The Desperate Game: (InterMix) Read Online Free Page B

windows along one wall opened onto the corridor. Across the hall there was another row of tiny office suites being rented by other small businesses.
    The idea of condominium office space in a flashy glass and steel building was practical, allowing someone such as Zac to operate out of a much higher rent district than he’d normally be able to afford. Another brick in the wall that was his tiny but—he hoped—growing business image. The outside of the high-rise was as impressive to his clients as it was to the clients of the huge law firm that leased the entire top two floors of the building. But there was no getting around the fact that the tiny ten-by-ten room lacked something in the way of aesthetic appeal. Especially after you’d been in it a couple of hours. Fortunately in another forty-five minutes he’d be able to escape to lunch.
    “Did she show up on time this morning?” Zac asked.
    “Oh, sure. Along with a big sack of doughnuts for everyone. The staff went crazy. You’d think she was some long-lost member of the family instead of just a temporary clerk who’d been recalled.”
    “That’s why I want her in there, Russ. She has a knack for blending in almost instantly. I watched her at work last night in a cocktail lounge. You’d have thought she’d been working there for years. The bartender was her good buddy by midnight, and the rest of the waitresses had included her in their gossip long before that. People like her. More important, from what you’ve told me, they talk to her. That’s why I can use her.” A tool. That’s how he should regard Guinevere Jones: as a useful tool.
    Russ made an unpleasant noise, the comment of a man who had never enjoyed a lot of spontaneous confidences from others. “Just see that you use her, and not vice versa.”
    “I’ll keep her in line.” For the sake of this lucrative contract with StarrTech he would learn to ride the tiger. Zac paused, aware of Russ inhaling deeply on a cigarette. Then he said earnestly, “I want to thank you again, pal, for recommending Free Enterprise Security to your management. Lord knows I need the clients. I just wish I knew more about computers.”
    “I can handle the technical end of things for you. I’ve told you, don’t worry about that. It’s just the personnel side that gives me trouble. If I knew a way to get these damn programmers to talk, I’d be able to solve the whole problem on my own. But if I ask ’em a question, they look at me as if their brains had gone as blank as a dead computer screen. I’m management. Nobody gossips to management. I just don’t know if you can trust this Guinevere Jones to level with you, even if she does get some of the staff to confide in her or share the gossip.”
    “She’ll do as she’s told,” Zac told him, wondering if crossing his fingers was unethical or demonstrated a lack of confidence. He did so anyway. Keeping Guinevere Jones on a leash was going to take some fast footwork. He didn’t try to kid himself on that score. “I’ve promised her silence on our end if she helps us out.”
    “Well, I won’t go to Hampton Starr with the details of her little scam until you give the okay.”
    “If she does what she’s supposed to do in this investigation, I’m never going to give the go-ahead to turn her over to your boss, Russ. I want to be sure you understand that. I’ve made a deal with her. Think of this as plea bargaining or something of that nature. I’m more or less blackmailing her into this, and I intend to make good on my end if she keeps her promise to help me.” There was more steel in his words than Zac had intended. He realized he’d meant what he said, and he wanted to be certain Russ understood.
    Russ grumbled something that sounded uncomplimentary concerning the necessity of using thieves to catch thieves, but he didn’t argue further. “I hope you know what you’re doing. What cover are you going to use for hanging around Jones?”
    “I’m posing