Page 113 of Falling for the Boss's Son

“Not so far. They’ve managed to get him to admit the code was his, but he seems to be digging in his heels. I’m hoping Adian can find the information we need to connect the dots.”

A confession was, at least, something, but it still didn’t explain why he’d done it in the first place, nor did it answer the question about the missing contract. “Did he clarify his relationship with Crystal and Sandy?”

Blake shook his head. “No. He almost seemed protective of them in some way.” He paused. “I’m glad we’re getting answers, but the answers are leading to more questions.”

Jesse chuckled. “That’s usually how it goes.”

“I’m glad you were here and figured out the connection. Who knows what would have happened otherwise.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” Jesse said. “It’s my job as both your son and your head of accounting.”

His father held his gaze for a long moment and Jesse would be lying if he said he didn’t get a warm feeling from the pride radiating from his dad’s eyes.

After a long moment, Blake stood. “I should get upstairs.”

Jesse nodded and Blake left. He had a mountain of reports to get through, and he’d wasted half his afternoon dealing with Grayson Hyde.

Thirty minutes later, Jesse’s cell phone rang. His first thought was that it was Craig, calling to give him an update, but the name that came across the screen was his dad’s. He felt a note of unease bubble up in his gut. “Dad?”

“Have you heard from Cassie?”

“She’s not at her desk?” Jesse asked, already knowing the answer.

“No. She wasn’t at her desk when I returned. I didn’t think anything of it. She often runs to other departments throughout the day. But it’s been almost a half hour, and I haven’t seen or heard from her. Given what’s been going on, I’m getting concerned.”

For the second time that day, Jesse bolted from his chair. He went to his door and peeked his head out of his office. “Hey.”

Stephanie turned to look at him.

“Have you heard from Cassie since she left my office earlier?”

“No.” She shook her head.

Jesse headed for the stairwell. “I’ll be right up.”

He hung up the phone as he entered the stairwell. A memory of hearing something earlier flashed through his mind, but he dismissed it. He’d told her not to go to the sixth floor alone. Surely, she wouldn’t have…

Taking two steps at a time, Jesse reached the fifth floor where the executive suites were located. He glanced around, looking for any sign of Cassie.

Something red on the railing caught his eye. He wanted to touch it, see if it was what he thought it was, but he knew if it was Cassie’s blood, it wouldn’t be smart to disturb evidence.

The panic he’d been trying to clamp down on took over as the door behind him opened. He whipped around and came face-to-face with Craig.

Jesse didn’t wait. He took off up the stairs toward the maintenance room—Craig following close behind.

* * *

Cassie didn’t know what she’d expected, but it wasn’t the sharp sting of a slap to her face. She gasped. “What was that for?”

Her blindfold was ripped from her eyes. The sixth floor wasn’t full of bright lights, but she’d had her sight impaired for a while. She blinked, trying to get her eyes to adjust and process what she was seeing.

Sandy kneeled in front of her, her face contorted in an angry sneer. “Because I felt like it. This is all your fault anyway.”

While she didn’t want to be slapped again, she needed to know. “What’s my fault?”

“You got me fired,” Crystal said.

Sandy stood and began pacing. “You don’t need to tell her anything.” She turned to Crystal. “What are we going to do with her? We can’t just let her go? She’ll have us arrested for sure.”

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