Page 17 of Elliot

She lifted her head and looked at him. “No, why?”

“The safety seals on the water bottles are broken.” He shut the fridge and walked over, lowering himself to eye level with her. “Those cameras you don’t want? They’re going to be installed. This is the second time someone has violated your office. The threats are real, and they are escalating. Do you understand?”

She nodded. “I …Why? What did I do?”

“With people like this, the world's reality doesn’t matter. What you do or don’t do doesn’t matter. It’s what they perceive you’ve done, real or not. Or someone could be systematically terrorizing you to stop your company's IPO. There are so many variables and too little information. But we will get the information and stop whoever is doing this.”

She wrapped her arms around herself. “That photo. They took it from the new website. It just went up last week.” She drew a breath and sat up straight. “This won’t stop me. I’m not going to let these threats stop the IPO.”

He knelt in front of her, and his hand moved to her cheek of its own accord. “I know, but we’re going to take measures tomake sure you're safe while you're doing that, and you’re going to let me, right?”

He dropped his hand when he realized what he was doing. She shuddered out a sigh before nodding. “Yeah, sure. Of course. Whatever you need to do. Do whatever you need, but …” She stood up, and he lifted with her. She leveled her gaze on him. “No one will stop me. No one.”

He nodded and smiled at her. “That’s the attitude you need. When the people from Guardian get here, we won’t let anyone know what we’ve found. A non-reaction, do you understand?”

She nodded. “Don’t let the bully know you’re afraid.”

“Exactly. But I’ll be honest with you: it could also force his or her hand and make them reckless. A non-reaction isn’t what they’re looking for. They want to scare you, and they’ll want to know that what they’ve done has worked. You didn’t tell anyone about the rat in the box, right?”

“Right.” She nodded and then looked back toward the bathroom. “That’s why they did that?”

“It very well could be. If we don’t react today, perhaps they’ll react again. Now, can you reschedule your appointments for the next couple of hours? We’ll meet here with the investigators Ross sends over, and they’ll conduct their search, gather evidence, and leave without anyone being the wiser.”

“Yes … can I Zoom into the meetings from over there?” She pointed to the table. “I do that when I have to multi-task. If I cancel, it’ll raise flags.”

“Does Jessica have to be here for you to do that?”

“No. I can send her to the apartment for a different pair of shoes. With this traffic, it’ll take her a couple of hours to get there and return.”

“Then do that. I’ll get something to clean up the mess on the table, and we’ll set you up; then, I’ll open the door and wait forGuardian, bring them in, and close the door. As far as anyone knows, it’s just another meeting.”

“Yeah, that’s a good plan.” She reached for the intercom button. “Jessica, I’ll be Zooming into my next two meetings. Make sure the system is set up, please. Also, I need a favor. Would you please go to my apartment and get me a different pair of shoes? These are killing my feet.”

“Ah, sure. I can just go to the store and buy you a pair.”

“No, I have a pair of black flats in my closet with beading on the toes. Please get them for me.”

The woman hesitated for a moment before saying, “If you’re sure you won’t need me for the meetings.”

“I’m sure. I can manage for a couple of hours.” Maya drew a deep breath. “Please, Jessica.”

“Maya, are you okay? You sound upset.”

“I’m stressed. I have little time to get my PR campaign out to the right people and a PR manager who does not sense my urgency. Now, would you please do as I ask?”

“Do you need anything else?”

“No, I’m good, thank you.” Maya rubbed her forehead. Elliot could tell she was about to snap at her assistant but pulled herself back.

“Okay, I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

“Set up the Zoom meetings first,” Maya reminded her.

“Right. I’ll do that now.”

“Thanks.” Maya disconnected the intercom. “Do you think she could have done this? And why would she?”

Elliot stared at the woman. Her plea was in her eyes. She didn’t want her assistant to be involved. He got it, but he couldn’t exclude her. “I hope not, but I don’t know.”

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