Much More Than a Mistress. Michelle Celmer

man the phones and take the day to get settled in. Familiarize yourself with the computer. I have a lunch meeting at twelve-thirty so I should be back sometime before two.”

      Which would give her lots of time to snoop. No, not snoop … investigate. She had to start thinking like a pro, using the appropriate lingo. She had to play the part, even in her own mind. If she didn’t take herself seriously, no one would.

      “I should take you out sometime,” he said.

      She blinked. Did he seriously just ask her on a date? And how was she supposed to respond to that? What would a sophisticated woman of the world say?

      All she could manage was a befuddled, “Um …”

      “I’m assuming you’ve never been to a refinery.”

      Oh, he wanted to take her to the refinery. That made a lot more sense. “No, never.”

      “It’s an impressive operation,” he said, and she must have looked wary, because he added, “and contrary to what you’ve probably seen on the news, it’s completely safe.”

      She had heard negative press about the incident at the refinery, but the agency had several employees working undercover directly on the line, and as far as she was aware, none of them had ever reported being in any danger. Sure, this was a high-profile case, but the other agents would never be sent into a situation that could cause them physical harm.

      “I’d love to see it,” she said.

      “I’m there several days a week, so maybe the next time I go.” He glanced at the platinum Rolex on his left wrist. “I’m late. If there’s anything pressing while I’m gone, or something you aren’t sure about, feel free to call my cell.”

      “I will.” She handed him his cup, careful to avoid his fingers this time because frankly, she was nervous enough without all the intimate contact.

      Cup in hand, he headed for the door. She followed him, stopping at her desk.

      “By the way,” he said, stopping in the doorway and gesturing the coffee stain on the carpet. “Call janitorial to take care of that.”

      “I will.” Later.

      He flashed her one last knee-melting smile, then left.

       Here we go.

      She stood there and counted to sixty, gauging the amount of time it would take him to get to the elevator and get inside, then she walked down the hall. The elevator doors were just closing as she stepped into the reception area.

      “Did Mr. Everette leave yet?” she asked Jen.

      “You just missed him, hon.”

      “Well, darn,” she said, pretending to be discouraged.

      “Did he forget something?” She put her hand on the phone. “Should I call down to the guard post in the lobby?”

      “That’s okay. It’s nothing urgent. I just had a question, but it can wait until he gets back.” It was a lie, of course. She just needed to be sure that he was really gone.

      Jen smiled. “How’s the first day going so far?”

      With the exception of dumping hot coffee on her new boss and making a complete ass out of herself? “Pretty good.”

      “If you’re interested, the secretaries are all going out for lunch today. You’re welcome to join us.”

      She was inclined to say no, since she wanted to take as much time as possible in Mr. Everette’s office, but she didn’t want the other secretaries to think she was a snob either. She might learn something valuable from any one of them. Things that they may not even realize were important to the investigation.

      She smiled and said, “I’d love to go. What time?”

      “Noon. There’s a café across the street. Just a few minutes’ walk. The temperature is supposed to climb to forty, so it shouldn’t be too cold.”

      “Sounds great,” she said, cringing inwardly. It wasn’t the cold she was worried about, but her aching feet. She should have brought a pair of flat shoes as a backup.

      Jen smiled. “Great, see you at noon.”

      Jane walked back to the desk and kicked off her shoes. She wanted to be able to move quickly, in case someone happened to come by. If someone did, and they asked what she was doing in Mr. Everette’s office, she would simply say that she’d spilled coffee on her jacket and was using the fabric stain remover she had seen on his bathroom shelf.

      She opened the closet and rifled through her purse for the jump drive that Kenneth in Tech had given her at her briefing that morning. She was just hoping Mr. Everette’s computer wasn’t password protected. She doubted he would have any personal financial files at work, but she could at least get a look at his email. People sent personal emails from work all the time.

      She slipped the jump drive in her pocket, heart pounding with both fear and excitement, and turned toward Mr. Everette’s office, but before she could take a step, the phone started to ring.

      Damn it!

      She picked it up. “Good morning, Mr. Everette’s office.”

      “Miss Monroe, this is Bren, in Mr. Blair’s office. He’d like a word with you.”

      Her heart jumped. Why would the CEO want to see her? Had she done something wrong?

      Of course she hadn’t. Other than the coffee fiasco, that is, and unless they had a surveillance camera in her office, there was no way he could have found out about that. Maybe he just wanted to talk to her about the case. “I’ll be right down.”

      She took the jump drive from her pocket and slipped it in the top drawer of her desk, crammed her feet back into her shoes and walked down to Mr Blair’s office at the opposite end of the hall.

      “Go on in,” Mr. Blair’s secretary said. “They’re waiting for you.”

      Jane stopped so abruptly she wobbled on her heels. “They?”

      “Mr. Blair, Mr. Suarez and Mr. Everette.” She paused and said, “The other Mr. Everette.”

      Suddenly Jane was having a tough time pulling in a full breath.

      She thought she was just meeting with the CEO, which was intimidating enough. But to be in the same room with the CEO, CFO and CBO all at the same time? No wonder she felt faint. Meeting clients as a lawyer had never been a big deal, but then, she knew the law so well she could practice it in her sleep. The investigation business … not so much. She was still learning, and there was nothing she hated more than looking as though she didn’t know what she was talking about.

      Bren must have sensed that she was on the verge of a panic attack because she flashed Jane a reassuring smile and said, “Don’t worry, they don’t bite.”

      Jane tried to smile, when what she wanted to do was turn and run in the opposite direction.

      “I’m sure they just want to ask you about the investigation.”

      Jane blinked. “The what?”

      “It’s okay, Miss Monroe. What Mr. Blair knows, I know.”

      Mr. Blair obviously trusted his secretary implicitly, which could definitely work in Jane’s favor.

      “You know,” Bren said, lowering her voice, “we all like and respect Mr. Everette, and no one wants to believe he could have anything to with the sabotage. The sooner this investigation is over with, the better. If there’s anything I can do to help, just say the word.”

      “Thanks. And we’ll get to the bottom of this,” she told Bren, hoping to convey a competence she was nowhere close to feeling.

      Jane turned to the door, pulled back her shoulders, and took a deep breath. “Well,