by Ellie Danes
“So your relationship deteriorated after that?” I could see how Dylan would be motivated by money.
Cain looked sad, even tired. “No, we were still close. We continued to build our business together, but Rachel was there for me and that sort of kept Dylan away. I didn’t know that he had a crush on her. Things just happened between us in college. We hit it off. She complained about him a few times, but I promised her I would talk to him. I confronted Dylan about it once, but he denied everything. I warned him to stay away from her. It didn’t really matter, in the end, because she died about a month after that.”
I reached over and held his hand. He squeezed mine back. “Are you ok? I know this has to be hard on you.”
“It is. That’s why I was late tonight. Dylan and I had a meeting. I confronted him about my suspicions. He denied everything and I suggested he take a leave of absence for a while, to clear his head.”
“How did he take it?” I could only imagine the tension during this meeting. First Dylan had been rejected by me today, then his best friend pushed him a way while accusing him of causing the problems at the company.
“Not well. He was upset. He said I would regret this. I know it’s just talk. He’s overworked. There’s a lot going on with these breaches and I know he’s concerned about them.”
“Cain, I’ve been wanting to talk to you about all of this. Aside from Dylan’s history in college, we found out he was pushing Pegasus away. He told Alice Bennett she could only speak with him, and then proceeded to decline their assistance and modify their software.”
“What? I was aware there was a software issue, but I never knew anything about Alice.” Cain’s face turned pale. The stress showed in his eyes. “So you think Dylan…”
Cain’s phone rang stopping him mid-sentence. “I’m sorry, I have to take this.”
He got up and walked inside. I could hear him whispering, and it seemed liked he was in an argument, but it was difficult to tell for sure. He returned a few minutes later.
“I’m really sorry. I have to go back to the office.” He seemed a distraught and on edge.
“Cain, what’s wrong? Can I help with anything?”
“It’s Ashley. She needs me back at the office for something, she wouldn’t say what over the phone. That’s really unlike her.”
“At this hour? Are you fucking kidding me?” I rarely cussed, but this pushed me over the edge. “She calls you and you go running. Don’t you see what’s going on here, Cain?” My face flushed with anger.
“Jennifer, stop! She really sounded upset, I owe it to her to help out. She was there for me when…”
“When Cain? When? When Rachel died? When you were angry in the meeting last week? When you wanted to change your dinner plans? I’m done with Ashley and her needing you. I need you.” It had been so long since I had unleashed my anger like I was now on Cain.
Cain seems stunned by my outburst, but quickly fired back, just as angrily. “I’m sorry, Jennifer, I really need to go.”
“Go, Cain, get out! Run to Ashley.” I managed to hold back the tears until Cain left, slamming the door behind him.
Chapter Twenty-Five
I wanted to throw something—anything—but I held back. I couldn’t believe Cain had upped and left, at Ashley’s beck and call. I stood, still staring at the door in amazement. For some reason, Cain felt the need to be the knight in shining armor to Ashley, his assistant and late girlfriend’s sister.
I flopped down on my couch, punched a pillow, and let the tears flow. So much was against us—including my dad—could we realistically make this work? I was beginning to doubt it, although I could not deny the attraction between us. I thought about calling Aimee; it had been a few days since I had chatted with my closest friend, but I hated to call her now, when I was in the middle of yet another crisis.
The familiar sound of my buzzing phone caught my attention. I reached down and looked at the screen, hoping it was Cain calling to apologize for how he had left. Nothing. The buzzing sound continued and I traced it to the dining room table. It was Cain’s phone. The brightly illuminated screen displayed Ashley’s name on the caller ID.
I quietly groaned, but hesitantly decided to answer it. I tapped the “accept call” button and paused.
“Hello? Cain? Are you there?” Ashley’s panicked whisper caught my attention.
“Hi, Ashley, this is Jennifer.” I spoke as calmly as I could.
“Jennifer? Where’s Cain? Oh my god, I can’t believe this is happening. Is he on the way?”
“What is it? What’s going on, Ashley?” I felt a frightening urgency rise in the pit of my stomach.
“Someone is here! They’re tearing through the offices. I don’t know what to do. Where’s Cain? Are you with him?” Ashley’s voice cried into the phone.
“No, he’s on the way. Did you call the police? Can you see them?” I tried to remain calm, but I felt as if Cain were walking directly into a trap.
Ashley sniffed and her voice quivered. “I can’t see anything now. As soon as I heard them rustling through the office I hid in the conference room closet. I can hear them, but I can’t see where they are. There are two of them.”
“Ashley! Listen to me. Call the police, right now. If Cain walks in on them it could be bad. I’ll call them too. Everything is going to be ok.” I hung up the phone, grabbed my tennis shoes, purse and phone.
I continuously thought about wanting to call Cain, but it was only when I gave in and dialed his number I stupidly realized I had his phone.
I slammed the door behind me and raced to my car. My heart was pumping like a crazed machine, and I drove like a bat out of hell. All I could think of was Cain, walking into that situation alone. Why wouldn’t Ashley have told him? Why would she invite him to the office like that? My mind raced in a million different directions and I remembered I needed to call the police.
With one hand, I frantically dialed 911. “Yes, my name is Jennifer Dunning, I’m calling to report a break in. Yes a break in…at Vawter. Right, Vawter, it’s on Executive Parkway. Someone’s currently inside and she’s says there are two people in the building, rummaging through offices…” I waited for the confirmation that officers were on their way and hung up.
It seemed to take forever to get to the office building. The eerily familiar sight of brilliant blue and red lights flickered against the glass windows. I whirled my car into the parking lot and screeched to a halt next to Cain’s black import. Half a dozen police cars were parked, zigzagged, in front of the building.
I raced down the concrete sidewalk, and was greeted by two police officers guarding the main entrance.
“Ma’am, I’m sorry. No one is permitted in the building right now.”
“My boyfriend is in there. I’m the one that called 9-1-1.” I could feel myself shaking. I feared the worst and just wanted to know Cain was alright.
A tall familiar figure exited the doors behind the two officers. He was wrapping up a call when our eyes connected.
“Jennifer? What are you doing here?”
Detective Paul Jackson had been a friend of my father’s for years; I got to know him well during my internship, as he and Dad were involved in one of several big cases together. I hadn’t seen him since then, and could only assume he and my father were still in touch.
“Cain, is he Ok? Is everyone Ok?” I didn’t really care about Ashley, but it just came out. I waited for his response as time stood still.
“Yes, everyone is fine. They just tossed the place. Looks like they were looking for something.” He motioned to the two officers standing guard. “She’s Ok, let her through.”
I let out a huge sigh of relief and could feel the tension leaving my shoulders as my nerves calmed. “Thank you.” I briefly set my gaze upwards and then brought my attention back to Detective Jackson.
“How do you know Mr. Parker?” He was as gruff as police detectives come and reminded me of a fitter, more polished, Reese.
“He�
��s a client…can I go in?” I didn’t wait for an answer as I quickened my pace past him. “I’m sorry, can we catch up after?”
“Sure, Jennifer, just be careful not to touch anything in there.”
I took off through the big glass doors and my eyes scanned about for Cain’s tall frame. The lobby appeared undisturbed, but the offices were in shambles. Papers were flung everywhere and I was immediately taken back to the break-in at my apartment.
I found Cain in one of the offices. His held a weeping Ashley in his arms, her tiny frame wracked with sobs. His tanned hand pulled her blonde head close to his chest, his other was wrapped around her waist. I couldn’t hear what he was saying but he spoke in low tones. She nodded, looked up at him, and gave him a weak smile.
Cain spotted me. His face was grim and his jaw was clenched. He gently led Ashley to a nearby police officer, who offered her a cup of water. I could see the wet tear stains on his shirt.
“Are you Ok? Is she Ok?” I really only cared about the answer to my first question.
He ran his hands through his hair and nodded. “Yeah, she’s Ok. She said there were two of them, but she couldn’t see who they were. How did you know?”
I pulled Cain’s phone from my pocket and handed it to him. “She called your phone. You left it on the table. Why didn’t you tell me what was going on?” I tried not to sound accusatory, but I honestly didn’t know how to feel.
“Jennifer, she didn’t tell me what was going on, and the last thing I wanted to do was get you more involved in… whatever this is.” He sounded dejected, unsure—not like the Cain Parker I first met in the elevator just a few weeks ago.
On an impulse, I reached out and took his hand, squeezing it and then releasing it. “I get that, but going forward, you have to trust me. I can only help if I know what is going on.”
He tucked a strand of my long dark hair behind my ear and whispered, “Are you sure you want to step into my world? It seems to be in chaos, right now.”
“I’ve got news for you, Cain. I’m already in it. I don’t need you to protect me.”
He gave me a half smile. “Alright. Message received.”
“So what do we know? You said two people broke in? She didn’t see anyone?”
Cain nodded his head. “Yes, she said two people. She said she was in one of the conference rooms when she heard a noise. She looked in the hallway and saw two people, dressed in black, headed towards the offices.”
“How did they get in? What about your security here? There are cameras everywhere.”
Before he could answer, Detective Jackson joined us. “That’s a great question. Can I get a look at the video recordings?”
“I can try. Normally my partner, Dylan, handles that sort of thing, but he’s…” Cain voice trailed off.
“He’s what?” prodded Detective Jackson.
“He’s taken a leave of absence,” finished Cain.” Follow me, I’ll show you where we keep the equipment.
We followed Cain down the hall to the server room, which was filled with computer equipment and wires. “There, on the desk. That’s for the cameras.”
“Well, I can tell you we have nothing. The recording system is turned off.” Detective Jackson shook his head. “Dead end here. Can you get in touch with your partner? Find out what he may know? While you’re doing that, I’ll check with the others and see if they found anything.” He left us alone in the server room.
“What the hell is going on?” Cain sat in the lone chair with his back to me, staring at the camera monitors. We watched as police officers took pictures of the offices. A detective was still talking to Ashley, and then she disappeared off of the monitor screen.
Cain took out his phone and dialed Dylan’s number. “After the conversation we just had, I doubt he’s going to pick up.” Cain waited and finally hung up. “Voicemail.”
I put my hands on Cain’s shoulders and hugged him. “I hate to even suggest this, right now, but don’t you think there’s a chance this could be Dylan?” I kissed his neck, trying to ease the situation. A shadow crossed the door, interrupting the conversation and I turned to see Ashley standing in the doorway, watching us.
“Cain, I’m going home, if you don’t need me…”
Cain stood up and flipped off the monitor. “That’s fine, Ashley. Listen, don’t worry about that presentation. Get some rest and I want you to take tomorrow off.”
“But I have to finish the—” Her voice quavered but he interrupted her.
“I mean it. I don’t want you in here tomorrow. Get some rest, Ok?”
She gave a small nod, lingered for a moment, and then turned away.
“Jennifer, why don’t you head home? It’s going to be a late night here. I need to call my staff and have them come in. We need to figure out if anything is missing.” It felt as if Cain was dismissing me, and I could hear the frustration in his voice.
I grabbed his hand again and gave him a small kiss. “No way, I’ll stay.”
Cain smiled and I saw a glimmer in his ocean blue eyes. “Thank you.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
I hoped I didn’t look as unorganized as I felt. It had been a long night, and the lack of sleep was clouding my brain. I pulled my dark hair up into a bun and tucked it in place with bobby pins. Instead of my typical stylish dress and jacket, I reached for my go-to black pantsuit and a pink silk shirt. I barely had the mental energy to try and match, let alone be stylish. I had arrived home at around 4am and had managed to get just two hours of sleep. After gobbling down some toast and coffee, I headed to Dunning, Durst and Chandler to brief my father and Reese on what had happened the night before.
In less than fifteen minutes, I was riding the elevator up the high rise to the offices of DDC. The elevator always brought a smile to my face, after my encounter with Cain that first day. It was full this morning, evidence that things were bustling upstairs.
The doors opened and the receptionist, multitasking with calls and sending emails, immediately greeted me. “Good morning, Miss Dunning.”
“Good morning.” I couldn’t recall her name so I left it at that.
“Oh, Miss Dunning, your father wants to meet with you first thing.”
“Thanks. I’m on the way.”
I dropped my well broken-in binder at my desk and went to Dad’s office. “Good morning, Dad, Reese.” I pulled up a chair at the small table in my father’s office.
“Vawter just faxed us this list of things that were taken during the break-in last night. It’s just a few paper files, nothing that important.” Dad’s silver framed glasses were perched at the tip of his nose as he re-examined the list.
“This screams inside job to me.” Reese was direct. “With everything going on, I’d hedge my bets Dylan Rogers had something to do with this. Given his history…”
“That was my feeling. Apparently he and Cain had a conversation last night and it didn’t end well. I asked Cain about it, but I didn’t get a straight answer. All I know is that Cain asked Dylan to take a leave of absence to clear his head.” My gut told me there was more to it, but I didn’t want to share anything until I’d had a chance to talk to Cain about it properly.
“I’d have to agree with both of you. I’ve got two opinions: first, that this was an inside job, meant to scare Cain Parker—probably Dylan, or the secretary’s way of getting a little attention.” His brow furrowed. “What do you think? You know this Ashley Murant?”
Having seen Ashley, and the way she’d clung to Cain last night and her past interactions, I wouldn’t have put it past her. “I’m not sure, Dad. I think that would be a bit much for her just to get attention. Especially involving the police.” Saying it out loud made it sound like something she wouldn’t do herself.
“Let’s find out which it is. Jennifer, you and Reese go and talk to Cain and see what he thinks. Let’s play this very close to our chests. If this is an inside job—or not Dylan—we don’t want to tip our hands that we know something.”
/> “Sure, come on. Let’s do that now. I’ve got an 11am meeting back here.” Reese was on his feet. “I’ll meet you downstairs, you drive.”
“Alright, but no smoking in my car!” I called after him.
“Jennifer, I want you to be clear-headed about this. Don’t let your heart influence you, again. Stay professional—and stay focused.” My father had removed his glasses and was looking at me with clear, blue eyes.
“Dad, I’ve got everything under control. I’m not in college anymore.” He gave me a rueful smile and slid his glasses back on his nose, ignoring me. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.” I left him and went to my office to grab my purse and keys. I met Reese at the car and quietly grumbled to myself as we drove out of the parking lot.
“Oh, let it go, kid. He’s just worried about you.”
Thankfully my phone rang, interrupting Reese’s Dad-Knows-Best speech. “I was just about to call you. Reese and I are coming over to your office. We had a few things we wanted to talk to you about. Oh, you do? Ok, we’ll see you in a few minutes.”
Reese gave me a quizzical stare. “He says he’s got something to show us.”
“This should be interesting,” he grumbled.
The Vawter parking lot was full, but I had inside information; Ashley Murant wasn’t coming in today. I slid my car into the spot with her name painted on it.
The building was a stark contrast to what I remembered less than twelve hours ago; police cars were replaced by a mix of neatly parked cars and the bright sun reflected off of the metallic looking glass windows.
“Remember, Jennifer, professional and focused.” Reese laughed trying to make light of the situation and poke a little fun at my expense.
We walked into Vawter to find Cain already waiting at the reception desk. I could hardly tell he’d likely had even less sleep than I had. He was slightly dressed down in crisp white button down shirt and khaki pants, complemented by his expensive shoes.
