I’m more convinced than ever that Owen framed Gavin, but I still have to find proof.
Since the drawers are empty, I search the surface of the desk. Silly me. Shouldn’t I have searched that first?
I lift each paperweight one by one. The last one is the heaviest of them all.
I stare at it. What is this? It looks like a golden… penis.
“It is what you think it is,” a voice breaks into my thoughts.
I look up to see Owen standing by the doorway- not the one I went through but another one between two shelves. A secret doorway?
Blood drains from my face as my heart pounds in fear at the knowledge that I’ve been caught. I put the penis paperweight down on the desk.
“I…”
“It’s an amulet I got in Thailand,” Owen says as he walks towards me. “Though I believe it originated in India. A symbol of Shiva, the destroyer, and also an amulet.”
I step away from his desk and look around. I’m not really listening. I’m thinking of a way to escape.
There must be some way…
“Trying to look for a weapon to use against me, hmm?” Owen asks me. “That won’t work this time.”
He lifts his hand and I see that he’s holding a gun in it. He points it at me and a knot forms in my throat.
I swallow and try to keep my voice steady. “Are you going to kill me?”
Owen shrugs.
At least he’s not sure he wants to. Maybe if I’m careful, he’ll let me go free.
“I know you’re no murderer,” I tell him.
He lifts an eyebrow. “No?”
“I think you might know, though, who’s trying to frame Gavin.”
His eyebrows crease. “You think Gavin is being framed?”
I nod. “Surely a man as intelligent as you must know it, too.”
He snorts. “Flattery will get you nowhere, woman.”
“I just wanted to see the e-mail Gavin supposedly sent you,” I tell him. “So that I can find some clue as to who sent it.”
Owen touches his chin. “I see.”
He seems to believe me. Or so I think until he starts walking towards me. I back myself against a wall. Owen stands in front of me and presses the barrel of the gun between my breasts. A whimper escapes my lips.
“And what makes you think I’m no murderer, hmm?” he asks me as he looks into my eyes.
I look away. His face is so close to mine, though, that I can feel his breath washing over me. The smell of perfume drifts into my nostrils.
Perfume?
He touches my cheek. The sensation of his fingers against my skin makes my stomach churn.
“Even if I’m not, why would I help you?”
“Because I thought you and Gavin were friends,” I manage to say.
To my relief, he steps away. The barrel of the gun moves away from my chest and I can breathe again.
“Is that what he told you?”
“Yes,” I lie.
That seems to be what he wants to think.
“He didn’t send you that threat,” I say. “Did you really think he would? Why would he threaten you when he thinks of you as his friend?”
Owen touches his chin.
“If you’re really his friend, help me,” I tell him.
For a moment, he looks like he might give in. But then he gives me a grin that sends chills down my spine as he presses the barrel of the gun against my chest once more.
