Her Mistletoe Protector(21)

"It does in my book," he said. The hearty beef stew hit the spot and Rachel and Joey must have been hungry too, because between the three of them, they finished every bite.

"I'll clean up," he said, carrying his and Joey's empty bowls over to the sink.

Rachel looked as if she might protest but then must have decided to take the opportunity to spend time with her son. He heard them exploring the cabin, although since it wasn't very big, it didn't take them long. Rachel brought a quilt with her from the back bedroom and covered them with it as they sat on the sofa, staring into the fire.

Seeing Rachel snuggled up next to Joey filled him with bittersweet longing. If he were alone, he'd probably think about Becky, but right now, he found himself captivated by the way the light from the fire flickered over Rachel's hair.

Washing the dishes didn't take long, and when he finished he pulled out the computer and tried to find the wireless signal that he'd used the last time he was here. Sure enough, the signal was weak but available, as it still wasn't password protected.

He searched for information on Dr. Karl Errol since he still thought that Josie Gardner's suicide wasn't just a coincidence. He soon discovered that Dr. Karl Errol had attended Johns Hopkins to earn his doctorate and had worked for a large international pharmaceutical company before coming to work for Rachel.

Sitting back in the chair, he tried to figure out why a highly respected research scientist from Johns Hopkins had left a large pharmaceutical corporation to work for Simon Inc.

"Joey's asleep," Rachel said, interrupting his thoughts. She came over to the table, pulled up a chair next to him and sat down. "You should let me take a look at your arm."

Nick grimaced and then nodded reluctantly. He worked his arm out of the sweatshirt sleeve while she jumped up and heated up water on the two-burner stove.

The angle was too awkward for him to see the extent of the injury and he was glad it didn't throb as much as it had at first. Rachel came over with the first-aid kit they'd brought in from the car, along with a small pan of hot water.

"This might hurt," she warned as she picked up a soft cloth and began cleaning the wound.

He didn't say anything, too distracted by her nearness as she fussed over him. He couldn't help remembering the kiss they'd shared and wondered if she'd let him kiss her again. Soon.

"Almost finished," she murmured, and he blinked, realizing she was putting antibiotic ointment over the flesh wound before wrapping it with gauze.

"Thanks," he murmured huskily. When she turned away to take the water back over to the sink, he carefully put his arm back into the sleeve of his sweatshirt.

Once she'd finished cleaning everything up, she came back to the table. It took all his willpower to turn his attention to the investigation at hand. "Tell me about Dr. Karl Errol. How long has he worked for you?"

Rachel frowned. "He's been working for me for about three years now," she said slowly.

"How did you come to hire him? Did he apply for a job? Or did you purposefully recruit him away from his other company?"

"Neither. Josie Gardner is actually the one who recommended him for the job. She apparently met him at a research convention and talked about some of the work we were doing. He was very interested and Josie convinced me to make him an offer. To be honest, I was surprised when he actually accepted it."                       
       
           



       

"Why do you think he did? Accept the job, I mean?"

Rachel shrugged. "During our interview, he mentioned that he liked the way I put so much time and effort into research and development for new medications. He claimed that his old company had gone stagnant and that he was looking for change."

Nick hesitated, knowing that she wasn't going to like his next question. "Could it be that he was searching for a place where no one was constantly looking over his shoulder? Because maybe he liked to cut corners? What if the problem with your new diabetes medication happened in the first place because he hid something important?"

"No way... Josie would have been all over that," she said.

"Maybe that's why she committed suicide."

She stared at him for a long moment. "It's possible, but why would Karl do something like that in the first place? Why bring forward a medication that has life-threatening side effects?" She blew out a breath. "Don't you see? There's no logical reason why anyone, especially a well-respected researcher, would risk ruining their reputation and their career by doing something so crazy."

He hated to admit she had a point. What could the motivation be? He shifted several scenarios through his mind. "What if he's doing it on purpose to sabotage your company?" he mused.

Rachel closed her eyes and rubbed them. "Again, Nick, for what purpose? What's the link between this and Joey's kidnapping? I keep telling you that none of this makes any sense. The only logical explanation is that someone within the Mafia needed cash and orchestrated Joey's kidnapping to get it." She sighed impatiently. "Sabotaging the company would only make it more difficult to come up with the money. Whatever is going on within the company probably isn't connected."

He understood why she chose to believe the Mafia was behind the kidnapping. For one thing, the threatening letters did seem to point to the crime syndicate. But what if someone inside her company had sent them, pretending to be with the Mafia? He thought she had blinders on when it came to thinking anything bad about the people who worked for her.

"Rachel, hear me out for a minute, okay?" he said, leaning in toward her. "You said the lawsuit was filed last year and that you have already offered a generous settlement, right?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"Was your settlement accepted?"

She flushed and shook her head. "Not yet."

Interesting. "What if that was essentially the start of this mess? What if all of this-the failed medication, the lawsuit and now the kidnapping were just ways to put you out of business?"

"Who would want to put me out of business?"

"You tell me," he countered. "Which company is your biggest competition?"

"Global Pharmaceuticals," she answered automatically.

Global Pharmaceuticals. The same company where Karl Errol used to work. "That's it! The link we've been looking for. Don't you think it's possible that Karl Errol, who used to work for Global Pharmaceuticals, is actually doing corporate espionage for them? That he's sabotaging your company on purpose?"

The dawning horror in her eyes made him feel bad for shattering her trust, but, at the same time, he firmly believed they were finally onto something.

Now, all he needed was a way to prove it.





ELEVEN

Rachel didn't want to believe Nick's theory, but she couldn't deny that his idea had merit. "Seems odd that Global would go to such drastic lengths to put me under," she said softly. "But, okay, let's say they did convince Karl to sabotage my company. And that the failed diabetes medication was part of the master plan. How does kidnapping Joey fit into the picture? Removing me as the CEO isn't going to put the company under. Gerry Ashton has been working for the company over the past seventeen years and he's perfectly capable of running the company without me."

"Isn't there anything about your management styles that could make the difference between success and failure?" Nick pressed.

Rachel clenched her teeth in frustration. She didn't understand why he remained so focused on someone working against her from inside the company rather than the Mafia link.                       
       
           



       

Although now that Morales was dead, she was forced to admit they might never know for sure who was behind the kidnapping.

"The only difference between Gerry and me is that I take more risks in research and development," she said. "Gerry tends to be more conservative."

"That's all? Nothing else?" Nick appeared disappointed by her response.

"The only other thing we disagreed about was settling the lawsuit," she admitted. She still remembered the heated argument they'd had. Gerry had pushed so hard she had been forced to take the issue to the board of directors. "He wanted to continue to fight, but I managed to convince the board that settling right away would be better for us in the long run. And there's still hope that the lawsuit will be settled soon."

"How long has Ashton worked for you?" he probed.

"I've only been in charge as the CEO for the past three years, since my father died. Gerry was a VP colleague during the years my father was in charge." Before he could ask another question, she quickly changed the subject. "I need to talk to you about Joey."

Nick's eyebrows lifted. "What about him?"

She took a deep breath and released it slowly, trying to figure out a way to articulate her concern without hurting his feelings. "Joey is at a vulnerable age, and I think it's clear he's looking for a father figure. I've noticed he's been following you around, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't encourage him. Please try to keep your distance."