Chapter 11
11
Lincoln
“So that’s everyone’s assignments for the week.” Lincoln looked around the room at his team, getting a variation of a thumbs up or a nod from everyone there. At his side, Harris leaned against the same table, arms crossed over his chest as he studied all of them.
Both of their teams were always present for the Monday meeting unless they had an assignment that prevented them from doing so. The only person who didn’t show up to these meetings was Marshall.
“Dismissed, everyone except Ginger.”
Ginger was the team leader for Alpha, Lincoln’s team. Harris’s team was Beta because he was the younger brother. Lincoln was the actual owner of Black Fox Security, so he got the Alpha team. ‘Ginger’ was also not his real name. It was David. Team Beta had started calling Team Alpha the Spice Doms when they found out Team Alpha all went to the same kink club and claimed the name fit because of how the team looked.
Granted, David actually was a ginger, Mason fit “posh” with all the suits he wore, Derek was the most athletic and “sporty,” Dominic was the youngest and the “baby” of the group, and Claudia was truly “scary.” Pretty much everyone who worked in the office was a little terrified of her. Even Lincoln, if he was honest. She was a highly skilled sniper who’d once shot her target in the balls from seven hundred yards away.
No one messed with Scary.
When they were at the club, as a FemDom, she insisted on being called Mistress Scary.
“What’s up, boss?” Ginger asked in a low voice when he got close enough.
In a fit of paranoia, ever since Lincoln had discovered who his wife’s lover was, he’d swept the office for bugs. It hadn’t turned anything up, but Ginger knew he’d want them to keep their voices down, anyway. Just in case.
“I have an extra side project for you, but I need you to keep it quiet. Wiley’s daughter and ex-wife, Ashley and Sara Vaughn… I want you to dig a little deeper on them. And follow Ashley this week from a distance. She was struggling at the wedding, and I want to make sure she’s okay.”
“Got it. Do you want me to step in if she seems to need anything or…”
“Call me and let me know, and I’ll make the decision on a case-by-case basis.”
Nodding, Ginger gave a little salute and left. Harris straightened up, though his arms remained across his chest, and raised his eyebrows.
“You sure about this?”
“Someone has to watch out for her.” He hadn’t told Harris what had happened between them, but he got the feeling his brother was suspicious of his interest. “Her own dad isn’t.”
Harris shrugged. A long-time bachelor, he’d never been interested in love, preferring to play the field. He was a good, if somewhat disinterested, uncle to Rebecca. When she’d been younger, he’d played a lot with her, but as she’d gotten older and her interests had shifted, Damien’s interest in spending time with her had waned… not that Rebecca had noticed. It had been a natural progression.
“If you say so. It just feels like you’ve got enough family drama going on.” Just as Harris said the words, they both heard Janet calling Lincoln’s name and winced in unison. “What the hell is she doing here?”
“I don’t know.” Lincoln turned and hurried out the door to go greet his wife, who was out in the hall, lingering by the front desk where poor Nita looked confused about whether to keep Janet out or let her back. They’d met before, but there was a policy of not letting anyone back without an appointment, and Janet had never shown up at his office.
Wearing chic white pants, a yellow blouse, and pearls adorning her neck, she looked as though she was ready to be out and about for the day. Why she was out and about here was the mystery.
“There you are.” Janet smiled widely when she saw him, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Are you ready to go?”
“Ready to go?”
“On our lunch date, remember? You’re taking me to the club for some golf, then lunch. We’re supposed to be getting in some time with my family since they came into town after the wedding.”
Lincoln stared at her. He vaguely remembered Janet saying she would be doing that today with her family, but he’d reminded her that he’d need to get right back to work since he’d taken off half the week before the weekend of the wedding, so he wouldn’t be able to come. He knew he’d done that.
“You know I can’t come to that.”
Putting her hands on her hips, Janet glared furiously at him.
“You said you would.”
There was no way in hell.
“No, I told you I needed to work.”
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised you forgot,” she replied with a derisive sniff, not backing down one inch. “This place was always more important to you than me or Rebecca. But it’s one day, Lincoln. You can leave work for one day. Things will not fall apart without you.”
“This place is what allowed me to provide for you and Rebeca.” He worked his jaw, trying to unclench it at the familiar argument. Janet hadn’t wanted to work after she’d had Rebecca, and he’d poured himself into making this company work so that she wouldn’t have to. It had been some seriously long hours, but he’d done it for her . For their daughter. Both of them had always appreciated the money, even if Janet had never had anything but complaints about his schedule. Apparently, he was somehow supposed to make the money without working. “And it was already several days last week, which is why I told you I wouldn’t be able to go out today.”
“I can’t believe you’re doing this to me again.” Her lower lip trembled, her eyes acquiring a sheen of moisture that threatened tears. “I’m not coming home tonight if you don’t come out with me today, Lincoln. I can’t keep living like this.”
Lincoln stared at her. Sure, she didn’t know he knew she was cheating on him, but this was emotional manipulation at its finest. Did she really believe he’d fall for it, even if he hadn’t known about her and Marshall?
“Are you threatening to leave me if I don’t go golfing with you?” he asked incredulously.
“I’ll be back in a few days when you’ve had time to think about what you’ve done,” she said haughtily, tilting her chin.
Lincoln continued to stare at her, too stunned to speak.
She looked at Nita. “Take my advice, dear. Never believe a workaholic when he says you’re more important than his job. You might be his wife, but his job is his mistress.”
Fine words from a cheater, but she was already spinning on her heel and stalking out into the hall, headed for the elevators. Growling under his breath, Lincoln’s hands clenched into fists, and he started after her, when someone grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
“Let her go. Come on,” Harris said, dragging him back toward their offices.
With a final glance over his shoulder, Lincoln let his brother pull him away. Nita turned to watch them go with concern. Fuck. He hoped all that drama wouldn’t color Nita’s opinion of him.
Once they were safely back in Lincoln's office, he let out a huge breath, jerking his arm away from Harris.
“What the hell?”
“You’re too pissed to go after her, and it wouldn’t do any good, anyway. I’m pretty sure she wanted you to make a scene.”
Scowling, Lincoln moved around his desk to sit down. The safety of his chair made him feel a little more comfortable.
“What are you talking about?”
“Think about it. It’s insurance if she and Marshall are caught having an affair. Not only are you the asshole who won’t make time for her or her family, you’re also the asshole who lost your temper about it. She can point to it and say ‘see?’ and get rid of the blame.” Harris took the seat across from Lincoln as he spoke, his tone measured, but his anger was clear on his face.
Fuck.
Harris was probably right.
“What do you want to bet she stays at Marshall’s the next few days?” Lincoln asked dryly. “Since he’s such a close family friend and all.”
“I’ll get someone to follow her again. The more evidence we have against her, the better.”
“I’m still giving her what she’s due. I don’t care what the prenup says.”
“I’m still going to gather the evidence in case you change your mind. In the meantime, we have to make sure we have everything we need before we force Marshall out of the company. I have a list of all of our accounts where we’ll need to change the password, and everything we’ll need to change to lock him out of our accounts, but he’s still got the full client list and the list of all the potential clients. He keeps it on lockdown.”
As soon as Lincoln got that, he could file for divorce.
At least Rebecca was all grown up and out of the house, so hopefully, it would be a little easier on her. Though he was starting to worry Janet would try to turn Rebecca against him, the way Harris thought she was trying to do with everyone else.
It didn’t escape his notice that she’d waited till Rebecca was gone on her honeymoon to pull this little stunt. That’s why he thought Janet was probably going to Marshall’s, something she wouldn’t have done if Rebecca had been home, since the two of them were often joined at the hip.
What a clusterfuck.