A Christmas Proposal: A Hidden Threat Short Story

by Sherri Hayes

  Matthew paused before laying his fork beside his plate. “When?” he demanded and then realized how harsh that sounded. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just…Jason doesn’t tend to…” Matthew was trying to find a polite way of putting this. “He deals more with the operational end of things. I’m just surprised you crossed paths with him.”

  “He was outside my office when I came in this morning,” Cali smiled, remembering.

  “He was?” Matthew asked, surprised.

  She nodded and couldn’t suppress a giggle. It appeared Matthew had no idea about Jason and her assistant. “Yes. Apparently, Lisa needed some help carrying a few things.”

  He was quiet for a minute while he processed the information. When he looked into her eyes again, he saw the answer to his question. Shaking his head, “How did I not see that? How did I not know?”

  “Ma…Mr. Andersen, you can’t be expected to know about every relationship. I’m sure there are others.”

  “One,” he said, visibly upset, “yes, I should. It’s my job. Emotional ties mean possible vulnerabilities.” He paused. “And two,” he added, taking a deep breath, “being my brother, he should have told me.”

  Cali dropped her fork. “Your brother?”

  Matthew stopped mentally cursing his brother and looked at her with first a bit of concern and then chagrin. “Your father didn’t tell you anything, did he?”

  She sighed. “Apparently not.”

  Picking up his fork again, “Let’s correct that,” he said, taking another bite.

  Cali nodded.

  He started with his and Jason’s backgrounds, sharing that they were both in the military for a while. She learned of the initial letter her father received from the anonymous source that had started the mystery they were trying to unravel. And then Matthew explained how he and his brother came to work for Stanton Enterprises via a mutual friend at the Chicago Police Department.

  Matthew told Cali of an incident where one of the shipping managers was blackmailed. The man had been having an affair and was coerced into giving out shipping information after receiving potentially damaging photos of him and the woman. It shed some light on just why he was so upset when finding out about his brother and Lisa.

  Finally, he filled her in on the shipment this Friday and its importance. This was the third attempt on the same delivery, and the clients were getting restless.

  “Jason and I will be there personally to make sure things go as planned.”

  Cali was silent for a long time. Their lunches were long gone, their plates removed, and the bill paid. She was staring blankly at the table, thinking. Raising her eyes to meet his, she said, “I should be there too.”

  “No,” he said firmly.

  She nodded her head. “If this shipment is as important as you say it is, then an extra set of eyes could help.”

  Matthew was shaking his head. “No. It’s too dangerous.”

  “I’ve lived in Africa for the last two years, Mr. Andersen. I think I can handle a simple shipment of supplies.”

  Matthew tossed his napkin on the table and stood. “It’s my decision, and I say it’s too dangerous.”

  He was clearly frustrated, and he waited for her to stand. Finally, when she was in front of him, she said, “I am your boss, Mr. Andersen.”

  “Not on this you’re not,” he said. He turned toward the door and left her no choice but to follow.

  Matthew got off on the thirtieth floor, and Cali continued up to her office. The walk back was tense and silent. Matthew didn’t even comment as he exited onto his floor. He was clearly upset, but so was she.

  When Cali stepped off the elevator, Lisa stood. “Cali, there you are…Are you okay?” she asked, concerned.

  Cali took a deep breath. “Yeah, I’m fine.” She would not let him get to her.

  Still unsure, Lisa hesitated. “Mr. Carson was a little early, so I went ahead and put him in the conference room.” She gave Cali an apologetic look. “Do you need me to get you anything?”

  “No,” she said with conviction. “Please let Peter know I’ll be with him in five minutes.”

  Lisa nodded and Cali disappeared into her office.

  Once the door was closed, she took the entire five minutes to calm down. During her time in Africa, she’d learned how to relax in stressful situations since you never knew what you would encounter in the area where you’d be placed. The breathing exercises helped. Looking at herself in the mirror, she smoothed her hair back and tugged on her jacket before walking into the conference room.

  As she entered, Peter Carson stood and offered his hand in greeting. “Hello again, Cali,” he said with a smile.

  “Hello, Peter.” She took a seat and he followed.

  “So how are things going?” He paused and tilted his head. “You look a little…frazzled.”

  “No. I’m fine. Just a business lunch that ran late.”

  “Oh,” he said. “Well if you ever need anything, you just let me know. You know your dad and I have been working together for years. I’m sure I can help you with anything that may come up.”

  “Thank you, Peter,” Cali said, reaching for the file in front of her. “Well now, I suppose we should start going over these financials.”

  He was silent for a moment and then said, “Yes. We don’t want to be here all night.”

  A member of the security team detained Matthew on the way to his office. Scott had just received intel of a possible threat to Friday’s shipment, and Jason wasn’t in his office. It wasn’t something Matthew could blow off. The shipment was too important. He’d grabbed the closest empty room and questioned the man. By the time he managed to reach his office, he’d almost forgotten about his lunch with Cali Stanton. Almost.

  Lunch with her had been relatively pleasant before she’d insisted on being there Friday night. What was she thinking? Of course, the fact that he’d lost his temper hadn’t helped. He was a professional, not a punk kid who couldn’t control his emotions. His blood started to boil again at the mere thought of her suggestion. He needed to stop thinking about it, about her.

  As he shook his head to clear it, he turned his thoughts to the other rather disturbing fact she’d told him. His brother was apparently fooling around with Lisa Morgan. This relationship brought with it a new wave of agitation. How could his brother keep something like this from him? They never kept secrets from each other, and this had the potential to be huge.

  What he’d told Cali was true. Emotional attachments meant vulnerabilities, something they definitely didn’t need right now. He was going to have to talk to his brother about this.

  Looking at the clock, he realized it was already after six. Had he really been sitting here that long? Obviously.

  Matthew shut down his computer and turned off his light. Running a hand over his hair, he took a long look at his office before shutting the door. His life was getting much too complicated.

  Slipping her key into the lock, Lisa smiled. Jason was behind her door, and she couldn’t wait to see him. Turning the knob, she entered quietly. The living room was empty. “Jason?”

  “In here,” he called from the bedroom.

  Lisa locked the door behind her and dropped her purse to the floor before following Jason’s voice. Pushing the door to her bedroom wide, she found him lying on the bed. Naked.

  “Miss me?” he asked.

  “Hmm,” she responded, looking him over from head to foot. “You know you gave us away this morning.”

  He frowned. “What do you mean?”

  She walked to the bed and stood before him. Reaching up, she popped open the first button on her blouse and saw him swallow. “Cali knows about you and me,” she said as she moved on to the second button.

  His eyes were on her hands. “Are you…sure?”

  “Mmm,” she murmured as her hands skimmed the cleavage she’d just revealed.

  Jason began to sit up, but she took a step back, and he stopped. Her hands continued slo
wly on their journey. “I bet it’s only a matter of time before your brother finds out.”

  “I’m allowed to have a sex life.”

  She reached the final button on her blouse and released it. “Is that what I am? Just sex?”

  Jason groaned. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

  Lisa pushed the blouse from her shoulders and let it slide to the floor, revealing a red lace bra. “So what exactly am I, Jason?” He didn’t answer. Her hands moved to the zipper of her skirt and slid it down. “Am I your lover? Your girlfriend?” Her hands pushed the skirt slowly over her hips and down her legs, revealing the matching panties.

  He swallowed again. “Yes.”

  She walked until her legs brushed up against the bed. Jason came up on his knees to meet her. He went to touch her again, and she shook her head, making him ball his hands into fists. “Yes what?” she whispered as she reached behind her and unhooked her bra.

  He watched her slide one strap and then the other off her shoulders. This was torture. He needed to touch her. She stopped, waiting for his answer. What did she ask again? Oh yeah, what was she to him. “You’re all I can think about. The only one I want.”

  She didn’t move. He looked up. Her face was serious, and he was afraid he’d said the wrong thing. Then he saw the smirk.

  “Good answer,” she said, finally releasing her bra and letting it fall to the floor.

  Cali caught a whiff of breakfast coming from the kitchen as she came out of her room. Smiling, she went downstairs.

  Jessie stood at the counter, placing a stack of pancakes and sausage on a plate. “Special occasion?” Cali asked.

  “Nope.” Jessie smiled as she took a seat in front of the older woman. “Just felt like pancakes and sausage this morning, so eat up.”

  “Thanks,” Cali said as she reached for the syrup.

  Jessie got a plate of her own and pulled up a stool. “So how’s everything going?”

  “Not bad,” Cali answered between bites.

  “That’s good.”

  Both women were quiet for a few minutes before Cali asked, “Jessie, did Dad say anything to you about some trouble with the company?”

  Jessie was silent for a long while, considering.

  She’s keeping something from me, Cali thought. “Jessie?”

  Jessie sighed and laid her fork down. “He didn’t say anything specific, mind you, but he’d been putting in some late nights, and two of his security guys came over to the house to check on the security here and tighten it by installing that fancy alarm system.”

  As soon as Jessie mentioned security, she knew that one of the two men had been Matthew Andersen. After spending half the day with him yesterday, she got the impression there were just some things he liked to oversee himself. The security of his boss’s house would, no doubt, fall into that category. “I see.”

  Matthew turned a little too fast into his parking spot when he got to work that morning. For some reason, his alarm clock didn’t go off that morning, so instead of arriving at seven as he usually did, he was late. It was already eight forty-five. Grabbing his jacket, he ran for the elevator.

  He was just outside his office when his brother stuck his head out. “There you are, Matthew. Where you been, man?”

  Taking a deep breath, Matthew turned to face his brother. “I overslept.” He needed to discuss the shipment on Friday and the new information he’d received last night. “You got a minute?”

  “Yeah sure,” Jason said, following Matthew into his office.

  Matthew sat behind his desk looking lost for a minute. Jason took the seat across from him, smiling at this rarity. Matthew ignored his brother’s obvious amusement and went straight into the new intel. Details about Friday’s shipment had been leaked. Scott, the man who’d come to Matthew last night, didn’t have much information other than he’d intercepted the end of a phone call coming from this building. What he’d heard had been enough to make him think the shipment had been compromised.

  They’d always figured the leak was internal. It just made sense. Even if they pulled phone records, it wouldn’t be that easy. Scott just happened to hit the right button looking for an open line and stumbled onto the conversation. If he’d not been at a security station, the lines would never have crossed. Even if they did find the phone from which the call had been made, that didn’t mean anything. Anyone in the building had access to any number of phones. Matthew was positive this person was smart and didn’t use their own extension.

  It took over an hour, but in the end, they had a game plan. They moved up the shipment time and changed the route slightly. Unfortunately, the starting and ending points had to be the same, which made major route changes difficult, so it was decided Jason would be personally escorting this delivery.

  They were just finishing when there was a knock at the door. “Come in.”

  Jason gave his brother a nod and walked to the door as it opened. Matthew and Jason’s assistant, Mariana, passed Jason as she entered Matthew’s office. “Sorry to bother you, Matthew, but Brad called asking if you wanted to take a look at last night’s security tapes before he archives them.”

  Matthew pushed himself up from the desk. He’d completely forgotten about the tapes. “Yes, I do. Please call him back and let him know I’m on my way.” Mariana nodded and closed the door again. Looking down at his desk, he realized he hadn’t even turned his computer on yet. This was not going to be a good day. Resigned, he grabbed his radio and went downstairs.

  Cali looked down at the clock on her computer. It was almost five. She wasn’t even close to finishing for the day. The pile of paperwork on her desk had managed to grow bigger since she’d started. Her morning had consisted of two meetings back-to-back, one with marketing, and one with human resources. Alvin Stanton was a big believer in communication, so he met with all of his department heads and managers once a week to touch base and address any problems they were having. It was a great idea but time consuming.

  When the second meeting ended, it was time for lunch. The problem was, she didn’t have time for lunch. Luckily, Lisa was used to Alvin having the same problem and had ordered some food in for her. At this rate, Cali was going to have to ask Jessie to start making her a sack lunch every day.

  Cali worked through the noon hour and the rest of the afternoon. A few client calls broke up the monotony of the rest of her day that consisted of paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork. What happened to becoming a paperless society? Hunched over the latest sheet of numbers, she looked up when her computer beeped, alerting her to a new e-mail.

  Pressing her fingers to her temples, she sighed before moving her mouse to click on the message. Nothing happened. She clicked again but with the same result. What in the world? Turning her full attention to the computer now, she made sure her mouse was still working and tried again. Nothing.

  She hated to do it, but she needed help. Pressing the intercom button, she said, “Lisa?”

  “Yes, Cali?”

  “I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m having some trouble opening an e-mail, and I’m not sure why.”

  “Who’s it from?”

  Good question. Cali moved the mouse to the left to reveal the name. Matthew Andersen. She closed her eyes. She’d gone almost the entire day without thinking about him. Wonderful! Cali thought sarcastically.

  “Cali?” Lisa asked when met with Cali’s silence.

  “Sorry. It’s from Matthew Andersen.”

  “Ah,” Lisa said as if all the pieces were making sense. “You have to enter your password. It’s a private message.”

  “A private message?” Cali asked skeptically.

  “It’s a message ‘for your eyes only.’ Sometimes they send new security procedures that way so they can keep track of who has received them.”

  “Oh,” Cali said.

  When Cali continued to sit in silence, she continued, “If you click on the little lock icon in the right hand corner, a box will pop up for you to en
ter the password.”

  “But what’s the password?”

  Lisa laughed. “I can’t help you there. Matthew was very insistent that no one share their password with anyone else, not even their assistants.”

  “Okay. Thanks,” Cali said, clicking off the intercom. With a sigh, she opened up a line and dialed the extension of the one person she really hadn’t wanted to talk to today.

  Matthew’s line was busy so it forwarded her to his assistant, Mariana. She was nice enough but unable to help her. She offered to take a message, but Cali declined. It was five o’clock, and she needed to get out of the office. Packing up several folders for some “light” reading tonight, she hastily made her way out of her office and into the elevator. As the doors closed, she pushed the button for the thirtieth floor. If he was still in his office, maybe she could catch him. If not, the message would still be there tomorrow.

  Matthew hung up the phone, and ran his fingers across his scalp. Looking at his computer, he still had over twenty e-mails to open. With the luck he’d had today, he’d be there all night, answering them.

  Hand poised above the intercom, he noticed the time on the clock. Five after five. Great. Mariana would already be gone. Pulling up his calendar, he made a note for tomorrow and went back to his inbox. This was the first opportunity he’d had all day to take more than a quick glance at his incoming mail, and even that was only long enough to make sure he hadn’t had any messages marked urgent.

  The first e-mail was the security list from the previous day he always reviewed. Of course, that usually occurred at the start of every day, not the end. Shaking his head in resignation, he saved the message and attachments to his flash drive. By the third e-mail, he knew what he’d be doing with his evening.

  Matthew had just opened e-mail number four when there was a light knock on his door. Thinking it must be Jason, he called a quick, “Come in,” but didn’t take his eyes off the monitor in front of him.

  The door closed softly, and footsteps too soft for his brother walked across his office. Glancing up, he found Cali Stanton standing only feet from his desk looking at bit disheveled. He felt an impulse to run his fingers through the loose tendrils of her hair and tuck them behind her ear.