Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
The elevator doors closed, and we were alone.
My shaking grew more pronounced.
A second later, Konni had me in his arms, giving me the best hug of my life, mostly because I desperately needed an anchor. And he was solid. He held me, rubbing my back and making this soothing rumbling sound in his chest that melted away my fear.
“You’re okay, kitten,” he said softly. “I’m so sorry. That won’t ever happen again. I promise.” His hand moved from my back to my hair. It felt so good to be petted and comforted. “I want to keep holding you like this, but those doors are about to open.”
I nodded and pulled out of his arms to stand next to him. The back of his hand brushed the back of mine, but he didn’t try to take it. Thankfully. I wasn’t sure I would have been able to resist going for seconds if he had. I wanted to cling to him.
The doors opened, and the woman at the executive welcome desk watched with wide eyes as Konni motioned for me to walk with him. He didn’t walk in front of me or make me go first, but stuck to my side as we made our way to his office.
“Go downstairs and get a calming tea blend for Ms. Elmantas,” Konni said when we reached his assistants. “And I want to see Garth. Now. What data was leaked and when? And find out how those reporters knew before we did.”
All three heads nodded, one stood, and the other two reached for their phones.
“Come in, Ms. Elmantas,” Konni said, all business. “Have a seat. I’ll call Gail.”
He led me to the sofa in his room. I sat and tried to calm down as he placed another call.
The woman from HR was already on her way up.
A man knocked on his door. I glanced at him, recognizing the head of the public relations department.
“Get in here and sit down, Garth. As soon as we have answers, I want a statement in front of me for approval.”
Garth nodded and sat on the opposite end of the sofa, his gaze speculative as it met mine.
“I didn’t leak any data,” I said, my voice trembling.
Gail arrived and joined me on the sofa as Konni said, “I believe you.
“IT and Gail both let me know you were having computer issues. The data you’ve been taking home isn’t confidential and poses no security concerns. However, emails disappearing from our internal servers is a huge security issue that they’ve been looking into. We should have more answers soon.”
His phone rang. He answered with a brisk, “What did you find?” then listened. He made a few sounds of affirmation, let out an annoyed sigh, and said, “Pull the security access records and footage. I want a name.”
He hung up and came over to sit on the end table in front of me and looked at Gail.
“What we know is that an email was sent from your workstation this morning. It contained confidential bidding information for an upcoming project. It’s not data you would have access to.”
“What time was it sent?” I asked.
“A little after seven.”
“So I was in the building.”
“You were, but you were in here with me, which the cameras will prove.”
I could feel Garth’s gaze bounce between us.
“I’ve never been so grateful to come in early for a meeting in my life,” I said.
Konni’s brief smile didn’t meet his eyes. “Me too.”
Gail turned toward me and took my hand. “Steele takes care of its employees. Because of what happened earlier, this does appear to be a pattern of targeting. Is there anyone here who might have an issue with you?”
“The only person who seems to have a problem with me is Lianna.”
Gail glanced from me to Konni uncomfortably.
“Lianna and I have known each other since we were kids,” he said. “Our families are close. She wouldn’t betray the Steeles. Ever.”
“Her previous actions were due to a misunderstanding that’s been corrected,” Gail added.
Even though Lianna’s attitude toward me definitely didn’t feel corrected, I didn’t contradict her. I was smart enough to understand that Lianna would have no reason to undermine the company, given her position and her apparent relationship with Konni.
Why then did she have such a problem with me? And if it wasn’t her, did that mean someone else was trying to push me out of Steele’s doors? I suddenly had a better understanding of why Mom’s confidence was almost nonexistent after countless times of losing her job through no fault of her own.
Konni looked at Garth. “Do you have enough to make a statement?”
Garth nodded slowly. “Do you want it known Ms. Elmantas was in a meeting with you?”
“No,” I said. “Thanks to my predecessors’ extracurricular ambitions, everything I do gets graded on a completely different curve.”
Gail patted my hand consolingly, and Konni sighed.
“Just make it clear that we’re not holding Ms. Elmantas responsible and are continuing to look into it.”
“I’ll have the statement to you in fifteen minutes,” Garth said to Konni before leaving.
One of Konni’s assistants tapped on the door.
“Come in,” Konni said.
He and Gail stepped away to speak quietly by the door as the assistant handed me the tea.
“It’s Chrysanthemum Goji Tea with a bit of honey. I had her put an ice cube in it, but it’s still very hot. Be careful.”
“Thank you,” I said, accepting the cup.
He flashed an acknowledging smile and left, followed by Gail.
Konni came over again.
“I would rather you stay right here until we resolve this. I’ll keep the door open.”
“Thank you,” I said, grateful he wasn’t making me return to my workstation while a cloud of suspicion still hung over my head.
“Sophia, I—”
I shook my head and took a careful sip of my tea. I didn’t want to hear anything that started with my name. Not with the door open and not with my hands still shaking.
He sighed and went to sit behind his desk.
Forcing myself to relax into the couch, I listened to one-sided phone calls as he dug for answers.
Almost thirty minutes later, one of Konni’s assistants came in with a printout.
“Garth updated it with your notes,” he said, handing the paper to Konni.
Konni read it, passed it back to him, and nodded toward me.
The assistant brought it over for me to read.
Following our internal investigation, we have determined that Ms. Elmantas was the victim of a deliberate attempt to frame her for corporate espionage.
Her corporate credentials were used without authorization by parties seeking to damage both her reputation and our company.
Ms. Elmantas has been completely exonerated and continues to have our full confidence and support.
As a demonstration of our commitment to protecting our employees from such malicious attacks, Ms. Elmantas will receive full compensation for the distress caused by this violation of her professional integrity.
We will not tolerate attempts to harm our valued team members and are pursuing all legal remedies against those responsible.
Steele Corporation stands firmly behind Ms. Elmantas and will continue to support her as she moves forward from this incident.
I looked up at Konni.
“Do we know who did it?” I asked.
“No. There were too many people on this floor with access to your workstation to say who it was specifically.”
“But there’s a security camera.”
“All the cameras on this floor were down until nine this morning. IT was aware of the problem and actively working to correct the issue.” He frowned slightly. “I don’t believe in coincidences. Someone timed this.”
I looked at the letter again. Did Konni really not believe Lianna could be behind this? Who else would have the connections and clearance to pull off something on this level? Was he covering for her, or was he like my dad, playing two sides?
“I don’t need compensation,” I said instead of voicing any of my real thoughts.
He looked at his assistant. “Please arrange for someone to drive Ms. Elmantas home.”
The assistant left, closing the door behind him.
I stared at it for a moment before facing Konni. He wasn’t behind his desk anymore. He was leaning against the front of it. I didn’t like that he could move so quietly. Or quickly. I also didn’t like the closed door.
“Someone is trying to frame you, Sophia. I’ve been asking myself why. You don’t know anything that would be a threat to anyone, do you?”
A laugh escaped me. “Like what? That Whitney is a closet sugar whore who has a daily word quota? Or that it’s taken Shana two weeks to mention she has two kids? How would I know anything? No one talks to me here, and when they do, it’s with contempt or aversion.”
He nodded. “If it’s not because you know something, then it means you’re being used as a scapegoat. We’re looking into TAS Solutions and trying to figure out why they would be interested in our bidding information.”
My stomach started to sink.
“They’re primarily investment management,” he continued. “Maybe insider trading? Once we narrow down who they’re connected to here, we can—”
“It's my parents’ company, Konni. The one they started together. My mom doesn’t have any shares in it anymore, though. It’s all my dad now. And you’re right about what it does. At least, what it did. Manage investments.
“Still think I didn’t send it?”
“Yes,” he said without a shred of doubt.
“Then you’re insane.”
“No. I’m smart. And so are you. If you wanted money, you know I would give it to you.
So would Wrenly and Bennett. Miranda, too, if she had it.
And I’d bet your uncle would do the same.
If you have all these people willing to give you whatever you ask for, why would you sell out a company you just started working at?
And why so obviously? The email wasn’t even encrypted. ”
He pushed away from the desk and paced closer to me.
“Whoever is trying to set you up is good, which is why the statement we’re releasing mentions compensation.”
Understanding hit me.
“They want to undermine my professional reputation, so you’re doing the exact opposite,” I said.
“Exactly.”
“Well, when you say it like that, compensate away.”
He chuckled.