Kiss A Ginger Day: A steamy workplace romantic comedy

Chapter 13

Mondays were usually a zoo. Add a burglary and Alice didn’t know what she would encounter.

The night before, Tricia had texted to say the building’s alarm went off at 10:38 p.m. The cameras caught a guy in a hooded sweatshirt and jeans running through the parking lot, his backpack bumping on his back. He held something under his arm—the petty cash box, which Alice had stored in her locked desk drawer.

Police took fingerprints. Stolen items were cataloged. The thief had snatched really odd things: Roger’s fountain pen, a crystal paperweight, the Keurig machine, and all the K-cups, including the disgusting blueberry cobbler coffee that only Tricia liked. Alice would have willingly given the guy those if he’d only left the French roast and Samuel’s special Kona blend. Whoever the thief was, he was about to be the most hated human at Edison Tech. No caffeine at Edison could start a war.

As soon as Alice and Patty stepped off the elevator, they both scanned the office. It was empty, but it didn’t look any different from yesterday, except for the poor fig tree by the elevator doors, now on its side, a scattering of dirt over the gray carpet.

The air felt different, though. A hush hung in the air like smoke. Being burgled would change the mood, but the quiet was oppressive.

“Where is everyone?” she whispered to Patty, who she’d picked up again that morning because her car was in the shop. “You know Roger didn’t give anyone the day off.” He never did.

Patty shrugged. “Maybe Harrison brought the good pastries from the German deli?”

That would send anyone running to their tiny kitchen, turning it into the Thunderdome, especially because there’d be no coffee unless someone ran out for it. She couldn’t imagine the whole office would be at the Coffee Monkey café down the street at once.

Or maybe everyone was in one of Roger’s sudden all-staff meetings.

That thought must have dawned on both her and Patty at the same time. They slowly blinked at one another. Without another word, they scooted toward the conference room. Sure enough, Roger was giving one of his morning “prep talks.” The fact that he used the wrong word for “pep talk” was apropos because there was nothing motivating about his impromptu gatherings.

The room was fairly crowded; though the O’Flannerys were conspicuously missing. Other than pastries from the German deli, nothing else brought workers to a meeting faster than getting all the juicy details of something like an office burglary.

Theodore sat back, his ankle on his knee, rocking back and forth in his chair, listening intently to Roger. Tricia sat next to Theodore, her gaze roaming Theodore from head to foot.

His penetrating blue eyes flicked up to Alice once, then returned to Roger. Not even giving her a second glance.

She’d called him right after she got the downlow from Patty. Alice let him in on what happened, and he seemed oddly nonplussed about the whole matter. They didn’t talk long. Probably for the best because it was time to work, not imagine filthy sexual things that still crowded her mind.

She tried hard to concentrate on Roger”s talk instead of remembering Theodore”s words last night. Imagining myself inside you right now is fucking fantastic.

Her thighs squeezed together as if that would stem her rising lust just from being near him again.

Alice tried hard to concentrate on Roger’s voice. Instead, the expected words from him floated into one ear and out the other. We’re handling things with the authorities. If anything seems suspicious, like you’re missing anything, anything at all, report it to me. I’m really going to miss that fountain pen.

Low chuckles filled the room at his attempt at humor.

Her mind fixated on trying to remember how much money was in the stolen petty cash box and when the Twins might show up. They’d been warned they were coming again. In fact, she was surprised Roger wasn’t talking about that.

Roger clapped his hands together and rubbed them. “All right, everyone back to work. We’ve got a bottom line to watch.” He then proceeded to watch Janie’s perky little bottom sway its way to the door. Yep. She’d been ID’d to be his Miss January, all right. She made a mental note: Check in on Janie. Make sure she was okay with Roger’s attention.

“What’d we miss?” Patty asked Harrison as soon as he got closer.

Alice didn’t have time to wait for his answer because Roger was next to her in seconds. “Alice? My office, please?”

Once inside Roger’s office, he gently closed the door behind them. “You were late again.”

Jesus. “I was here until nine last night. With Suzy.”

Surprise flashed across his eyes. He didn’t know. Then again, when had he ever stayed past 5:30 p.m.?

He cleared his throat. “Well, you heard about the break-in. The petty cash box was in your office.”

“Locked,” she reminded him.

“Of course. Not a big deal. A few hundred dollars?—”

“Thousands.” She didn’t know the exact amount, but it was way more than a few hundred bucks.

He stilled and blinked at her. Another surprise to him?

It was her turn to clear her throat. “Six thousand four hundred on my last count.” She hadn’t paid much attention to it lately. “You’d asked me to keep about ten grand on hand, so?—”

“I did, did I?” His tone was rather accusatory. “I don’t remember that.”

How could he forget? He was always dipping into the fund. “You said for emergencies. Suddenly needing a new printer or?—”

“All right. All right.” He glanced at his watch. It looked new. What happened to the Rolex? Though that one looked equally expensive. “Suzy and Samuel will be here soon. Now, we need a united front on this thing.”

He couldn’t be serious. They certainly weren’t united yesterday. “On?”

“Let’s say the petty cash was taken. But it was a minor amount.”

“Oo-kay.” It wasn’t minor. Most businesses kept less than a thousand on hand, but Roger was in love with cash, so she’d pushed his odd request out of her mind long ago. She had more pressing matters to attend to.

“And about that asset management plan, I’m afraid I’ll have to move that up on you.”

“You’ll have it on your desk by end of day.”

His chin jutted backward. “That soon?”

“Suzy gave me a template, and?—”

“You and Suzy are getting awfully chummy. Theodore, too, I noticed.”

“Yes, Suzy has been great,” she agreed, even though one solo meeting with the woman would hardly constitute best pals. But she would soak up every word Suzy O’Flannery said while she spent time with her. As for Theodore, she wouldn’t go there with him.

“I care about your career. Just be careful. Wouldn’t want you to?—”

“Get ahead of my skis?”

He leaned down. “Get played.”

Before she could respond, the door cracked open and a female voice asked, “How much was taken?”

Alice nearly jumped out of her skin. Suzy O’Flannery stood in her doorway. Her mouth was set in a hard line, and her eyes lasered in on Roger.

Roger, who also had been startled, recovered well. “Not much in the way of petty cash, if that’s what you’re asking. A few trinkets. Likely a street kid, wanting money for drugs.”

“Hmmm, you could be right. Though to go to all the trouble of going up to the eighteenth floor?” She glanced around behind her. “To this office? No other tenants were burgled?”

“I’m not certain,” he said cautiously.

Another long hmm came out of Suzy. “Alice, what say you and I continue where we left off last night. Roger, Samuel is looking for you.”

So much fear filled Roger’s face, Alice was embarrassed for him. But her sympathy for him had a definite limit. He once again made Alice question where the hell she stood at the company. She could bring it up with Suzy, but then she might look desperate. Then again, she wasn’t about to go down for Roger’s mismanagement. She’d figure out how to share the real amount of the petty cash to Suzy somehow.

As for Roger bringing up Theodore, she had nothing to be ashamed of. They were merely exploring, and she could separate work from pleasure. No problem.