Much More Than a Mistress Read Online Free Page A

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.
    â€œBy the way,” he said, stopping in the doorway and gesturing the coffee stain on the carpet. “Call janitorial to take care of that.”
    â€œI 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.
    â€œDid Mr. Everette leave yet?” she asked Jen.
    â€œYou just missed him, hon.”
    â€œWell, darn,” she said, pretending to be discouraged.
    â€œDid he forget something?” She put her hand on the phone. “Should I call down to the guard post in the lobby?”
    â€œThat’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.”
    â€œIf 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?”
    â€œNoon. 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.”
    â€œSounds 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 poundingwith 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.”
    â€œMiss 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.
    â€œGo on in,” Mr. Blair’s secretary said. “They’re waiting for