Best of Bosses 2008(173)

‘She said she was having trouble with the Internet. She’s been getting me to do odd jobs. The other day she asked me to save a whole stack of files on to my computer.’

‘She what?’

Sally squirmed uncomfortably in her chair. ‘I feel terrible speaking about your PA behind her back. It’s probably fine. She said it was for security. An extra backup.’

No, it wasn’t fine. Logan felt stirrings of alarm. ‘We have good backup procedures. Maria didn’t need to use your computer.’

Sally shrugged unhappily. ‘I knew there was no real harm in saving a few files.’ She shook her head. ‘But I didn’t feel right about sending an email when I hadn’t been told anything about it.’

Uneasily, Logan asked, ‘So what’s on the CD?’

‘I don’t know and I didn’t think it was my business to read the files. That’s why I wanted to check with you. It seemed odd, like agreeing to take a parcel on an international flight without knowing the contents.’

‘Let’s have a look, then.’ Grim-faced, he picked up the CD and slid it into his computer.

A click of the mouse later, the list of files scrolled on to his screen and the bottom dropped from his stomach.

Sally leaned anxiously across the desk. She’d seen the shock in Logan’s eyes and the colour drain from his face and now she felt sick. ‘What is it?’

‘This is full of information that’s come straight from the boardroom. It’s supposed to be locked away on a secure file.’ Logan loosened his tie as if he needed more air and Sally saw, with dismay, that his hand was shaking.

He clicked on another file and a groan escaped him. ‘This is Blackcorp’s strategy for the next three years. It…it’s the heart and soul of my company.’

‘But—’ Sally struggled to take this in. It was so much worse than she’d feared. It sounded disastrous.

Logan lifted his hands to his head and shuddered. ‘You haven’t sent any of this information, have you?’

‘No. Nothing.’ She was so glad she could reassure him.

‘Good girl.’ He let out a heavy sigh. ‘In the wrong hands, this would allow a competitor to second guess the next critical stage in Blackcorp’s development.’ Beckoning to her, he said, ‘Look, come and see for yourself. It lists all our company contacts. Key strategies. Pricing.’

She came around to his side of the desk, saw the lists of figures, saw the haggard fear in Logan’s eyes.

Thank heavens she’d followed her instincts and double-checked with him.

‘Where were you supposed to send this?’ he asked.

‘I have the list of addresses here.’ She pulled the sheet of paper with Maria’s list from her pocket.

Logan took one glance at it and let out a groan, then leapt to his feet and released a strong expletive. ‘I can’t believe Maria did this.’

He could feel panic rising and he began to pace.

‘She would have reduced me to my bottom dollar.’ He reached the far wall, paced back again. Fear. The sickening fear that had dogged him since his teens clawed at his throat.

He slammed a fist into the wall. ‘She must have been a plant all along. She’s probably been planning this for ages. There could have been a takeover of Blackcorp.’ It was his worst nightmare.

He shot Sally a fierce glance, challenging her, needing her to understand. ‘My family’s already been through one bankruptcy. I swore I would never let it happen again in my lifetime.’

All his years of hard work, all his self-denial and disciplined planning would have come to nothing. Nothing!

‘But everything’s OK, isn’t it?’ Sally asked quietly. ‘I didn’t send the emails. Nobody got this information.’

‘You’re right.’ Logan shot her a shaky smile. ‘You’ve pulled us back from the brink of disaster.’ He felt a blast of euphoria. Sweet, piercing relief. But it quickly evaporated as the full implications of Maria’s treachery struck home.

‘Maria was setting you up, Sally.’ It was a terrible possibility, but it had to be true. ‘She wanted the emails to come from you. Then, if the leaks were discovered, they would have been traced to your desk.’

Sally pouted. ‘Why did she pick on me?’

‘She would have been confident that you didn’t have a hope of defending yourself. It’s so much easier to cast suspicion on the newest employee.’

‘And then it would have been my word against the word of the boss’s trusted PA.’

‘Exactly.’

This time it was Sally who swore. Colourfully. And then she quickly blushed. ‘Sorry. Having four brothers expands a girl’s vocabulary. But how dare she use me like that?’