Chapter 21 Collette
The same pattern continued for the next week. He would feed me breakfast and then we got started working for the day. Then break for lunch before we’d return to working on papers for the company and other assets.
Instead of staying in the basement, he’d begun to take me upstairs to the office and allowed me to work up there.
Ian spoke as we drove back to the cabin before the start of my second week working at Holdt Tech.
“Considering how well you’ve done with your training, I believe that next week we’ll attempt to go into the office. You still won’t be able to contact or speak to anyone besides myself, Mr. Rossi, or my receptionist, Kathy. There’s a special room there for you to be able to work uninterrupted.”
“Am I to assume this means I passed your test?”
I honestly hadn’t asked questions or spoken unless it was related to work items during our business hours.
“You’ve passed my tests and definitely proven yourself more than capable when it comes to the business side of things. Now, it’s time to see how loyal you can be when in a slightly less restrictive environment.”
“Very well.”
I nodded, resuming the silence that I’d chosen as the shield to keep him at bay during the work week.
If this were going to work, I needed to keep things separate. Work and pleasure didn’t mix and my weekends were the only time that I felt I was able to get close to the real man. It didn’t help that I wanted to get closer to the man, and not for getting answers about Andy.
From his business persona to the quiet man that bought me everything I’d wanted at the market, it appeared on the surface that he had nothing to hide.
I knew that he kept a firm watch on me, but I took time to jot down notes. Thoughts and one word answers all went on the pad he’d given me for work. He left it with me each night, so I knew he wasn’t checking it.
He couldn’t know what I was planning, but I needed a way to remind myself of my goals. It was too easy to get lost into the world he surrounded me in, and I couldn’t afford for that to happen. The silence was only for his benefit.
My mind continued to race at crazy speeds.
The second weekend was amazing. We’d worked on a puzzle. He had given me a word search book to keep me occupied when he had to take a business call.
I had been able to relax, and was present for the moments. There were no thoughts of cramming, constantly on the go, or financial stresses. It was peaceful. Even with the company of Mr. Holdt.
I’d heard of people like this before, ones who took on pets or slaves, who considered those in their care to be property.
But at the same time, that was supposed to be a rather erotic experience. The only thing of an erotic nature I’d had were those moments alone in the basement. Or when he’d been describing in detail what he wanted to do to me. The butt plug he’d inserted had continued to arouse me for days, but the newness had worn off when he hadn’t followed through with it.
That had all vanished over the past two weeks. It was as if we were roommates and not involved in a sexual nature.
Were we involved though? If I was his pet—or even worse, his slave—then I was just a thing to him. Not something that he really cared about. It might be why he could quit giving caresses and showing small amounts of affection.
I still felt as if he’d lost interest, but it could also be a matter of stress and being unable to perform. Some men had performance anxiety, especially those with his type of issues and business related jobs. Stress was known to deflate a dick or cause blood flow to go to other areas instead of where it was wanted.
Maybe that was what it was. Rather than not wanting me anymore, he was stressed about Andy’s murder. He was feeling guilty, and it was making him not feel sexy.
He hadn’t told me he wanted me, but then again, he hadn’t released me to go back out into the world. I simply couldn’t figure him out.
When Monday morning arrived, instead of the t-shirt and jeans I’d come to expect, I was given a business suit that fit me perfectly.
Unlike the normal attire of a skirt and blouse with a suit jacket, this outfit was a pair of slacks, low slung heels and a business top.
Eager to get started, and possibly find the evidence I was looking for, I hurried to shower and get dressed for the day.
A sense of excitement filled me. I couldn’t believe I was excited to dress up for a day of work outside the basement. The office would be a welcome deviation from the dark and claustrophobic basement. Anything that provided a chance at fresh air was worth being happy about.
I was a complete failure. He’d done it. I had been broken into whatever he wanted me to be. If he said jump, I was willing to not only do it, but ask how high?
When had I gone over to his side? I was a traitor to Andy and his memory.
There wasn’t time to think about it now, I had to get ready for the workday.
Ian didn’t appreciate waiting on anyone, and he always arrived on time to feed me breakfast.
In silence, we made our way to the limo for the ride into town where his office building was located.
Using his private elevator, we arrived inside the same office where I’d had my interview only a month before. It felt like it had been years and not four weeks.
Time was slipping away, and I still didn’t have the proof I needed to convict him of Andy’s murder.
He walked over to one of the side doors in the room and opened a separate office that had a small restroom connected, but no other means of escape presented itself.
He’d really planned and thought this through so that I wouldn’t be able to contact anyone.
No matter how much he said I was gaining his trust, it appeared to be just the opposite.
“You’ll continue working with me. This phone on the table only connects to two people: my office intercom and Kathy in case I’m unavailable. It will automatically forward you to her desk.”
“Please only contact her in an emergency,”
he pleaded instead of ordering me around as he normally did. The subtle shift made me pause.
“Here are the files I need you to work on for the day.”
With a quick set of instructions, he turned and left the room.
There was no way I could access or change anything. I simply had to do as requested. The amount of work I had to do was one of the few things that kept me eager to wake up each day.
I did love this kind of job where I could find and do research on other companies. It gave me a thrill that most people wouldn’t understand. Uncovering discrepancies or waste that someone was trying to cover up made me dig that much harder.
It was like being a detective and sorting out clues to a murder or being involved in the murder investigation itself. Maybe that’s why I wanted to solve Andy’s murder. I hoped it was for more than the thrill of finding the information and more about justice. My brother deserved more from me.
After the first few days, I did exactly what I was told, but then realized I did need some extra information to finish processing the files the way they should be done.
I pushed the intercom button and was rewarded with Rossi’s deep voice, which meant that Ian was not available.
“Yes, may I help you, miss?”
“Um, I’m going to need to see some extra files that deal with this Carlyle matter. How would I get those? Or would they be able to be brought to me?”
I wanted to give him a few options to get me what I needed. It showed I only cared about the information needed.
“ Let me check with Mr. Holdt and find out what he wishes to have you do.”
“Thank you,’’ I chirped in a happy manner. After all, he had allowed me to work instead of sitting in a dark basement twiddling my thumbs.
At least he was paying me to do something useful with my skill sets.
The door opened, and Rossi stood there waiting for me to join him.
“Mr. Holdt suggested that I escort you to the file room so that you can look for anything you need in regards to this matter.”
His expression didn’t change from his serious posture.
“Wonderful!”
I clapped like I was going on a field trip. My cheerful disposition would help to conceal my extra motives.
I followed behind him and passed the elevator, down the hallway where another room filled with files was kept behind lock and key.
Rossi’s special access card granted us a green light. Most of the files were large file containers or on electronic disks that could easily be accessed through one of the main terminals in the room. Each one was completely unconnected to the internet or servers in the building.
I whistled, impressed at the amount of effort it had taken to compile this type of security, software and files.
He must have quite a bit to hide if he were willing to go to such lengths to keep it from being used or discovered by others.
Rossi simply stood at the door and allowed me to walk through and access different parts of the filing system. He’d handed me a key card and a number sequence that would allow me to open different files as needed.
Unsure of how much Ian could see when I accessed the records, I was fairly certain that he wouldn’t be checking up on my work. Since he seemed to trust that I was doing what I was told, there would be no reason for him to see what I was accessing.
Which was why I tried not to go very far outside the scope of what I was looking for. But as I pulled one of the files out that had not been digitized, I curiously found another one right next to it that had all the ear markings of what I needed to know. I grabbed it and a couple of the other files and took them over to the table designed just for this type of research.
As I gazed and looked through the files, I continued to find references and mentions of shipping containers and special types of materials that I had never come in contact with before. Considering that I had worked in this industry for a couple of years and done research in this field, it was very strange.
With this type of technology and the products that were on board at his company, I was highly shocked to find so little information regarding these various sources.
Certain that I was seeing the code for something else, I scribbled furiously in my notebook and hoped that I would be able to find more information regarding the situation. I wrote down key points and vowed to look them up as soon as I was able.
I found what I was looking for, and that this could be what he was hiding all along.
It was Friday afternoon. So I hurried to put things back in place and nodded to Rossi that I was finished.
He took me back to the small office that I’d been in for the past few days.
After I had completed working on the section he’d left for me that day, I couldn’t leave, knowing there were extra papers waiting for me. There were ongoing files that had to be put to the side for next week as the information needed hadn’t been gathered yet.
I labeled them as unimportant or could be done at a later date.
He watched the cameras and probably monitored my actions. But I wasn’t sure if he actually went back over everything I’d done each day or simply glanced at it. He was very hands on about his company, and I knew that he wanted to make sure that everything was done properly.
At this point, he might consider that I was doing a good enough job and didn’t need to have my work double checked.
Trying to keep my findings hidden in my notebook to be looked over later on, I cleaned everything up. I was prepared to be taken back to the basement. I was pleasantly surprised when Rossi escorted me from the limo to the penthouse instead of the cabin.
“Mr. Holdt will join us shortly.”
He spoke the words and left me to my own devices there in the house.
Slightly shocked that I’d been left on my own. I didn’t want to snoop too much, but I was curious about a few things. I was itching to get a glimpse of anything without Mr. Holdt studying me.
I wandered about the whole place, looking at different clocks and pictures. Exploring in a way that I hadn’t been able to before. If he came in and caught me, I would just say I was curious.
It should cover up any issues as I hadn’t been trying to escape or speak to anyone that I wasn’t supposed to.
The door to his office was open, and I stuck my head in, unable to resist the temptation. It couldn’t hurt to hope to get a little bit better idea of the man of mystery.
There were several thank you cards attached to a bulletin board. Curious, I opened them. Several were from employees thanking him for taking care of their families during medical emergencies.
There was one from a little boy on the cancer ward who didn’t make a wish because he didn’t want to choose which land to travel to. In reality, Ian had been the one who supplied the wish by giving him a virtual video game so that he could travel to all the lands he’d always wanted to go to without ever leaving his hospital bed.
These things weren’t the signs of a man that would murder someone in cold blood—unless he was able to compartmentalize very efficiently which could be the case since he kept his assistant locked in the basement at night.
I’d been willing to assume that he was a sexual deviant and had other hidden sex kinks he didn’t want others to know about.
But there was nothing that indicated it might be the case. How did it match up with him speaking to Andy and then being found dead three days later?
I was so uncertain of how to proceed when I heard the front door open.
Carefully putting the card back on the bulletin board. I walked out to greet him.
“Ah, there you are. Are you ready for dinner?”
I nodded and went to take my seat on the floor. I’d become trained like one of Pavlov’s dogs to respond to the dinner bell.