Chapter 22
By the timelunch arrived the next day, Cassie knew something was wrong. People got quiet when she entered a room, and the looks they were giving her were a lot like the ones she’d gotten the day after everyone found out she was dating Jesse.
Nothing new had happened, though. Not really. They’d spent the night together at his condo, then came in together this morning. The same as they had almost every day since they’d started seeing each other. It shouldn’t be news.
Jesse stepped off the elevator at noon and she was filled with a mixture of relief and anxiety. Would him bringing her lunch add to the gossip wheel?
He took one look at her and picked up on her unease. “What happened?”
Cassie looked over her shoulder and caught the eye of one of the other executive assistants. As soon as they locked gazes, the other woman looked away. What the hell was going on?
“Can we go out for lunch?”
He paused for a moment, then nodded.
She grabbed her purse and hurried out from behind her desk. “I need to let your dad know I’m going.”
Jesse waited for her to knock on his father’s office door and let him know she’d be away from her desk. Blake gave her a concerned look but nodded. “Enjoy your lunch.”
Once that was taken care of, she let Jesse lead her to the elevator. He didn’t say anything as they made their way to the lobby and out of the building, onto the street. It was a nice day, which was good. She hadn’t even thought to grab her jacket.
He guided her down two blocks to a bus stop. Still, he didn’t say anything.
The bus came and they climbed on board. Six blocks later, they got off the bus across from Washington Square Park. There were a few people in the park, but it wasn’t crowded. Most people didn’t come to the park during their lunch hour.
They found a park bench and Jesse began unpacking the bag of food. He handed her a sandwich, took one for himself, then motioned for her to eat. He didn’t ask her what was wrong again until after she had finished eating. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
“I don’t know if I’m being paranoid or not.”
“You’re going to have to give me more than that.”
She blew out a frustrated breath. “People are acting weird around me. Kind of like they did when it came out we were an item. But we’ve been seeing each other for a couple of weeks now and the looks and the quiet whispers were getting less. Now they’ve started up again and I don’t know why.”
“I’m going to talk to my dad and Craig about putting up some cameras.”
His change of topic threw her as did his mention of his dad’s head of security. “What are you talking about? Cameras?”
“There are cameras in the main traffic areas, the lobby, the main hallways, and in front of the elevators. That leaves too many blind spots.”
She was still confused. “Jesse, I’m not following you.”
“Monday night, I thought I heard the stairwell door closing. No one else was in the building except for me and the security guard. When I asked him about it, he thought it might have been the cleaning crew, but I have my doubts.”
“What does that have to do with the office gossip mill?” she asked.
“Someone left a note on your desk yesterday.”
Maybe his change in subject hadn’t been so random after all. “We don’t know if what’s going on today has anything to do with the other two things.” They didn’t know it didn’t, either.
Jesse stood and she followed suit. He found a nearby trash can, threw what was left of their lunch away, then returned to her side, taking her hand in his. “I’d been thinking about the need for more cameras anyway. This just accelerates the timeline.”
They made their way across the grass toward the bus stop. “What are you hoping to find?”
“I’m not sure, but if we can at least narrow down who’s been hanging about your desk and roaming the stairwells after hours, that would be a start.”
Cassie thought about that during their bus ride back to the office. She wasn’t sure finding out who was leaving her notes would accomplish much. Sure, they could report them to Human Resources, but there was no real way to prove they were leaving her anything inappropriate. Not unless there was a camera pointed directly over her desk with a resolution that allowed them to read whatever note was left. That seemed like overkill. Not to mention, an invasion of her privacy.
Blake was still in his office when they returned. Jesse gave her a pointed look and headed into his dad’s office.
* * *
Jesse gave a brief knock before walking into his father’s office. His dad looked up. He started to smile, then he saw the look on Jesse’s face.
“Close the door.” Blake waited until Jesse took a seat before saying anything. “What’s going on?”
As a rule, Jesse had tried to keep things professional between him and his dad at work. He didn’t barge into his office unannounced, nor did he regale him with tales of office gossip. “We need to discuss increasing security in the building.”
One of his dad’s eyebrows rose in question. “Is there a security threat I’m unaware of?”
“That’s yet to be determined.” Then he told him about Monday night.
“Do you have any reason to believe it wasn’t the cleaning crew?” his dad asked.
“No. But something about that doesn’t feel right. Even if the cleaning crew were in the stairwell, why would they come to the floor only to turn around and leave again?”
His dad nodded. “I see what you mean. And they have supplies and equipment. I doubt they’re hauling them up the stairs when they have access to the elevator.” It was one of those little things that didn’t add up and Jesse liked things to add up.
“There’s also something else I think you need to be aware of.” Jesse considered not telling his dad about Cassie’s note, but after thinking about it, he felt compelled to give his dad the whole picture. “Someone left a note on Cassie’s desk yesterday while we were at lunch.”
“People leave Cassie notes all the time.”
Jesse knew that. “The note was…ominous.”
This time both his dad’s eyes narrowed. Blake was protective of things and people he viewed as his. Cassie fell under that umbrella as his assistant. “Did someone threaten her?”
“That’s open for interpretation.”
He could see his dad’s temper rising. “Why didn’t she come to me?”
“She told me about it last night. The note was vague, saying something along the lines of knowing what she’d done.” Jesse leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees and steepling his fingers. “Cassie says she has no idea what they’re referring to. She also says the gossip mill has been hard at work today.”
His dad leaned back in his chair, listening, taking in everything Jesse was telling him.
“And the more I think about it, I’m seeing it myself as well. Nothing major, but I’ve noticed conversations abruptly stopping as I walk past. I hadn’t given it much thought until Cassie pointed it out today at lunch.”
“You think the note and the gossip are related.” It wasn’t a question.
“While I have no proof of that, I’d say the timing is suspicious. Cassie and I have been discreet while at the office. We don’t even touch until we’re out of the building.”
“You had lunch in my office the other day.”
It was Jesse’s turn to raise his eyebrows.
The corners of Blake’s lips turned up into a tiny smile. “I have my sources.”
“Do your sources have any information on this?” Jesse asked, sitting back again in his chair.
Blake’s mouth tightened. “No.” His dad picked up his phone and punched in several numbers. “Could you come to my office? Yes.”
Jesse waited. He had no idea who his father had called.
His father hung up the phone. “Craig’s on his way up.”
Less than five minutes later, Cassie’s voice came through the speaker on his dad’s phone. “Craig Allen is here to see you, Mr. Masters.”
“Send him in.”
Craig Allen was six-foot-three and weighed over two hundred pounds. He was in his late forties and ex-military. He ran security for the building and for his dad’s personal protection. He closed the door behind him and faced Blake. “You wanted to see me?”
“Yes. Have a seat.”
For the next twenty minutes, the three of them discussed the building’s security. By the end of the meeting, they’d hashed out a plan not only for more cameras but also for some additional security in the building after hours.
Cassie’s gaze met his when he left his father’s office. He shook Craig’s hand, then crossed to her desk. “I’ll be back to pick you up at five. We don’t want to be late to your mom’s.”
She grimaced. “I’ll be here.”
Jesse smiled. He knew she was worried about dinner with her family. “With bells on?”
That made her chuckle. “Are you providing the bells?”
His only answer was a wink, then he headed back to his office. He still had a contract to find.
Not long after Jesse exited his dad’s office, Blake called her in. Her boss asked her to close the door behind her and take a seat. He got straight to the point. “Jesse told me about the note that was left on your desk. He tells me you don’t know what the note is referring to.”
“No, I don’t. I’ve racked my brain trying to come up with something, but there’s nothing I can think of.” She paused. “Nothing work related anyway.”
Blake held her gaze for a long moment, then nodded. “My son has suggested we install additional cameras. Craig agrees.”
“Is there something you need me to do?” Why else would he be telling her?
“The cameras are going to be installed after hours. If someone’s doing something they aren’t supposed to, I don’t want to give them a heads-up. However, there will be some aesthetic changes in certain areas. I doubt anyone will mention them to me, but they might approach you.” He paused. “Tell them we’re prepping for an upgrade to our internet. That will explain any wiring they see.”
Cassie nodded.
“One more thing.” Blake’s gaze softened. “If you get any more strange notes, I want to know about them.”
“Yes, sir.”
Back at her desk, Cassie struggled to focus on her work. Before meeting Jesse, her days were rather boring.
Not that she didn’t like her job. She did. She was treated well and respected. The pay wasn’t horrible either.
Her thoughts drifted to the missing file Jesse was trying to find. So much had happened since she’d met him, but that hadn’t been the start of the office drama. Not really.
It started with the former accounting manager, Zac Travers. She still remembered finding the error on the end of month sheets. The numbers didn’t add up. Or they did, kind of, but only if one didn’t go through everything line by line.
The numbers had been manipulated, adjusted by pennies to make them all add up at the bottom of the page. It was unlike anything she’d ever seen before. The amount of time it would take to make so many tweaks baffled her mind. She’d thought she had to be reading it wrong.
So, she’d checked, and checked again, rerunning the numbers a dozen times before bringing it to Blake’s attention. They’d spent an entire weekend in his office with papers spread out over the last year trying to make sense of it.
By the end of the weekend, they’d found more evidence of tampering with the numbers. It was subtle, but over time it had added up to a substantial amount.
She hadn’t been in on the meeting with Zac Travers, but she’d witnessed the aftermath. The meeting had lasted less than twenty minutes, and it had ended with security escorting him down to get his things, then out of the building.
The look on his face was one she’d never forget. It wasn’t remorseful or defiant. More shell-shocked.
Blake had also let Travers’s assistant, Crystal, go. Again, she hadn’t been privy to the details, but she got the impression Travers had blamed the errors on Crystal.
When everything was all said and done, Blake had wanted to make sure they had all the documents locked away. Not the originals, mind you, but duplicates in case Zac tried to sue or cause trouble. They’d stashed the documentation in a storage room on the sixth floor.
There wasn’t anything up there, really. Most of the space was ventilation and piping, but there were two decent-sized rooms where old promotional materials and signage were stored.
The more Cassie thought about it, the more she felt she needed to go upstairs. Jesse said he and Stephanie had combed through most of the archives already. What if the contract he was looking for had been one of the ones they’d made a copy of and put in storage?
It was worth a shot, right?
* * *
At four fifty-five, Jesse logged off his computer, made sure his office was locked, and said goodbye to his assistant before heading upstairs to get Cassie. On his way to the elevator, he passed by Christine’s cubicle. She was on the phone and didn’t notice him, but he heard her say something about someone getting what they deserved.
He stopped. “Ms. Johnson?”
Christine jumped. She fumbled with the phone, then mumbled she had to go into it. “Mr. Masters. Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”
“It’s almost five o’clock. I’m sure you can wait five minutes before making a personal call.”
“Yes, sir.” She looked at her computer screen, then at him. “I was just.” She paused. “It won’t happen again.”
Jesse considered his options. He could let it go or he could push. With everything that had gone on today, he wasn’t in the mood to let it go. “I don’t approve of office gossip, Ms. Johnson. What you do on your own time is your business, but while you’re on company time, I expect you to do your job and be respectful of others.”
“I would never?—”
“I have ears, Ms. Johnson. Remember that.” He turned on his heel and continued toward the elevator. Cassie was waiting for him.
Only she wasn’t. Cassie wasn’t at her desk.
He went to the break room to see if she was there, but there was no sign of her. His dad’s office was empty as well, so he couldn’t ask him.
Figuring she must have gone to the ladies’ room, he decided to wait.
Ten minutes later, he was still waiting. He tried her phone on the off chance she might have it with her, but he wasn’t in luck. The sound of her phone ringing came from inside her desk.
He was about to start going from room to room when the door to the stairwell opened and Cassie appeared. She saw him and visibly took a breath as if she were relieved to see him.
“What—”
She shook her head and tilted her head, indicating he should follow her.
While he wanted to demand she tell him what was going on, curiosity got the better of him. There were too many eyes and ears around. He was willing to give her a little leeway.
Cassie led him into the stairwell and up the stairs to the sixth floor. He hadn’t been up there since he was a kid.
There was a single door with a sign marked maintenance. Cassie inserted a key into the lock and turned. The door opened and she stepped inside.
Jesse followed, wanting to know why she was being so cautious but willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. He knew what was up here for the most part. Besides all the ductwork and plumbing for the building, there were also a couple of rooms full of marketing materials that should have been thrown away years ago. He had no idea why his father insisted on keeping them.
Instead of going to the storage rooms, she took a left, following a large pipe. They’d gone about thirty feet before something caught his eye. He placed a hand on Cassie’s arm, halting her movement.
She looked back at him, then stepped to the side, allowing him an unobstructed view. Tucked in a corner in between several air ducts were some blankets. That’s what had caught his attention.
He turned to look at Cassie and he could tell she was as perplexed as he was. Why were there blankets laid out like a makeshift bed?
Needing to investigate, Jesse moved closer.
Jesse felt a hand on his arm. He met Cassie’s gaze. “Wait here.”
She stared at him wide-eyed.
He gave her hand a squeeze, then continued moving toward the blankets.
It took a little maneuvering around the equipment, but he got close enough to see the area in question. It wasn’t only blankets. It was a pillow, what looked like a pile of clothes, and what he assumed were toiletries. Someone was living up here.