When Gavin entered Giselle\u2019s office, he immediately noticed the envelope.<\/p>\n
It sat in the middle of the enormous conference table.<\/p>\n
Beside it was a document and a cashier\u2019s check.<\/p>\n
Giselle was already seated.<\/p>\n
She wore a dark suit buttoned all the way to her neck. Nothing about her appearance suggested what Gavin had witnessed the previous night.<\/p>\n
\u201cSit down, Mr. Barrett.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gavin remained standing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you’re firing me, just say it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not firing you.\u201d<\/p>\n
She pushed the check toward him.<\/p>\n
Gavin looked down.<\/p>\n
$85,000.<\/p>\n
For several seconds, he thought he had misread the number.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough to clear your overdue rent, your medical debt, and pay for Paisley\u2019s treatment for quite some time.\u201d<\/p>\n
His expression hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou investigated my daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI investigated you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I need to know whether you can be bought.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gavin stared at the check.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd apparently you decided eighty-five thousand dollars is my price.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the first time, Giselle\u2019s voice softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI decided it was enough money for you to listen.\u201d<\/p>\n
She opened the folder.<\/p>\n
Inside were photographs of a damaged black SUV.<\/p>\n
Her SUV.<\/p>\n
The one from the accident.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy doctors told the press I suffered minor injuries,\u201d she said. \u201cThat was a lie.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI figured that out last night.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe accident fractured three vertebrae and damaged nerves in my left shoulder. The brace allows me to work without making the injury obvious.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy hide it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Giselle looked toward the windows.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Harrington Group\u2019s bylaws allow the board to remove a chairperson who is medically incapable of fulfilling her duties.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gavin understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think someone wants your job.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know someone does.\u201d<\/p>\n
She placed another photograph on the table.<\/p>\n
A man in his late forties.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy brother, Malcolm.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gavin frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does this have to do with me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe police concluded that my brakes failed because of a manufacturing defect.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you don’t believe that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
She slid a technical report toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThree days before the crash, my car was serviced at a garage owned through a shell company connected to Malcolm.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gavin stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen go to the police.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did. Quietly. The evidence disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n
That changed everything.<\/p>\n
Giselle leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone inside this company is helping him. My emails are being monitored. My security detail reports to people I no longer trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you trust the janitor who accidentally walked into your office?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d she replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cI trust that you’re outside their calculations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gavin almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat exactly do you want me to do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cObserve.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou clean offices after everyone leaves. People ignore you. They leave documents on desks when you’re standing five feet away. They have conversations in front of you because, to them, you’re furniture.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words stung because they were true.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not a spy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou spent six years in military intelligence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gavin\u2019s eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn’t in my employee file.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
She pushed the check closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither was the fact that you received a commendation for identifying an insider leaking convoy information.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gavin didn’t touch the money.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I agree, what happens?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou continue working exactly as before. You don’t break into anything. You don’t steal anything. You don’t confront anyone. If you notice something unusual involving Malcolm or three executives listed in this folder, you report it directly to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the eighty-five thousand?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYours whether we find anything or not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gavin finally looked directly at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy daughter isn’t leverage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Giselle\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen don’t mention her again when negotiating with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
A long silence followed.<\/p>\n
Then, unexpectedly, Giselle nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cFair.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gavin picked up the check.<\/p>\n
But instead of putting it in his pocket, he placed it back on the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll help you for one week. Keep the money until I decide whether you’re telling me the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the first time that morning, Giselle looked genuinely surprised.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou’re turning down eighty-five thousand dollars?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m postponing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if I find out you’re using me to hurt somebody innocent, I walk.\u201d<\/p>\n
Giselle almost smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I understand why your commanding officer described you as irritatingly principled.\u201d<\/p>\n
Three nights passed.<\/p>\n
Nothing happened.<\/p>\n
Then, shortly after midnight on Thursday, Gavin was cleaning the executive conference room when he heard voices coming from Malcolm Harrington\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
The door was slightly open.<\/p>\n
Gavin recognized Malcolm\u2019s voice immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe medical evaluation happens Monday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another man answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if she passes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe won’t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gavin stopped moving.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about the doctor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHandled.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then Malcolm said something that made Gavin tighten his grip on the mop.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce the board declares Giselle medically unfit, I take control. After that, nobody cares whether she recovers.\u201d<\/p>\n
The other man lowered his voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Barrett?\u201d<\/p>\n
Gavin froze.<\/p>\n
They knew his name.<\/p>\n
Malcolm continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe janitor? He’s already becoming a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gavin silently backed away.<\/p>\n
His phone was in his pocket.<\/p>\n
He needed to warn Giselle.<\/p>\n
Then he heard footsteps behind him.<\/p>\n
He turned.<\/p>\n
His supervisor was standing at the end of the corridor.<\/p>\n
But the frightened, nervous man Gavin knew was gone.<\/p>\n
Instead, the supervisor calmly locked the fire door behind him.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Harrington would like a word with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gavin looked toward Malcolm\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
The door opened.<\/p>\n
Malcolm stepped into the hallway.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should have taken the money and minded your own business,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Gavin\u2019s stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat money?\u201d<\/p>\n
Malcolm smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe eighty-five thousand dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n
Only three people were supposed to know about that check.<\/p>\n
Gavin.<\/p>\n
Giselle.<\/p>\n
And the attorney who had prepared the agreement.<\/p>\n
Which meant the betrayal was much closer to Giselle than either of them had realized.<\/p>\n
And then Gavin noticed something in Malcolm\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n
A small silver device.<\/p>\n
The same model of remote starter Giselle kept attached to her car keys.<\/p>\n
Malcolm saw Gavin looking at it.<\/p>\n
His smile disappeared.<\/p>\n
That was when Gavin finally understood.<\/p>\n
The crash had never been meant simply to injure Giselle.<\/p>\n
Someone had expected her not to survive it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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