Chapter 33
Helen saw the man and felt her stomach tighten. Not from awareness, although the man walking towards the elevators was definitely handsome, in a dark, dangerous way. No, it was the sense that this man was a predator. He’d killed people, she thought with absolute certainty. Whoever he was, the man was lethal in a way that she didn’t want to know about.
When he turned the corner, Helen breathed a sigh of relief. She felt as if she should count her fingers and toes, just to make sure that they were still attached.
A moment later, Helen heard one of the guards mutter something. She looked at him and nodded. “I agree,” she said, even though she hadn’t understood the guard’s words. It was the tone that she’d grasped. And the meaning.
The three of them didn’t say anything more as she continued towards Paul’s office, but they froze just outside the door when they heard raised voices.
“What the hell were you thinking? That man’s a criminal!” Nathan bellowed.
“What do you think we are?” Paul shot back, looking equally frazzled. “If anyone really knew what we did here, we’d all be arrested!”
Helen’s eyes widened and she looked at the guards, wondering if she should just leave.
There was more muttering, then the door to the office slammed shut. Helen heard muffled sounds behind the door, but nothing that she could understand. However, when Helen looked around, there were several other staff members standing, wide eyed, in the hallway. No one said anything, but everyone seemed painfully uncomfortable.
One of the staff members rushed off down the hallway, muttering something about updating his resume. The other two remained frozen, not sure what to do. Helen took the initiative. Walking over to them, she tried to convey a sense of urgency. “I’m getting out now,” she whispered. “I realized something was off a couple of days ago.” She looked pointedly over her shoulder at the closed doorway, then back at the employees whispering, “I don’t know what Paul and Nathan are up to, but resign, effective immediately. Whatever they are up to, you won’t want to be a part of it.”
The employees stood there for another long moment, obviously terrified. It took them maybe two more seconds before they nodded their heads and turned, hopefully to pack up their offices and leave.
Helen hoped that they would spread the word about what they’d overheard. Whatever Paul and Nathan were up to, Helen didn’t think it was fair to bring innocent employees down with them. Even if the staff members were innocent, if the police or securities and exchange agents came in to investigate, anyone who was still working for the company would be required to defend the company’s activities. That would mean hefty legal costs, most of which the average worker couldn’t afford. Most people were just trying to put food on the table, pay for child care, health care, and, hopefully, have a bit left over for a vacation during the summer months.
Turning around, she stared at Paul’s office door. Should she go in? Or should she just hurry back to Raj and Angela?
Before she could decide, the door sprang open to reveal a scowling Nathan. But as soon as he saw her face, his features brightened to a smile that Helen knew was fake.
“Hey there! I thought you were with our client!”
Helen wasn’t sure how to respond to that. “I was…uh…!” she stammered, feeling awkward.
“You know,” Nathan continued, shoving his hands into his pockets and trying to act normal. “We heard you’d been showing him around the construction site.” He rocked back and forth on his heels. “I just assumed that you were trying to convince him to finalize the deal.” He lifted brown eyebrows slightly. “That’s what you’ve been doing all this time, right?” He chuckled. “I wouldn’t like to think you’d just been avoiding the office.”
There was a long pause and Helen felt…dirty. Nathan was silently implying that she’d been “convincing” Raj to get on board with the deal while in bed with him. She needed a shower.
“Right,” she replied flatly. “I’ve been in contact with the head of Dark Angel Investments, but,” she paused, glaring at him, “not in the way you’re implying.”
Nathan chuckled again and shrugged. “Paul and I don’t care what tactics you use to get the deal closed.” He left that statement hanging, implying that she’d used sex to close deals in the past. That was insulting enough, but he didn’t stop there. “Just make sure this deal closes. We’ve given you the time you need to…uh…ensure that the client is on board. So, why don’t you keep up the good work and we can meet tomorrow to sign the papers?” He grinned and tilted his head, his eyes moving up and down over her body. “Do you think your… talents can make that happen?” His grin widened. “We’re all going to make a great deal of money once this deal is finalized.”
Mentally, Helen added a scrub brush and bleach to that shower. “Right. I’ll update you on my progress by this afternoon,” she said, then turned on her heel and walked away, not bothering to confirm nor deny that she’d slept with Raj. Because she had, although not for the reasons on Nathan’s mind. Ick!
And how dare he imply that she’d slept around to close deals! That was just…so male!
She thought about Raj and how much she wanted to hurry back to him. That wasn’t good, she thought as she pressed the elevator button to take them down to the garage level again. She was depending too much on Raj and his strong, safe, sexy arms.