Page 37 of Office Affairs

I took a slow, steady breath through my nose and tamped down the anger. I was so used to getting tossed aside that I’d let my fear overwhelm me.

Chase stopped out of reach, his hands deep in his pockets. “We’re doing the best we can to protect you. Can you trust me on that?”

Could I? I’d stopped trusting people a long time ago. Who was there to trust when Dad tossed me aside for Bailey, who never cared for me at all? Her own children were her sole concern. I’d never mattered to anyone before Keith came along. Even his father screwed me and left me. When I’d called to tell him I was pregnant, he called it a “you problem” and hung up. I had zero regrets about leaving him out of Keith’s life. My son needed a father, but I would rather die than give him a shitty one who would ruin everything good about my son.

Staring up into Chase’s vulnerable eyes, I took the leap and nodded. “Okay. I trust you.” Please, don’t let me down. The silent prayer was for my own benefit more than his, and I rolled my lips together to keep from repeating it out loud.

“This one is clean.” Russell snapped a folder shut and tossed it aside as he stood and stretched his arms over his head. “Garrett, how are things looking over there?”

Garrett looked up from the laptop where he’d been pecking around on the keys. “The printer’s hooked up. Files should start coming through any minute.”

“Files?” My head swiveled to take them all in.

“Chase wants employee records printed,” Garrett said.

“All of them?” I gaped.

“All of them,” Chase reiterated with a nod. He took another step toward me. “You matter to us, Sabrina.” His voice was pitched low, and even though he didn’t touch me, my body reacted with a rush of pleasure. “We won’t stop until we find who did this.”

“I’m sorry about the weekend.” I’d apologized to Russell already, but this was my first chance to bring it up with Chase.

“So am I.” His broad chest blocked out the rest of the room. “But your son needed you, and he’s more important. Never feel bad for making him your priority.”

“I’d like to make it up to you.” Nervous energy tightened my throat. “To all of you. If that’s still an option. Is there any way I can make it up to you?”

Even after my outburst earlier where I told them to keep their cocks in their pants, I wanted them to know that I still wanted them. Still desired them. Being reckless was in my blood.

“Not here.” Chase eased backward. “There are cameras everywhere.”

“Even in here?” I looked around him, scouring every inch of the room. I’d never noticed cameras in their offices. Maybe they were hidden in the potted plants in the corner or under the desk.

“Even here.” Russell tipped his head back and pointed over his shoulder. “One there that looks over Chase’s desk. It lets us know if anyone tries to access the safe. The computer itself is set up to record if anyone other than him tries to access it.”

I squinted. “I don’t see it.”

“Exactly.” Russell chuckled. “Other than the people in this room, only two others know about them, and they’re the people who watch the footage if something gets flagged. Like the time Mrs. Nolan thought it would be cute to wait for Chase beneath his desk.”

“Don’t remind me.” Chase shuddered. “Crazy woman.”

“Another one who thought you might need some help with your zipper?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

Garrett snorted a laugh. “You’d be surprised how many of these files are for women Chase fired for inappropriate conduct in the workplace.” He winked at me. “But you don’t have anything to worry about.”

“Good to know.” I eyed the stack of papers on Chase’s desk. “You’ve made a lot of enemies over the years. Not just women you’ve shunned. I can see why you looked at them first, but if Garrett is right and this is about you, then you need to look somewhere else. What about your offices?”

“All our offices are covered. Not every inch, of course, but all the major points.” Garrett grabbed a stack of papers from the printer. “The security feeds go through the usual channels, but mainly they feed right back into our system and reset every twenty-four hours.”

“So everything we said is now on file for your security team to hear?” Cold sweat prickled along my spine. “Is that safe?”

“We have an audio scrambler that we use during meetings. Or we shut the audio off completely. Like we did today.” Chase paced to his desk and tapped the keyboard. “We can’t risk getting caught or anyone overhearing us talk about our pending deals.”

I completely agreed. “And you know for certain that no one has broken your code to the scrambler?” That would explain how they’d gotten information about the impending tech.

“I checked it yesterday.” Chase ran a hand through his hair. Frustration creased his forehead and he set both hands on his slim hips. “But we haven’t discussed anything lurid or confidential here in weeks. So there’s no reason to suspect the security has been breached.”

“What are we missing?” I turned slowly to take them all in.

“Some places don’t have cameras,” Russell pointed out. “Bathrooms, for example.”

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