Lip Lock

by Susanna Carr

“Going to make an example out of me?” His expression was hopeful.

  “You,” Annette emphasized, “and the person you’re working for.”

  Curtis made an exaggerated pout. “What makes you think I’m not the ringleader?”

  “You’re not smart enough,” Annette answered.

  “Funny.”

  “If you were smart,” Timothy said, easing into the interrogation, “you would have known that we would be conducting more security checks after the last attempt.”

  Curtis shrugged as if he was bored.

  “According to the log, you’re supposed to have the blueprint,” Glenn pointed out. “And you don’t. Where is it?”

  “I lost it?” Curtis asked cheekily.

  “The guy needs an attitude adjustment,” Annette said. “Give me five minutes with him, Kyle.”

  “Are you supposed to be playing the bad cop?”

  Annette glared at him. “Make it three minutes.”

  “Where is the blueprint?”

  He lifted his arms. “Search me.”

  “No, thanks,” Kyle said. “Because we know that catching you is a detour. How does it feel knowing that you’re disposable to the plan?”

  Curtis’s eyes flickered. “More like pivotal. Anything to distract you. For all you know, the person who has the blueprint could be in the mail room or”—he met Kyle’s steady gaze—“on the executive floor.”

  He knows my weak spot. Kyle masked his surprise and tapped down the grudging respect. His opponent did his homework, and he was going to go on the offensive. Curtis was going for breaking the united front. And he just might be successful.

  “In fact,” Curtis continued, swiveling his chair from side to side. “My boss could be in this very room.”

  “You’re grasping,” Kyle said, noting the programmer had confessed to having a boss. “That’s the first sign of loss of control.”

  “Don’t talk to me about control,” Curtis said sharply. “You’ve lost it.”

  Kyle said nothing, waiting for the guy to slip up. To reveal too much.

  “You can’t even get your friends to do what you ask of them,” Curtis went on, his eyes taking on a sly gleam. “Everyone knows you told Glenn to knock off the office romances. But he hasn’t stopped and gets laid right at work.”

  Kyle felt Glenn’s tension. He bet his friend was turning bright red.

  “He also screwed your last girlfriend,” Curtis revealed. “Right in your office.”

  “You—” Glenn leapt out of his seat. Timothy jumped up and pushed the chief financial officer back into his seat.

  Kyle didn’t like the doubt flickering in his head. He cast it aside, knowing it would fester until he dealt with Glenn, but he had other priorities.

  Kyle also noticed Curtis didn’t move out of the way or look at Glenn. He was determined to break the united team and knew he made a hit. “What’s your point?”

  “How far can you trust these friends of yours?”

  “Farther than I can trust you.”

  “Really?” Curtis glanced at the head of security. “Can you trust Timothy even though he’s the source of that tell-all book?”

  Kyle gave a show of impatience, although he would have liked to have seen Timothy’s reaction. “Where are you getting your information?”

  “You hear things. Like Annette is about ready to break with the company and start her own.”

  Annette jumped up. “What?”

  “Sit down, Annette,” Kyle ordered harshly. He hadn’t heard that rumor, but he didn’t question it.

  He returned his attention to the programmer. “None of these accusations point the finger at someone at the executive level. None of them prove that they are thieves or implicated in taking the blueprint.”

  Curtis frowned and Kyle sensed the wavering confidence. The programmer’s trump card didn’t cause the desired effect.

  “You are the only person I know who admitted to stealing something.” Kyle pointed at Curtis. “I want to know where the blueprint is and who you are working for.”

  “What if I told you that it was someone at the executive level? Maybe in this very room?”

  “I am in no mood for guessing games,” Kyle warned him.

  “Someone who is not very technical,” Curtis continued as he swiveled on his chair, “or so you think.”

  That would point to Glenn—if Curtis was telling the truth. Kyle refused to look at the chief financial officer.

  “Someone who doesn’t have the access to all parts of the information…”

  “That’s everyone in the executive office,” Timothy informed Curtis.

  “Someone who doesn’t have a lot of power, but she will soon.”

  “She?” He looked at Annette.

  Annette turned to Curtis. “Don’t mess with me.”

  “I never said it was you,” Curtis said smugly. Kyle wanted to rip the superior look off of the guy’s face. “I’m talking about Molly.”

  The room went quiet. No one moved. Kyle knew that if he did, the pain would rip him in half.

  “Molly?” Glenn parroted and looked at his coworkers for confirmation. “Who the hell is Molly?”

  “Your receptionist,” Curtis informed him, his voice taking on an edge.

  Annette started to laugh. “You want us to believe that the mastermind behind this million-dollar theft is the girl who answers the phone?”

  “What do you know about her?” Curtis asked. “Huh? You give her access that you don’t even give me.”

  “She poses no threat,” Timothy said.

  “Because you think she’s not smart enough to understand the paperwork that crosses her desk. That she’s not going to be able to put the pieces together and get the full picture.” Curtis’s smile widened. “Because you think what she wants you to think.”

  “Like what you’re doing now?” Kyle asked softly.

  “Don’t you think it’s weird that she’s here at all hours?” Curtis asked. “Popping up in places she’s not supposed to be?”

  “Circumstantial evidence.” Why had Curtis put the blame on Molly? Did the guy know how he felt about her? Was it obvious that Molly was becoming his weakness? “You have no proof.”

  “And you have proof of her loyalty?” the programmer asked.

  “I don’t need it,” Kyle lied.

  Curtis chuckled. “Then you’re going down.”

  Stay calm. Molly silently repeated the mantra as she entered Sara’s office. Under no circumstance will you lose your cool. “Sara?”

  Her boss looked up and frowned with concern. “What happened?”

  And here she thought she was handling her panic quite well. “Human resources says they don’t have my job performance file. We have searched everywhere.”

  “Well, we need it to make it official.”

  Don’t tell me that! “When I told them we were rescheduling the review for today, they said you must already have the file.” And if you lost that file I will have to kill you.

  “I would?” Suddenly her eyes widened. “I do!”

  “You have the file?” And you couldn’t have remembered that before my mini nervous breakdown?

  “Not here,” Sara clarified, gesturing at her cluttered desk, “but Kyle would have it. He needs to sign off.”

  “Okay.” I’m going to go back to my desk and expire.

  “Why don’t you go see if it’s on his desk?” Sara suggested. “And then come back here and we’ll start the review.”

  “Sure.” Why not? After all, it’s just the promise of more money.

  She briskly entered Kyle’s office and immediately noticed there weren’t a lot of papers on his desk. She quickly shuffled through one pile. What did a job review file look like? Shouldn’t it have her name?

  “What are you doing?”

  Molly jumped at the sound of Kyle’s voice and dropped the file. “You scared me.” She pressed her hand against her stuttering heart.

  He walked into the office, his s
tride powerful and ground-eating. There was something about it that made Molly nervous. She kept her head down and started looking through the next stack.

  “Why are you going through my papers?”

  His accusatory tone was biting. “I’m looking for my job review file.”

  “Look at me when you’re talking.”

  Molly stopped, her senses on full alert, and slowly looked up. What was going on? Why was he all intense and everything?

  “Do you have my job performance file?” She hated how her voice shook, but he was her last hope in finding the paperwork. “My review can’t start without it.”

  He watched her. She felt cold. Bone-chilling cold as he stared at her as if she was an encrypted message.

  “No.”

  Molly closed her eyes and exhaled, her breath coming out shallow and choppy. “Have you seen it at all?”

  “No, I haven’t.” Annoyance burred his words. “Will you look—”

  “Kyle, I don’t have the time to make goo-goo eyes at you. If I don’t have my file, I don’t get my review. If I don’t get my review—” The phone lines lit up. “Argh!”

  She ran past him and hurried to her desk.

  “We are not finished,” he called out to her.

  Molly chose to ignore him. And later tonight, after she regained her composure and had a celebratory drink, she would let him have it for the tone he took.

  She grabbed her phone. “Ashton ImageWorks,” she said as professionally as possible. “This is Molly.”

  The fine hair on her neck stood to attention. Kyle stood beside her. She didn’t need to check to see if he was watching her. Staring. She could barely concentrate on what the caller was saying.

  “I’m sorry,” she said into the phone. She grabbed her M notepad and turned away from Kyle. “Would you repeat that?”

  Molly sat down, her legs feeling weak. She felt wrung out, actually. She scribbled down the information, fully aware of the tension growing in Kyle. It was like a storm brewing, the dark clouds rolling in.

  Did she really need this right now? Molly murmured her all-rights and I-got-its into the phone. Today had started so hopeful and all of sudden everything turned worse.

  “Yes, thank you,” she said cheerfully as tears stung the back of her eyes. Tears? No, she wouldn’t. She absolutely refused to cry. “I’ll give—Hello?”

  The line went dead. She quickly turned to look at the phone. Her eyes widened when she saw Kyle’s finger pressed firmly against the disconnect button.

  Her gaze flew to his face. “What did…” She puttered to a stop when she saw his ferocious anger.

  “What are you,” he asked with lethal softness as he held up a thick green book, “doing with this?”

  Molly’s stomach churned. She decided right then and there that she would take his raised voice over the low, raspy tone. She instinctively knew she’d done something horribly wrong. Can-never-take-it-back wrong. But what?

  She swallowed heavily. “What is it?”

  “It’s the blueprint.”

  He acted like she should know. Was that the problem? “The blueprint? I don’t know what it’s for.”

  “Sure you don’t.”

  “I don’t.” Why? Why did this have to happen on her review day? The tears were threatening to spill but she refused to cry. “I don’t know what it is, where it came from, or where it’s supposed to go next. I don’t know why it’s on my desk.”

  Kyle froze. The skin on his face tightened and paled. He took a step back.

  “What?” She looked behind her, but there was nothing there. “What is it?”

  “You blinked.”

  What? “I blinked?”

  “Molly,” he said, his voice barely a whisper, his face darkening as his eyes blazed with fury. “You’re fired.”

  Chapter 8

  “I’m fired for blinking?” She stared at him. “Ha. Ha. Not funny.” She couldn’t believe he would do that to her. It was mean. Cruel.

  “I’m not joking. Keep your hands away from your desk.”

  She held her hands up. Whoa. “You know how important this job is to me and I find your humor in poor taste.”

  “Sara!” Kyle called out.

  She took a quick glance at the glass security door. “What are you doing?”

  She saw Sara run to the door and push it open. “Yeah, Kyle?”

  He kept his eyes on Molly as he said, “Call security and have Molly escorted from the premises.”

  “What?” Molly jumped from her seat.

  Sara stepped into the reception area. “What’s going on here?”

  “Molly had this.” He held the book up.

  “I don’t even know what that is!” She gestured at the book as if it were poisonous.

  “Kyle.” Sara raised her palms, attempting to placate him. “I’m sure there is a reasonable explanation.”

  “It’s not like someone dropped it off on her desk.” His hands gripped the book. “And any unauthorized personnel seen with this are immediately terminated.”

  Molly held her arms close to her body and bunched her hands into fists. “Will someone please tell me what is going on here? Why are you trying to fire me?”

  “I’m not trying to. You are fired.”

  “Kyle, there is a procedure—”

  “Sara,” he said coldly. The muscle next to his eye twitched. “Call security. Call human resources. Call legal. Is that enough procedure for you?”

  “Legal?” Sara and Molly asked in unison.

  “For stealing trade secrets.”

  “Stealing!” The accusation was like a slap. “I haven’t stolen anything.”

  “Molly, in my office. Now.”

  “No.” She was not going in there by herself. Nuh-uh. No way.

  He reached over her desk and grabbed her by the arm. Molly gasped. His touch didn’t hurt, but it surprised her. Her feet shuffled and tripped as he marched her back to his office. The moment he slammed the door behind him, he dropped her arm.

  “Start talking.” He tossed the green book on his desk.

  “I have nothing to say to you.” She folded her arms across her chest. “Have you been stringing me along? Is this how you get your kicks?”

  “I’m warning you—”

  “No.” She pointed a shaky finger at him. “I’m warning you. Don’t you accuse me of stealing!”

  Kyle rubbed his hand across his forehead. “You are a con artist and I can’t believe I fell for it.”

  The tears were really burning now. “No matter how many ways you call me names, you’re still wrong.”

  He pointed at the book. “I have proof that you are a liar and a thief.”

  “Once again, I don’t know what that is or how it got on my desk. Have you ever considered the possibility that someone left it there?”

  “Under boxes of envelopes?”

  “Then someone planted it there.” The idea was unnerving to say the very least.

  “You’ve been here for three months and you’ve already made enemies?” Kyle tilted his head as if it was an interesting concept. “What kind of threat are you? You’re a receptionist.”

  “My desk is out in the open,” Molly pointed out. “It’s not protected by your security glass.”

  There was a knock on the door and Timothy poked his head in. “Kyle—”

  “Out!” Kyle didn’t divert his attention from Molly.

  “Okay.” Timothy dropped back and closed the door.

  Kyle stared at her with such intensity that it took every ounce of courage to meet his eyes. To stand her ground.

  He shook his head. “You’re good. I’ll give you credit for it.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she whispered fiercely.

  “I believed you were fighting the odds by yourself. I actually admired you for it.” His soft laugh was filled with bitterness.

  Admired her? He did? Molly didn’t know what to say.

  “I fell for your hoax.
I wanted to help you.”

  “No, you wanted to bed me,” she said with a flash of anger.

  “Did you try to seduce me as a distraction?” he asked, circling her.

  She stared straight ahead. “I did no such thing.”

  “Keep me occupied while you take from me?”

  She refused to turn and watch him get closer and closer to her. She would stay her ground. “I didn’t take anything. Why are you even trying with the argument? I didn’t sleep with you—remember?”

  “Right. You don’t sleep with the boss. Like you have rules of conduct.” He scoffed at the idea. “More like you know the chase will distract me. It’s all part of the game.”

  “This is not a game!” She squeezed her eyes shut. “This is my livelihood you’re playing with.”

  “And mine. Do you think it’s okay to steal from me and I wouldn’t miss it?

  “I am not a thief.”

  “You can say that all you want, but I’ve seen you in action. The way you get your clothes. Your food. It’s all a form of theft.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You can accuse me all you want, but you’re basing it all on one green book.”

  Kyle’s pause crackled. It freaked Molly out more than his direct questions.

  “That’s right,” he said quietly. “You don’t know yet.”

  She felt like she didn’t know about anything that was going on. “Know what?”

  “We got Curtis.” Kyle stood in front of her. Invaded her space. “You know, your boyfriend.”

  She glared at him. “I already told you he wasn’t.”

  “But you didn’t tell me that he’s your partner in crime.”

  “He’s not.”

  “Too late, Molly.” Kyle dipped his head, his eyes level with hers. “He already confessed.”

  “To the theft?”

  “And that you were the one who’s behind it all.”

  She sat primly in the luxurious seat in Kyle’s office, wishing she could curl up in a ball and hide from the world around her. She tried to block it out, staring at the panoramic view of the Cascade Mountains—but she was far too aware of the executives swarming around her like vultures.

  “Come on, Molly,” Annette said impatiently. “We need to know your buyer.”

  This couldn’t be happening. Curtis had fingered her as the mastermind behind an elaborate espionage ring. And these people believed him!