Fare Game

by Cade Haddock Strong

  However, Sunday evenings had always been one of her favorite nights of the week and she always hated having to leave Kay to head home, especially after they’d spent a relaxing weekend together. She whistled while she ran a vacuum around her house. Pretty soon, she and Kay would be able to spend every Sunday evening together.

  There was no doubt that moving in with Kay was a big decision. Riley had never lived with anyone before. Sure, she’d had roommates in college and when she’d lived in a decrepit farmhouse with some friends after graduation, but she’d never lived lived with someone else. It represented a significant step forward in their relationship, one Riley was more than ready to take.

  She shut off the vacuum, coiled its long cord and stuck it back in her kitchen closet. After she tossed a load of darks in the washer, she grabbed her phone and shot Stephanie a text. Guess what? Kay asked me to move in with her!

  Stephanie’s reply came back with lots of smiling emojis.

  Let’s hope my mother is half as excited. Riley was tempted to call her parents and break the news, but she was on cloud nine and she wanted to stay there for a little while longer. Part of her was convinced her mother still harbored at least some fantasies that being a lesbian was just a phase for Riley. When Riley announced she was moving in with Kay, it would probably chip away at those illusions, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but there was no telling how her mother might react.

  Chapter Forty-One

  For a few weeks, Kay basked in the joy of living with Riley, waking up next to her every morning in what she now considered their bed and having dinner with her every night. As she had promised, Riley’s makeup and curling irons had taken up a lot of real estate in the bathroom, but Kay didn’t care. In fact, it made her happy just to have Riley’s stuff occupy her space.

  Once Riley moved in, the house felt like home in a way it never had before. Kay got that tingly warm feeling when Riley walked in the door after work at night. From an emotional perspective, their relationship was intense, but at the same time effortless. Kay had never felt this connected to another human being.

  For a brief snapshot in time, she almost forgot about the saga at Logan—almost. Just as Fred Archie had predicted, it had been complete radio silence since they’d filed their complaint with the SEC. They’d received confirmation from the SEC that the complaint had been received, but otherwise, total crickets.

  However, the spell of tranquility was short-lived. After they filed the complaint with the SEC, things at work continued to be fairly normal, at least under the circumstances, until one day they weren’t. Greg called Kay and her team into an impromptu meeting first thing one Wednesday morning. It looked like he’d slept in his clothes and stubble dotted on his normally cleanly shaven face. He started the meeting by announcing a massive sale in the European markets Logan served, a move that made absolutely no sense. They were in the midst of one of their busiest seasons and their planes were flying with few empty seats. Kay put her hand up and began to protest but Greg cut her off.

  “No one asked your opinion, Kay.”

  “But these markets are my responsibility and what you’re proposing doesn’t—”

  “Did you hear what I said? Shut the fuck up.”

  Kay was stunned, and from the looks on their faces, her colleagues were too. Greg had never been a saint, but he’d always treated her in a reasonably professional manner. The most curious thing though was that it, the sale Greg was suggesting, would knock them out of sync with Concordia. Greg had never strayed from the Concordia game plan—ever. Being in sync with the group had been a cornerstone of the scheme from the very beginning.

  The environment at work only got worse from there. The following afternoon, Greg called her an “overrated bitch” during an executive committee meeting. Many of the people in the room were senior to Greg and she was sure one of them would call him out, but no one did. The last straw came when he made her the fall guy for an abysmal revenue report that had just been released, a report that was the result of a fare structure he’d demanded she implement. This time when Kay protested, Greg charged at her. She jumped out of her chair, afraid if she didn’t, he’d tackle her.

  She escaped to the ladies’ room and broke down in tears. After years of climbing the corporate ladder in a heavily male dominated industry, it took a lot to rattle Kay, but with all the SEC-related shit hanging over her head, her nerves were frayed. She stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Something was going on, goddamn it. Why else would Greg be behaving the way he was?

  Kay’s colleague Rita walked in the ladies’ room and stood next to her at the sink. “Kay, are you okay? Greg is out of control. I can’t believe he—”

  “Yeah, I’m all right.” Kay let out a long sigh.

  “You better come back into the conference room,” Rita said. “Greg keeps throwing you under the bus. I think you should be there to defend yourself.”

  Kay dabbed her face with a paper towel and followed Rita back to the meeting. All eyes fell on her when she reclaimed her seat at the table, but no one uttered a word.

  Greg smirked at her and gestured toward one of the executives. “Brad was just asking me about the updated Asia market analysis, Kay. Why don’t you give us an overview of what it revealed?”

  Kay glared at Greg. He knew damn well the market analysis wasn’t done. Not even close. They took weeks to prepare and he’d only just asked her to update it.

  “Well, Kay. We’re all waiting.”

  She desperately wanted to tell him to go fuck himself. Instead she said, “Greg, as I know you are well aware, we’ve just started working on it.”

  “So, are you saying it isn’t done?”

  “Yes, that’s what I’m saying.”

  “Well, that’s very disappointing, Kay.”

  The dreadful meeting dragged on for another hour and it was nearly six p.m. when Greg called it to a close. As soon as it was over, Kay bolted from the conference room and took the stairs down to the seventh floor. A shiver ran down her spine as soon as she stepped into her office. Someone had left a large gray rubber rat on top of her keyboard.

  Her heart started to race, and her mind immediately went to Riley. She’d be home from work by now. Her mind flashed back to the call from Mrs. Fairchild about the red-headed trespasser. She yanked her phone out of her suit pocket and shot Riley a text. Turn on the alarm. I’m on my way home.

  It had been an oppressively hot summer day in Atlanta, and even at that time of the evening, the short walk across the Logan parking lot made Kay sweat. She jumped in her Jeep and threw the car in gear. Taillights greeted her as soon as she turned onto the ramp for I-85. “Fuck!” She glanced around for her phone. It had slipped between the seats and she couldn’t reach it. “Goddamn it.”

  As she crawled along the interstate, she glanced in her rearview mirror. A matte black BMW coupe was two cars back. It looked remarkably similar to the car that had pulled out of the Logan parking lot right behind her. The coupe kept its distance but followed her off the exit.

  Even though the A/C was on full blast, a bead of sweat had formed on Kay’s forehead. When she stopped at a light, she wriggled out of her suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of her blouse. It didn’t help much. She needed fresh air. She lowered all the windows in the Jeep and once she hit the gas, the wind blew her hair up off her neck. It felt wonderful.

  Unless she was stopping at the grocery store, she always took the exact same route home from work. Not today. She was anxious to get home to check on Riley, but she made a small loop around her neighborhood. It wasn’t until she reached her street, that the BMW stopped tailing her. She turned right and it continued straight.

  Her house alarm blared as soon as she opened the front door.

  “Kay?” Riley called out.

  “Yeah, it’s me,” Kay replied as she scrambled to enter her security code on the wall panel.

  Riley ran into the foyer and pulled her into a hug. “Is everything okay.”
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  Kay stepped back and looked her in the eye. “I honestly don’t know. Greg was even more of an ass to me today. He actually lurched at me during a meeting. Scared the crap out of me.”

  “What the fuck is going on with him?”

  “Hell if I know, but get this. Someone left a big rubber rat on my desk this afternoon.”

  “Jesus.”

  “I know, baby. And that’s not all. On my way home, there was this black BMW. It was totally fucking following me.”

  “Shit, Kay. I’m scared.”

  “Me too, baby.”

  “This all has to be related to the—”

  “The SEC,” Kay whispered. “It would explain what’s going on at the office.”

  “You think they’ve gotten wind that someone went to the feds?”

  “I don’t know, but if I had to guess, I’d say yes. I can’t put my finger on it. There are no blaring sirens or flashing red lights, but I don’t know, people at work seem really on edge. It’s like a big dark cloud has moved over Logan headquarters. There’s this tension that wasn’t there before.”

  “Do you think this whole thing is about to blow?” Riley asked.

  Kay nodded. “I’m certain of it.”

  Chapter Forty-Two

  After a week of constantly looking over her shoulder and getting even less sleep than normal, Kay was nearing a breaking point. Greg continued to treat her like utter shit and she desperately wanted to quit. There was no doubt in her mind that he was acting the way he was in an effort to wear her down. She couldn’t cave now. She couldn’t give him that satisfaction.

  She was dutifully plugging away at the Asia market analysis when her office phone rang. She knocked over her water bottle, promptly soaking her keyboard, and cursed under her breath when she saw the name on her caller ID: Cynthia Abbott. What on earth? Cynthia was the personal assistant for Logan’s CEO, Howard Rome. Kay grabbed some napkins from her desk drawer and dabbed up the spilled water as she snatched up the receiver. “Hello, this is Kay Corbett.”

  “Kay, this is Cynthia Abbott from Mr. Rome’s office.”

  “Oh, um, hi.”

  “Mr. Rome would like to see you. Would you please come up to ten?” Her voice was devoid of emotion.

  “Now?”

  “Yes, right now.”

  “Of course. I’ll be right up,” Kay replied.

  She popped a mint into her mouth, pulled her suit coat off the back of her chair and grabbed her cell phone. As she trudged up the three flights to the tenth floor, a pit formed in her stomach. Being summoned to Howard Rome’s palatial office did not spell good news.

  “Hello Cynthia,” Kay said when she stepped into the executive suite.

  Cynthia looked up from her computer and grunted hello. She bore a striking resemblance to Grumpy Cat. “Please have a seat. I’ll let Mr. Rome know you’re here.”

  Before Kay had a chance to sit down, the door to Howard Rome’s office flew open and Greg Brandywine strolled out. “Hello Kay,” he said without making eye contact.

  “Hello, Greg.” You fucking slime ball.

  Greg waved toward the CEO’s office. “He’s all yours.”

  Kay marched into Howard Rome’s office with as much confidence as she could muster.

  Howard gave her the most insincere smile she’d ever seen. “Please close the door behind you.”

  Kay lowered herself into one of the sturdy chairs flanking his heavy wood desk.

  Howard crossed his arms over his chest and scowled, causing his bushy eyebrows to touch. “I’ve done some digging…”

  She tried not to twitch under the glare of his beady eyes. She knew what was coming.

  “It seems,” he spat, “you’re responsible for the goddamn subpoena the SEC just threw in our face.” He loosened his tie and tugged at the collar cinched around his neck, his face red with anger. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

  “I wasn’t aware the SEC had issued a subpoena,” Kay stammered. It was true; the SEC had given her no warning. She had no idea where they stood in their investigation.

  “Bullshit!” He leaned across his desk. “I’ve got it on good authority that you’re the one who went to the feds.”

  Kay’s hands began to tremble. How the fuck did he find out it was me?

  As he rattled on, Kay’s fear morphed into anger. She wanted to lash out, but she bit her tongue. She wanted to watch Howard dig himself deeper into shit. If he was going to fire her, and she was pretty sure he was, his problems were about to get a whole lot bigger. He’d just pegged her as a whistleblower—the person who’d reported Logan to the SEC. Was he really that stupid. Surely, he knew retaliating against a whistleblower was a big giant no-no. The law was very clear on that.

  She fought off the urge to bolt from the room and drive straight to her attorney’s office.

  “What? Don’t have anything to say for yourself?” he spat. “Not that anything you could say would help the goddamn situation.”

  Kay pursed her lips and glared back at him, but she remained silent and this seemed to further enrage him.

  He foamed at the mouth like a rabid dog. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I called you up here?”

  Kay nodded and tried to keep a smile from creeping across her face. Her fear and anger turned to amusement. He really was stupid enough to fire her.

  Howard pounded his fist down on the desk. “Your employment at Logan is hereby terminated, effective immediately.” He pointed toward the door with his chubby finger. “Now, get the hell out of my office. Security will escort you out of the building.”

  Kay desperately wanted to punch the bastard in the face, but in an act of great restraint, she managed to maintain her composure. She sauntered toward the door of Howard’s office. As soon as she crossed the threshold, the first thought that crossed her mind was Riley. If Howard Rome knew Kay had gone to the SEC, there was a damn good chance he knew about Riley’s involvement too. She needed to…

  “If you’ll come with us, Ms. Corbett.”

  Kay’s head snapped up. Two hulking security guards dressed in blue military-looking outfits were stationed next to Cynthia’s desk. Kay’s legs started to shake. She was in shock and she had to reach Riley. The security guards didn’t touch her, they didn’t need to. One flanked her right, the other her left, as they escorted her to her office to grab her purse, and then through the sea of cubicles toward the elevators, past the inquiring eyes of all of her coworkers. The hulks walked her all the way to her Jeep, confiscated her Logan ID badge, and watched as she drove out of the parking lot.

  As soon as she was outside the imposing metal gates, she pulled over, tugged her phone out of her pocket and called Riley. It went straight to voice mail. “Shiiiiit!” The clock on her phone read 2:03 p.m. Riley was probably still in the air on her way back from Seattle. Kay tossed her phone on the passenger seat, threw the Jeep in gear and hit the gas. Twenty minutes later, she was sitting in a conference room at Fred Archie’s law firm in downtown Atlanta. She pounced the second her attorney entered the room. “You promised us our identities would be protected!”

  Fred settled into the seat next to her. “Take a deep breath, Kay.” His voice was deep and carried a heavy southern drawl. “Tell me what happened.”

  “I got fired! That’s what happened.” Kay proceeded to give him a quick synopsis of her not-so-pleasant encounter with Howard Rome.

  Fred leaned back in his chair and interlaced his hands behind his head. “Interesting,” he said. “Very interesting.” He started to say something more but paused and asked, “Where’s Riley? Was she fired too?”

  Kay shook her head. “I haven’t been able to reach her. She’s in the air on her way back from Seattle.”

  Fred tapped his finger on the table. “Okay, well, nothing we can do about that right now. Going back to Howard Rome… If what he told you is true, that Logan has been subpoenaed by the SEC, then the SEC’s investigation into the airline has moved very quickly, very quickly indeed.�
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  Kay felt like she was going to burst. She knew Fred was brilliant, but he talked irritatingly slow, and right now, she wanted to strangle him. “How do you mean?”

  “Well, the SEC would only issue a subpoena after they’d thoroughly reviewed all the evidence we handed over.”

  “Issuing a subpoena is a good sign, right?”

  “A very good sign indeed. They must feel there’s a very strong indication of wrongdoing on the part of the airline.”

  Kay briefly wondered if Fred had been tipped off about the subpoena, knew one had been issued, but as usual, his poker-faced expression gave away nothing. She crossed her legs and sat back in her chair. “We freakin’ handed the SEC this case on a silver platter. I mean, the evidence we gave them was pretty damning.”

  He nodded. “It certainly was.”

  “And now I’ve been fired…”

  “Yes, and now you’ve been fired. Which means,” Fred boomed, “Howard Rome just made a very serious mistake. The SEC investigation may end up being the least of his problems. As a whistleblower, your identity is protected by the law, not even the SEC knows—”

  “I know,” Kay said. “The question is, how the hell did Howard Rome find out I was the one who went to the SEC? And does he know about Riley’s involvement in all of this?”

  Fred stared out of the window of the conference room for a few moments before responding. “Well, let’s see. If I had my guess, Howard Rome panicked when he learned about the subpoena, and he probably assumed someone from inside Logan had gone to the feds.”

  “That seems reasonable, but it doesn’t explain why—”

  Fred held up his hand. “Let me think about this for a second.”

  Kay bit her lip and waited. This whole thing had Heather Corn written all over it. That bitch.

  “Howard Rome told you he knew it was you who had gone to the feds, correct?”

  “I believe his exact words were ‘I’ve got it on good authority that you’re the one who went to the feds,’ or something like that.”