Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
A startling scene awaited me at work the next morning. The door to Neil’s office was wide open, and it looked like a tornado had struck the room. Every piece of furniture had been moved and upturned. The light fittings had been taken down. The covers stripped from the couch cushions, the light shades off the lamps, and plants ripped from their pots. Even the dog stuffed animal had been torn open and the stuffing ripped out.
I looked around, bewildered. “What in the name of?—”
Neil rose from behind his desk. His eyes drilled into me as he straightened, a scathing look on his face.
“What happened here?” I sidestepped scattered objects on the floor as I approached him. “Did your office get burgled or something?”
“No.”
“Then what?—”
“I was looking for something.”
“Looking? You tore up your whole office!”
“I did what was required.”
I scoffed. “How could this be required? If you lost something, why would it be inside a couch cushion or a light fitting?”
The vein on Neil’s forehead throbbed. “I didn’t lose something. Someone hid something in my office.”
“Why would anyone do that?”
“I got thinking last night. Daniel said something yesterday that he couldn’t have known unless he had insight into my private conversations. I began to suspect he may have had my office bugged.”
I shook my head. “Bugged? That sounds like something out of a movie. Normal people don’t just go around planting bugs and spying on each other.”
“If you think that’s abnormal, you know nothing of what Daniel Ling and his associates are capable of.”
“All I know is what you told me about him.” I crossed my arms. “So, did you find a bug, then?”
“I did.”
Words escaped me. This was surreal.
Neil strode to the door.
“What are you going to do?” I asked, following him.
“I’ll take care of it.”
“I can help you clean up?—”
“That won’t be necessary.”
Neil shut us out of his office and locked the door. He dropped the key into the inner pocket of his suit jacket.
Why did I get the feeling he was mad at me? He couldn’t think I had something to do with this… could he?
He was just about to leave the room.
“Neil,” I said.
He bristled as he turned to face me.
“Who do you think did this to you?” I asked.
He swallowed hard, eyes on me. He didn’t even need to say it. The condemnatory look he gave me told me everything I needed to know.
“You think it was me, don’t you?” I stammered.
“Well, was it?”
I was too aghast to respond.
“Did you do it, Amelia?” Neil pressed. “Are you working for Daniel Ling?”
“Are you serious right now? I hadn’t even met the man until yesterday afternoon. How could I be working for him?”
“You’re smart, and you’re capable of deceit. Who else has such easy access to my office? I’ve caught you in there before, when you shouldn’t have been.”
“That was…”
“Hmm?”
“Completely unrelated.”
“If you say so.”
“I can’t believe this! You have no grounds to accuse me of anything.”
Neil rolled his eyes. My blood boiled.
“Cancel all of my appointments for the rest of the day,” he said.
“Where are you going?”
“No more questions.”
With that, he stalked away, leaving me to stew in my indignation.
Neil didn’t return all day, nor did he respond to any of my emails, calls, or text messages. I asked James where he went, but he was just as clueless as I was.
My irritation had yet to fade by the time I left the office after work. Our confrontation looped in my head all the way to Cat Dad’s apartment.
That jerk! How could he think I’d do that to him, after all the progress we’ve made?
Standing in Cat Dad’s bathroom, I stripped out of my work clothes and my bra, and changed into the jeans and t-shirt I had brought with me. I put my headphones on and cranked some music up to drown out my thoughts. Vacuum cleaner in my grip, I channelled my fury into cleaning the floor. The cats scurried as far away as they could.
By the time I had vacuumed every inch of the apartment, my rage had subsided. Now, I just felt hurt. How could Neil think I would betray him like that? I thought we were on the same page. I thought…
I don’t know what I thought.
To lift my spirits, I put some upbeat music on and sang my heart out as I mopped the kitchen floor. The music was so loud, and I was so lost in it, that I didn’t hear the door open. I didn’t hear a person enter the room. I was singing, shaking my butt, mopping. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him.
I shrieked.