Chapter 8
Detective Controls
Sara
I finish the paperwork, but Dante hasn’t come back to check on me. I could go find him. His office is probably close. Instead, I open the drawer and put the pen back.
Fuck it. This is Tom’s desk. I open the drawer more and rummage through of various office supplies.
A couple of blank Post-it Note pads. I grab a pencil and try the whole rub on the pad to see what was written on it thing, but come up with nothing.
That’s all I get, nothing that tells me what he was working on or who he was working for.
I open another drawer and shift through the contents. Nothing stands out though. When I pull out another drawer, a piece of folded paper flutters to the floor. I glance up at the open door to see if anyone else is seeing this, but I’m still alone.
Closing the drawer, I pick up the paper.
I unfold it and lay it on the desk. There’s a logo on the note that has “VV” in it.
Then someone with really girly handwriting has a bunch of numbers in a column with a completely wrong total on it.
My brother’s sharp handwriting totals the column correctly beside it.
I bite my lip. What if this is a clue? What if Tom just ran off with someone who’s terrible at math? Oh, Mom would be so mad. She’s been after Tom to go out with respectable women from good families. Yeah, Tom just blows her off, meaning Mom focuses on only me for setups.
I look at the note again and the logo.
Or maybe VV is the business he was working on that the guys can’t figure out.
Fuck it. I grab the paper and step out of Tom’s office to look around. The doors to the other offices are closed, but the conference room at the end has a window and I can see Finn in there.
Finn will know what to do with this. I walk over to the conference room and push open the door.
“I found something weird in Tom’s desk.” I hold the paper up and then look at the three faces staring at me in disbelief.
“Can we call you back, Mark?” Finn says slowly.
A voice comes from the computer. “Sure.”
Oops. My cheeks flush, but this is important. This is about Tom. Finn closes the laptop and leans back. He raises an eyebrow and smirks at me. I haven’t seen him yet today. Fuck, he looks good in a suit.
My panties grow damp from just the heat in his green eyes at his slow perusal of my outfit, so I turn and find Dante’s cool eyes just watching me, like he did in my bedroom while he stroked his cock. That’s not safe either.
Finally, my gaze rests on Wyatt. He scowls at me, annoyed that I interrupted whatever meeting they were having. Yeah, that will do it.
“This fell out of Tom’s desk.” I hold it up. “It wasn’t in a drawer. Maybe this company has something to do with why he disappeared.”
Leaning over the table. I open the note and spread it in front of them. I point to the numbers someone else wrote. “That’s not Tom’s handwriting. But that logo has to represent something. Especially with Tom’s notes.”
I glance up and catch Wyatt’s eyes looking not at my face. When I tip my head to look, I notice the gaping in my dress, showing my cleavage. I lift my eyebrow and meet his dark eyes. His face is expressionless, but I narrow my eyes at him.
They’re boobs. And I have nice ones, so I guess any guy would look. I ignore the little happy dance happening in my head that at least my breasts can capture Wyatt’s attention.
“Do any of you know what VV stands for?” I straighten and cross my arms while my gaze moves between all of them.
Dante stands and I swallow because, fuck, he’s tall and it’s easier to talk to him when he’s just a sitting giant. “Let’s go, pipsqueak.”
I back up a step and tip my chin stubbornly. “This is about Tom. I need to find out what he’s running from.”
“You need to learn how to knock on doors.” Dante closes in on me and I move around behind Finn. We’ve played this game a hundred times, but I’m done with it. I’m done with being ushered off to the side.
“No, we need to figure out what Tom’s worried about. For all we know, the company he was working for is this VV. I mean obviously whoever added these numbers needs help.” I grab the chair next to Finn and hold it in front of me to block Dante from getting closer.
“We have work to do.” Dante points to the computer. “We have a business to run. We can’t sit around and play detective with you all day, pipsqueak.”
I purse my lips. “I’m here for a job. Not just to fill out paperwork all day, Dante. It’s not my fault you put me in Tom’s office and left me there to rot.”
“Tom’s the one who hired you.” Dante straightens and his cool eyes flare with that heat he showed me yesterday.
My insides warm, but I’m not giving in. “Tom’s not here. This should be the most important thing. Making sure Tom’s just doing a fucking walkabout and that he’s worried about nothing. I don’t know about you, but Tom has never in his life told me to seek any of you out. So why now?”
“Maybe because he knows what a huge pain in the ass you can be.” Dante’s voice is loud. His words strike me in the chest. “Maybe he left so he wouldn’t have to put up with you.”
I actually step back like he hit me. Tears well in my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. My lip trembles. I blink a few times and draw in a breath. Dante doesn’t yell at me.
His eyes soften. “Sara—”
“No.” I straighten and move to escape. “Clearly the only one who wanted me here was Tom.”
“Flower...” Finn begins to rise, but I make it to the door.
“I’m sorry I interrupted your meeting. It won’t happen again.”
Wyatt stands, but I’m already out the door and shutting it. I make it to Tom’s office and lock the door behind me. My heart pounds so hard I put my hand over it to keep it in my chest. A tear slips from my eye, but I brush it away.
Fuck, I hate it when my emotions get in the way. This is supposed to be a job. I wouldn’t have done that anywhere else but here. Dante was right. I should have knocked and waited, but this isn’t a normal work environment for me.
I’ve known these guys practically all my life. Jerking forward, I grab a tissue from the box and dab at my eyes. They want me to sit in here like a good little girl. Fine.
Drawing in a breath, I walk over to the door, unlock it, and open it a crack. At noon, I’m going to lunch. Maybe I’ll see if Drew can meet me. It’d be nice to see a friendly face. Someone who actually wants to see me.
My heart is slowing as I sit behind Tom’s desk and pull out my phone.
Me:
Having a shit morning. Want to meet me for lunch?
Drew:
What time is your lunch break?
Honestly, I don’t know and don’t care what they say it is.
Me:
Noon
Drew:
I’ll swing by your office to pick you up
My cheeks flush as I look up at the door. None of them bothered to check on me. They probably went right back to work. Which is what they’re here for. I sigh.
Me:
10th floor
Drew:
Got it, princess
I melt a little at that and smile. See, this guy wants to want me. So why am I letting these assholes get to me? I heart his message and open my browser. How many places could be named VV?
Finn
“Tom would kick your ass for making Sara cry on her first day.” I lean back in my chair and resist the urge to follow after her. I’ve always been a sucker for her tears even when I knew they were crocodile tears. These weren’t that.
Wyatt seems frozen in place, like he wants to go after her but knows he shouldn’t.
“Fuck,” Dante whispers and collapses into his chair. He never loses his cool with Sara, that’s why he’s the one that usually handles her. He can remain the ice block he usually is as he carts her away from the danger of Wyatt.
“Are you going to apologize?” I gesture to the door. One of us should check on her.
Shaking his head, he runs a hand across the back of his neck. “She needs time to cool down. She wouldn’t want me to see her cry.”
Ah, the legendary pride. As a little girl when she’d fall down and scrape her knee trying to run after us, Wyatt would go back to her and help her to her mom.
Her lip would quiver and tears would fill her eyes, but she’d never let them fall in front of him or us.
Unless she was trying to manipulate one of us, then she’d let loose these huge fake tears.
Wyatt takes a breath and grabs the paper off the table, looking it over. “What the fuck was Tom doing at Veiled Vixen Gentlemen’s Club?”
I hold out my hand for the paper. When Wyatt hands it to me, I recognize the logo. We went there a few times for bachelor parties. It’s a nice place.
“Didn’t Amber have a friend who worked there?” I ask. My gaze strays to Dante.
The guy looks wrecked. We’ve never talked about our mutual attraction to Sara, but we all know. Tom knew, which is why he made us swear that we’d never date his sister. What an asshole.
“I’m sure Sara is fine.” I tap the table with my knuckles.
Dante looks at me and nods. “She’s strong.”
Wyatt sits. “We should go to the club tonight and see if we can figure out what Tom was doing there and which stripper is bad at math.”
“A strip club on a Monday night?” I laugh. “I don’t think we’re going to find the kind of woman Tom would go after on a Monday night.”
“We can at least check out the place. Maybe that was his new client.” Dante sits forward and pulls his tablet in front of him. “We need to get back to work.”
I clear my throat. “Do you want me to deal with Sara and get her started on something?”
Dante stops and lifts his pale eyes to mine. “I have a list for her. At least Tom did something before he left us high and dry.”
“Might want to give her something so she doesn’t tear apart Tom’s office.” I smirk.
Dante smiles. “Serve the bastard right to leave us in charge of his sister and then abandon us.”
“She’ll be fine until the end of our meeting.” Wyatt gestures to me. “Get Mark back on the line.”
I open my laptop and resume the meeting. This note is the only thing we have to go on. Tom covered his tracks a little too well.