Page 31 of Battle with a Billionaire

“Yes, they are.”

Julia chewed her lower lip before she nodded. “I want you to type up two separate versions. One that is for my eyes only with our actual bid, and one that Christopher Metcalfe will see and approve in his new role as Vice President of Corporate Outreach.”

“I see,” Evelyn said as a coy grin spread across her features. “You would like to determine who he passes the information to, if anyone.”

“Without losing the bids, yes.”

“How much different should I make the numbers?”

“Twenty percent should do it. It’ll be easy to beat, but still look competitive.”

“I’ll have both sets ready for you within the hour.”

“Perfect. Thank you, Evie. And it goes without saying the real bids should only be kept on the encrypted server that only we have access to.”

“Absolutely. Consider it done.”

As Evie scurried out of her office, Julia placed another call to Mike Donovan, the head of security at Harrington Global.

“Mrs. Harrington, what can I do for you?”

“I have a little project that I need your help with. Strictly confidential.”

“Absolutely. Let me know what you need.”

The corners of her lips turned up as she detailed her plan. “I need a way to determine if my newest employee is leaking information.”

Papers rustled on the other end of the line. “Christopher Metcalfe?”

“Yes,” Julia answered.

“So, we need to track his calls, his emails.”

“But he’ll likely use a private cell phone for this. Maybe even a text.”

“If he’s leaking information, I doubt he’d use a text, but even so, we can track that. There are…methods that you don’t need to know about.”

Julia read “illegal” between the lines. “Right. Okay, well, could you set this up as soon as possible?”

“Absolutely. I’ll have it done within the hour. If he so much as leaks a line of his welcome email, we’ll know about it.”

“Thanks, Mike.”

She replaced the receiver in its cradle and returned her attention to her other tasks, though her mind constantly drifted back to her plan. Would Christopher Metcalfe lead them to anyone? Or would this be another useless venture in the deep pool that was DG Industries?

She wondered if they’d had anything to do with the leaked photos of Grant’s younger days or if that had just been a political adversary desperate to win the race.

She bit into her lower lip. Maybe she should have tried something less aggressive. Would this plan even work?

Before she could buzz Evie and change anything, the woman bustled in with a set of folders. “All ready. The red folders are the actual bids for your review. The green are those going to Mr. Metcalfe for his review. I will kindly ask him to go over them, sign them, then return them to me for filing…in the garbage.” With a wink, she thrust the paperwork forward for Julia to review.

“Thanks, Evie.”

She flicked the folders open as the woman left the office and studied them. Everything seemed to be in order. She just needed the green light from Mike Donovan and her plan would be in action.

A fleeting moment of doubt crept in as she wondered if she was playing a little too closely with fire. What if Christopher Metcalfe was more cunning–or more ruthless–than she anticipated?

She shook her head. It was a chance she had to take. DG Industries had already left a path of destruction in their wake, and they were no closer to pinning them down and unmasking them. They needed a bold play to give them some sort of advantage.

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