39 

Juliet was back at the office when the first text arrived. She walked through the lobby and pulled her iPhone from her bag, expecting to see Greer’s name on the face. Instead, she was surprised that it was Alexa.

I’d like to meet for dinner. Six o’clock at La Margarita in the Market Square?

She hadn’t even clicked off when a second message appeared, this time from Greer.

I know you’re angry, but we need to talk. Meet us at La Margarita at six.

She didn’t respond. Let them wonder whether she’d show up or not.

Lindsay glanced up from the receptionist counter. “Juliet, what are you doing back? I have you out all day attending Alexa’s deposition.”

“They no longer needed me,” she said, walking past and down the hall to her office. The statement was true. She was no longer necessary to this company, not really. Even if they wanted her to stay, she couldn’t work alongside people she didn’t trust.

No doubt she’d learned a valuable lesson. Going forward, she’d be wary of every motive, every promise made. No longer would she trust that people in charge always had her best interests, and those of the company, in mind when they made critical decisions.

Her father would have a heyday with this. Hopefully, as soon as the litigation wrapped up and these cases settled, she could resign and quietly move out of state. The less fuss the better.

Her career had been burned, and the acrid smell of smoke would follow her. But somehow she’d find a way to start over.

In her office, she tossed her purse and notebook on a chair and moved behind the desk. She flipped open her Mac and scrolled through her emails. There were two from Cyril, one thanking her for all she was doing to get Larimar Springs through the litigation, and the second simply one line.

Italy is beautiful in the spring. Ready for a visit?

Strolling the Tuscan countryside with a gentleman like Cyril sounded appealing. Unfortunately, she’d learned her lesson. No more office romances. Period.

Without bothering to respond, she scrolled past and opened a communication from Dr. Breslin. He’d attached the CDC’s final report summarizing the etiology of last fall’s outbreak. Her eyes drifted to the morbidity factor, and she swallowed—hard.

All those years in school and internships, absorbing the necessary training so she could make a difference . . . Book knowledge proved worthless when common sense had failed her. No university course taught that you could be gullible and working in a den of thieves.

She glanced at her white lab coat hanging on the back of her office door. With her position here, she’d been poised to bring all that training to bear and maintain the trust the public placed in Larimar Springs products. Maybe even prove to her father that this time he was wrong. Her state-of-the-art quality assurance program would see to it that no unsafe product ever got in the hands of a consumer.

How could she have known the cards had been dealt before she’d ever been invited to the table, and that those seated across from her had already gambled it all? She’d been destined to fold before she even got a chance to wager her skills.

She’d like to call Alexa and Greer’s bluff—provide deposition testimony that would establish her father had been right. This company had tightened her budget when it most counted, had focused on profits and mergers and neglected leadership when Malcolm Stanford brought Alexa his concerns.

Of course, Lucier would consider her a loose cannon and would now settle before ever allowing her in a deposition chair.

She scowled, lost in thought.

Suddenly, she closed the lid on her Mac. Her QA supervisor did have concerns, and he’d timely communicated those issues to the head of the company, who seemed to have simply brushed them off.

Yes, Alexa Carmichael had been immersed in courting international investors and, ultimately, in her negotiations with Montavan International. Juliet had taken Alexa at her word when she’d been told her boss had no actual knowledge of product tainted with deadly pathogens.

She’d believed her boss, while at the same time Alexa had looked her straight in the eye and promised to make her president, bypassing the man who had handed her Larimar Springs’ single largest customer—the same man she was secretly sleeping with.

That same man had locked Juliet out of the building and lied about the reason.

Juliet was a fool if she believed Alexa was trustworthy and had told the entire truth about these events. Or if she trusted that Greer did not know more than he let on.

A lot of good people worked for this company, and a lot of good people had been hurt in the outbreak. She didn’t have a lot to go on at this point, but at a minimum before moving on she needed to investigate and find out the truth. For everyone concerned.

With a sense of determination, she grabbed her lab coat and headed out the door. “I’ll be in the QA lab,” she told Alva, who looked up from her Selectric typewriter and nodded as Juliet hurried by.

In the lab, she found Malcolm backflushing the reagent dispenser. “Could I talk with you for a few minutes?” she asked.

Giving her a wary look, he turned off the switch. “Sure, Dr. Ryan. What’s up?”

She pointed outside. “Let’s talk in private.”

They sat at a table in the courtyard, often used by employees on their smoke breaks. Something Juliet could find pleasure in right now, given her heightened nerves.

Malcolm seemed nervous as well.

“Let me quickly put your mind at ease,” Juliet began. “This isn’t about you or any problem with the lab. You are doing a fine job. The company is lucky to have someone with your integrity aboard.”

The man sitting across the table visibly relaxed. “Thank you, Dr. Ryan. I appreciate that.” Behind his black-framed glasses, his eyes turned earnest. “Over these past months, I’ve grown to respect your diligence. Especially given the difficulties this company has faced.”

“Thank you,” she said, knowing Malcolm Stanford’s respect was not easily granted. She thought back to Tavina in the hospital room and seeing the flowers he’d sent. He’d also braved conveying concerns to the highest level in the company, likely done with a lot of forethought. She believed she could trust him.

“Malcolm, I want to be candid here. Did you place an envelope on my car window?” She watched for his reaction.

He lowered his head and stared. “A what?”

“Months back, in the middle of the outbreak, someone taped an envelope to my car window while I was parked in the hospital lot.” She’d never told anyone about the envelope. She swallowed, hoping she’d not made a tactical error disclosing the information now.

Malcolm shook his head. “No, I don’t know anything about an envelope. What was in it?”

Her hand moved inside her purse, and she withdrew the analysis report and slid it across the table.

He examined the test and frowned. “What’s this all about?”

She rubbed her chin. “I was never able to figure it out.” She pointed to the line reading Total Coliform Units—MCL. Then she pointed out that the date was in the same time frame as the outdated pallet found in the warehouse. “Look, I haven’t shared this with anyone. But obviously, there’s something going on with this report. Someone wanted me to see it.” She leaned back and sighed. “I spent one whole night at the office, without anyone knowing, scouring lab records. I found nothing out of line. Everything in our system confirmed that the MCL counts on the test report left in that envelope matched up.”

“And you checked to see if the right coefficient values were utilized in the calculations?”

She nodded. “Everything checked out. I even audited tests conducted well before the date on the pallet.” She folded the test and slipped it back inside her bag. “Alexa let it slip that you came to her with some concerns about the same time my predecessor resigned.”

Malcolm frowned. “Resigned?” He let out a nervous laugh. “Who told you that? Robin Ford was terminated.”