The party broke up about 11:00. Before everyone streamed out to the bus we agreed Cameron and Kate would go back to the hotel with the others, wait about 15 minutes and then come back downstairs. I’d be parked just past the entrance to the hotel. That way my car couldn’t be seen from the inside. We definitely had to talk in private before the next morning’s meeting.
A slight drizzle moistened the lawn surrounding the hotel, the fragrance of roses and gardenias spicing the damp air. Cameron held her hands over her hair as though that would prevent it from frizzing. Good luck.
It was nearly midnight by the time we huddled in the back of a nearby 24 hour coffee shop. The bored barista played a hand-held video game and didn’t give us a second glance. We sipped lattes, talking at once, trying to figure out our next moves.
“We have to get into that upstairs office. I’ll bet that’s where she’s got everything stashed. Can you imagine? A mean cow like Julia with a fantastic place like that?” Kate shook her head then shrugged. “Oh well, she’s got more than I can ever hope for, I guess.”
Cami screwed up her cute little nose, “Yeah, but what did Miss Julia have to do to get it? We’re automatically thinking Bruce helped her buy that place, or maybe he actually owns part of it, but the more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed. Bruce really appeared to think the place was rented for the weekend. Did you get that feeling?”
I’d definitely gotten that vibe, so when Kate agreed as well, it began to look like this went deeper than we originally thought. Somehow I couldn’t picture Julia pulling off whatever was going on by herself. Quite frankly, she’s sly and sneaky but I didn’t think she was that smart.
“What about Matt disappearing for a while? I spotted him out in the yard with those supply depot guys. They seemed pretty chummy…”
“…and maybe there’s more than one thing going on,” Cami said triumphantly. “Maybe dreamboat has something of his own going with them.”
Now I had to wonder if he was double-dealing Julia. Matt had been my anchor in a very choppy sea, so I tried to rationalize. But then there were the invoices from a handful of supply depots with the mysterious HRF commission notation. And Matt did seem overly friendly with those guys in the yard. There were so many loose ends.
We finished our coffee, still uncertain about the next steps. I dropped my friends at the hotel and drove home assailed by doubt. So many thoughts flashed through my head, so many possible situations, I simply couldn’t turn my mind off. What did we get into? How can we get back into her office? I’d tossed and turned until about six the next morning, then stumbled into the kitchen and brewed a pot of coffee. There was no way I’d get through the day without a java jolt.
Dark circles rimmed the eyes reflected in the bathroom mirror. Bless my concealer—I needed a few layers of it that morning. I brushed my teeth, splashed my face with cold water and followed the aroma of fresh coffee back to the kitchen.
Instead of reading the Saturday Times I’d picked up from my front porch, I brought a yellow lined pad with me. The newspaper remained unfolded on top of my nice new maple table. Damn Ryan. The table he’d taken was worth a lot more than this one.
I alternated between sipping my coffee and nibbling on a lightly toasted raisin bagel topped with strawberry jam and cream cheese, as I tried to sort things out. Between sips and bites, I jotted everything that came to mind onto the pad. Then I went through all of it and assigned numbers, giving them an order of priority. The last two items read, “Cheat the salespeople out of what they earn,” and “Live lavishly.” I was about to make a list related to Matt when my phone rang.
“Hey, Beautiful. I didn’t wake you, did I?” Was he reading my mind? I looked at the clock. The display read 7:30. Our meeting at the mansion was scheduled to begin at 10:00, so I guess it was a reasonable question. But, it was pretty early for him to be calling me.
“No, Matt. I’m sitting here with a delicious cup of coffee and major anxiety about what will happen today. As soon as everyone hears…”
“That’s what I’m calling about. You’re right. No one is going to be very happy when they see how much their checks are. You’ve got it straight, haven’t you? Julia wanted me to touch base before you got there.”
I took a deep swallow and said, “Go on.”
“All you have to do is stay calm and say that shipments missed the cutoff date by a few days and they’ll get those commissions next quarter.”
I felt a flash of anger, and snapped, “Duh-uh. An idiot could remember that after the way she hammered at me. Of course I’ll do my little fast dance.”
He hesitated. “Uh, be sure you don’t say anything about HRF either. No one needs to know about the referral fees. For that matter, don’t bring up Alaric, either. If they find out we can bypass the system and have things shipped direct with a pass-through, they’ll all be trying to use it. Particularly if they feel slow shipments screwed them out of money. Remember—and Julia was emphatic about this—not one word about Alaric to anyone. Are we clear on that?”
Did those two think I fell off a turnip truck? Yeah, I know that sounds corny and trite, but it fits. At least give me credit for having more brains than that. I was sure they didn’t give a damn about our team pushing for pass-throughs. What they were worried about was exposing gold-plated embezzlement. HRF and Alaric, my foot. They didn’t know who they were messing with. I could just picture Kate and Cameron laughing their heads off when I told them this one.
I said sweetly, “Why, I never considered saying anything. That’s confidential information for management, isn’t it? I’m surprised you and Julia would even be concerned.”
I’d allowed my voice to rise as I spoke. “Give me credit, okay?” It was important to give him the impression I was insulted. Miss Icon of Integrity—that’s me.
“Um, sorry Kim, I mean Kimberly. Julia insisted that I remind you. See you later, okay. Just keep your cool and it will be over before you know it.”
Easy for him to say. I was the one they’d set up to feel everyone’s wrath. If they had nothing to worry about, why would he even mention HRF and Alaric?
“No problem. I forgive you.” You ass!
As far as I was concerned, Mission Impossible was underway and Matt had just put the first nail in his own coffin.