No. She really, really didn’t want to get coffee with Cali. “I actually have a lot of work to do.”
“That’s kind of the purpose of coffee. Come on. It’s on me.”
Lori was very aware that Cali wasn’t actually asking a question, so she gave up. If she resisted, it would cause a scene, and at this point, that was exactly what she didn’t want. “Sure. Let’s go.”
Once they were downstairs in the lobby and out of earshot of Lori’s less privacy inclined co-workers, she asked the questions she’d been biting back. “Michael didn’t send you here to talk to me, did he? Because I have nothing to say to him.”
Cali narrowed her eyes and looked Lori over. “No, he didn’t send me. But I wanted to let you know that whatever happened on Friday, I’m here to talk to if you need someone.”
Well, that was...suspicious. Cali hadn’t given two shits about Lori before Friday and now she wanted to be supportive and buddy-buddy? “What’s your angle?”
Cali smiled but didn’t deny that she had ulterior motives. “I was hoping we could help each other. Sometimes it’s such a boys’ club up top, it’s hard to keep my friends and enemies straight.”
“Are you trying to decide which of those camps I fit in?”
“I’m trying to figure out why Luke and Michael are having secret meetings and not putting them on my calendar or telling me about them. More specifically, why they’d have a sales meeting that obviously wasn’t about sales and why you would be there.”
Coffee with a side of interrogation. Great. “They just had a computer issue they needed help with on Friday.”
“Funny. Normally when they have a computer issue, they ask me to call your department and they send Josh up. Like, don’t get me wrong. I’ve heard nothing but good things about you so far, but you’ve only been here three months. Techs who’ve only been here three months don’t work on Luke and Michael’s computers.”
Lori held up her hands. “Hey, I didn’t ask questions. Michael showed up at my cube and asked for help and I did. If there’s tension between the three of you, I don’t want to get in the middle of it.”
Cali scoffed. “Tension? No. There’s no tension. I’m just confused and I’m not used to being in the dark about anything.”
Actually, if Lori worked this right, she might be able to use Cali to her advantage. “Are you worried they’re doing something bad?”
Cali tightened her lips and was quiet for a moment. “That family has never once done anything to make me question their judgment. So I don’t think they’d do anything to mess up their reputations now.”
Nice answer. But even if Cali did suspect something, it wasn’t as if she’d tell Lori to her face. She decided to try a different tactic instead. “You’re a woman I’d consider ambitious.”
She scoffed. “I’m what I’d call ambitious too. What’s your point?”
“If you were asked to do something you considered...unethical, what would you do?”
The blonde narrowed her eyes. Lori tried to keep her expression blank so Cali couldn’t see through her.
Cali took a sip of coffee before she leaned in. “I’ve been paying attention. You know all those big scandals lately? Tyco, Enron, and thousands of other cases that never made the national news? I’ve watched countless interviews and gone to the lectures given by these guys once they get out of prison and colleges throw money at them to hear even the tiniest bit about how they did what they did. Why they put their companies and friends on the line. You know how many hundreds or thousands of employees had to know something was wrong and didn’t say or do anything about it? You think all those little folk were crooks and criminals just laughing evilly as the stock price went up and up?
“No. The reason they were all working to screw the overall economy is because these aren’t people being asked by their boss to do something horrid. These are people being asked by their friends to help save the company. To help their fellow co-workers. And they’re not thinking of one month or one year down the line when the SEC starts asking questions. They’re living in the moment. Like when you’ve got a delicious cake sitting right in front of you. You know every single calorie is going right to your ass, but for some reason you eat that slice anyway. Because all you can think about is the now. When you’re faced with an ethical dilemma, you have to consider the now, the laters, and the what-ifs.”
“So I’m assuming you wouldn’t do anything you think would get you in trouble?”
Cali raised a brow. “Have you seen my body? I don’t eat cake.”
Lori sighed. This wasn’t getting her anywhere. She had a feeling Cali had no clue what was going on, and as much as Lori would love to help her, she couldn’t go spilling all Michael’s secrets to a virtual stranger. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m going to pass on the coffee. I don’t think there’s anything down here that can help you.”
Right as she turned to go, Cali reached out and grabbed her arm. “Do I need to be worried?”
Lori pulled her arm away. “I think that you know Luke and Michael much better than I do.” And if Cali had a bad feeling, then everyone should probably be scared. “Thanks for inviting me out.” Lori twisted away and headed back to the elevators.
Luckily, Cali didn’t follow her, so she was able to get on the elevator alone and not face any more of her prying questions. She just needed a break and a few days where she didn’t have to deal with any of Michael’s drama.
Yet for some reason, she found herself hitting the button for the executive level. Fantastic. Her subconscious was now taking over her body. But as much as she wanted nothing to do with Michael, he had a right to know his right-hand man...er, woman was suspicious.
It was only when the doors opened that Lori realized she didn’t actually know where Michael sat. But, logically, he was one step down from the CEO, and the building was square-shaped. So considering she knew he was on this floor, there were only four possible corner offices. So all she had to do was walk the perimeter.
When she got to the second corner, she saw the nameplate she was looking for. Michael Devereaux. And, just her luck, when she glanced through the open door, no one was there. Well, she’d tried. It wasn’t her fault Michael wasn’t there when she wanted to warn him about his overachieving assistant who wasn’t really an assistant.
For a moment, she didn’t move, instead taking in Michael’s massive office. Even though she’d never been up there before, it was on par with what she’d expect from a CEO of a multi-billion dollar company. The desk looked expensive and ornate, with a latest edition monitor and laptop sitting in the middle. Behind the desk were a few bookshelves littered with awards and various technical manuals and leadership books.
But that was just the one half. The other half of the office stretched out. There was a table with enough room to sit six people, and a big screen television was set up against the far wall with a few cords hanging down that could hook up to computers if necessary. Lori wondered whether it got cable too. Would be nice to have some quality TV on during the especially late nights she was sure Michael had to pull.
Though the true star of the office wasn’t the television or desk of gross amounts of space. The focal point was the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked Manhattan. Good grief. Lori wouldn’t be able to get any work done if she had those windows. She’d just stare in awe at the city for hours and hours on end.
But she didn’t have time to stare out in awe. She had work to do, and Michael obviously wasn’t here. She’d tried, though. That deserved a pat on the back. Satisfied with the effort she’d put in, Lori turned to leave.
“Not exactly who I expected to see when I came back here,” said Michael from the doorway.
She gasped in shock and set a hand over her heart. Damn, he looked just as good as she’d remembered. She’d kind of hoped that her memories of his attractiveness had been clouded by how strange the weekend had been. “I was just leaving,” she muttered.
He stepped in and pushe
d the door shut behind him. “I actually was hoping to get a chance to talk to you today. I’m assuming since you came up here, you have a few minutes.”
“I really don’t. I just thought you should know Cali was asking questions that I didn’t have the answer to. It seemed like you should know. That’s it. Have a nice day.” She made a beeline for the exit.
“Lori, take a seat,” he said.
Would it be rude if she ignored him and ran back to her cube? Maybe it would be rude, but definitely understandable. And cowardly. She still turned around and took a seat in the blue chair on the other side of his desk. “I really do have a lot of work to do and I’d hate for my boss to get upset.”
“I am your boss.” He took a seat. But not in his computer chair. Instead, he sat in the chair next to hers.
“I meant my boss boss. Not my boss’s boss’s boss’s boss...or however high up you go on that chain.”
“This is important. I think you have a right to know the entire story.”
A bolt of dread shot through her. “I don’t think that’s necessary. At this point, I think I already know too much of the story. And you know how the saying goes. Less is more.”
“I’m working with the FBI.”
Her gaze jerked up and met his. His golden eyes didn’t hold any trace of a joke. Maybe he was lying, but she had a feeling she’d never be able to crack his poker face. “Oh really?”
“They threatened to kill my cousin. I didn’t know what to do. My handler was the one who recommend Luke and I join the Thirteen Stars in order to find out who their leader is and take them all down.”
Lori nodded slowly as she digested this new information. “Thirteen Stars? What the hell is that?”
“It’s an...organization. Thirteen men from some of the most prominent families in the world formed it back in the fifties. It started as a sort of good ol’ boys club. Rich guys working together to get richer. Except after a few decades, the stock market crashed in the eighties. After that, they decided to get creative about keeping their money. They pass along trade secrets at just the right time and set up hard to broker deals for each other.”
“Insider trading and stuff?” She was so in over her head. None of those financial crime stories made any sense to her.
“And stuff. One of these guys once set up a fund for all of the employees of his firm to put their 401(k)s in. He sent all the money overseas to illegal investments with massive returns and told everyone it was just in the stock market. He made millions off the extra returns they were getting. When the feds found out about it, all the employees lost all their savings and he was halfway across the world with billions in his savings account. As long as he’s relaxing on that beach, the government is never going to be able to punish him and those people will never get their money back.”
“And these are the people who tried to kill your cousin?”
“You’d be amazed what people will do to protect their money.” She really wouldn’t be as surprised as he suspected, but he didn’t stop there. “But there’s more.”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course there is. How could this possibly get worse?”
“I didn’t pick your name out of a hat, Lori.”
“I thought you picked me because I was isolated.”
“I did. Well, I thought I did. In reality, I didn’t pick you. My FBI handler had been going through the employee files, and when the Thirteen Stars demanded I have someone who knew computers in the meeting, she was the one who said I should pull you in. Except when Hunter was suddenly hanging around outside your apartment, I got suspicious. Wondering if there was more than my handler was letting on.”
Lori tilted her head. “More about me than she was letting on?”
He nodded. “You have an uncle. Your mother’s brother.”
“Uncle Grayson? Yeah, my mom hates him. I haven’t seen him in years.”
“Well, apparently he’s the main accountant for Thirteen Stars.”
Her jaw dropped and she pushed herself out of the chair. “What? That’s insane.”
“You said yourself that you haven’t seen him in years.”
“Yeah. That doesn’t mean I think he’s working for some financial terrorist organization. He got me dolls at Christmas, for crying out loud!”
Michael remained seated, but looked as though he was poised to jump up if she ran for the door. “I’m telling you what the FBI told me. The guy is apparently a recluse. No wife. No kids. Like you said, isn’t in contact with his family. I suppose Evelyn thought that bringing you in might give us the opportunity to get him to testify.”
Lori crossed to the windows and turned back around. When she ran out of room again, she realized she was pacing. Damn it, she didn’t pace. She wasn’t a pacer. She was calm and collected under pressure. “So, what? You expected me to call this guy up out of the blue and say ‘Hey! Want to give up all your money and maybe face a jail sentence in order to do me a solid?’”
Michael finally stood. “No. I don’t want you involved in this at all. But I do think you have a right to know.”
“I’m supposed to just go back to work and pretend like this never happened? How could you possibly think I’d be okay with that?”
“Would you rather I kept this to myself?”
“No! I’d rather my uncle not be a criminal mastermind and I go back to not knowing anything about you.”
His face immediately hardened and she realized what she’d said. But she didn’t take it back either. She meant what she said. She just wanted to go back to Friday morning when none of this had happened.
“So does that mean that our date’s off?”
She frowned and racked her brain as she tried to think of what he was talking about. “Huh?”
“I told you I’m not one of the bad guys and you said you couldn’t be with me as long as I was. So does this mean you’ve changed your mind?”
“You’re seriously asking me out right now?”
“This weekend, you said there was only one barrier to you agreeing to be with me. I removed that barrier.”
“You brought me all the way up here to hit on me?”
“You came to me, remember?”
Lori ran a hand through her hair in frustration. “And maybe that was a mistake. I thought I was doing you a favor, but every time I do you a favor, I seem to have my entire life rocked. So I think staying away is my best option.”
He took a step closer. “Or you’re making excuses now.”
“Maybe, but they’re valid excuses.”
Another step. “Maybe. But let me ask you something. Did you think about me yesterday?”
Her eyes widened. Seriously, wasn’t there any other question he could ask her? “I didn’t think of you at all.”
Another step. “Making excuses is one thing. Outright lying is another.”
“That doesn’t mean anything, though! You’re,” she gestured toward him with a hand, “gorgeous and I’m fairly certain every woman in the city thought about you at some point yesterday.”
His mouth curled up as he took another step, bringing him right in front of her. She should take a step back. Why wasn’t she taking a step back?
“Then go out with me. I’ll show you a good time.” His gaze dropped to her lips. “I promise.”
“You’re not playing fair,” she whispered.
“I—”
She stood on her toes and kissed him. She didn’t know why she did it. Didn’t really care either. He was right. She was totally into him and was making up excuses all over the place to stay away. But why bother?
Even though she kissed him, he took over immediately. His hands gripped her waist and hauled her so tightly against him that her toes almost lifted off the ground. She wrapped her arms around his neck and let her eyes drift shut as she let the sensations guide her.
As she opened her mouth to him and his tongue just passed the entrance to her lips, his entire body stiffened in her arms and he pulled away. She frowned an
d looked up at him, only to realize his gaze was over her shoulder.
Lori looked behind her and was horrified to see Cali in the doorway. “This isn’t what it looks like,” blurted Lori.
Cali shot Lori a skeptical look and nodded. “Really? Because it looks like you’re making out with Michael in his office.”
Lori’s mouth fell open, but no words came out.
“Cali, I’m assuming there’s a good reason you didn’t knock.”
Suddenly realizing she was still holding onto Michael, Lori started to pull away and, after a moment of resistance, he let her go.
Cali only smiled wickedly. “Oh, I did knock. You just happened to not hear me.”
Even Michael was quiet to that one. But then he smiled and looked to Lori. “Well, I guess I can’t blame you for that one.”
“As much fun as this was, and rest assured I do intend to hold this over your head for many, many years, your ten thirty appointment is here. Unless you want me to tell them you have better things to do...”
Lori slapped a palm over her eyes. “Oh my God.”
“I’m kidding!” said Cali. “No judgment. Unless you blow off this meeting to be with your girlfriend. Then I might judge you.”
Lori backed farther away from Michael and shook her head. “Not his girlfriend. This was a one-time thing. We’re done. No missed meetings.”
Michael and Cali both regarded her with the same skeptical expression as Cali moved out of the way. “Don’t worry,” said Cali. “While you two figure that out, your secret is safe with me.”
Was Cali a gossip? Lori had never heard that she was a talker, but before that morning, they’d never run in the same circles. But there was nothing she could do about it now. She’d just have to take the woman’s word for it.
As she practically ran for the exit, Michael called out, “We’ll talk later.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“We’ll still talk later.”
Lori didn’t look back as she headed down the hallway. She was too busy trying to decide whether Michael was making a promise or a threat.
Devereaux Billionaires Complete Series: Books 1-4 Page 24
