Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
E lliot spent the next day shadowing Maya Callahan. When he followed her into the conference room, he caught curious glances in his direction.
“Maya, who is this?” a man in a three-piece suit with a balding hairline and a pot belly asked as he sat down at the table.
Maya looked up from her tablet and back toward him. “This is my associate, Elliot Sawyer. He’ll be with me for the foreseeable future as we work on a special project.”
“Related to the IPO?” another man asked. The panic on his face was instantaneous.
Maya laughed. “So much for trying to be subtle. No, he’s my personal security officer. A few weird things have happened recently, and I’ve taken precautions to ensure nothing stops this offering. We’ve worked too damn hard to let anything knock us off our footing.”
“Are you in danger? Are we?” the first man asked.
“Absolutely not,” Elliot said from where he was seated. “I’m here to be seen. A physical reminder of the wealth and power Ms. Callahan wields. A deterrent to cowards who hide behind juvenile attempts to divert her attention at this critical time in the schedule.”
She turned to look at him and spoke directly to him. “Thank you, Mr. Sawyer, but I can and will speak for myself.” He nodded in deference, returning command of the room to her.
Maya turned and stared down the table of suits. “Are there any other questions that need to be addressed that don’t pertain to the tasks at hand?” She looked at each person in turn. When no one said anything, she started the meeting.
Elliot watched each person in the room. Jessica was in and out of the meeting, acting as a gopher and messenger and entering tasks as Maya assigned them. He watched as the tablet in front of Maya updated with items Jessica put into the document. The woman worked silently but efficiently. More than one person turned to her to ask questions. Jessica would glance at Maya and speak quietly in response. That gut feeling niggled again. Something was off about the woman, and he couldn’t put a finger on it. He’d keep an eye on her.
Maya Callahan was, quite frankly, a force of nature. She recalled details others had to look up and verify. People scurried to keep up with her. He often wondered what Jason King was like while working. In the secure environment of Guardian Headquarters, Elliot never had to provide security, but he couldn’t help but think Maya Callahan was a female version of Jason. There was no give in the woman. She had standards and expectations, and people who failed to meet those expectations were held accountable. Excuses were not permitted, and Elliot could see she ruffled feathers in all the meetings. She did not run her business to make friends, nor did she ridicule or scorn the people who did not meet her expectations. She stated what she wanted, when she wanted it, and waited for them to confirm they understood her expectations.
Maya worked through lunch. Jessica moved over to him during the lunchtime meeting. “You want a sandwich? I can get you one.”
He shook his head while keeping an eye on everyone in the room. “No, thank you.” He’d eat when Maya did, or he’d go without.
Jessica gave him a blank stare, then shrugged and waited until the meeting was over before exiting the conference room. Maya gathered her tablet and files and looked over her shoulder at him. “Ready?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He stood and straightened his jacket.
“Jessica, no interruptions,” Maya called over her shoulder as they walked into Maya’s office.
“I have lunch being delivered,” she told Elliot before sliding out of her heels and walking barefoot to her desk. “What did you think of the meeting just now?”
Elliot shot her a look. “As in?”
“As in, I want your evaluation of the personnel in the room.” She curled her legs under her as she sat in the executive chair behind her desk.
“Competent and engaged, for the most part. The marketing director was not informed of your requirements and was playing catch-up.”
“Those requirements went out last night. I watched Jessica type the email.” She glanced at her watch. “He’s had four hours to devise a game plan and hasn’t. This isn’t the first time this has happened. It can’t happen again.” She leaned forward and pushed a button on the phone bank on her desk. “Jessica, schedule a meeting with Mr. Folk for today at 4:45 p.m.”
“Okay. Did you order lunch? There’s a delivery man here.”
“I did. Please bring it in.”
Elliot went to the door and met Jessica. “I’m supposed to bring it in,” the woman said, and she wasn’t happy about being blocked.
He looked at her until she looked away. “I’ve got it. Thanks.” He took the bags from her and turned, shutting the door behind him.
“You don’t order your own lunch?”
“I usually have Jessica do it, but I’m capable.” She stretched in the chair. “I slept well last night. For that, I thank you.”
“I’m glad I was able to put you at ease. Are you going to fire him?” Elliot asked as he took the food over to a smaller conference table on the far side of the room.
“My marketing director? Oh, you mean my PR manager?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Security concerns. An employee dismissed for cause would be added to the list of possible people who sent the letter and gift.” He laid it out for her.
“Mr. Folk is capable, but he’s gotten comfortable and feels untouchable. I’m going to remind him he works for me. I’ll give him one more chance. He values money too much to be caught out again. And if he doesn’t, I’ve given him a second chance, which is more than most would give him.”
“The assistant seemed up to speed.” Elliot unloaded a salad and smiled when he pulled out a footlong cheesesteak sandwich. “Thank you for lunch.”
“You’re welcome. I took a shot on the cheesesteak, but the guy down the street makes the best outside of Philly, or at least, that’s what everyone says.” She went over to the table, stopping at the cabinet and retrieving water for each of them. “If you need a list of fired employees, I can have HR get that for you. I haven’t let anyone go in …” She thought for a moment. “Well, no one from management in almost three years. Mr. Folk has been going through a mid-life crisis. His wife divorced him after she caught him cheating on her with the nanny. That’s why I believe putting reality in front of him will straighten him out. Or I hope it does. He’s good when he’s present.”
“You’ve fired others, though?”
“Yes. I don’t give hire or fire authority to my section leads. I want to know who’s working for me. When they have problems, I want documented issues with what they’ve done to try to work with the employee. Then, if there’s no resolution, I’ll let people go. Most people I release are young and assume working is an option. Do you think it was someone I let go?”
Elliot shook his head. “At this point in time, I wouldn’t be inclined to think so, but I’m not excluding anyone.”
“Who would be a suspect, in your opinion?”
“Jessica.” He listed her first and without hesitation.
Maya blinked, and her jaw dropped. “What?”
“She has access, and while you’ve had success and grown, she’s remained your assistant. She found the note and the slashed tires. She’s an obvious suspect until cleared.”
Maya started to say something and then snapped her mouth shut. She shook her head. “Jessica doesn’t have a devious bone in her body. She’s loyal.”
“Of course, Ms. Callahan,” he said, smiling at her.
Maya narrowed her eyes. “I’m coming to understand you say that when you don’t agree with me.”
“I say that when discussing the issue further doesn’t benefit either of us. Evidence will either exonerate your assistant or convict her. The evidence will speak, or it won’t. In the meantime, security systems will be installed on this floor and at your apartment tomorrow.”
Maya took the top off her salad. “No cameras.”
“I have instructed the person assembling the systems of your requirements.” Which was the truth.
“Thank you.” She reached for the salad dressing at the same time he reached for it to give to her. Their hands met, and the same zing of electricity he felt last night powered up his arm and through his body. They both let go of the small container, which spilled onto the table.
“Oh, crud,” Maya said, hopping up. “I’ll get some paper towels.”
Elliot moved the bag out of the way of the spreading oil when he heard Maya’s rasped call, “Elliot!” With his weapon in hand, he was across the room and in the bathroom within seconds. Maya turned and grabbed him. He wrapped his arm around her, looking for the threat. His eyes caught on the mirror.
A picture of Maya was taped to the mirror. “Die Bitch” was printed in block letters on the mirror. The picture’s eyes had been burned out, and a knife, or a sharp object, had been jabbed through the photo at her heart.
As he held her, his eyes swept the room. There was a smear of what looked like blood on the sink, and below it was a knife, similar to the one that was in the box with the rat. He checked his six, and sure enough, behind the garbage bin was a dead rat. Mother fucker. Some deranged bastard had killed a rat in her bathroom.
He walked her out of the bathroom and closed the door behind them. He was dialing Ross Stapleton’s number.
“When was the last time you were in the bathroom?”
“Last night when I gave you the bag.” Maya shivered against him, and he held her against his chest. “I’ve got you. You’re safe, and I’m not leaving you.”
She didn’t say anything but pushed closer into him, and he held her tight. The protective caveman inside him was screaming to be released, and he wanted to let the fucker out, but he couldn’t. He’d never had that type of reaction, even when Faith had been targeted. Everything was business first. He did his job, and he did it better than anyone. Why the hell was he acting that way with Maya?
The phone connected. “Ross, Elliot. I need an investigator to collect evidence at Maya Callahan’s office immediately. We’ve had another incident.” He rattled off the address and then hung up. “Come on. You need to sit down.”
She nodded and dropped into her desk chair, dropping her head to her hands. “Why? What have I done?” The whispered words were repeated. He went over and retrieved her water bottle. He twisted the top and noticed the safety seal didn’t crack. He looked at his bottle. It had been opened, too. Darting back to the refrigerator, he checked all the bottles. Every last one of the safety seals had been broken.
“Maya, did you drink anything from the fridge today?”
She lifted her head and looked at him. “No, why?”
“The safety seals on the water bottles are broken.” He shut the fridge and walked over, lowering himself to eye level with her. “Those cameras you don’t want? They’re going to be installed. This is the second time someone has violated your office. The threats are real, and they are escalating. Do you understand?”
She nodded. “I …Why? What did I do?”
“With people like this, the world's reality doesn’t matter. What you do or don’t do doesn’t matter. It’s what they perceive you’ve done, real or not. Or someone could be systematically terrorizing you to stop your company's IPO. There are so many variables and too little information. But we will get the information and stop whoever is doing this.”
She wrapped her arms around herself. “That photo. They took it from the new website. It just went up last week.” She drew a breath and sat up straight. “This won’t stop me. I’m not going to let these threats stop the IPO.”
He knelt in front of her, and his hand moved to her cheek of its own accord. “I know, but we’re going to take measures to make sure you're safe while you're doing that, and you’re going to let me, right?”
He dropped his hand when he realized what he was doing. She shuddered out a sigh before nodding. “Yeah, sure. Of course. Whatever you need to do. Do whatever you need, but …” She stood up, and he lifted with her. She leveled her gaze on him. “No one will stop me. No one.”
He nodded and smiled at her. “That’s the attitude you need. When the people from Guardian get here, we won’t let anyone know what we’ve found. A non-reaction, do you understand?”
She nodded. “Don’t let the bully know you’re afraid.”
“Exactly. But I’ll be honest with you: it could also force his or her hand and make them reckless. A non-reaction isn’t what they’re looking for. They want to scare you, and they’ll want to know that what they’ve done has worked. You didn’t tell anyone about the rat in the box, right?”
“Right.” She nodded and then looked back toward the bathroom. “That’s why they did that?”
“It very well could be. If we don’t react today, perhaps they’ll react again. Now, can you reschedule your appointments for the next couple of hours? We’ll meet here with the investigators Ross sends over, and they’ll conduct their search, gather evidence, and leave without anyone being the wiser.”
“Yes … can I Zoom into the meetings from over there?” She pointed to the table. “I do that when I have to multi-task. If I cancel, it’ll raise flags.”
“Does Jessica have to be here for you to do that?”
“No. I can send her to the apartment for a different pair of shoes. With this traffic, it’ll take her a couple of hours to get there and return.”
“Then do that. I’ll get something to clean up the mess on the table, and we’ll set you up; then, I’ll open the door and wait for Guardian, bring them in, and close the door. As far as anyone knows, it’s just another meeting.”
“Yeah, that’s a good plan.” She reached for the intercom button. “Jessica, I’ll be Zooming into my next two meetings. Make sure the system is set up, please. Also, I need a favor. Would you please go to my apartment and get me a different pair of shoes? These are killing my feet.”
“Ah, sure. I can just go to the store and buy you a pair.”
“No, I have a pair of black flats in my closet with beading on the toes. Please get them for me.”
The woman hesitated for a moment before saying, “If you’re sure you won’t need me for the meetings.”
“I’m sure. I can manage for a couple of hours.” Maya drew a deep breath. “Please, Jessica.”
“Maya, are you okay? You sound upset.”
“I’m stressed. I have little time to get my PR campaign out to the right people and a PR manager who does not sense my urgency. Now, would you please do as I ask?”
“Do you need anything else?”
“No, I’m good, thank you.” Maya rubbed her forehead. Elliot could tell she was about to snap at her assistant but pulled herself back.
“Okay, I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
“Set up the Zoom meetings first,” Maya reminded her.
“Right. I’ll do that now.”
“Thanks.” Maya disconnected the intercom. “Do you think she could have done this? And why would she?”
Elliot stared at the woman. Her plea was in her eyes. She didn’t want her assistant to be involved. He got it, but he couldn’t exclude her. “I hope not, but I don’t know.”
Maya sighed and hung her head. “It’s going to be another long day, isn’t it?”
Elliot dropped his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently. “Unfortunately, but the difference is, you won’t be alone today.”
She looked up at him. Her eyes held a vulnerability he knew she hated to show. “I hate this. All of this, it … I don’t have a frame of reference for this. I don’t know how to work through this.”
If he wasn’t working, he’d wrap her in his arms and hold her away from all the ugliness of the situation. He’d make sure she was protected from any further danger, not because she was his assignment, but because he wanted her to be his. He pushed that unwanted feeling down deep and pushed the reset button. “I know how to work through it. I’m here, and I won’t leave you to deal with this by yourself. You understand that, right? They’ll have to come through me to hurt you, and that will not happen.” He stared at her until he knew what he’d said had registered. She nodded.
“Then, let’s get on with the day. The goal is to act like this didn’t happen.”
She nodded. “Nothing happened.” She put her hand over his, which still rested on her shoulder. “Nothing happened.” She walked away, and he dropped his hand, which was bullshit. Something had just happened, hadn’t it? Not just in the case but between them. She’d let him see her vulnerable, frightened, and weak. How many people had seen her with her defenses down?