Tea or Consequences

by KC Burn

  “Yes.” Riley checked his watch. “The caterers might even still be here. It hasn’t been that long since we told everyone to pack up and go home.”

  She tapped her cheek thoughtfully before turning to the cop towering over her. “Make the call. If the caterers are still here, we’ll want to talk to them.”

  The cop strode off, muttering into his radio.

  God. Riley had never been so happy he hadn’t eaten anything. Had Gabrielle died of food poisoning? No, that was stupid. Food poisoning would have included some sort of gastrointestinal issues, wouldn’t it? And if Gabrielle had been hit that quickly, surely other people at the party would have been affected. It must have just been a heart attack or stroke or something.

  Unsettled, he picked up his tray and made his way to the conference room.

  TWO HOURS ago Riley hadn’t realized the import of Dr. Nehru’s words Make the call. But as soon as he’d shown up in the conference room, the uniformed officer told him he wasn’t allowed to leave, which was apparently the first anyone else in the room had heard of that.

  Riley was pretty sure both of the Gautier kids had come within a hair of being zip-tied and arrested, but time had deadened their responses. François had called their lawyer, hoping that would get them out of the room, but the lawyer, currently out of town, had told them to sit tight and he’d find someone to fill in. So far that mythical beast hadn’t arrived.

  Floriana had not been pleased about missing the official launch party. The executives had planned to go straight from the office to an upscale club, complete with press and celebrities. Even the stoic cop had winced at her shrill tone when she’d informed the event planners that their account manager was going to have to host the event.

  Everyone was tired, sullen. The tears had dried up a while ago and the coffee was long gone. Riley hadn’t been allowed to make any more. Of them all, Cody was the one who still looked the most ravaged by grief, but that might have had more to do with his fairer complexion.

  It looked more and more like Alisha might have been onto something, because the police seemed to be treating Gabrielle’s death as suspicious.

  Fuck. Alisha. He’d completely forgotten about her. He pulled out his phone and realized, from the excessive number of notifications, that he’d also forgotten about his plans with Shaun. He must have been in shock or something, because he hadn’t felt one vibration.

  The cop gave him a look but didn’t say anything as Riley shot off a couple of quick texts. At least Alisha had given up on him and gone home after dismissing the partygoers. Shaun’s messages were angry, but he wouldn’t hold a grudge. Especially not when he finally left his one-night stand’s bed and found out why Riley had blown him off. Alisha made him promise to text when he got home, no matter what time.

  “What is taking so long?” Floriana couldn’t let the silence go unbroken for too long. She glared at Riley. “We wouldn’t be in this mess if it weren’t for you.”

  “Me?” He’d called 911. That was normal procedure after finding a dead person.

  “Oh for fuck’s sake, lay off, Floriana,” Cody spit out.

  Riley wanted to groan. If they just let Floriana rant for a bit, she’d eventually wind down, but not with Cody throwing fuel on the flames.

  Floriana narrowed her eyes and turned her Medusa’s gaze on Cody. “Why are you even here? You’re nothing. No one. You don’t belong here. This is for people who loved her.”

  She glanced Riley’s way. “And for assholes who call in the police.”

  On top of it all, Riley was pretty sure Gautier Cosmetics wouldn’t be keeping him for his whole contract.

  “Fuck you, Floriana.” Cody pushed his chair back from the table and rose to his feet. Out of the corner of his eye, Riley saw the cop straighten, ready to take action if required. “I belong here. I loved Gabby.”

  “Gabby?” Floriana’s voice rose, incredulous. “No one calls my mother Gabby. She’d eviscerate you.”

  Cody leaned over the table and wagged his finger in her face. “I call her Gabby. I loved her. She was my wife.”

  “You filthy fucking liar!” Floriana shrieked as she practically climbed over the table in an attempt to lay hands on Cody.

  Riley stumbled to his feet and pressed back against the wall while the room erupted.

  At that moment the door banged open, although Riley, on the other side of the room, couldn’t see who’d arrived around the chaos.

  “Sit down and shut up.” The androgynous, gravelly voice stunned the near combatants into silence. They obeyed her like she was the voice of God, rather than a tall, hawkish woman in her late forties wearing a tailored plum suit. “I have no time for nonsense.”

  A glare from icy blue eyes leveled them all. She pointed at Floriana and Riley. “You two, come along.”

  It had been a long time since Riley had been actively scared, but he was edging into fear. He followed the nameless woman into the hall, Floriana trailing behind.

  “You, that office.” She directed Riley to one of the manager’s offices, then gestured for Floriana to enter the adjacent office. At least they weren’t on the south side of the conference room, or this woman might have appropriated Floriana’s or François’s office, and wouldn’t that be weird for everyone?

  Riley took a deep breath and knocked gently before opening the door. A man sat at Sandra Cheng’s desk, dark head bent as he jotted in a notebook.

  “Have a seat.”

  That voice, like aged whiskey, flowed over him. It sounded vaguely familiar, but Riley didn’t know any cops, and despite the dark blue sports coat, there was no mistaking him for anything but police.

  Riley sat and waited.

  After several moments the cop lifted his head as he spoke. “I’m Detective Tad Martin. And you are?”

  The room swam as Riley struggled to breathe. Or not throw up. This couldn’t be happening to him.

  Tadeo Martin had been a fucking god in high school. Watching him on the lacrosse field had pretty much catapulted Riley into fierce, aching puberty. Two years ahead of Riley, he had no reason to know who Riley was. After all, the jocks had only mingled with the A/V and drama geeks that one year because the head cheerleader broke her leg and decided to star in the school play.

  No need to humiliate himself by trying to get Tad to recall someone even Riley barely wanted to remember. It wasn’t like they’d been friends.

  He stared at Tad, cataloging all the ways Tad’s face had changed and all the ways it hadn’t. His skin was still kissed with gold, as though the sun never quite stopped shining on his face, even in deepest winter. But there were fine lines at the corners of his eyes that probably crinkled when he laughed. A few silver threads sparkled in the smooth sheen of his dark hair. It was hard to tell, but Riley suspected they’d be about the same height, unless Tad had also experienced a late growth spurt after he’d left high school. Perhaps the absolute worst for Riley’s equilibrium, though, was the stubble. He didn’t know if it was a personal fashion choice or the result of overwork. Either way, Riley had spent so much time imagining Tad’s lips gliding along his jaw and down his neck. Now he could add the rasp of dark stubble marking his skin with beard burn to the sounds in his mind, and goose bumps rose along his collarbone.

  Fucking hell. Why had the universe seen fit to drop this on him today? The only thing good about Tad sitting in front of him was that there was no way Tad would know who he was.

  Tad’s jaw firmed and his nostrils flared ever so slightly. “Your name?” The words were almost glacial.

  Riley made a sound that could generously be called a squeak as he sucked in a breath. He’d completely forgotten Tad had asked him a question.

  “Riley Parker. Gabrielle’s temp admin assistant.” Heat flooded Riley’s face as his voice broke like he was back in high school, rather than a twink facing the wrong side of thirty.

  Tad tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes. Riley didn’t quite like the speculation in his gaze and ne
eded to divert it.

  “T—” Riley swallowed the rest of Tad’s name and coughed. If he started calling Tad by his first name, he’d either piss him off or amp up the speculation. “Er… Detective Martin. Can you tell me what’s going on? Why have we been held all this time?”

  Tad’s official mien dissolved into incredulity. “Didn’t my partner say anything?”

  “Would that be the terrifying woman in the next office?”

  A tiny laugh escaped from Tad, but he controlled his mirth too quickly for Riley to note if the corners of his eyes did indeed crinkle.

  At least Riley wasn’t going to get in shit for his imprudent, thoughtless description.

  “Sorry about that. She quit smoking a couple of weeks ago.”

  Riley nodded because it did explain some things, but he didn’t imagine Tad’s partner exuded rainbows and buttercups even after smoking all the tobacco in the world.

  Tad’s amusement quickly faded. “You’re the one who discovered Gabrielle Gautier?”

  “Yes.”

  Tad made a couple of quick notes. “At the moment, we’re treating her death as suspicious.”

  Suspicious? Riley’s stomach flipped, and he got light-headed so fast he was insanely glad he was already sitting down. But he was truly afraid he might throw up, and he couldn’t do that in front of Tadeo Martin. His mortification would be infinite.

  “Hey. Are you okay?”

  Riley waved him off, afraid to open his mouth. He took a couple of deep breaths and his stomach settled a bit. “Sorry. Low blood sugar or something.”

  “Are you diabetic?” Tad braced himself as though ready to launch out of his chair.

  “No. Not that serious. I’ve only had half a glass of champagne since breakfast.” Because he’d intended to take Alisha somewhere with giant burgers after the party, before they met up with Shaun. When he finally got home, he’d have something to eat, but it would be more along the lines of crackers or rice.

  Tad sat back down. “So you didn’t eat anything at the party?” This time the question had a hint of menace in it, unless Riley was imagining it.

  “No. I was the liaison for the caterers. I was too busy making sure things went smoothly, and, well, there wasn’t time for lunch today. Gabrielle’s schedule was booked solid.”

  “I’m going to need a copy of her calendar.”

  “Just for today?”

  “If you can get it for the last three months, that would be better.”

  Riley paused for a few moments, because he suspected the rest of the Gautiers wouldn’t be happy with him handing over any information, but morally he was obliged to cooperate, wasn’t he? Legally, though, he was a bit murky. But there wasn’t anything confidential or proprietary in her calendar. Surely his nondisclosure agreement didn’t apply.

  “If you’re worried about anything, like your job or other retaliation, I can promise you we’ll protect your identity. No one will know who provided this information. It’s simply more expedient to get it sooner rather than wait for a warrant.”

  Riley wasn’t particularly worried about his job—if this one dried up, there’d be another around the corner—but retaliation? That seemed ridiculous—no one would do that. Ultimately, though, his loyalty was to his boss, however temporary the post had been, and that loyalty included making sure the police were able to figure out what happened to her.

  “I can do that. Is that all you need from me?”

  Tad’s dark eyebrows rose. “No. Not at all. You said you were the temp? How long have you been working here?”

  “Nearly three weeks.”

  “And were you aware of any allergies Mrs. Gautier had?”

  “Madame.”

  Tad narrowed his eyes. “What?”

  Another tide of blood surged into Riley’s cheeks. “Sorry. She was French… Québécois. She was Madame Gautier, not Mrs.” If there was a French equivalent for Ms., Riley didn’t know it, and Gabrielle might have been too old-fashioned to use that term anyway.

  “Right. Madame Gautier. Allergies?” Tad clearly thought Riley’s clarification a waste of time. He’d have to be careful not to provide irrelevant details.

  “No. None that she mentioned to me.”

  “Do you know of anyone who would want to harm her? Anyone who disliked her?”

  “Enough to kill her? Not at all. At least, not that I’ve seen. But I’ve only been here a short time.”

  “So everyone liked her?”

  “Well, no. From what I saw, lots of business rivals found her ruthless. Many found her cold. She was a bit of a perfectionist. But… I can’t see anyone hurting her for that.”

  Although after the fiasco in the conference room, if Floriana had her way, Cody wouldn’t be long for this world. Maybe the provocation didn’t have to be as great as Riley assumed.

  “And what about you?”

  “Me?” Riley squeaked again. He was going to have to do something about that. He cleared his throat. “Sorry. Tickle in my throat.”

  Tad’s complete lack of expression said that maybe he didn’t believe Riley, but he wasn’t going to challenge him on it. “Did you like her?”

  “Of course.” Did he reply too fast? Suspiciously fast? He rubbed sweaty, clammy palms on his no longer perfectly creased pants. “I mean, I admired her. She was refined, and she had this Old World glamor, but she still grabbed the cosmetics world by the throat and insisted on taking her piece of it.”

  The only reply was more of Tad scratching a pen across paper. A few moments later, Tad lifted his head, and Riley was struck anew by his magnetism, all the more intense for Riley having been indoctrinated as a teenager.

  “What about the party today? Would anyone gain anything if Madame Gautier were no longer in the picture?”

  “Just call her Gabrielle. It’s faster.” Riley sucked in another breath and clamped his lips shut. Hadn’t he just promised himself he wasn’t going to offer up any more irrelevant information?

  Tad somehow managed to nod in a patronizing manner. God, Riley had to remember that Tad wasn’t one of his buddies. He represented authority with a capital A, and he was investigating Gabrielle’s death as a possible murder. He might even consider Riley a suspect.

  “Gabrielle, then. Is there a reason someone might have chosen to act now?”

  Riley raked a hand through his hair and tucked it back in his lap before Tad noticed the tremors. Tad probably didn’t give a shit if Riley looked weak, but Riley would rather not add to his already bad impression.

  Besides, he was having a hard time concentrating, and he didn’t think it was entirely due to Tad. He’d been holding off an incipient freak-out for a while, but it was coming, and it was coming soon. He desperately wanted to be at home when it happened.

  “I don’t think so. The product launch for Invigorate, their new caffeine-infused skin-care line, is a done deal, as far as I know. The launch party for the public went ahead as scheduled—Floriana called from the conference room to let them know. There are probably reports and reviews online already.”

  “Anything else? Business deals not related to caffeinated beauty products coming up?” Tad didn’t sound particularly impressed. “Mergers, buyouts?”

  “I don’t believe so, but honestly, depending on what it was, there might be no reason for me to know. I am only a temporary employee.” He clamped down on the temptation to tell Tad that Gabrielle had asked him more than once to stay on permanently. More irrelevant information.

  “Yes, you mentioned that. Tell me how that all came about.”

  Shit. He really was under suspicion. “Gabrielle’s previous assistant, Aaron, had to go on long-term medical leave. She called my agency, and they sent me over.”

  “Right. And her last name is?”

  Riley waved a finger at Tad’s notes. “Aaron Brown, not Erin.”

  He spelled it out, and Tad frowned at him. “Both male secretaries. Was that something Gabrielle insisted on?”

  “We aren’t s
ecretaries. We’re administrative assistants. And aren’t you a little too young to be that bound up in traditional gender roles?”

  Tad blinked at him, and Riley thought he was trying not to laugh. Great. He’d sooooo been hoping to come off as laughable and pathetic. Tad, in one of the most alpha roles a man could have, also probably thought Riley was somehow less masculine.

  “Sorry. Administrative assistants. But many jobs still tend to skew toward one gender, and I’d imagine that there are fewer men in your profession. Correct?”

  Riley shrugged. “Yes, I suppose.” This was the first time he’d temped in replacement for a man, and most of the admin assistants in the other places he’d worked were women. Tad had a point, however distasteful.

  “Then the fact that Gabrielle had two male assistants is something of an anomaly. Did she ever make any sort of overtures? Sexual advances?”

  “What?” Riley rocked in his chair, wanting to stand up and pace but not wanting to antagonize the man with a gun. “What a terrible thing to suggest. I’m sure she didn’t request a man from my agency. I’m actually very good at my job, you know. I’m not just some eye candy for degenerate CEOs and company presidents.”

  Tad held up his hands, palms out. “Calm down. I didn’t mean to suggest anything.”

  Riley had to get the fuck out of here before he combusted. Or said something irretrievably stupid. “Are we almost done?”

  Without answering his question, Tad asked another one. “Do you know why Aaron was out on medical leave?”

  “No, of course not. Human Resources might know, but they certainly don’t share that information.” He knew it wasn’t parental leave, but that was about it. He’d heard a number of theories, though, and he’d gotten the impression that people weren’t terribly fond of Aaron Brown, which might explain Gabrielle’s repeated job offers. It could have had nothing to do with Aaron’s performance and everything to do with his personality.

  Tad shrugged. “You might have heard something. He might have friends around the office who know.”

  “If anyone knows for sure, they haven’t told me.”

  “Do you have a list of everyone who was at the party?”