In Isla's opinion, it was a pretty dull way to spend the morning. She and Gordon were at the lawyers' office combing through files related to the Midshipman and Wellman projects. Their own records showed nothing out of the ordinary, and even the official documents from the city were clean. However, subpoenas and the discovery process had turned up all kinds of additional information. Gordon had wanted to leave it to the legal team, but Isla had insisted they take an active part in the review. As dull as it was, they were the subject matter experts and were far more likely to notice discrepancies or procedural shortcuts. Besides, she had a vested interest in the firm. Not only was her money tied up in it, her reputation was too. She wasn't about to leave either in the hands of a third party.
And so the five of them sat amid boxes of paper — Isla and Gordon, two lawyers and an articling student — reading through random bits of data that combined, told the tragic story of two building collapses.
"I think we need a little break," said Gordon, turning to the student. "Maybe we could order in some lunch?" The young man nodded and left the room. "Really, Isla, I don't know what we're supposed to be looking for here."
"Anything that might show negligence on our part," she said, thinking that much should be fairly obvious. "I also want to see if there's anything connecting the two accidents."
Gordon pushed his glasses to his forehead and rubbed his eyes.
"Don't give me any grief about this," she said.
He sat back in his chair with a chuckle. "My dear, I wouldn't dream of it. I've always admired your tenacity, you know that. I only wonder if maybe you're being a bit —"
"Paranoid?"
"I was going to say stubborn."
She was tired of talking about this. "Why don't you head back to the office."
"Please don't be upset."
"I'm not," she lied. "We still have a business to run, and one of us should be there." Robert stepping aside had caused a ripple of uncertainty in the office. Having both remaining partners away for extended periods would only aggravate the situation.
Gordon stood and took the jacket from the back of his chair. "Very well. I'll meet you back here in the morning?"
"Sounds good."
He patted her shoulder as he walked by, and she turned back to the papers in front of her. There was no systematic approach to her review. She simply grabbed a box and started sifting through it. Most of the morning she'd been looking at files related to Midshipman, but the one in front of her was part of the Wellman stack.
For the most part it was a lot of dry reading, but there was one thing she found interesting. Both Midshipman and Wellman were owned by numbered companies. While that wasn't exactly an anomaly given that they were both buildings that leased out space, it was the only similarity between the two that she'd found. She jotted both numbers in her notes and continued her review until a tray of sandwiches appeared nearly a half hour later.
As she was eating a ham and cheese panini, her cellphone buzzed. It was Eve.
Hi Grace! Drop what you're doing. The next rendezvous starts now. Adam is on his way.
Isla looked at the boxes around her. There was no way she could leave now. The whole idea was absurd.
I'm sorry, Eve, I can't. I'm in the middle of something very important.
She went back to her sandwich, a bit ticked at Eve's audacity. The game was supposed to be an escape — something that served her, not something she was a slave to.
Within minutes another cell was ringing. This time it belonged to the senior lawyer. After a short conversation, he turned to Isla. "I'm sorry but we're going to have to call it a day. We've just been called to court."
"You're kidding."
"I'm afraid not. Feel free to finish your lunch before you go." And with that, both lawyers left her alone in the room.
She snatched her phone and called Eve. "What did you do?"
"Who me?" said Eve, doing her best to sound innocent. "Nothing at all. Better hurry — Adam is on his way."
Indignant, Isla gathered her things and stormed out of the building. Eve had absolutely no business interfering in her work. That was over the line and if she'd had her time back, she would have insisted that Seduction be forced to follow a code of conduct. Their level of presumption was just beyond.
It was an absolutely gorgeous day outside, clear and calm with a happy yellow sun high in the sky. Had she been allowed to walk a few blocks, she might have blown off enough steam to appreciate it. As it was, the moment she stepped from the building, she was accosted by a reporter and his cameraman.
"Ms. Foster," the reporter said, "I'm Sandy Miller from EyeWitness News."
Isla was too startled to even respond. The man had gotten so close she had to take a step back to focus on him properly.
"Warren Best was taken to the hospital again this morning," he said. "How does it feel to know that your firm is responsible for his condition?"
She was sorely tempted to tell this joker off for assaulting her on the sidewalk and for hurling accusations. Instead, she relaxed her shoulders and tried to remember the media relations training she'd had. "I wasn't aware Mr. Best had been readmitted," she said in her most sincere tone. It was indeed sad news. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"He's suffering complications from the injuries he sustained at your Midshipman building."
Oh, how she wanted to smack this clown. "As you're well aware, Kenroy, Morgan & Walters doesn't own the Midshipman building."
"But your firm undertook the recent work there."
"Yes. That's a matter of public record."
"What do you make of Warren Best's claims that your firm cut corners and that his injuries are a result of your scheme to save money." He jabbed a microphone at her, almost daring her to flinch.
"We take his allegations very seriously," she said. "And are undergoing a full review of our processes and procedures to ensure that due diligence is being met."
"So you accept responsibility for the accident?"
"That's a legal matter now, and as such I'm not permitted to comment on it." What an asshole. "Enjoy the rest of your day," she said and pushed past him.
"I'm curious, Ms. Foster, whether you and your husband were personally involved in this."
She stopped in her tracks from pure shock. Before she could catch herself, she'd turned around. "I beg your pardon?"
"It's no secret that your husband was a corporate spy at one point, selling secrets from your firm to a competitor."
Isla felt her knees weaken.
"A source tells me that he got the information from you."
This couldn't be happening.
"I'd like to know what your involvement was in that," he said. "You must have been involved, because it's hard to believe that an intelligent woman like you could be duped."
Her chest tightened so much it was hard to breathe.
"And if you were part of that plan, then are you also part of this? Your firm wants everyone to believe that you're above such things as avarice and dishonesty. That you're a bastion of integrity and morality. But I'm not so sure."
She was rooted to the spot, staring helplessly into the lens of the camera. A gentle pull at her elbow broke the spell, and she looked up to see Adam smiling down at her.
"This way, Ms. Foster." He helped her into the back of a dark blue sedan and drove her away.