Chapter 21 #2
“Yes, sir,” Daniela said with a mock salute, though she knew everything he said was right.
Any private investigator worth her salt would know how to capitalize on the prime opportunity she’d been given to infiltrate the enemy camp and scout his artillery.
For three years, Daniela had been imploring her brothers to take her more seriously by entrusting her with big cases.
Now was her chance to prove herself, to show once and for all that she did have what it took to be an equal partner in the detective agency.
So why wasn’t she excited?
You know why, her embattled conscience reminded her.
“Anyway, the most important thing is that you have a foot in the door,” Kenneth said. “My guess is that it won’t be long now before Caleb pours out his heart to you, giving you the information we need to nail his old man and collect the rest of our payment from Philbin.”
Daniela bristled at her brother’s cocksure tone. “What if I don’t learn anything incriminating from Caleb?” she challenged. “For that matter, what if there’s nothing incriminating to learn? What if this is all one big wild-goose chase?”
Kenneth gave her a look that told her she should know better.
“Hoyt Philbin isn’t the kind of man who forks over large sums of money for wild-goose chases.
And we’re all aware of how Crandall Thorne earned his fortune—by defending mobsters and corrupt labor union bosses who’d stop at nothing to keep from getting caught.
We all know Thorne is guilty of something.
It’s our job to find out what.” His deep voice softened to an urgent plea.
“We’re counting on you, Daniela. Don’t lose sight of the goal—it’s within your reach. ”
Daniela held up a hand. “All right, Kenneth. Enough with the lecturing. A lot’s riding on my shoulders. I get it, okay?”
He chuckled, unfazed by her ire. “Just making sure we have an understanding. I’m trying to run a business here.”
“Which reminds me,” Daniela interjected dryly. “When are you guys planning to hire another secretary?”
Kenneth and Noah traded pained looks.
“I had to fire Carole this afternoon,” Noah sullenly informed her. “The temp agency is sending someone over tomorrow.”
“I have a better idea,” Daniela said. “Why don’t we hire Janie?”
Kenneth frowned. “Janie who?”
“Janie Roarke. Your wife.”
“What?”
“I think Janie could help us out tremendously,” Daniela quickly forged ahead. “She’s smart as a whip, efficient, super organized. We all know she’s more than qualified for the position—”
“Janie’s not in the market for a job,” Kenneth said through gritted teeth.
“Why not?” Daniela demanded.
“Because she already has a job—staying home and taking care of our children.”
“Oh, come on, Kenny. We both know the twins don’t need Janie around half as much as they used to.”
Kenneth scowled. “Since when are you an expert on what my kids need? Last I checked, you were a single woman with zero children.”
Daniela ignored the little dig. “Whether or not you’re aware of it, Kenneth,” she said with forced calm, “your wife desperately needs an outlet. If you don’t believe me, just ask her how excited she was to take care of Mom when she was sick, simply because it gave her something productive to do while the kids were in school. ”
A muscle ticked in Kenneth’s tightly clenched jaw. “Did Janie put you up to this?”
“No,” Daniela lied without batting an eye.
Beside her, Noah fought to keep a grin off his face.
“I’ve given this a lot of thought, and I think Janie could be the perfect solution to our secretarial problems. If you’re worried about having to put KJ and Lourdes in aftercare, I’m sure Janie’s parents could pick them up from school and keep them until Janie gets off from work.
They’d probably jump at the chance to spend more time with their grandchildren, since they’re always complaining that they don’t see the twins often enough. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.”
“Not necessarily,” Kenneth said darkly. “My wife didn’t earn an MBA from the Wharton School of Business to become a secretary—family business or not.”
“With all due respect,” Daniela murmured, “she’s not exactly putting her MBA to good use now, is she?”
Kenneth’s eyes flashed with anger, but he didn’t disagree with her.
“I’m sure Janie doesn’t care,” Daniela pressed on, sensing victory, “but if it’ll make you feel better, we can change the job title to office manager or executive assistant, or whatever you prefer.
Though personally I see nothing wrong with the current title.
Competent, hardworking secretaries are the backbone of any organization, and they deserve our respect and appreciation.
But I digress.” She looked to Noah for support.
“Don’t you think Janie would be perfect for us? ”
Noah chuckled dryly. “Put it this way. I don’t think Janie could do any worse than the secretaries we’ve had up until now.”
Kenneth glared at him. “Are you crazy? My wife could run circles around those useless airheads.”
“Wonderful! Then it’s all settled,” Daniela declared, slapping the arm of her chair for emphasis and then rising to her feet, deciding it was best to leave before her brother changed his mind about cooperating.
“You can offer Janie the job tonight when you go home. And, by all means, please feel free to take credit for the idea when you speak to her.”
Kenneth scowled. “I’m not taking credit for an idea I think is stupid.”
Daniela paused in the doorway, her lips pursed thoughtfully. “Try to keep that opinion to yourself when you present the offer to Janie tonight,” she suggested, her tone mild.
Subtle challenge simmered in the eyes that stared back at her. “Are you giving me instructions on how to speak to my wife, Daniela?” Kenneth tersely inquired.
“I wouldn’t dare,” she answered, choosing her words carefully.
“But let me give you some food for thought, dear brother. If you try to talk Janie out of accepting the position, I might find a way—accidentally, of course—to tank the interview with Crandall Thorne tomorrow night. Oh, I’d try my best to make a good impression on the man, but you just never know what one might do in a pressure-cooker situation like that.
I might chew with my mouth open, or give unintelligible answers to his questions, or make bad lawyer jokes or—oh, I don’t know—call him an unscrupulous pig to his face. Accidentally, of course.”
Kenneth’s expression darkened. “You wouldn’t.”
Daniela sighed dramatically. “Like I said, you just never know.” She smiled sweetly at her eldest brother, who appeared more than ready to strangle her.
“Be sure to tell Janie I said congratulations on the new job. Hopefully she can start as early as tomorrow. I’ll let you two work out the logistics.
” She glanced down at her watch, then tapped a manicured fingernail against the glass face.
“If you fellas would kindly excuse me, I have to get ready for my study group meeting. One of my classmates is treating us all to dinner at a nice restaurant, so I want to change into something more appropriate. Toodles.”
With that she turned on her heel and sailed out of the office. As she reached the empty reception area, she heard Noah’s sudden bark of laughter.
She grinned and strolled out of the building, whistling cheerfully. Might as well take her wins where she could get them.