Page 52 of The Shadow

I cock my head to the side, his hands slowly curling into tight fists at his sides. And then, just as quickly, it all fades into a smile. Aspen was right about him, his mask slipping back into place.

“She was stealing from me,” he bites, still attempting to remain calm. “And the suggestion that I would be anything but professional and above the law is absolutely disgusting. I’m sure for a jarhead like yourself that kind of behavior is acceptable, but for us civilized men, we don’t need to scavenge for attention from the help.”

I’m about to lose it, unleash complete hell on this psychopath, when I hear a soft tap at his office door. He glances at his watch, then his computer. “Shit.” He straightens his tie and takes a seat in his desk chair. “Make yourself useful and answer the fucking door on your way out.”

I reach for it, opening it to see Aspen smiling politely at me, then she looks over at Connor.

“It’s, um, sorry, Mr. Blake, sir, but it’s time for our meeting?” she says, clutching her laptop to her chest like a startled little bug staring at both of us with big eyes.

She nailed it, I think to myself, a calmness taking over as Aspen crosses the threshold and walks toward his desk. It isn’t really acting when you’ve had almost thirty years of practice trying to make yourself smaller. Aspen has been shoved into a quiet, tiny box for too long and there’s no way in hell that woman will ever be put back inside it.

I smile to myself as I step out the door and allow it to close behind me. There’s absolutely no need for me to panic and try to figure out my own way to ruin this man when the smartest woman I know just walked in there with a look in her eyes that says he’s already finished.

Chapter 19

Aspen

Iapproach his desk nervously, my confidence still a touch shaky. “Is now still an okay time?”

“Lock the door,” he says, dismissing my question.

I walk back and lock the door, coming back to take a seat in one of the chairs opposite his desk.

“Here,” he says, pulling out his chair with a smile. “Figured you’d be more comfortable in the big seat.”

“Oh.” I swallow nervously as I stand back up and approach his desk. “Okay.” I slowly take a seat, studying his movements in my peripheral vision. I don’t know what I’m expecting, maybe a knife to my throat or a gun in my ribs, but nothing happens.

He walks over to grab another chair and pulls it close to the one I’m sitting in, taking a seat.

“Now, let’s get to work.” I turn to my laptop when his hand darts out and stills my movements. “The first step is you taking your clothes off.”

“I’m sorry?” His request takes me by surprise which I’m sure is written all over my face.

“Your clothes, off. You can keep your undergarments on.” When I don’t comply right away, he reaches for my blouse himself. “I need to make sure you’re not wired.”

I jerk back, his hand falling away from my shirt, and I stand up. “I can do it.” I try to keep my breathing as even as possible while I unbutton my blouse. I can feel my heart start to pound in my chest, but I remind myself what’s on the line. I take in a steady breath, stealing my nerves and removing my clothes as quickly as possible before sitting back down. “There, happy?”

His eyes drop down as the corner of his lips tick up. My skin crawls and I dig my nails into the palms of my hands to keep from reaching out and throttling his neck.

“Fine. Let’s begin. Use my computer.”

“What?” I feel the color drain from my face, panic setting in. I hadn’t even considered that he might make that offer. “Why?”

“Why not?” He stares at me and for a second and I’m convinced the jig is up, he’s onto me.

“I just didn’t know you had a Tor browser,” I say, referring to the network that allows me to access the dark web, something I don’t need for what I’ll be doing today with him but it’s something I know he won’t have on his computer. It’s also for me to judge just how competent he is in the world of cybercrimes. If he knows even a little, he’ll know I don’t need to access the dark web to hide some funds.

He shrugs. “Or whatever, use yours. I was just being nice.”

“Oh, well, thanks.” I offer a pathetic smile. “It’s just easier with mine. I have all these keystroke shortcuts set up that make hacking a lot easier and quicker.”

“Hacking?” He gives me a look like I’m a complete idiot, then scoffs, “Okay, Napster, calm down, this is just a bit of light accounting work.”

“Right.” I shrug and turn to my computer, working through a list of accounts, dollar amounts, and the offshore shell corporations they’re being funneled into. I manipulate and clean the data, twisting and turning it along the way to make every transaction look legitimate. All the while, the program in the background is running, tracking my every keystroke.

I flinch when he crouches closer to me, his tie swaying forward to brush against my arm. His cologne burns in my nostrils, an image of that night flashing through my mind. I have to clench my jaw to keep from physically vomiting from the memory of him ever touching me and the proximity of him to me now.

“Goddammit, how long does this take?” he asks for what feels like the millionth time as he paces back and forth across the office.

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