No Time for Surprises (The No Brides Club Book 6)

by Karen McCullough

“No.”

  “Will you talk to me if I call you?”

  She hesitated before she answered. “Yes.”

  This time, when she pushed the button, he let the elevator doors slide closed.

  DANIEL FOSTER LET his breath rush out in a long sigh as he turned back to the office door. Today had presented one shock after another and his mind reeled. He couldn’t feel more flattened if a truck had rolled over him. Seeing Julie again had been a punch to the gut. Once he’d recovered from the initial astonishment, it had brought all sorts of mixed feelings to the surface, forcing him to think about things he’d buried years ago.

  She still looked gorgeous, though her light brown hair had been cut shorter and her cheekbones seemed sharper. The large dark eyes still dominated her face, but her expression showed more maturity, confidence, and self-possession than she’d had back when they were together. Her clothing radiated a sophistication and elegance he didn’t recall.

  He returned to the conference room where Charles, Kris, and Tom Wootton waited. “She’ll talk to me tomorrow,” he told them.

  “What do we do about this?” Charles asked.

  “We can’t have anything to do with her,” Kris insisted. “We cut her off and we should leave it at that.”

  “I don’t think it’s that simple,” Dan said. “Jake and I looked over the specs and the piece of code from the app that was the deliverable for the first stage of the contract. It’s not going to be easy to duplicate the work she’s likely done since. Nor do we have anyone currently on staff who is familiar enough with the system to work with it.”

  Quigley’s expression turned harsh. “You’re telling me we have to consider working with her?”

  “The alternatives are abandoning the app she was working on or hiring someone else to develop it.”

  Kris chimed in. “Could we?”

  Dan looked at them both. He supposed the level of hostility they showed made sense, given how Julie had betrayed them all, but he still wondered that three years hadn’t moderated the animosity at all. “We could. But it would cost us both time and money.”

  “How much?”

  “By the time we hired and trained someone else, and they were able to finish it, she likely will have made just enough changes in the system to circumvent intellectual property restrictions, created the app, and her company will have sold it to someone else who could market it before we did—or at best, simultaneously.” He looked around. “And that doesn’t even touch on the problem of supporting the existing apps she created.”

  “Are you suggesting we keep her on?” Kris sounded aghast at the thought.

  “I’m laying out the facts as I see them,” he answered. “It appears the creative advantage we were trying to acquire in buying out Cummings & Worth is mostly her. We can jettison the projects currently in development, and we’ll still gain some advantage from the apps already finished and marketed. But that advantage won’t last. Especially not when her company offers her products somewhere else.”

  Deep silence greeted that summation, a fraught silence that lasted for several moments.

  “You are suggesting we work with her,” Kris said. An acid tinge of spite laced her next words. “I don’t suppose your former relationship with her has anything to do with that?”

  Anger swirled inside but he kept his voice even. “That relationship has been over for three years. Why would it influence my actions today? And to the point—I wasn’t the one who was charged with evaluating Cummings & Worth’s resources, including the human resources.”

  A red flush rose in her cheeks and her eyes shot figurative daggers at him. “I think Worth deliberately hid the information about her involvement in that company she works for. I did look at it when I reviewed the suppliers, but a different name is listed as the agent for the company, and it had no complaints on file anywhere. Worth must’ve known she’d once worked for us and knew it might ruin his chances of pulling off the sale if we learned about her.”

  Quigley lifted a hand and waved it in front of everyone. “All that may or may not be so, but it’s not the point now. The question is what do we do about it?”

  “Something else to consider,” Dan said. “We don’t know if the company has other developers or if she’s it. Even if they have others, she’s almost certainly the best they have. And she may well be no more happy about working with us than we are with her. She indicated she’ll complete the current contract. Beyond that, who knows? If we want her to do more, it’s likely to cost us a lot. A lot more than this contract. And it’s pricey enough.”

  As he watched the others react to that, he realized it gave him a strange satisfaction. Deep down he found a hint of pride that Julie had flourished into the ace developer he’d known she could be. And she’d grown into a fighter. That might not make his job any easier, but it still gave him an unexpected, surprising satisfaction.

  “Let’s worry about one thing at a time.” Quigley let out a sighing breath. “Dan, you’ll talk to her tomorrow and feel her out about finishing the contract. That’s all we’re worrying about right now.”

  “Then we’d better be sure our security is tight,” Kris Thomas said through clenched teeth, directing the words at him. “It’ll all be on you if anything gets leaked again.”

  CHAPTER 2

  J ulie rushed into the Briarwood Tavern and up the stairs to the rooftop lounge. Her friends sat at their usual table, already into the first round of drinks and a tray of mixed snacks.

  “Sorry I’m late.” She settled into the empty seat they’d saved. “I’ve had the most unbelievable day.”

  “‘Unbelievable’ in a good way or a bad way?” her best friend Kate asked.

  “Mostly bad. Some I’m not sure about.” A server approached with a glass of Malbec before she even asked for it. Julie stared at it and shook her head. “Do any of you ever wonder if they know us a little too well here?”

  “Nah.” Kate picked up her glass and swirled the liquid in it. “So spill. What’s going on?”

  Julie took a long sip of wine. “Fortification.” She told them what had happened that afternoon, right up to Dan Foster accosting her at the elevator and wanting to talk to her.

  One of the others said, “Wait. Let me get this straight. This is the company that accused you of selling corporate secrets to a competitor and fired you? And the same guy that dumped you as a result?”

  “To be fair, he didn’t exactly dump me. He didn’t trust me or back me, and I couldn’t handle that. We argued about the situation, and I gave his ring back.”

  Kate set her drink down sharply. “Close enough. He didn’t try to defend you or even ask if there was any other explanation. Why would you even be thinking about talking to him? He doesn’t deserve it.”

  “Maybe not,” Julie said slowly. “But this is business and I think I, at least, need to hear what he has to say.”

  “What if all he wants is to try to cajole you into finishing that project for the company?”

  “I’m pretty sure that is what he wants. On their terms, of course.” A glimmer of an idea took root in her brain.

  Julie didn’t think anything showed on her face, but Kate knew her pretty well. “You’re cooking up a plan,” she said. “Some devious kind of revenge?”

  “Not exactly. But it does cross my mind that we haven’t signed a contract yet for developing the currencies app. And not much has been put in writing about it. I told Frank what I’d come up with and he thought it a great idea. I’ll bet he even told Spieler about it. If they want it, it’s going to cost them. Big.”

  “Couldn’t they take your idea and hire someone else to do it?”

  “Maybe. But I have a unique concept for the interface—something I haven’t seen anyone else do. It’s so different that Frank and I discussed a patent application for it. But even he didn’t know the algorithm I worked out for making it go. I’ll bet he told them just enough to whet their appetite.”

  “So they’ll have to come t
o you to get it.”

  “That’s the idea. And they’ll pay big. Or I’ll develop the app on my own and either sell it or market it myself. At least I have enough savings cushion to get me through long enough for that.”

  Kate held up her glass and said, “I’ll drink to that.” The other members of the No Brides Club followed suit.

  AS PROMISED, Dan called her at just after nine the next morning to ask if she’d meet him for coffee. Hearing his voice on the phone after all this time rattled her. She struggled to keep her voice even when she suggested a place near the Cummings & Worth offices, one she had occasionally retreated to with her colleagues. It had a couple of quiet corners, and he waited in one of those when she arrived two minutes before their agreed time of ten-thirty.

  He smiled and stood as she approached, displaying the appealing creases in his cheeks. Dang it. She didn’t return the smile. He came around to hold her chair, but she slid into it before he got there. “Can I get you a coffee?” he asked.

  “Medium double-shot latte.”

  He returned a few minutes later with two coffees and a plate holding a cheese danish. “Would you cut that in half while I get sugars and napkins?”

  She sucked in a sharp breath as anger shot through her. They’d shared pastries on several occasions while dating. Had he done it deliberately to remind her of the past? If so, he’d should’ve known better. She shoved it over to his side of the table.

  “This is a business meeting. We’re not sharing pastries,” she said coldly as he returned.

  He stared at the danish a moment before he sat down but didn’t say anything until after they’d each added sugar to the coffee. “Before we talk business, I have something personal I wanted to say to you.” He looked down into the coffee cup, then back up at her. Shadows washed some of the shine from his eyes. “I owe you an apology. The kind that’s nearly impossible to make. Three years ago, I was young and stupid and…” He swirled the spoon around and around his coffee cup. “Ambitious. And I let that skew my reaction to the things that happened then. I— I never even asked you what happened or why you did it. I never gave you a chance to explain. I’ve regretted that ever since.”

  “No, you didn’t,” Julie said, through clenched teeth. “And don’t you think it’s a bit late for apologies?” She wanted to scream at him but since they were in a public place, she drew in a deep breath to calm herself. “But you’ve still got it wrong, and that’s what makes it hard to forgive or forget.”

  He looked puzzled. “What?”

  Her stomach clenched and squeezed painfully. “You say you should have asked me for an explanation. It doesn’t matter that you didn’t. I couldn’t explain. Then or now. There was nothing to explain. Because I didn’t do it.” She took the stirrer out of the cup, slapped it down on the table, and stared at him. “Someone leaked that code, without a doubt. But it wasn’t me. Not even inadvertently.”

  He’d lifted the coffee cup to his mouth to take a drink but stopped with it halfway there. His expression pulled into a frown that might have been perplexity or irritation or both. “But all the evidence— And you signed the agreement accepting responsibility.”

  “All the evidence was against me. I know. That’s why I accepted the deal. I couldn’t risk going to jail over it.” She didn’t try to hide the bitterness lacing the words. “But this is the truth. The truth that apparently never even crossed your shallow, ambitious mind back then. I didn’t do it. Someone framed me. A possibility that didn’t occur to anyone else. Not even you.” Her breath was heaving in an out and her pulse raced. Relax, she warned herself.

  He tensed and his fingers locked around the coffee cup. “That’s… Why would anyone do that?”

  Another slow sip of coffee helped her find control again. “I don’t know. I can guess a few possible motives, but since I don’t know who, I can’t figure out why. However, despite all appearances, I didn’t do it.” She pulled in a long breath and let it out on a sigh that exhaled some of the overwrought tension. “Think about it. There’s no possible risk/reward calculus that would have made it worth the possible consequences. I wasn’t desperate for money. I had a bright future in a profession I’m very good at. I was looking forward to marrying the man I thought I was in love with. Why would I jeopardize all that for money I didn’t need? I wouldn’t. I didn’t.”

  He set the cup back down without drinking. “Dear God.” He didn’t say anything, but he drew in a long breath and let it out again on a sigh. “If it wasn’t you, then who?” He didn’t sound entirely convinced, but at least he was listening and considering.

  “Good question,” she said and realized she meant it in more than just the obvious way. “I don’t know.”

  “You have some idea.”

  “No. Just suspicions, and with no evidence, I don’t even want to mention them.”

  “Fair enough. For the moment.” He remained quiet again for a couple of minutes, while they each sipped coffee. The cheese danish sat untouched.

  He seemed lost in thought, so after downing half her cup, she said, “Why don’t we get to the business part of this talk?”

  Dan took a long drink. “Okay. I need time to process this anyway. Spieler Financials Incorporated would like you to finish the development on the transaction-logging app that is in progress. What will it take?”

  Julie wiped her hands on the napkin. “I said yesterday I’d honor the contract as long as Spieler pays as specified. It will go faster if I can keep the people I’m used to working with for help in the development and testing. I know some of the staff will be laid off, but I hope you’re not thinking of eliminating Maureen or Stan. Are you going to keep the current office?”

  “For a couple of weeks. We’re working out how to rearrange our current space to accommodate everyone. Longer term, we’re looking for a larger office. Eventually we’ll all move, but that’s probably several months away. As for staff, anyone who won’t be kept on by the company has been notified. Maureen and Stan will remain.”

  “Good. The other things I need. I keep a cubicle on site and the two people I work with in the IT department. You keep everyone else from Spieler away from me when I’m there. Not kidding on this. All interaction with me goes through you.”

  “All right.” His thoughtful look had a tinge of sadness. “You’ll have to talk to Quigley about it initially. Otherwise, I’ll handle all interactions. Question. Is J Varner Software just you or are there other developers?”

  “Thinking about asking for someone else? Sorry to disappoint you. It’s just me. I set it up with my lawyer’s help a couple of years ago for tax reasons and to protect myself from liability issues. It helped separate my current work from any shadows from my past as well.”

  “I see.”

  “How hard was it to convince them to keep me on to finish that project?”

  His lip quirked but the incipient smile didn’t make it to his eyes. “It took some doing.”

  “Of course, you’re probably the only one who would realize what it would cost in time and money to bring in someone else to do it.”

  “True.”

  Julie braced herself to ask the question that haunted her. “One more thing. It wasn’t you who framed me, was it?”

  He almost dropped his coffee. A few drops of liquid splashed on the table as he caught the cup before it completely slipped through his fingers. Eyes widened and lips parted before he controlled his expression again. “Good heavens, no. Why would I do something like that? I loved you. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”

  The anger roused again, sizzling in her gut. “And yet, you did. You tore my heart out and stomped on it. Why shouldn’t I entertain the possibility you were behind it all? But honestly, no. I don’t really think you were responsible. I had to consider it, but it didn’t square with what I thought I knew of you.”

  “I did struggle with it, too, you know,” he said quietly. “It wasn’t easy to accept that you would betray us all that way. It didn�
�t square with what I knew about you either. But the evidence was pretty convincing. I’m still wrestling with it.”

  “Don’t expect me to sympathize.” She stopped and shook her head. “In any case, I have one more request. If I’m going to continue working on the app for Spieler, I want you to help figure out who did frame me.”

  He set the cup down hard and stared up at her. He looked stunned. “Any ideas how to do that?”

  “Not really. I’m hoping you’ll have some.”

  His surprise faded into acceptance and a small grin. “I don’t guarantee anything but I’ll try. If that works for you, it’s a deal. Shake?”

  He extended a hand. She hesitated before taking it. His palm was warm, and a small jolt of electric awareness zapped her at the touch. She sucked in a sharp breath. This shouldn’t happen. She was over him. Had been for years. If she felt anything at all for him now, it was hate.

  Possibly he felt the prickle, too, since he met her gaze with a probing one of his own. But he didn’t pursue it, instead he released her hand and gripped the coffee cup again.

  “I need to know now. You said you had some thoughts about who might have framed you?” he asked.

  “Kris has never liked me, and a couple of the girls in sales were jealous, but it’s hard to imagine any of them would’ve tried to get me in trouble in that way. I’m not sure any of them would even know how to do it. Jake was brand-new at the time and even if he knew how or who to go to, I can’t think why he would. So, no, I don’t really have any good suspects.”

  “All right. I’ll help in any way I can. In the meantime, can you come in and talk to Charles this afternoon? There are some details about the work that need to be nailed down.”

  “Not this afternoon. Tell Mr. Quigley I can do ten o’clock tomorrow morning. I presume you’ll be there as well?”

  “I will. I’ll call if that time doesn’t work.”

  Julie set down the empty cup, dug in her purse, and left a couple of dollars on the table. “I need to get going. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” She stood up and left, making an effort to keep from turning to look back at him.