The CEO's Little Surprise(18)

"Thanks for taking time from your busy Friday to hear my progress  report," Cass began smoothly and squared her tablet, trying to get her  emotions under control. She'd failed to do her job and her partners  needed to know it, no matter how hard it was to admit she didn't have it  all together.

If only she'd gotten some sleep last night, her emotions wouldn't be  riding so close to the surface. If only she'd checked her mushy heart at  the door when Gage came over, she could have gone all night with him  and maybe extracted something useful. Instead, she'd kicked him out  because she couldn't control anything, let alone herself.

"I'll cut to the chase," Cass said and met the gaze of each of her partners in turn. "I haven't found anything yet."

The three women's expressions ranged from disbelief to anger.

Alex spoke first. "What do you mean, you haven't found anything yet?  You've had all week." She sank down in her chair an inch, as if Cass's  news had physically added weight to her shoulders, which increased the  general despair in the room. "This is awful. We should have involved the  authorities from the beginning."

"We couldn't have," Cass reminded her. She cleared the catch from her  throat. They'd had this discussion on Monday when the trade magazine had  hit the industry and again on Tuesday in their board meeting. "Mike  said the article was too vague, remember? We don't have any recourse but  to investigate ourselves."

"Which has failed miserably." Alex crossed her arms and stared at Cass.  "We trusted you with this. We could have all been working on it but you  said you'd handle it. What, exactly, did you do all week?"

Cass took the harsh question without flinching. "I have a list of  suspects. Everyone who's had their hands on Formula-47 over the past two  years and could reasonably understand how it works."

The betrayer's name was on that list-she knew it like she knew her own  face. How else would Gage's additional information about Fyra's  yet-to-be-released product offering be so accurate? It was the only  explanation. Now she just had to find a way to prove it. And convince  the others to give her more time.

Trinity's chair squeaked as she swiveled it toward Cass. "So the  article is too vague to involve the authorities, but when your old  boyfriend shows up with more detailed information, that's not enough to  go to the cops?"

Heat flushed through Cass's cheeks. Blushing? Really? She never did  that. Thankfully, Harper's color-correcting foundation should hide the  worst of it. "I'm working that angle. In case he's involved."

"Oh." Light dawned in Trinity's expression. "I thought that whole  consulting thing was weird. I was convinced Gage was hanging around in  hopes of swooping in for another chance to break your heart. It never  occurred to me that you were the one working him. Good for you."                       
       
           



       

Alex's brows snapped together. "What, like you're sleeping with him to find out if he coordinated the leak? That's horrible."

A squeak of denial almost escaped Cass's clamped lips.

But she couldn't deny it. That was exactly what she was doing, but  hearing it from Alex did make it sound horrible. Something sad crawled  through her chest and she couldn't breathe.

Why? They were just fooling around anyway. Nothing serious was going  on, so it wasn't as if he was going to get his heart broken. She wasn't  even sure he had one to break.

And how in God's name had her friends figured out so quickly that she  and Gage weren't strictly business associates this time around? Somehow  this whole conversation had become a cross-examination of Cass's sex  life.

"It's brilliant," Trinity insisted. "Men do stuff like that all the  time and no one thinks anything of it. About time we turn the tables.  Screw him and then screw him over, Cass."

Finally Trinity was defending her, and if only she hadn't been so  enthusiastic about Cass's new status as a ballbreaker, it might have  made Alex's accusations more tolerable.

"It's true," Cass admitted. "I'm keeping my eye on him from close quarters just in case he lets something incriminating slip."

"Was that before or after he seduced away your good sense?" Alex asked  derisively. "You'll forgive me if I find your investigative techniques  suspect. No one can fully separate business from sex. It's impossible."

Not for me.

Cass started to say it out loud, to defend herself against Alex's  blatant charge that she'd compromised Fyra due to her personal  relationship with Gage, such as it was. She should tell them  unequivocally that she wouldn't allow a naked man to distract her from  what she knew she needed to do.

But she couldn't say it. What if Gage was involved in the leak and she  missed it because she was too busy daydreaming about him magically  transforming into someone she could count on? That very possibility was  exactly the reason the board meeting had descended into girl talk about  the man Cass was boinking-because everyone thought she might be  compromised.

Ridiculous. She was compartmentalizing just fine. The person  responsible for the leak was keeping a low profile, that was all. If  Gage knew anything about it, he'd trip up before long.

"Give me a few more days," she pleaded. "I know what I'm doing."

Throwing her pen down on her pad with considerable force, Alex shook her head. "No. We don't have a few more days."

Heart in her throat, Cass evaluated the other two girls, who glanced at  each other. Trinity shrugged. "I'm game for it. I kind of want to see  what happens with lover boy."

Harper narrowed her gaze and flipped her ponytail over her shoulder.  "Gage Branson treated you like dog food in college, Cass. While he's  lighting your fire, don't fool yourself into thinking he's changed."

Red stained Harper's cheeks, likely as a result of holding back her  legendary hot temper, which Cass appreciated. Alex's hostility was  heartbreaking enough without adding another longtime friend to the other  side of the fence.

"I've got that under control, too," Cass assured them, ignoring that  sad ping inside that had only gotten worse the longer the conversation  went on.

Of course Gage hadn't changed. Fortunately, Cass's eyes were wide open  and soon she'd be watching him disappear down the highway. It was a  fact, and wishing things could be different didn't mean she was fooling  herself.

Alex's sigh was long-suffering. "This is a mistake. Have all of you  forgotten that Gage runs a company that eats into our profits every  stinking quarter? He's our competition, just as much as Lancôme and  MAC."

And that was the bottom line in all of this. How fitting that Fyra's  CFO would be the one to point that out. In marked contrast to the last  time they'd been in this room, Alex's contrariness and lack of  confidence had roots in reality, and that sobered Cass faster than  anything else could have.                       
       
           



       

"No one's forgotten that, least of all me," Cass countered quietly.  "Why do you think I'm cozying up to him? Give me a few more days."

"Fine," Alex conceded wearily. "I don't see how you're going to prove  Gage is involved in the leak while he's got his tongue in your mouth,  but whatever. We don't have a lot of choices."

As victories went, it felt hollow. With the leak still undetected, the  company could come down like a house of cards. She got that. But it  twisted her stomach to have her strategy so cold-bloodedly laid out for  her. Yes, she'd planned to keep Gage close for exactly the reasons  they'd discussed, but all at once, the idea didn't sit well. Gage had  been...fun thus far. Almost like a friend. A confidante. Everything a  lover should be. What if he wasn't involved?

She liked it better when her partners had been in the dark about her covert plans.

Abnormally quiet, they left the boardroom, and miraculously Cass made  it all the way to her office before the shakes started. Nothing helped  calm her nerves-coffee, water, a brisk walk at lunch. She had to get it  together, had to find a way to produce results.

If Gage was involved in the leak, she had to figure out a way to prove  it. To prove she could compartmentalize and that he wasn't affecting her  ability to do her job, once and for all. She buckled down and pored  over files and personnel records until she thought her eyes would bleed.

Around three o'clock, her phone vibrated and Gage's name flashed on the screen. She read the text message.

I'm in the parking lot. Ditch work and play hooky with me.

For God knew what reason, that put a smile on her face. That sounded like the perfect short-term solution to her problems.