Midnight’s Queen (Stroke of Midnight #3)

Chapter 36

“You’re out early this morning, Ms. Tremaine,” the doorman said as Portia exited the building.

“Getting an early start today, Sam.” She and Aleks had gotten a couple of hours of sleep curled together on the couch, but then he’d needed to leave to get back to his hotel with no one being the wiser. After she’d ushered him down the back stairs and waited for his all-clear, she’d taken a long, leisurely shower.

“Do you need your car, Ms. Tremaine?”

She flashed him a bright smile. “No, it’s nice enough out that I think I’ll walk.”

“It’s a good day for it—no newsies,” he said with a nod and a smile.

Any day without newsies was a good one and lately they’d left her alone. She’d worried that would change with the drone photo, but thankfully it had been too blurry to gain much traction.

“They’re covering a running gun battle down by the docks,” he added.

“Oh,” she said. The docks existed as sort of a no man’s land between the corporations like the Tremaine Company and the gangs who had carved out their criminal empires on the edges of the city. “Thank you for the heads-up.”

“You’re welcome, Ms. Tremaine. You have a nice day.”

“You too, Sam.”

The sun was up, but the morning still had a chill. It would likely burn off, so Portia had dressed in layers. She finished her outfit with her black leather jacket and chunky black leather boots. She looked good and she felt good. Confident. Like a bad ass.

Quite the difference from the last time she’d woken in Aleks’s arms.

Taking off at a brisk pace, she glanced up, checking for drones, just in case they weren’t all tracking the shootout.

With the skies above her clear of spies, she pulled out her phone and selected a number from her contact list. When it rang several times and kicked her to voicemail, she dialed again.

“Someone better be fucking dead,” Ash growled on the other end after several more rings.

“Good morning to you too, Ash,” she said cheerily.

“Portia? What’s wrong? Why the fuck are you calling me at... whatever time it is?”

“Nothing’s wrong. I need you to look into something for me. Shouldn’t you be up and working by now anyway?”

“I live in a bar, Portia. We’ve just barely gone to bed.”

Oops. She should probably feel bad about waking him up, but nothing was going to bring down her mood today.

“I need your help. Just write this down and then you can go back to sleep.”

“Does it have to do with Vyne?” Ash asked.

Portia looked around again. She didn’t need anyone to overhear that word in connection with her company. “No. It’s potentially another problem project my father had his hands in.”

“Can’t help you then. We’re focusing on Vyne. Send it to Mendez. Or give it to your new frie-eend,” he singsonged.

Portia sighed. “I can’t. It’s... Never mind. It’s a long story.”

“Send it to Mendez. And Portia, you might want to think about moving him out of cybersecurity. He’s almost as good as me.” With that he hung up.

Moments later, her phone buzzed with Mendez’s contact info.

She bit her lip. This wasn’t really something she wanted to put in writing. She’d call him to her office when she got there.

When Portia entered the Tremaine Corporation lobby, she sensed the difference immediately. A tension hung in the air, one that was noticeable because it had been gone for months. Her father had been here and had somehow done this. The question was, how much damage had he managed to do in the few hours head start he had?

Though her happy mood deflated like a balloon, she kept a smile on her face. No need to preemptively comply with any changes he’d made. She was the CEO of the company, she had control, and she’d stay that way, come hell or high water.

As she crossed the lobby, she studied the employees. Very few dared to meet her gaze, but in the few that did, she found a range of emotions. Respect. Fear. Pity.

The last one pissed her off. It told her that some employees thought she would be—could be—so easily removed.

Sonofabitch.

Channeling calm, projecting vibes that said she had no problems, she crossed to the executive elevator.

“Good morning, Ms. Tremaine,” the guard said.

“Good morning.” Portia smiled and studied him. His gaze was respectful. Turning Dizzie’s words over in her head, she wondered if he was one of the people who just wanted to do their job and live their life.

She pressed her palm against the scanner, silently praying that her access hadn’t been revoked between late last night and this morning.

It flashed green and the elevator doors opened.

Relieved, she released the breath she’d been holding. One obstacle down. Who knew how many more before this whole father problem was resolved.

Although she and the others had roughed out a plan last night, she still wasn’t sure it would work. No matter how many changes Ash made to the system, how many access points he blocked, her father had friends in both high and low places. More than she’d ever realized.

That was one lesson he’d neglected to pass on.

Although she was alone in the elevator, there was no way to tell who might be watching her, so she didn’t dare do anything but smile and check her phone. She pulled up a local news site, careful not to expose anything important or damning to the cameras.

Last night they’d discussed a number of ideas on how to deal with her father, but no matter how good any of them sounded, Portia only saw a few ways this situation could end.

The easy way—she let her father return to his role as CEO and everything continued on the way it always had.

The hard way—where she battled her father and somehow won. She laughed softly. She had no idea how to make that happen.

Or the nuclear way—she destroyed the entire company before he could get his hands on it again.

In the dark of the night, as she’d sat on the couch and stroked Aleks’s hair, she’d wondered if that last idea was the best one. She was coming to understand how much this company had taken from her and from so many other people.

If only she could start over, build something true. Something that didn’t carry the taint of her father and his corruption.

The elevator dinged her arrival and she shoved her phone into her jacket pocket. There was no need to decide just yet, but the day was coming. She could feel it.