DANE ANSWERED THE phone on the fourth ring, just as Josh was about to hang up.
“Josh! How’s my little brother?” Even though Josh stood eye to eye to his six-foot-three brother, Dane never failed to throw “little” at him as often as he could.
“Hanging in there. How about you? Where are you?” Josh asked.
“Heading home, actually. Making my way to the airport now.”
“Dad said I should check in with you. Anything going on that I should know about?” Josh clicked on his computer and opened his email.
“Dad.” Dane laughed. “How does that old man always know when something’s up? There’s no great shakes happening in my life.”
Josh noted an emptiness in Dane’s response. “You sure? What am I hearing in your voice?”
“Nothing, Josh. Really.” Dane blew out a loud breath. “Nothing like the mess that’s going on in yours, thank goodness.” He laughed again.
“Great. Take pleasure in my pain. That’s a supportive brother for you.”
“Sorry. It makes me realize how lucky I have it. No ties that bind.”
Josh heard another twinge of something…loneliness maybe, in Dane’s voice. “You sure there’s nothing you want to talk about?”
“Not at this juncture, but it’s good to know you’re there. I appreciate it. Anything I can do to ease your situation?” Dane asked. “I feel for Riley. I mean it’s hard enough going from Weston to New York. A whole new world. And the poor thing is attacked by the wolves. You don’t think she did it, do you?”
Josh hated the voice running through his head, I don’t think so, but how can I be sure? “You know Riley. You think she’d ever do something like that? Jeopardize a career she just began?” The words felt wrong tumbling from his lips.
“Or her relationship with the boss?” Dane tossed in.
“Right, there is that.”
“No, I don’t, but we never really know someone until the muck comes up the pipes, right?” Dane said something to someone in the background. “I gotta go. My flight’s boarding. See you at home. Love ya, bro.”
Satisfied that his father’s radar must have been off and Dane was just fine, Josh ended the call and turned to his emails, clicking on one from Peter Stafford.
Josh,
I’m in Switzerland with limited access while I’m with the family. We’ve scheduled a meeting on January 4, and I intend to make it. I’ve got a new venture I’d like to discuss. I’ve reviewed Riley Banks’s portfolio, and you were correct. Her talent is unmatched. Please be sure to include her in our meeting, as agreed. I’d like to get her input on the spring lineup for our girls. I believe you have a winner on your hands.
Best,
Peter
Josh closed his email and pushed away from his desk, wishing Reggie hadn’t left him so conflicted about Riley’s innocence. His father’s words ran through his head. Can your heart live without her? It’ll all mean nothing without a full heart. Man… He wanted her input on the spring lineup? Josh really needed to get some answers and clear her name.
“MR. B, YOU here?” Mia sailed into his office carrying a cardboard coffee tray in one hand and a paper bag in the other.
Josh reached for the drinks. “You’re supposed to be going home to spend the holidays with your family,” he said, though he was glad to see her. His nerves were coiled like a snake. He needed a distraction.
“So are you,” she said. “I knew you’d be here, so I brought you dinner.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“No, I didn’t, but that’s what the world’s best assistant does. She plans ahead, fixes problems before they occur, and…” She looked up as she set the sandwiches down on his desk. “Oh darn, I don’t know what else, but I didn’t come here to prove how great I am. I came here to make sure you weren’t falling apart. You didn’t answer your phone messages from me, or the text I sent.”
“It’s been quite a day,” Josh admitted.
“I bet. How’s Riley holding up?”
“I haven’t spoken—” He remembered that their relationship was front-page news and added, “I haven’t spoken to her since she got to Colorado, but she texted, and she seems to be okay. Rattled.”
Mia nodded, and guilt swallowed Josh. Mia had been a loyal and dedicated employee, and he valued her friendship. He should have told her that he was seeing Riley, even if under the veil of confidence.
“I’m sorry for not telling you about me and Riley, Mia. She didn’t want to come under scrutiny and gossip.”
Mia smiled and sipped her coffee. “Yes, you should have, so I could have protected her. Remember, part of the world’s greatest assistant’s job is to fix problems before they occur.”
“You would have protected her?” He lifted his drink. “Of course you would have. I’m sorry. It was shortsighted of me. But you know you couldn’t have stopped Claudia.”
“No, but I could have watched her more closely and maybe caught her in the act so things didn’t escalate so fast or so far.” She sipped her coffee. “So, this is it? She’s the one you’ve been hoping for all these years?”
Taken aback by the directness of her inquiry, he answered, “I haven’t exactly been waiting around,” Josh said.
“Right. Out of the last eighteen dates, you have returned phone calls for exactly two, and of those two, you have seen one of the women one more time, and that was to take her to an event. She went right home afterward, and you had me end it after that. As I recall, you had me send her an outfit and tell her thank you on the phone, but no thank-you card. I think you were waiting around, even if you didn’t know it.”
“You kept track of my dates?” Josh already knew the answer. Mia kept track of his entire life. It was Mia who’d called him before six a.m. to warn him about the media, and it was Mia who brought him dinner when he didn’t ask. “Okay, you win, Mia. Maybe I have been waiting around, or hoping, for Riley to appear. But even still, it took me by surprise.”
She kicked back in her chair and crossed her arms and legs. “I’ve been thinking about this whole thing. Claudia’s really clever. If she stole all of Riley’s original drawings, then Riley doesn’t have a leg to stand on. What can she possibly do or say that would substantiate that she was the original designer of that dress? Then I started thinking. If Claudia really did do this, then she had to do it here, right?” Her eyes grew wide. “You know where I’m going with this, right? Security cameras. We have them all over the place. Even if we didn’t see anything, it would be recorded. Mr. B., I think Riley might just catch a break.”
“I’m one step ahead of you. Come with me.” He led her to the security room, where Reggie stared at a blank screen, his face a block of stone. “Reggie, this is my assistant, Mia. She’s aware of the situation.”
Reggie spun around and pushed to his feet. “I think you have a very wise thief on your hands.” His eyes darted to Mia, and he extended a hand, his sharp stare softened to an appreciative gaze. “Pleasure to meet you,” he said.
Mia shook his hand. The attraction that sparked between them practically burned Josh. He cleared his throat.
“Wise?” Josh said.
“Wise, yes.” Reggie pulled his attention back to Josh, his eyes darting to Mia with every few words he spoke. “The security camera schedules have been tampered with. Over the past four weeks, the cameras have been set to roll until eleven thirty in the morning. Then they’re off until after nine in the evening. Weekends are off altogether. Whoever is doing this has access to the schedules.”
Josh shot a look at Mia.
“That would be anyone with a master key, as opposed to a front-door key. The cleaning people, me, you.” She nodded at Josh. “Claudia, and I think Clay has one. I think that’s it. But we check the videos daily to see that they’re running. I personally check them every morning at eight.” She closed her eyes and sighed. “Of course they are. They’re turned off later in the morning.”
Josh swallowed hard. He’d given Riley a master key as well, and he’d failed to report it to Mia.
“Well, that nails it, right? It’s got to be Claudia,” Mia said.
“That’s circumstantial at best. This could be a completely separate issue from the design theft.” Reggie crossed his thick arms over his chest and planted his legs in a determined stance. “I’ve seen it a dozen times. We find a secondary issue while searching for the primary. I’m going to look into the files on their computers. We’ll see what else we can turn up.”
Josh bristled at his use of the word their and the implication that Reggie still thought Riley might be part of this whole scheme. No matter how much he loved her, he remained true to his ethical and moral standards and reluctantly admitted what he’d done. “I gave Riley a key. The only spare I had was a master.” He shrugged.
Mia arched a brow.
“It was the one from the safe,” Josh said.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Mia asked.
“I forgot, and she’s never used it.” Josh saw the disappointment in her eyes, and knew he deserved every bit of it.
Mia arched a brow.
“I’m with her, Mia, morning and evening. She’s never here alone.”
“A run of the electronic keys will tell us when specific employees entered the building. You do have a list of the employees and their key codes, right?”
Mia nodded.
“Does this door stay locked?” Reggie asked.
“Yes,” Mia answered.
“Then unless the key records have been tampered with, we should have a few more answers. And key records are ten times harder to falsify than cameras. Josh, I’ll need you to complete that paperwork I gave you so we can request it all on your behalf.”
“No problem. I’ll get it done now.” Josh answered without thinking, his mind still stuck on the fact that Riley had a master key.
“Depending on what we find, we may need to consider that other employees could be involved with these security tapes. I’ll let you know when we wrap up this end of the investigation,” Reggie said.
“I’ll take you over to their desks,” Mia offered. She turned on her heel and walked away.
Josh’s legs were rooted to the floor. Could Riley have done this? He sank into the chair Reggie had just vacated and covered his face with his hands. He had phone calls to make. Another round of inquiries to the people he trusted. Clay, the cleaning woman, Wella…and Riley.