by Jamie Knight
“I believe you have a flight to catch to the Caymans.”
“What?” I asked, as my head shot up and I looked him in the eyes. “Caymans? Why would I go to the Caymans?”
He blew out a loud, exasperated breath.
“I was going to pretend I didn’t know anything about it. I was going to see if I could get you to tell me the truth because I figured there must be some sort of misunderstanding, but finding you in my locked office, sniffing through my things…”
He leaned forward and placed one of his hands on the desk.
“If you’re not out of my house in five minutes, I’ll call the police, and you can spend the rest of your life in prison. I’ve cut off all your access to my company. You’ve taken enough from me, and you’re not going to take any more.”
My hand fluttered to my throat. I gripped the star pendant in comfort. This was all like a bad dream.
“You’re not making any sense. I’m sorry I came into your home office. That was wrong, but I don’t know what else you’re talking about. I haven’t taken anything from you.”
“Enough lies. When you see your boyfriend Simon, tell him I said hello.”
“Simon? Kane, please explain what this is about. This isn’t fair.”
I started shaking.
Had my luck changed so quickly?
Was this really the same man I had just had sex with a few hours ago?
He seemed so angry— almost as if I had betrayed him. Nothing was making any sense.
He scoffed.
“That’s right, I’m the big bad, unfair boss. You’re talking to me about fair, Reese? I’ll tell you what’s not fucking fair. You thinking you could weasel your way into my life. Setting up that scene with Simon attacking you. Both of you must’ve thought I was a fool, and I was. Now get out of my house.”
To emphasize his point, he thrust a finger at the door.
“Kane, Sir, please,” I begged, as I stood and inched my way around the large desk. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Whatever this is, I can explain.”
“Get out,” he yelled.
I flinched at the loudness of his voice.
“Please don’t treat me like this.”
I looked over Kane’s shoulder and saw Max with my bag.
Tears streamed down my face.
“The emails I’ve been getting are life-threatening,” I pleaded.
Kane rolled his eyes.
“Ah, yes, the emails you’ve probably been sending to yourself. You needed to get me to trust you. You needed to get inside my mind by saying that you loved me. You used me, and I was the gullible fool who fell for a tight pussy.”
His words stung. I stood up a little straighter and looked him in the eyes.
“You really think I’m capable of that?”
“The five million dollars you siphoned from my company tells me you are.”
I staggered backward.
“You think I’m the one who’s been stealing the money.”
I gave my head a violent shake.
“No way. Never.”
He dropped my gaze and started to walk towards the desk.
“I have more than enough proof that you are.”
“I didn’t, and that you would believe I’m capable of something so vile breaks my heart.”
I clutched my pendant desperately, as if I could shake it and make this whole situation go away.
“I won’t say it again— get out.”
Kane’s voice was hard and resolved. He sat at his desk and turned his chair, so that he was staring out the seaside window. I knew he wouldn’t even look at me anymore.
“My pleasure.”
I pushed past Kane and ran downstairs. Someone had set me up, and, no matter what she’d said, I knew that someone had to be Sloane.
I would confront her and force her to come clean. I wouldn’t buy her bullshit again. I wasn’t a thief, and I would do whatever it took to clear my name.
As soon as I was in the town car, I said, “Max, I didn’t do any of this; you have to believe me.”
“I see nothing, and I say nothing,” he replied in a disinterested tone. “My job is to take you home. Please don’t talk to me. My loyalty is to Mr. McKenzie.”
“Don’t take me home,” I begged, leaning forward and putting my hand on the front seat. “Take me to the office. Just do that for me, and then I’ll be out of your hair.”
Max nodded. He didn’t look me in the eyes, but he started the car. I leaned back into the leather seats and took a deep breath.
I could tell that Max liked me and wanted to help me, even if he wasn’t supposed to. I was grateful he was honoring my request to drop me off at the office.
Now all I had to do was figure out what to say to Sloane when I saw her, or if I was just going to punch her in the nose. I wasn’t sure which I would do.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Reese
During the drive, I dialed Kane’s number a million times to try to plead with him, but it always went to voicemail. I phoned Melissa, but that too went to voicemail. Next, I tried Sloane’s number. Once again, voicemail.
The drive to the city took an eternity. As soon as we stopped outside McKenzie Technologies, I jumped out of the car. I thanked Max for the ride, but he didn’t acknowledge me. He just popped the trunk, so I could get my bag.
I marched up the steps to the building, but when I tried to get into the lobby, I was stopped by Tony. The old security guard met me right at the revolving door and put his hands up.
“I’m sorry, Miss Peterson, but you can’t come in here.”
His face was stern.
“Tony, you know me,” I pleaded. “I’m not here to cause any trouble for anyone.”
His face remained emotionless.
“What I know is that if you step foot in here again, I’ll call the police. I’ve been instructed.”
“Do you know why?” I asked, trying to reason with him.
He shook his head.
“I don’t know, and I don’t care. I’m just doing my job.”
“I need to talk to Sloane,” I said, in desperation. “I need to see her.”
He frowned at me.
“Then I suggest you wait until she leaves the building because you’re not taking another step forward.”
My shoulders deflated as I let out an exacerbated breath. I glanced at the time on my phone. She wouldn’t leave for another hour.
“I’ll wait,” I said.
“Suit yourself,” he said with a shrug, “but you can’t wait here.”
He moved his hands, shooing me away like I was a little kid.
“You’ve already made that clear,” I snapped and turned on my heel to stalk back down the stairs.
I went to the coffee shop across the street and ordered my usual, but I didn’t take one sip. If I had, I would’ve thrown up. I found a table near the window and watched the McKenzie Tech building’s entrance. If Sloane left early, I would see her.
The hour I had to spend waiting for Sloane was trickling by. I tried to get into my work emails, but my access to everything McKenzie Tech-related had been cut off.
At the end of my rope, I decided to call my friends. I was certain that rumors had already circulated around the office about me, but Mandy and Eileen wouldn’t care. They knew I would never do this.
I dialed Eileen’s cell number.
When she picked up, I said, “Eileen. It’s Reese.”
“Reese!” she squealed and then hushed quickly, as if she had put a hand over her mouth.
“Hold on,” she whispered.
I heard her speaking away from the phone and calling for Mandy.
“Okay, we are both here. What’s up? There are so many crazy things being said about you in Watercooler right now.”
“I need both of you to help me,” I explained. “Someone is setting me up. Someone is making it look like I stole millions of dollars from Kane McKenzie. I haven’t. You both know I would never do
that. I have to find out who’s doing this to me and why.”
“Shit, that’s not good,” Mandy said into the phone. “I’ll do what I can to help. We both will. Tell us everything you can.”
I smiled, glad to have my friends with me.
“The company I’m apparently embezzling money through is called Investpex. I’ve been investigating them for a few weeks. They set up shortly after Kane bought my old company out. I know you both have access to the accounts. Just look them up and get any information you can. I hate to ask you two to do this, but I’m desperate. I’m going to go to prison if I don’t sort this out.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t already been arrested,” Eileen said and then blew out a loud breath. “Leave it with us.”
“Thank you. This means a lot. You two are the best.”
I said goodbye and sat back, happy to have something going right.
When people started to stream out of McKenzie Tech, I left the cafe and waited at the bottom of the steps for Sloane. After ten minutes, I spotted her with Linda. Both were lost in conversation and didn’t notice me.
I stepped into their path, and they both looked up, wide-eyed.
“Sloane, we have to talk.”
She rolled her eyes.
“I have nothing to say to you, thief. I’m sure Kane McKenzie regrets the day he ever thought you were mentee material. Look at you now. In cahoots with Simon.”
I jabbed a finger in her direction.
“You did this. You’re responsible for this.”
She pushed my finger away and cackled.
“Like I told you before, if I wanted to ruin you, I would do it publicly, and I would take pride in it. Now if you’ll excuse me—” she said, pushing past me, “—I don’t talk to scum. Have a nice life in prison. I can’t think of a better place for you.”
Sloane continued on her way down the sidewalk, her high heels clacking. I turned back to Linda, who was staring at me with angry eyes.
“Linda,” I said to my old boss, “I didn’t do anything. You know me. Can I talk to you about this?”
“No,” she said and brushed past me to catch up with Sloane.
Apparently no one here wanted to help me.
I was at a loss. I pulled at my pendant. Hopefully my friends could pull off a lucky miracle.
****
The sun rose, and light streamed into the windows of my small apartment, not that I’d gotten any sleep. I groaned and shifted my aching shoulders back.
I was still sitting at my computer desk. I’d spent the night researching encrypted emails. For a monthly fee, someone could set up untraceable email addresses that promised emails which would vanish five minutes after they were opened. So that explained the threatening emails disappearing.
How was I going to prove that I wasn’t connected to Simon or this mess in anyway?
I sighed and pulled my hair out of the messy bun I had put it into sometime last night. I ran my fingers through my locks and tried to relax. Eileen and Mandy would find something, some little tidbit and I’d be okay. Kane would find out it wasn’t me and everything would be forgiven. I just had to find out who it was.
I clicked around on the internet till I couldn’t see straight. It was pointless. Huffing out all my breath, I put my head down on the desk and wallowed in my misery.
I was screwed. If Sloane wasn’t behind this, was everything Simon’s doing? Had he set me up after getting fired? Was this his way of getting revenge on me?
Simon was still MIA. I had no way of contacting him because his number had been disconnected. I looked at his Facebook page and his Instagram, but he hadn’t posted in weeks. It was like he’d disappeared off the face of the earth.
I buried my head in my hands and allowed myself to cry with body-wracking sobs.
I wished I’d never agreed to go to the art gallery with Simon. I wished I’d never gone into the bathroom with Kane, because even though I had previously enjoyed everything we had been through, the second I did that, my fate had been sealed, and that fate could mean the rest of my life in prison for embezzlement.
I reached up to my neck and held onto my star pendant. I needed some good luck, and I needed it soon.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Kane
I knocked back my third glass of Glenlivet. Drinking whiskey that cost over 25k a bottle on the job wasn’t something I’d ever done, but yesterday and today had been a shit show.
The missing money would never be retrieved, but insurance would cover it. For a company like mine, five mill wasn’t a problem. The problem was the humiliation of having someone I trusted steal from me. Someone I’d opened up to. Someone I’d fucking fallen for.
I still couldn’t conceive that the woman who had lain over my desk, the woman who had trusted me with her body would do something so vile. So underhanded. But the proof was irrefutable. Every lead went back to Reese.
Even thinking her name was hard. She was so quirky and funny and sexy. The way she said Sir had sent chills down my spine. She was becoming such a good pet and I might have been falling in love with her. But that was all a lie.
I pulled open the top drawer of my desk and ran my fingers around a black box. Inside was a set of nipple clamps I had just purchased for Reese. I remembered back to that first night, when she had fucked herself before my eyes and told me about every fantasy she had. She had wanted nipple clamps, so I got them. They were supposed to be a gift.
I pulled the box out of my desk. It wasn’t very large or heavy. Turning it slowly in my hands, I thought about her betrayal.
Did she really love Simon that much?
Five million was nothing compared to what I would have given her as my pet… or my wife.
My whole body shook with rage. That I would even think about someday marrying Reese was a joke and the joke was on me. I cupped the box containing the clamps and tossed it with all my might.
It shattered against my door, spilling its contents out in a mess on the carpet. I dropped my shoulders and looked down at my desk.
My door opened. Figuring it was Melissa, I didn’t look up.
“I’m fine. Everything is fine. Go away,” I ordered.
She didn’t move.
Annoyed, I looked up. Sloane stood in my doorway, her narrow face pulled into a sneer.
Oh, what now?
“Sloane, leave!” I barked.
She didn’t move. She was looking down in disgust at the broken box and the nipple clamps.
“Sloane!”
“The mentee program wasn’t what I thought it was, was it?” she asked, still looking down.
I slouched and fell into my chair. I didn’t feel like fighting with this stuck-up princess—not today. It wasn’t worth it.
“Perhaps not,” I confirmed.
Still slumped, I tapped my fingers on the arm of my chair.
“You know that’s a tell of yours?” she asked, stepping over the mess on the carpet and taking the chair in front of my desk.
“What?” I snapped angerly— her familiar tone was making my blood boil.
“You tap the arm of your chair when you’re nervous,” she said snidely, pointing to my hand.
“I also do it when I’m angry,” I snapped. “What do you want, Sloane? Spit it out or you’re fired. I’ll call you father and tell him what a bitch you are.”
She huffed and crossed her slim legs.
“No need to get in a fit, Kane. I’m actually here to help you.”
I tried to laugh, but it came out as a choking sound.
“What can you do to help? All you ever do is think of yourself.”
She stood quickly and frowned.
“Fine. Fire me then, Kane. It you think I’m such a pain, fire me and get it over with. Daddy and I will figure things out.”
She stalked towards the door.
Part of me started to feel guilty about my harsh treatment, so, I waved my hand at Sloane to stop. She turned around and raised one perfectly shaped e
yebrow at me.
“What did you have to say, Sloane?” I asked, keeping my voice calm.
“Linda hated Reese. I suggest you talk to her.”
She gave me a look but didn’t elaborate.
Turning quickly, she walked back out the door.
Linda?
Linda hated Reese?
This new information merited looking into.
It was probably nothing, but I should talk to her anyway.
I pressed the intercom.
“Melissa, can you have Linda come up here? I need to discuss a few things with her about Ms. Peterson and how we can stop this from happening again. Call Ray, too.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
Melissa sounded nervous and sad over the intercom.
“Get a time machine and take me back to the first time I saw her. It’s not the money—”
“I know,” she said softly. “We were all fooled. Every single one of us. And that’s what hurts the most.”
“There’s no fool like an old fool,” I said with a bitter laugh.
She sighed sadly.
“You’re not exactly old, Kane.”
“Next time I even mention fucking someone from the employee pool, slap my face until I come to my senses.”
“I’ll do more than that; I’ll make you wear the chastity belt you’re so fond of.”
I smiled.
“Do that.”
Thirty minutes later, Ray and Linda sat opposite me, and for over two hours, we discussed putting new security measures in place, and at the end of the meeting, I said, “Thank you both. We’ll make sure this never happens again.”
“She had it coming to her,” Linda said, with a twist of her red lips.
My fingers gripped the edge of my desk.
“What do you mean by that?”
I sat forward in my chair and remembered what Sloane had said.
“Nothing,” Linda said, a little too brightly, as she collected her files and notebook. “She just seemed to be getting too big for her britches, and then she got her claws into you… It was all anyone could talk about. I knew it was bound to explode in her pretty little face.”
