Part 40 (1/2)
”Get your hands off of me,” Marcie demanded. ”I mean it.” Marcie demanded. ”I mean it.”
”Ma'am, I-”
”I'm going to my office!” she yelled at him. ”I'm a G.o.dd.a.m.n managing partner here and you better not try to-” She stopped short when she saw Gillette by her executive a.s.sistant's desk. ”h.e.l.lo, Christian.”
”h.e.l.lo, Marcie,” he said calmly, folding the e-mail copy and sliding it into his pocket. ”What's the problem?”
”Your personal goon tried to keep me from coming in even after he searched me. He put his d.a.m.n hands all over me.”
Gillette motioned for Stiles to move off. ”When Lefors gets here, let him come in,” he called.
”Right.”
”Quentin was following my orders, Marcie,” Gillette explained when Stiles was gone. ”He wasn't doing anything wrong.”
”What's going on around here?” she demanded, pus.h.i.+ng her hair back over one ear. ”Why all the CIA-headquarters-level security?”
Gillette hesitated. ”There've been two more attempts on my life since the limousine explosion,” he answered.
Her eyes widened and she brought her hands to her mouth. ”Oh, my G.o.d. What's going on?”
She could have won an Oscar for the performance, but he wasn't buying it. It was looking more and more like Cohen had been right. Strazzi was behind everything: the murder of Bill Donovan and the limousine explosion. Probably the other two attempts to kill him as well. And Marcie was working with Strazzi. As far as he was concerned, she was guilty by a.s.sociation. ”I think someone's trying to take over Everest.”
”Who?”
”I-”
”Hi, Christian,” Lefors called, appearing around the corner. He was holding a half-eaten Three Musketeers bar. ”Hi, Marcie.”
Gillette nodded. Marcie looked away.
”Let's go to the small conference room outside my office,” Gillette suggested, trying to understand what was going on between them. Was it petty rivalry-or something deeper? ”We'll talk there.”
”I'll be down in a minute,” Marcie said, heading toward her office. ”I've got to get something.”
Gillette watched her disappear through the doorway, wondering how he was going to explain her computer being on. He gestured to Lefors and they moved down the corridor to the conference room. ”How do you feel about Coyote Oil?”
”Good,” Lefors answered. ”I went through the information they sent and they look real.”
Gillette hadn't had a chance to scan what Coyote had sent over. ”Are you and Cohen going to call Switzerland?” he asked as they moved into the conference room.
”Yeah. Late tomorrow night, I think.”
”Ask the tough questions, Kyle.”
”I will.”
Marcie entered the conference room a few moments later. Gillette saw she was upset right away. Her cheeks were flushed and her lips were drawn tightly together. As she sat down, she crossed her arms over her chest. She'd seen the e-mail to Kathy Hays on the screen and knew someone had been spying on her. ”What's wrong?” he asked.
”Nothing,” she snapped, staring at the tabletop.
”Come on,” Gillette urged. This wasn't going to end well for her, so they might as well get on with it. ”Tell me.”
”I think you know.”
Gillette glanced at Lefors, who was studying Marcie intently. ”Know what?”
”You turned on my computer and went through my e-mails. Or he he did,” she hissed, jabbing an outstretched finger at Lefors. did,” she hissed, jabbing an outstretched finger at Lefors.
Lefors held up his hands. ”Moi?” ”Moi?”
”Yeah, you. you.”
”I don't know what you're talking about.”
”Sure you don't.”
”Why would I do something like that?” Lefors asked innocently.
”Because you don't want me to get promoted. You're trying to find something to hurt me with, something bad to show Christian so that he won't make me a managing partner, too.”
”That's ridiculous. I think every private equity firm should have a token female partner.”
”You a.s.shole!” she yelled, springing up from her chair.
”Enough,” Gillette ordered, silencing both of them. ”I need a few minutes alone with Marcie,” he said to Lefors. ”Wait for me in your office.”
”Okay,” Lefors replied, standing up and moving to the door, giving her a triumphant look as he headed out.
When Lefors was gone, Gillette motioned for Marcie to sit back down. ”Is there anything you want to tell me?” he asked. She was twirling her hair.
Her eyes moved slowly to his. ”That sounds ominous.”
”Take it however you want. Just answer me.”
She shook her head. ”I've got nothing to say.”
Just like her, Gillette thought to himself. Deny, deny, deny. He was going to have to drag it out of her. ”Have you been working with Paul Strazzi?”
”Paul Strazzi?” she asked, putting a hand on her chest. ”Of course not. Why would I do that?”
”That's a good question.”
”Then why would you think I was?”
”Because Senator Stockman says you have.”
”What?”
”Yeah. I was in Stockman's office two hours ago, and he told me you were Strazzi's hookup on this Dominion thing, the one here at Everest who directed someone at Dominion to cook the books and make it appear that there were billions in bad loans. So the stock price would tank when Congressman Allen made his announcement yesterday. Which it did.”