Operation Heartbreaker Read Online Free

a never-ending hallway until they reached the office of the chief editor. The assistant announced the visitors, turned on her heel and disappeared like a vision.
    Renée was on the phone when they entered the office. She was a woman in her forties with a graying bob and thin lips. The piercing look of her icy gray eagle eyes hit Ally like a laser beam and she knew right away that she was in trouble. She  knew about Renée’s anger, but she had no idea about how pissed off she really was.
    With a brisk move of her hand, she signaled them to take a seat, while arguing with someone on the other end of the line about a gappy distribution network and decreasing sales numbers.
    Ally mentally stuck a post-it to her forehead: look up ‘distribution’! She secretly hoped that Renée was mad at the guy at the end of the line, but she knew better.
    After the call had ended, Renée grumbled something, then turned to her guests. “Ally, how nice you could make it.” She glanced at Julie.“ And you are…?”
    “Julie Watson. We were nearby, that’s why I…” Instead of finishing the sentence, she shrugged.
    “I understand.” Renée turned back to Ally and sighed. It sounded like an accusation. “Ally, we have a problem,” she began and started going through the paper work on her desk.
    That much she’d figured herself.
    “This morning, I had a call from David Reynolds.” For a brief moment Renée stopped her search and looked toward her. “Does this name sound familiar?”
    Oops. Feeling uncomfortable, Ally sank deeper into the cushions of the chair. If David had called Renée, she was in deeper trouble than she assumed. Her uncle was neither known for his humor nor for his relaxed attitude. If he had found out about her working as a freelancer at the Seattle Times he would be anything but amused. Everything he couldn’t control, he pushed outside her reach like a glazed cake. As if she was going into sugar coma if she’d only nibble on it.
    He would give her hell on earth for the fact that she had taken on a side job, that’s for sure. If he would find out about the faked personal data on her CV–and there was no doubt about it he would–hell would be the least of her problems.
    “I assume you do,” Renée answered her own questions. Quietly cursing, she started going through another stack of documents.
    Ally cleared her throat. Suddenly it felt hard to speak.
    “How?”
    This one word contained a whole universe of questions: How could this happen? How did I get into this mess? How do I get out of it again? Why now? Why me?
    But foremost: How did he find out? Instinctually, Renée picket the right question.
    “I left a message for you on your answering machine this morning,” she said and opened the top drawer of her desk. “The flight was moved back one hour.”
    So, that`s it. Her guts went for a dive.
    “In the left stack under the ring binder,” she said without thinking. Damn! She had only just taken her pill. Maybe next time she should take two of them–or was their effect wearing off already? That’s just what she needed.
    Renée hesitated, then she did as told and pulled out a folder with travel information including flight tickets.
    “How…?” she began, then shook her head and turned her eagle eyes back on Ally.
    “I was quite surprised when he called,” Renée continued in a professional manner, “and had to find out that way that my adult age staff member really is a seventeen year old high school student.” She leaned forward and pierced Ally with her stare. “Does the term forgery mean anything to you?”
    No, Ally thought, that was more Julie’s department. She threw a nervous side glance at her friend. By Julie’s facial expression she could tell that she was up to something. Not good. Not good at all.
    “Does that mean I can’t go to Paris?“ she asked in a voice that vaguely resembled her own.
    “Ally, I’m going to be honest with you. Under these circumstances it isn’t