Page 107 of Falling for the Boss's Son

“I didn’t know that,” Janice said.

Betsy spoke up next. “Neither did I.”

“I didn’t think relatives could work together in the same department?” Cassie said, knowing she was walking a bit of a line. Even though she and Jesse weren’t related, she was working for his dad. That created a conflict of interest, or at least, a potential one.

Maxine waved a dismissive hand in the air. “I don’t think they’re blood related. I think they’re stepsisters or something.”

The food started coming out then and the conversation about Crystal and Sandy dissolved into comments on lunch.

Cassie caught Stephanie’s gaze a couple of times, but there was no way they could have a private conversation. She’d been hoping to corner her on the walk back, but one of the other ladies, Kris, Cassie thought her name was, made a beeline for Stephanie as soon as they stood up from the table.

Deciding to take a chance, Cassie lingered in the lobby until everyone else had gone back to their respective floors, then took the elevator to the billing department. Stephanie almost never came to the executive floor, so if Cassie wanted to talk to her, she was going to have to go to her.

The doors opened to the third floor and Cassie was immediately hit by how different it looked to the executive level. There were cubicles everywhere. Rows and rows of them.

She was heading for Jesse’s office when she overheard a woman talking. It was coming from the break room.

“Why did you say that?” The woman paused and Cassie realized she must be talking to someone on the phone. “Well, you should have kept your mouth shut.”

Cassie paused by the door, glancing inside. A blond woman looked up, noticing her. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a loose bun. The woman matched Maxine’s description of Sandy.

“Can I help you with something?” the woman asked, her smile overly sweet.

“I’m looking for Stephanie?” Cassie took a step forward. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Cassie.” She held out her hand for the woman, trying to both be polite and confirm her suspicions.

It took a moment for the woman to shake Cassie’s extended hand. “Sandy. Stephanie’s desk is down the hall to the left. Just after the stairwell.”

Cassie forced a smile. Although the woman had answered her question, she was getting frosty vibes from her. “Thanks. It was nice meeting you.”

Stephanie wasn’t at her desk. The door to Jesse’s office was open, however, and she could hear voices.

Jesse saw her first. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

Stephanie glanced at them both. “I’ll give you two some privacy.”

“No,” Cassie said, stopping her. “I came to see you. I wanted to discuss lunch.”

“Close the door,” Jesse said.

With the door closed, Cassie and Stephanie brought Jesse up to date.

“How did we not know this?” he asked.

“Maybe we did. Or at least, someone did. Craig’s only been handling security for the last three years. Both Crystal and Sandy were hired before that.”

Jesse’s eyebrows rose in question.

“Sandy started in the mailroom like me. We worked together for six months before she was transferred to accounts receivable. If I remember correctly, Mr. Travers approved the transfer himself.”

“That still doesn’t help us find the missing contract,” Cassie said.

“No, but it adds another piece to the puzzle.” Jesse reached for his phone. “I’ll update Craig and see where he wants to go from here. For now, though, there’s not much we can do. As far as we know, Sandy hasn’t done anything.”

Cassie thought about mentioning Sandy’s phone call but decided to let it go. Like Jesse said, right now they didn’t know Sandy, or Crystal, for that matter, had done anything wrong.

Saying goodbye to Jesse and Stephanie, Cassie headed for the elevator. The missing contract seemed to be the key to a lot of their unanswered questions, but it was like finding a needle in a haystack. They didn’t even know if it was still in the building.

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