A Deadly Promotion

by Melanie Jones Brownrigg

  “I’m Paul’s girlfriend,” she immediately barked out. “We’re having a quiet lunch together if you don’t mind.”

  Paul finally recovered from his coughing attack. “Paige is a client. She’s also the person I told you I found in the lobby,” Paul quickly explained.

  “You must be Angela,” I said, hoping Paul didn’t have more than one girlfriend and I wasn’t stirring up a hornet’s nest. I also thought she might see me as less of a confrontation and tone down her hateful glare, especially if she knew Paul had mentioned her by name. Murder charges had been filed against me and I needed Paul to be able to concentrate on representing me … and not having to answer her texts every few minutes.

  “Yes, Paul’s girlfriend,” she spitefully reiterated. “If you have anything to say to Paul, you should make an appointment with his secretary.” She smirked her full lips at me. “Until then, if don’t mind, like I said, we’re trying to have a quiet lunch.”

  “Yes, of course. I’m sorry for the intrusion.” I gave her my best I’m-sorry look and then twisted my gaze to her boyfriend. “Paul, I’ll wait to hear from about the reports Detective Sutton mentioned.”

  “Yes, I’ll give you a call,” he eked out.

  As I turned and walked away, it felt as if you could have cut the tension with a knife. What was it about his girlfriend?

  * * *

  While I sometimes ate in the deli, after Angela’s cold greeting, I wasn’t about to linger. Taking my lunch back to the office, I headed for the breakroom. I frowned upon seeing David Ross was the only one in there.

  “Paige,” he called out with a lot of enthusiasm. “Join me.”

  I forced a smile. “Thank you. I’d love to.”

  David was a decent man. But he was weird. There just wasn’t a polite way to put it. His workstation was next to my regular desk and he always kept his papers covered as if I might cheat off him. And more than once – and this is so disgusting – I had caught him picking his nose. Just the thought of it ruined my appetite.

  “So, murder charges,” he bluntly brought up as soon as I pulled the chair opposite him and took a seat.

  “Yes,” I meekly admitted, my appetite further diminishing. “You know I didn’t do it … right?”

  He waved an airy hand in the air. “Of course, you didn’t. You’d be the last person I’d suspect. You’re a kind, gentle, caring person. Everyone knows that.”

  I pulled the plastic covering from my sandwich and ripped into my chips. “Yeah, who would you suspect?”

  “Lidia,” he answered without hesitation. “We all know she wanted the CFO job more than anything. She was outraged when Julie trumped her. I’ll bet she thinks she’s a shoo-in now.”

  “What if she’s not,” I hinted. “What if Mr. Harrington has promoted someone else?”

  He looked up from his peanut butter sandwich and gazed into my eyes. “You were the only other person who applied for the position. Do you know something you’re not telling me?”

  I fidgeted in my chair. “Mr. Harrington promoted me.”

  He took another bite of his sandwich, leaving a smudge of peanut butter on his chin which he seemed not to notice. Silently he glared at me for what seemed like an eternity. After chewing, swallowing, and taking a long sip from a thermos, he looked directly at me. “Then God help you,” he responded. “You might as well start digging your own grave.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  As if David had conjured up Lidia, she entered the breakroom along with James. Unable to take her continuous scrutinizing glares, after only stomaching a few more bites of my sandwich, I placed the remaining half in the community fridge and returned to the workroom. Arriving before anyone else, I continued arranging the mile-long documents back into the proper files and returning them to the file cabinets. With no one around watching me, it gave me an opportunity to scrutinize each piece of paper. Though I hoped to spot something glaring at me, unfortunately, I was going to have to match each receipt with the corresponding payments before I could discern if overpayments were being made. And, I needed to research each invoice to make sure it was legitimate. It was a mountain of work ahead of me and it caused me to wonder how Julie found a discrepancy in only a month’s time.

  One by one, each coworker straggled in and resumed the task at hand. Thirty minutes past our lunch hour, Carter slowly sauntered in. “You’re late again,” I remarked, this time showing more authority. At some point, it was necessary to own up to my supervisory position. If I didn’t start acting like a boss, the employees would never take me seriously.

  “Mind your own business,” he growled. Carter strolled toward Lisa Harris and took a seat at the table next to her. Penny glared at him and her nostrils flared. Lisa gave Carter a little smile, followed by haughty looks at Penny. There was most definitely something going on between the three of them. However, even if the girls were involved in some sort of turf war over Carter, it didn’t mean it had anything to do with Julie’s murder.

  “Carter,” I addressed, “it is actually my business.” My hands began shaking and I quickly dropped them into my lap and took in a deep breath for courage. “You see …”

  Suddenly, the door popped open and Mr. Harrington stepped in. “Good afternoon group. Are you making any progress with this sorting?” He strolled to the head of table and moved his gaze around the room, making eye contact with each of us. My heart picked up its pace and my throat squeezed closed. Even though I was about to tell everyone, undoubtedly, the beans were about to spill.

  “Yes,” Penny piped up. “We should be finished either by this afternoon, or early in the morning. Then we can begin reentering the data.”

  “Wonderful. That’s wonderful,” he praised. “Then I take you are all working well with Paige.” His gaze zeroed in on me and I forgot how to breathe.

  It only took a second for everyone to register that I was just about to reprimand Carter … which could only mean one thing; I was the newly appointed CFO. Mouths went silent and all eyes jumped between Mr. Harrington and me. I’d never felt so uncomfortable.

  Then one second later, Lidia exploded, her dark coal eyes shooting lasers at Mr. Harrington. “You can’t be serious. Surely you didn’t appoint Paige. What must you be thinking? For God’s sake, she killed Julie … why would you reward her!”

  Mr. Harrington ignored Lidia’s tirade. Instead his disappointed focus landed on me, like I should have already announced my new status and taken control of the workforce. Unfortunately, I did look weak. “May I speak with you in my office?” I interjected, quickly digging the key from my purse.

  Harsh lines cut around the edges of his mouth and a grimace twisted his features. “Yes, I’d be glad to.”

  My hands shook as I jammed the key in the lock. Stepping inside, I flipped on the lights. Mr. Harrington followed in behind me while I closed the door. My corner office had north and west facing windows. The front was a solid wall. The remaining fourth wall was constructed of glass, providing a clear view to the employee room. While it helped with monitoring work activity, right now, it made me feel like I was in a fishbowl.

  Owning the place, I strode with my back ramrod straight across the room and to the big, black swivel chair behind the mahogany desk. Taking a seat, I put on my confident face. Mr. Harrington plopped in one of the two burgundy chairs, crossed his arms and glared at me.

  I didn’t wait for him to demean me for any inabilities at being authoritative. “I was holding off on announcing my new position in an attempt at gaining information. I knew once everyone realized I was the new CFO they would clam up. I was hoping everyone’s lips would be loose and I might learn something advantageous to the situation.”

  His eyes bore into me for a long time, then he finally relaxed. “Well, I can see where you’re coming from. I’m sorry I blew your cover.” He gave me an apologetic look. “Have you learned anything so far?”

  “Aside from a possible love triangle, and one employee abusing the punctual time frames
, Lidia seems to be the most likely person to have pushed Julie. Unfortunately, with the police department having returned the documentation in disarray, I can’t begin my audit until everything is reorganized.”

  “Yes, I can see how it creates a problem.” He stood and straightened his tie. “Well, let me know if you come across anything.”

  “I will,” I agreed, getting to my feet along with him.

  “Well, good job, carry on,” he said starting for the door. With his hand on the knob, he turned back to face me. “Get out there and start acting like a boss. I know you’re going to be wonderful at this job. I have every faith in your abilities.”

  I nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Harrington.”

  I followed behind him, half expecting him to say something to everyone. Instead, he kept on walking, leaving me at the head of the room. I turned and faced each of their scrutinizing glares. Swallowing back my nervousness, I held my head up and my posture straight. “Okay, well now you know. I’m the new CFO. From this day forward, you will report to me if you are running late, otherwise I expect punctuality.” I scowled at Carter. “Furthermore, I don’t want to hear any whining and crying about someone else being more qualified for this position.” I glared straight at Lidia. “Above all, you will address me with the respect a CFO deserves. Anything less, and I will take the matter up with Mr. Harrington.” My eyes fell from one employee to the next. “Does anyone have any questions?”

  You could have heard a pin drop. Everyone clammed up, not having a single word to say. Heads ducked. Eyes looked away. The atmosphere in the room shifted, placing a heavy cloud of resentment drifting over me. And the tension in the room became chokingly thick.

  “Well then, I take it everything is crystal clear. Please continue with sorting the documents.”

  Unable to keep my legs under me, I turned on a dime and marched back into my office, leaving them with the impression I was now above them and they could complete the sorting on their own.

  Back at my new desk, I slumped into my new chair and took in several deep breaths. For a moment, I considered dropping the blinds separating the view from the workers. Then again, I wanted to keep an eye on them.

  Lidia’s face was a deep red, like she hadn’t breathed in ten minutes. Lisa and Carter were grinning at each other, while Penny was shooting them dirty looks. James Pierce was staring out the window. And David Ross had acted like nothing had happened, merely continuing to organize the files. I don’t know why I found his behavior to be the strangest of everyone, but I did.

  While I hadn’t expected anyone to congratulate me, I hadn’t expected everyone to sit for so long in complete silence. Even Lidia was keeping her mouth shut. Eventually, one at a time, they went back to sorting the documents. Once they were immersed in their little world, I moved one of Julie’s boxes to the top of my desk and began my own arranging. Powering up the computer, I began working on one scanned receipt at a time, comparing it with each digitized entry and looking for anything suspicious. Julie had claimed she had proof of my embezzlement in her office. If so, chances were, it was hiding somewhere in one of these boxes. I just needed to find it.

  The day dragged on like slow molasses, but the second five o’clock rolled around, every single employee made a mad dash for the exit door, crowding each other in an urgent effort to leave.

  Left alone, I shut down my computer, locked the file cabinets and my office door. Then I made my way to the car. I had just headed out the exit when my cell phone rang.

  “Hello,” I answered to Paul, thinking he had obtained the results Detective Sutton had mentioned.

  “Paige, I’ve spoken with Detective Sutton about the lab results and he’s emailed me a copy. If you don’t mind, I’d like to meet with you and go over these findings.”

  “I was just leaving the parking lot. Are you in your office?”

  “Yes, would you mind coming back in?”

  “Not at all, let me circle around.”

  After returning to my parking space and taking the elevator up to the 34th floor, Paul met me in the lobby of Carlson & Carlson, one of the more prestigious legal firms in town. “Come in,” he said, holding the front door for me. “This way.”

  He led me down a hallway to an exterior office with the same westerly view as I now had. However, he didn’t have a corner office. For a moment, I felt a little proud of my accomplishments. Then I remembered every one of my subordinates hated my guts … and one of them would most likely kill me.

  “Nice place,” I commented, gazing around the room and taking in his expensive-looking leather chair, along with an array of diplomas, certificates and awards on the wall behind his highly polished mahogany desk.

  “Thank you,” he said, escorting me to a rich beige, upholstered chair with wooden arms and legs. “Have a seat.”

  I relaxed back into the soft fabric while he made his way around the desk and lowered himself into his chair. He picked up two pieces of paper, keeping a copy for himself and handing me the other one. After reading over the results, my eyes glazed, and I felt dizzy. When I raised my gaze to his, he had a deep scorn on his face.

  “Well, Paige, can you explain these toxicology results to me?”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Glancing back down at a single sheet of paper, I stared at the lab results. My mouth refused to work, and my heart was skipping beats all over the place. How was this possible? I didn’t do drugs. I didn’t.

  Paul was first to cut to the chase. “Has a doctor prescribed any pain medications for you?”

  “No,” I barked, “other than what was just prescribed for me at the hospital.”

  “Then will you please explain why your system tested positive for opiates?” He looked between me and the report, then back at me. “As you can see from the results, the level tested extremely high.” He bore his brown eyes down on me. “You told me you wouldn’t test positive for drugs and couldn’t remember the last time you had alcohol.” He waved the results around. “And what’s more, Detective Sutton told me they searched your desk and found a bottle of Oxycodone and the prescription was made out in your name.” He waited a beat. “Paige, I need to know the truth, are you addicted to pain pills?”

  “No,” I barked again. “Wait … I was prescribed some pain relievers several months ago, back when I was hurt in a car accident. Someone ran a red light and my neck was injured. I only took a couple right after the incident. But I took them with me on my first day back to work in case I started hurting. But I never consumed any of them. I forgot they were even in my drawer.”

  He scowled at me. “So, when I asked if you were prescribed any pain medications, your first answer was a lie.”

  “I didn’t remember the prescription. It was months and months ago.”

  He’d made his point, boldly calling my faulty memory an out-and-out lie. He moved on. “Then help me understand how they ended up in your system.”

  I swallowed hard. “I don’t know how I would have ingested any. This doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Did you eat anything with poppyseeds or something that might have caused the results to be skewed?”

  “No, not that I recall.” I focused on what I had eaten. “I had oatmeal for breakfast with a glass of orange juice. For lunch I had a pimento cheese sandwich, some potato chips and a bottle of water. The stairwell incident occurred before dinner.”

  “Then how?” he demanded, keeping his voice and expression stern. “Don’t lie to me, Paige. I can’t represent you properly if I’m hit with any surprises.”

  “Wait, remember I told you I felt extremely sleepy and lightheaded throughout the afternoon. And now after thinking about it, I was a little dizzy when we started down the stairs. Someone must’ve slipped me something.”

  He took a moment to formulate a response, and when he did, his voice was low and grim. “I do recall you mentioning you could hardly keep your eyes open. But Paige, this is a serious drug. A lot of people can easily get hooked on it. The prosecut
ion is going to have a field day with this evidence. They’re going to paint you as a jealous, vindictive, drug abuser. It’s not going to play out well in a court of law.” He kept his hardened tone and harsh gaze. “I need for you to be honest with me.”

  “But I am telling you the truth. I’m not on any kind of drugs … prescription or otherwise.” I’d watched many episodes of Live PD. It was common to deny, deny, deny. I sounded exactly like every other drug user. Why should Paul believe me? “You know, during my afternoon break, I brewed myself a cup of tea. During that time, I went to use the restroom. Maybe someone spiked my drink while I was in the ladies’ room.”

  Paul’s eyes softened and his face took on a hopeful look, an indication he wanted to give me the benefit of doubt. “Okay, let’s explore that possibility. Who all took a break at the same time?”

  The company was lenient when it came to breaks. Generally, the consensus was for one in the morning and one in the afternoon, with a meal period in between. But nothing was on a set schedule. I squeezed my eyes, trying to picture the day in my head. “Lidia was entering the restroom as I was coming out. I don’t know if she came straight from her office, or if she might have been in the breakroom.” I looked at the ceiling and then back at Paul. “Lisa and David were both in the breakroom when I returned. Lisa was over by the fridge, which is next to where I brewed my tea. David was getting a candy bar out of the vending machine. I don’t recall seeing Penny, James or Carter, but they might have been in there while I was in the restroom.”

  “Who would have known you had a bottle of pills in your desk?”

  I shrugged. “I never said anything about them. Someone must’ve rummaged through my desk when no one was around.”

  “Is there anyone in particular you think might have been searching?”

  “Possibly Lidia. She wanted the CFO job. Maybe her intent was to kill Julie and me at the same time, thinking if we were both out of the way, she was a sure thing. If I were already dazed and confused upon entering the stairwell, it would have given her an advantage. Otherwise, Julie and I might have overpowered her if it had been two against one.”