Part 15 (2/2)

”Hayden?” I asked quietly.

”Yes?”

”Are we okay?”

After a pause, he said, ”We're fine.”

21.

Hayden We weren't fine. 'Fine' was a nothing word. It had no meaning, no commitment. The world ran on yes and no, good and bad. There was no reason to use 'fine' to describe anything but dishes. Or my life.

I got to the office even earlier than normal Monday morning. As soon as Tim came in-two hours later-I confronted him in his office, proof in hand. It didn't take long until the truth came out. Not from Tim's mouth, of course. He spattered and sputtered and made a mess of himself while denying everything, demanding to know where I'd gotten the information and loudly declaring it fraudulent.

”This isn't an argument, Tim,” I said calmly. ”Or even a discussion. This is me holding something in my hand that proves what a dishonest a.s.shole you are. It's not news to anyone but, until now, it's just been a communal opinion. Now, it's fact.”

His eyes darted around the room, looking for either an excuse or an escape route. ”You made that s.h.i.+t up to cover your own a.s.s, Bennett. Just so you could blame someone else when the board decides to fire you.”

”You know how good I am with computers, Tim. In fact, that's what makes you feel superior to me, isn't it? So how would I have made this up?”

”As if you can't find a dozen people who would gladly do the great Hayden Bennett a favor.”

There had never been a great Hayden Bennett. Hayden Bennett was just someone with a powerful last name who'd spent his entire life hobbled by that moniker's weight and responsibilities.

”Stop the bulls.h.i.+t, Tim,” I said. ”All the denial in the world can't change the truth.” I should know.

He followed me out of his office to his secretary's desk. Rosie looked up at me with big, glossy eyes that begged not to be brought into it. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible.

I hated threatening people but, occasionally, it was necessary. And it always worked. I didn't waterboard them, s.h.i.+ne bright lights in their faces, or keep them awake for days at a time. All I did was ask them for the truth. As long as I stayed calm and told them what they might lose by lying, that was usually enough to encourage a mostly honest person to act like a completely honest person.

”I didn't steal any of those doc.u.ments, Mr. Bennett,” Rosie said, her lower lip trembling. ”I didn't know why Mr. Carpenter had them or where they'd come from. But I knew they were there. On his computer. I a.s.sumed you'd sent them to him. You or your a.s.sistant.”

”You lying b.i.t.c.h,” Tim yelled. Her quivering jaw turned into overflowing eyes and loud crying.

I spun toward Tim. ”Say another word to her, and I'll stop being civil. Trust me, it's already a challenge.”

He shut his mouth so fast I wondered if he'd be able to open it again to answer my next question.

”How did you get them?” I hated asking, fearing the answer, but I had to know if Sira had had any part in it. Maybe it had been an accident. Maybe Tim had approached her with a few smiley faces and told her I wanted her to send him everything she had on Inspex.

Tim glared at the woman sobbing at her desk for a minute, then looked at me. ”Are you worried about your girlfriend, Bennett?”

His one last-ditch effort to take control of the situation smacked me in the center of the chest. Aside from the incredibly inaccurate word choice, yes, that's exactly what I was worried about. Not for any public fall-out or amus.e.m.e.nt a nice scandal would provide people. All I wanted now was proof I hadn't been wrong to trust her, to not find out she'd used me, and I'd missed it because of a screwed-up emotional state. One I had no business having to begin with.

When someone invades your life, takes over your thoughts, and secretly steals whatever they want from you, you want to know how. And why.

”Seriously, pal,” Tim said smugly, ”I couldn't give a s.h.i.+t what you got going on the side. Of course, your wife's daddy might.” And there was the threat. A threat that had no effect on me because the man I was glaring at had only partially answered my question. Until that was done, I didn't really care what else happened.

”He might,” I said calmly.

Tim sneered. ”Although, you really should get your girlfriend to teach you not to use such f.u.c.king stupid pa.s.swords before Bart fires your a.s.s and you can't afford to keep her anymore.”

”My pa.s.sword,” I said through a stiff jaw. ”You figured out my pa.s.sword.”

”In about four tries.”

That was it? It was that simple? It was my own fault. I bit down hard, my teeth grinding together. I'd accused Sira of being involved, insulted her, threatened her. I hadn't trusted her enough to even consider the possibility that I was the reason the information got out. d.a.m.n it.

”Why did you steal from your own people, Tim? What did it get you?”

”Nothing I'd enjoy more than to see you fall off your high horse. To prove your daddy's money and a fancy education doesn't make you any better than the rest of us.”

”Spite? I don't buy it. Did Brecken make you an offer after you p.a.w.ned off my work as your own?”

He laughed. ”N zi xing ti xiole, Bennett.”

So it really was just to see me fall. ”Too bad you won't be able to take that job offer-your Mandarin needs work.” But his meaning was clear-why would he care about this company, or its biggest US compet.i.tor, when he already had something going on with a larger, foreign one? What a spiteful jacka.s.s.

”Your proof is bulls.h.i.+t, and you know it. No way it'll stand up in court.”

”That may be true, but you know how the business world is, Tim. We gossip like teenage girls, even in China.”

Tim turned to Rosie, who was sobbing apology after apology. ”Would you shut up, you old b.i.t.c.h? We're trying to talk here.”

I would probably never know exactly why I did it. Why, at that exact moment, my control cracked open and my rage slipped through. Actually, 'poured out' was more accurate. Maybe it was in defense of the woman weeping, maybe it was to punish a thief, or maybe it was just to vent my anger at myself. Whatever the reason, my fist met the side of Tim's jaw without any decision being made.

The b.a.s.t.a.r.d stumbled onto Rosie's desk and then fell backwards onto the floor near her feet, taking most of her desk accessories with him.

Someone must have called security when they heard Tim yelling. Two guards were moving toward us quickly with their hands on their belts. I briefly wondered if I was about to get tased and thought how much that would make Sira laugh. I may have even smiled, at least until Tim spoke.

”The second you say anything to Bart or the board”-the words came out from only one side of his mouth while he stabilized the other side with his hand-”is the second I tell him all about your after-hours a.s.sistant.”

I nodded. ”Which will be followed shortly thereafter by him patting me on the back for stopping a thief and juggling two women at the same time.”

Tim's face soured as he realized the truth of my comment-no one ever knew which way Bart would go on an issue. Although, I was confident my father-in-law would go whichever way proved hurtful to the most people and most beneficial to him.

I bent down and spoke quietly. ”You have a choice here, Tim. You come clean and walk away with what you have at this moment, or you pretend you didn't do anything wrong and walk away with nothing.”

”Bennett, listen, I-”

I shushed him with a hand. ”Don't tell me. I'll hear it from the lawyers.”

After the two security guards had pulled him off the floor, Rosie stopped sobbing and got me some ice for my hand.

All in all, a very productive day. And it was only 9:30 am.

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