Tainted Love Series Boxed Set

by Lily Zante

  “’I’ll be watching you?’” Noah repeated her words. “What does he mean by that?” he wondered out loud. Then, not wanting to worry her further he said, “The guy’s an idiot. I wouldn’t worry about it.” But he did worry about it. He worried about her most of all. She wasn’t done yet though. “That day, when I came to your place, after our night together.” She paused, as if remembering that night. “Uh—” She let out a long sigh, as though the words caught. “I don’t know how to tell you.” Her words were a whisper and he was torn between sitting beside her, and staying put. He wanted to comfort her, run his hands through her hair, to hold her. He got up and sat beside her.

  “You said you had something to tell me,” he said softly, taking her hand, he stared at her downcast eyes, saw her face turn ashen. “I won’t judge you, Melissa. I kind of already have an idea what that guy’s about.”

  “You asked me last time if I slept with him that day, when you first saw me in your apartment. I did.” She closed her eyes and said the rest. “He told me he’d give me back all my photos, he’d delete them all, for one final…”

  Leaning over, he rubbed his thumbs over her closed eyes, soaking up the wet tears that coated her eyelashes.

  “One last time with him.” The words choked high in her throat, as she struggled to say them.

  When she opened her eyes, his thumbs had slid to either side of her mouth, his palms cupping her cheeks. He stared at her, looking deep inside her, touching her face gently. “It wasn’t your fault.”

  “I didn’t want to. But I stupidly believed him. And so I let him.”

  “It wasn’t your fault. He blackmailed you.”

  “I had no idea he would tape it…”

  Noah kept his voice steady and looked her straight in the eyes. “He’s a bastard. And I can’t believe I live with him.”

  “That day when I broke into his room and found the photos, the ones he’d told me he’d deleted, I took them all and copied them to my memory stick. I wasn’t thinking straight; I kind of figured I needed to have them maybe as proof of what he’d done if it ever came to it. But I gave that memory stick to my boss by accident.”

  Surprise jerked his whole body. “Your boss saw it?”

  Melissa hung her head in shame. When she looked up, her lower lip trembled.

  “What happened?”

  “She said we couldn’t let him get away with it. But she didn’t want me to have to show my images as proof of what he did.”

  He nodded in agreement. Her boss seemed to have Melissa’s best interests at heart.

  “He doesn’t even know yet, that Nadine knows,” said Melissa.

  He doesn’t yet know what I’ve done to his files, thought Noah. Soon enough Matt Elliott was going to get back exactly what he deserved. Noah looked forward to that moment with glee. He blew out a soft breath, stroked her cheek with his thumb. “That’s why your boss sent you home early?”

  Melissa nodded.

  “I’m sorry for what he did to you. I wish I could make it better for you. I wish I could have walked through that door before he made you do it.”

  “None of that can be changed now.”

  “Can’t it?” he asked.

  She looked at him puzzled.

  He sat back, taking his hands away, putting a little distance between them. “I wrote some code that will mess up his multi-media files,” he confessed proudly.

  The frown on her face deepened. “You did what?”

  “I created a program that will infect all of his images and movies—tonight, while he’s sleeping. I would have already done it but I figured it was best to do it while he slept, you know, as a way of reducing suspicion.”

  “When did you do that?” she asked, her voice quiet.

  “Earlier this afternoon.”

  “Why would you do that?” He could see her connecting the dots slowly, her suspicions already aroused. “Why would you delete his movie files?”

  She knew.

  Noah looked away. “Because I saw the footage.”

  She gasped, her hand on her chest. “You saw that?”

  He shifted his gaze to her and nodded. She stared down at her hands, and that was when he leaned over and put his arms around her. The fresh smell of her hair, and the lemony smell of her, so soft, and pliant, and warm, made him want to stay like this.

  She pulled away first, clearly not wanting to talk about it. “He’ll go crazy when he finds out.”

  “He won’t.”

  They still held hands, even as she knelt back to sit on her heels. “He’s not stupid.”

  “Neither am I,” Noah told her.

  “I wish I could erase that footage from your mind,” she said quietly.

  “Shhhh.” He put a finger to her lips. “I wish I could rewind time so that he never did that to you.”

  They sat a while in silence, before he said, “It can’t be easy. Both of you working at the same place.”

  “About as awkward as it must be for you to live with him.”

  “There’s other places I could rent.” The idea had been fast forming in his head. He didn’t want to see that guy 24/7. Living and working with him was going to be the worst. But it would be better than having the guy at the Zimmerman Group—if he offered him a job at Black Diamond. If he did it for Melissa. Not for Matt.

  “In the spirit of full disclosure,” he said, turning to his side and leaning back into the couch, “I have another confession.”

  She looked at him, alarmed. Apprehension flooding her features.

  “He’s applied for a position at the place I work.”

  Melissa was speechless. “How? Why? Does he know about us—is that why he—”

  He could see the alarm on her face and rushed to soothe her. “No. No. It was from before. He heard about the place I work from Paul. He’s looking to move. He knows the place I’m working is currently hiring.”

  “You don’t have to take him on.”

  “He’s good. On paper. At least my boss thinks so.”

  She looked away, then back at him. Her brows coming together. “What do you think?”

  “I think I’m going to take him to hell.”

  Chapter 45

  “They found images on his work PC,” Nadine said scornfully. “He obviously thought he was too smart for everyone. He thought he could get away with it.”

  “Does he know of my involvement in this?” Melissa asked.

  Nadine shook her head. “No. Neither do the people in HR. Let’s say the IT manager owes me a few favors. I let him know that we had suspicions of some activity, but that we couldn’t prove it without the evidence. I merely asked him to take a look discreetly. He checked a couple of PCs, not only Mr. Elliott’s. Apparently, they found nothing personal on his machine, no images of you or anyone else. Some porn, some of it hardcore.”

  “What happens next?”

  “He’s been suspended temporarily. With immediate effect.”

  “And then?”

  “I guess a suspension should be enough of a warning. He’ll be off work for two weeks without pay. That should hit him where it hurts.”

  Melissa breathed a sigh of relief. It still didn’t stop the guy from bumping into her on the way in and out of work though. And he knew where she lived. She felt uneasy.

  “Are you alright with this?” Nadine asked gently.

  Melissa nodded. She’d have to be. She’d gone through worse.

  “I’m here for you. My door is always open, if you need to talk or anything. I don’t suppose this is over completely,” she added, trying to make the situation sound better than it was. “I’ve requested that he not deal with any support calls on this floor.”

  Melissa appreciated it. And wondered what she was going to do when Nadine left her in the lurch for a year or more. As if reading her thoughts, Nadine added. “This should all blow over by Easter. Don’t worry. I’m here until then.”

  “Is it all set? Your transfer abroad?” asked Melissa, her nerve
s were already frayed. The thought of only having Nadine around for another couple of months unsettled her completely.

  “I’ll still come over for a few visits,” she offered, not sounding completely convinced herself.

  “It won’t be the same, will it?”

  “No,” Nadine replied wearily, “it won’t be the same at all.” She had that same faraway look on her face again, and Melissa didn’t want to ask how Ethan was taking to this news. Nadine was already dealing with enough on her plate as it was, without having to wade in and deal with Melissa’s crap too.

  “Thank you—for all that you’ve done for me.” Melissa meant it more than Nadine would ever know. The idea of losing a great woman boss, someone who looked out for her as well as mentored her was beginning to hit her.

  Two sharp knocks on the door announced trouble. Before answering, Nadine asked her, “I’ll keep you posted on events as they unfold. You let me know anytime you need to talk. Okay?”

  Melissa nodded and smiled as another sharp knock followed.

  “Thanks, Nadine.” She headed toward the door and when she opened it, Sandra burst in.

  “Michael wants me to sit in when you deal with Noble Vintage or Flight from now on.”

  “Is that all?” asked Nadine, the expression on her face incredulous.

  “Someone’s got to look after your high-profile accounts while you’re off for the year.”

  “I’ll still have a handle on those accounts,” Nadine told her firmly. Melissa watched their sparring and kept out of the way.

  “Not according to Michael,” said Sandra testily.

  “I’ll clear it with Michael first. And for the record, Sandra, I don’t consider my time in Europe, no matter how long, to be time off. That might be your experience of working abroad, but I can tell you it certainly wasn’t mine.” Nadine walked to the door, rolled her eyes at Melissa and waited for Sandra to exit. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to speak to Michael and tell him exactly how my high-profile accounts will be handled while I am away.”

  Sandra hurtled out of the door and along the hallway, as Melissa let out a sigh of relief. She felt sorry for Nadine. Despite this crap going on in her own life, Nadine had been a tower of strength to her, even though she was putting out fires at home and at work.

  She felt relieved to be back at her desk, working in the role she had without ever having to deal with the kind of stress her boss endured.

  The thought of Matt suspended from work gave her a modicum of relief. Unable to accept that it was all over, she still felt as if there was more trouble lurking around the corner.

  Only the fact of him leaving work for good, would give her cause to celebrate.

  Still, this was a small victory as far as victories went. She picked up her cell and called Noah, something she’d been doing ever since he’d come to see her a few days ago. They had decided not to meet in the coffee shop just yet. He was busy going through the interview process and she had the uncertainty of the Matt situation at work to deal with.

  “He’s been suspended,” she told Noah, smiling as she did so.

  “That explains it,” replied Noah easily, a lightness in his voice.

  “Why’s that?” she asked, suddenly curious.

  “Because he’s coming for an interview this afternoon. Instead of scheduling one after work, or outside of work hours.”

  “Does he know you’re interviewing him?” To be a witness to his reaction when that happened would be priceless.

  “He’ll find out soon enough. How are you?” There was a familiarity in his words, in the way he spoke, reminding her how far they’d come in their getting-to-know-each-other stage. It was still too early to call it a relationship. Even that day when he’d been around, listening to her confession, touching her face with his hands, holding and comforting her, they hadn’t kissed or spoken of things. There was too much detritus strewn all around them still.

  “I’m feeling surprisingly light and upbeat.” She answered, feeling exactly that.

  “Light and upbeat is good.” They’d spoken a couple of times since their last meeting, and each time they were together talking was so natural and effortless it was a perfect reminder of where they’d been before the shit had hit the fan.

  “Melissa?” She leaned into his words. He sounded so close, the way he spoke, low-toned, just to her.

  “Hmm,” she said, trying to imagine if he was smiling, guessing at the expression on his face.

  “I miss you.” Those three words made her heart pitter-patter.

  I miss you, she wanted to say. “Do you want to meet up tonight? Or are you—”

  Busy, she was going to say.

  “Yeah. Let’s meet up.” He sounded eager, more eager than she’d ever heard him of late.

  “I’d like to hear how your interview goes.” She giggled.

  He groaned. “I’ll meet you there around six?”

  “See you at six,” she said. And heard his voice in her head for a long time after their conversation had ended.

  Chapter 46

  “You?”

  Yeah, me. Noah reveled at the unexpected shock on Matt’s face.

  In all his recent run-ins with Matt, even as late as yesterday when the guy was still recovering from the shock of having all his picture files corrupted, Noah hadn’t let on that he’d be in charge of the new hire.

  He didn’t want this guy in his company, let alone working under him. But he was willing to do it, if it meant he had to leave the Zimmerman Group. And having that turdball here meant he got to keep an eye on the guy. He intended to make Matt Elliott pay for everything he’d done to Melissa.

  “I didn’t realize you were so high up.” Matt sounded impressed, a little envious even, as he followed Noah down the hallway.

  They sat down in Noah’s office, facing one another across the desk. “Tell me a little about yourself,” prompted Noah, suitably shifting through the paperwork he had on the guy. Then he sat back, his hands clasped over his stomach, trying to listen to what he had to say.

  Noah saw the guy’s lips move, but hardly paid attention to what he said. The entire time Matt was talking, Noah only saw the movie of Matt and Melissa replaying over and over.

  The more Matt spoke, the angrier Noah got. It was an effort to play it cool and to never once let on what he was thinking.

  “That’s how I ended up at the Zimmerman Group,” said Matt, after what must have been at least ten minutes of non-stop blowing his own trumpet.

  “I see.” Noah suitably rearranged the sheets of paper on his desk. “Tell me why you want this job so much?” He sat back, the pile of papers neatly lined up. He let Matt warble on some more, as he settled back into his chair. When Matt was done, he looked at Noah, awaiting the next question. Noah smiled at him, affably enough.

  Matt adjusted his position in the chair. Waiting patiently.

  “What’s your stance on indecent images?” Noah asked, taking particular pleasure at the look of complete confusion on Matt’s face.

  “Excuse me?”

  Noah repeated. “What’s your stance on indecent images?”

  Matt stiffened visibly. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

  “It’s only a question.”

  Matt shifted in his chair. “I don’t see what that’s got to do with anything to do with my work or career.”

  “Hmm.” Noah pulled his body taller as he sat in the chair. “We deal a lot with monitoring clients’ servers and a lot of that is done remotely. We have access to many networks and machines on clients’ sites. I wondered what your take on it was. We have to be aboveboard, totally clean, totally accountable ourselves.” He relaxed into a smile, enjoying every minute of the random but not so random things he was telling Matt, designed to faze him, throw him off kilter. And from the expression on Matt’s face, he could see that it was having the desired effect.

  Matt gave him a questioning look but so far hadn’t answered his question. To prompt him further, No
ah asked, “You must have such practices at your current employer?”

  Matt moved in his chair, loosened his tie a little. “Yeah. I guess.”

  “Of course your employer has such practices in place.” Noah laughed, so out of context here, but he was enjoying making this guy uncomfortable. “I mean, no one wants a dodgy employee working for them, right?” Maybe he’d overdone it now.

  Matt eyed him warily—as if he was looking for the double meaning in Noah’s words.

  “I wanted to give you the heads up, dude. I know you wouldn’t have any shit like that on your boxes.” He stared directly at Matt, who winced. But he couldn’t prove a thing.

  “That shouldn’t be a problem,” Matt mumbled, though he seemed less sure of himself. Noah continued, asking him about his technical capabilities, his current responsibilities at his present workplace and then went on to tell him more about the position at Black Diamond.

  But by now Matt appeared to have lost the expectant look of unfettered enthusiasm he’d worn when he had first walked in.

  Mission accomplished, thought Noah, jaw clenched as he tried to get a grip on the gnawing anger that simmered below the surface. He could not, no matter how hard he tried, completely erase that footage of Melissa crying while the man abused her. It took all his might to stop himself from landing a solid fist across the guy’s face.

  After an interview that lasted under an hour, Noah saw Matt to the door and told him that he would be in touch in due course. After Matt left, Noah returned to his desk and rubbed his fingers against his chin. On paper the guy looked great. If Noah didn’t know what he now knew, the guy would be a sure bet. On paper, to a high-tech startup such as Black Diamond, Matt Elliott looked like the model employee.

  It was scary how much lay hidden beneath the surface. Noah felt it his duty to recommend him to Rory but with reservations.

  Chapter 47

  After work had never been their usual time of meeting and for that reason Melissa felt strange to be at the coffee shop now—albeit with a more relaxed after-work crowd, people who were in no rush to get anywhere.