Page 67 of His Rules

The twinkle in his eyes matched the one in hers since I’d used one of her lines.

Once we were inside the elevator, she was the one crowding my space. Meanwhile, I kept a smug look on my face to annoy her.

“You stole my line.”

“I did,” I admitted. “So what. I’m the boss. I can do anything I want.”

“I’ll get you back for that.”

“I’m so looking forward to it.”

CHAPTER 18

Kacey

“Be careful of the beast,” Sheila said after I dropped my purse under my desk. She had her head stuck in my office and a worried look on her face.

“Why is that?”

“Because Mr. Winfield is loaded for bear. He hasn’t been the same since you left for New York. I have a feeling you’ve already become invaluable to him.”

So he was playing it like he hadn’t met me in New York. It was possibly a reckless choice. If Mr. Kane said anything to Drake, then the cat was out of the bag. I’d need to dig even deeper if I didn’t want my actions to blow up in my face.

Then again, knowing Sebastian a little bit better now that I’d spent some quality time with him, I’d say he’d turned this entire situation into a game. That made me nervous as to what he could be facing in the future. I’d had a very bad feeling about what was going wrong with the company since the meeting with Mr. Kane.He’d been more than cordial, but I’d detected total reservation in the man.

As if someone had talked him out of brand loyalty.

Would Sebastian’s partner do that? He couldn’t be working alone. Not in this kind of industry. It wasn’t like picking up and renting a warehouse, throwing together a couple of huge airplanes. Maybe the man was cocky enough he’d left a trail.

“What is Mr. Winfield doing exactly?” I did want to be prepared in case something had occurred after he’d left late Thursday. Ah, the beauty of having a private side. He’d fucked me hard against my apartment room wall after sneaking into it, lying in wait until I’d returned from work.

Then he’d shared a half bottle of cheap red wine before catching a flight somewhere around ten-thirty that night. There’d been no phone calls, no loving texts, but we’d emailed back and forth. Today was planning day.

“He barked at everyone who dared say hello to him. Can’t you tame that man?”

I shored my shoulders, uncertain what I was going to walk into. “I can try, but he is hardheaded.”

She rolled her eyes.

I decided to do a little fishing. “How has Mr. Caffrey been?”

“Okay, I guess. He’s been in his office a lot with the door closed. But you know what’s funny? For almost three full days last week neither he nor Drake were in the office. That’s very unusual. Don’t tell anyone, but we threw a party in accounting.”

I burst out laughing. “Good for you and I won’t tell a soul.” Where the hell had Drake gone in Sebastian’s absence? I glanced out the window that gave me a full view of the hallway. Perhaps it was time for me to do an entirely different kind of investigation.

“Please don’t tell me you’re interested in that man?” Sheila pointed her finger at me.

“Who, me? I’ve sworn off men.” At least I had a chance to cross my fingers before issuing another lie. I was racking them up like softball points. “Is he that bad?”

“It’s funny. As irritating as Mr. Winfield can be, he’s not a womanizer looking to infect any female creature coming in contact with him. He’s not like that. But Mr. Caffrey? Girl, I wouldn’t touch that man with a disinfected ten-foot pole.”

“I had no idea.” Bullshit.

“Well, he’s tamed it down, but that man is a true snake in the grass.” Sheila looked over her shoulder before stepping further inside. “I have it with evidence backing it that his lunch breaks are taken at the corporate hotel suite the company keeps. You never see him out and I’ve seen the bills.”

“Interesting. Those I haven’t seen.” I folded my arms, my curiosity flying high.

“I’ll get you a copy, but don’t tell anyone you have them. I’m sworn to secrecy.”

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