by Sherri Hayes
“Yes, but either she’s been doing a lot of her own research into security systems, or someone else is behind this. I’m betting on the latter.”
Cali leaned forward. “Okay, so what happens now? Like you said, all we know is that she was someplace she wasn’t supposed to be, acting suspicious.”
“Surveillance,” Jason said, rubbing his hands together.
Matthew gave his brother a sly smile. “I stopped and picked up some additional supplies. What we need is going to clear us out.”
“Okay, I don’t follow,” Cali said a little frustrated. “What are you two going to do, and why do you need supplies?”
Turning his focus on her, he explained. “We’re going to tap every phone in this building she has access to, well the most likely ones at least. Including mine,” he added. “Also, cameras will be placed at different angles around her desk. We won’t be able to tap her cell without a court order, and I don’t have enough to get that yet. I’m hoping it won’t be necessary.”
“And,” Jason jumped in, “she will need to be followed.”
Matthew nodded. “Martinez said he’d help when he could, but that still only leaves the two of you since I’m not willing to leave Cali unprotected.”
Before Cali could give him her two cents on the matter, Jason continued to elaborate on the plan. It was clear the brothers worked well with each other. “Alec and Sam. I trust them. They’ve saved more than one shipment for us.”
Matthew nodded. “I agree. But they need to be on a need-to-know basis.”
“Agreed.”
They talked a little more, batting around a few more ideas, but in the end, they wound up at the same place. Some big piece of the puzzle was still missing.
Chapter 39
Matthew and Jason had to wait until everyone was gone for the night before putting their plan into action. Lisa offered to take Cali home and wait with her until Matthew got there, for which he was grateful.
The brothers worked quickly and with practiced efficiency. In the end, they hooked up more than fifteen wiretaps and five cameras. When the last one was installed and tested, it was close to nine. Everything was active and recording.
Now, hopefully, she’d do or say something they could confront her with.
After saying their goodbyes, Matthew got in his car, fighting the impulse to drive straight home to Cali. It had been a long day and he needed to be near her. He just had one stop to make first.
***
After dinner, Cali and Lisa decided to watch a movie, but it didn’t hold their interest. Given what was going on around them, it wasn’t surprising.
Instead they found themselves talking about Matthew and Jason. It was the first real moment they’d had to themselves that wasn’t at work, and Lisa was taking advantage of it.
Cali didn’t mind for the most part. It was kind of odd they were dating brothers, one of those “it’s a small world” moments. It was fun to learn Jason was, in many ways, Matthew’s total opposite. Although she knew they were very different, it seemed to go further than she’d imagined. Jason was not an early riser. And although he was in just as good of shape as Matthew, he preferred to go to the gym on his lunch hour rather than get up early.
Silly things kept them busy until Matthew came home. Her last hours had been filled with girl talk and sharing little things about the man she loved with Lisa; she felt she got to know him just a little bit more. But no matter how much she enjoyed the last few hours of girl time, she missed him.
Matthew saw Cali and Lisa sitting in the living room as soon as he stepped into the foyer. Cali’s eyes met his, and they both smiled. “Did you get everything set up?” she asked.
“Yeah, we’re ready to go. Now we wait,” he said, stepping into the room.
As if on cue, Lisa stood. “Well I need to get home. We should do this again sometime, Cali.”
“Sure,” Cali said, rising from the couch.
“Goodnight, Matthew,” Lisa said with a quirky smile and a little wave, walking past him.
He watched as she strolled out the door and then turned back to Cali. “Something I should know?”
Cali walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Nope. Just girl talk,” she whispered against his lips, kissing him.
Matthew’s arms came around her waist, and he deepened the kiss. She felt so good against him. It was crazy how much he missed her after just seeing her this afternoon.
Her hands held his head in place as she leveraged herself closer. He had no objections. Sliding his hand slowly down her back, he gripped her hip and pulled her flush against him. She responded in kind by rubbing against his chest and moaning into his mouth.
Just as he tried to remember if he had put another condom in his wallet or not, her hand came between them, and her lips left trailed up to his ear. “Are you hungry?” she asked.
Cali’s breathy whisper caused his lower half to jerk. She felt it and smiled before adding, “for food.”
Matthew’s mind began warring with his body. Logically he knew he should eat dinner. While his body put up a pretty good argument for just having Cali instead.
When he didn’t answer right away, Cali knew what was happening. Her man was very logical, but he was still a man.
So making the decision for him, she stepped back. He answered with a groan of protest. Smiling, she reached for his hand and urged him to follow her. At this point, she knew there weren’t many places he wouldn’t follow her. At least for now.
Once in the kitchen, she guided him to his stool at the counter. He sat down absently and watched as she bent over to retrieve a plate from the warming oven.
The sight of her jeans stretched taut over her behind was not helping. Matthew had to force himself to stay put.
When she brought his plate to him, he reached out and pulled her to stand only inches from him. And as he picked up the fork to eat his dinner, Matthew’s arm reached around her waist and pulled her against his side. Cali didn’t protest, and there she stayed while he ate.
With the last bite gone, he stood and took her hand. Dragging her behind, he led her up the stairs to his room. She followed silently, willingly with a knowing smile.
Matthew didn’t disappoint. Closing the door behind them, he turned and pulled her to him, their bodies molded together as he walked her backward to the bed.
Neither said anything; there was no need, the desire in their eyes said it all.
Something would happen soon. They both knew it. Mariana was the crack in the armor he’d tried to find for the past two years. And although it was what they both wanted, it meant that things between them might not last.
All they knew was that they had now. And right now they were together.
With that thought, he crawled over her as she lay down on the bed. Matthew tried to convey the love he had for her with his eyes, his mouth, his hands, and his body while Cali tried to do the same. Neither of them voiced it as they reconnected over and over again, leaving each one completely bare to the other.
***
Thursday night, Cali found she couldn’t sleep. There was just too much on her mind. Matthew and Jason had been watching Mariana like a hawk, but they still had nothing. As far as the cameras and phone conversations were concerned, she was a model employee.
Of course, they knew differently.
But what kept Cali from falling into a deep sleep was exactly that. Why hadn’t they seen anything already? Shipments left Stanton Enterprises roughly every other day. There’d been two already this week and still nothing.
It wasn’t until she saw the night sky start to lighten with the impending sunrise that she realized they weren’t providing the correct bait. If Matthew was right, and she had no doubt he was, the person they were looking for held some position of importance within the company. That would mean that person would have access to all routine shipping information. It was only when there were changes to normal routes or schedules that Mariana’s assistance was req
uired.
This realization put her mind at ease, and she finally drifted off. Just as she slipped into unconsciousness, the harsh blare of the alarm pulled her right back out of it.
The annoying sound stopped quickly but it was no use; she was awake again. Cali felt Matthew shift in the bed to get up. But instead of letting him go as she’d done so many times before, she reached out her hand to stop him.
Matthew felt her fingers on his arm and leaned back down, placing a soft kiss on her lips. “What are you doing awake, Ms. Stanton?”
A smile tugged at her lips, and she opened her eyes. Even now, she still found the crystal blue of his eyes amazing. “Mm. Couldn’t sleep.”
“Are you feeling okay?” he asked, pulling her into his arms.
“Yep,” she said, reaching up and bringing his mouth back to hers.
The kiss quickly led to more. There was no resistance on his part as Matthew enjoyed a different type of exercise to start his morning.
***
On their way to the office, Cali shared her theory with him. He looked at her as if she were the smartest person in the world. “How did I miss that?” Reaching for his hand, she squeezed it quickly before they got out of the car, making their way to the elevator. “You’ve had a lot of things on your mind, Mr. Andersen. I just hope I’m right.”
“It makes sense,” he said as they continued up to her office. “I’ll talk to Jason this morning, and we’ll come up with something.”
After a brief strategy session in Jason’s office, they decided on something simple.
A shipment was already scheduled to go out first thing tomorrow morning, and with a short call to the production manager, they rescheduled it for late this evening instead.
Jason walked out of his office with Matthew, their heads together as they pretended to discuss details over the schedule change. “So you don’t think it will be a problem?”
“Not at all,” Jason said. “Danny said moving the delivery would only take a few adjustments.”
“Wonderful.” Matthew smiled and looked at his watch. “I’ve got an early lunch appointment, so I’ll see you later?”
“Sure,” Jason said to his brother before turning to Mariana. “Can you make sure these get downstairs for me before lunch?”
“No problem,” she said, taking the yellow envelope from Jason.
Matthew entered the elevator, and Jason disappeared back into his office. Now all they had to do was wait.
And the wait wasn’t long. Less than five minutes after the brothers vacated the area, Mariana opened the envelope, read over the documents, and picked up the phone.
It wasn’t a lengthy conversation, but it gave Matthew and Jason what they were looking for.
It was undeniable. Mariana gave the change in delivery to an unknown male. She didn’t call him by name, but it was obvious from the way he spoke to her that they shared an intimate relationship.
After talking things over with Martinez, Matthew let him listen to the conversation before he put in the paperwork to have an arrest warrant issued.
And just before five, Martinez and two uniformed officers exited the elevator.
They marched straight to Mariana’s desk. Martinez smirked as he placed the cuff on her wrists, and took her into custody. “Mariana Lugo, you are under arrest.”
Matthew was going to ask Lisa to drive Cali home again, but when he went told Cali what had happened, she insisted on going to the station with him.
Jason and Martinez conducted the interrogation while Cali and Matthew watched from the other side of a two-way mirror.
The questions seemed to go on forever in Cali’s opinion. Mariana was tight-lipped and not about to give up any information. Matthew had pulled the phone records, but her call went to an untraceable throwaway cell phone. After two hours, the only thing they were sure of was that the mystery man was her boyfriend.
Mariana was calm during the whole thing. She didn’t seem to be worried that she was sitting in an interrogation room under arrest for corporate espionage.
Although this was a white-collar crime and a first offense, Matthew had no doubt, given the evidence they had, that she’d see prison time, even if it was minimum security. It would still be on her record for the rest of her life.
Finally, Martinez called a halt to the questioning, deciding maybe a weekend in jail would loosen her lips. It was worth a try since nothing else seemed to be working.
Matthew and Cali were alone in the small dark room. He wrapped his arms around her as a uniformed officer appeared on the other side of the glass, putting Mariana, once again, in handcuffs. “We’ll find him,” he whispered while placing a kiss on her head.
Cali leaned back into him. “I know you will.”
He laughed. “Such confidence you have in me, Ms. Stanton.”
She turned and brought her arms around his neck. With her eyes never wavering from his, she whispered, “Always, Mr. Andersen.” It was as close as she’d come to declaring her love for him, but in her own way, that was exactly what she was doing.
Her words stunned Matthew. What did “always” mean? He knew what he wanted it to mean.
He was just about to ask when the door opened. They stepped apart so they were once again at a respectable distance from one another.
Jason and Martinez came in with long faces. “Hopefully, a weekend in the tank will shock some sense into her. She’s covering for someone, and if she wises up and helps, she might get off with a slap on the wrist for this.”
“Do you really think she’ll turn her boyfriend in?” Cali asked, looking at Martinez.
“She didn’t seem very forthcoming in there.”
“I don’t know. Woman are hard to predict when it comes to emotions,” Martinez said, giving Cali a wink.
Matthew looked up at his friend, wondering what he was trying to imply. Martinez acted as if he didn’t notice and suggested they go get something to eat instead.
Martinez’s comment nagged at Matthew, and he just wanted to go home and spend some alone time with Cali. They had only a month left before her father took over again. Only a month before she left him.
Lately he’d been feeling that pull in his chest more and more. He needed to tell her how he felt. Matthew knew that; he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. His pride wanted her to stay on her own, to think they had something between them worth staying for and exploring.
***
Cali was in her own world, but when Matthew turned down Martinez’s offer, she was grateful. Nothing sounded better right now than curling up in the living room with Matthew, eating pizza, and watching a movie.
And that’s exactly what they did.
Stopping for pizza on the way home, they picked up a large pie and a two-liter of soda. They selected a pay-per-view movie and cuddled together on the couch, eating, drinking, and just enjoying being together.
The movie was action packed with the hero coming in at just the right moment to save the day.
As the movie credits scrolled on the screen, Matthew suddenly felt the need to be closer to her. Placing a hand on either side of her face, he brought their mouths together in a searing kiss.
Turning, Cali curled her fingers in the fabric of his shirt and held on while every cell in her body got lost in the feel of him.
By the time they came up for air, they were panting, but Matthew held her tight, not letting her pull back. “I will keep you safe, Cali,” he vowed. “Always,” he whispered. The intensity of emotion behind that single word was just as powerful if not more so than her declaration earlier that day.
She sat, unmoving, for several moments before straddling him. The words “I love you” were once again on the tip of her tongue. But she couldn’t voice it. If she couldn’t say it to him with words, she would show him with her actions. Her hands slid down his neck and began unbuttoning his shirt slowly.
Matthew shifted, opening himself up to her and lying back on the couch. There’d never been another wo
man like her, not on any level. He’d just been with her that morning, but yet his body ached as if it had been weeks, months. And his love for her grew with every touch, every kiss.
It wasn’t until later as they picked up their clothing, that Cali noticed something at the bottom of the pile. She bent down and picked it up before dropping it and jumping back. Looking up at him with bewilderment in her eyes, she asked, “Matthew, why do you have a gun?”
Chapter 40
Cali sat in her office, once again trying to prepare for the dreaded meeting with Peter. It was time for the quarterly financials, and it was times like this, she wished she’d paid more attention in that one accounting class she’d taken in college. Five days had passed since everything went down with Mariana, and it had been five days since she’d discovered the gun Matthew now carried in an ankle holster every time they left the house.
Mariana, for her part, wasn’t talking. On Monday the judge set bail at one hundred thousand dollars. Both Matthew and Jason thought that was low, but Martinez said because this was a first offense, it wasn’t that unusual.
The upside to her arrest was having all her phone records subpoenaed and her apartment searched. Having access to those phone records had been a huge help while they waited on forensics to come back. There’d been two calls in the last two weeks that were more than a little suspicious, and they came from inside the building.
It hadn’t been hard for Matthew and Jason to trace the calls to the executive floor. The downside was the phone calls originated from the boardroom and not from an individual’s office. The upside to that was only certain people had access to that room: senior VP’s, the board of directors, and herself.
Things were beginning to add up, and Cali wasn’t sure she liked it. Someone very close to her father was behind this. On some level, she’d known that, but it was something else entirely to have it confirmed.
