All three men growled. Hannah shrank back in her seat. Gavin held up the folder she kept by her phone, the one in which she had been storing all her evidence. She winced.
Dex leaned forward. “You want to amend that statement, darlin’? Because I’m done playing around, and the next lie that comes out of your mouth is going to earn you some punishment.” Punishment? “I don’t like the sound of that, Mr. Townsend.” Liar. She liked it way too much. She was pretty sure everyone in the Boeing could hear her heart pound. “And it’s none of your business.”
She had to put this on a proper footing. She couldn’t let these men intimidate her. They were her bosses—or had been. She couldn’t go back to work for them now, not after they had kidnapped her. Right? Her grandma’s etiquette lessons hadn’t covered this situation.
Dex stood up, but Slade held a hand out. “Why don’t we get the full story before we start in on her?”
Gavin looked between the two of them, an oddly indulgent look on his face. “You really were born far too late, Dex. Genghis Khan could have used you.” Dex eased back into his seat. If the comment bothered him, he didn’t show it. He simply grunted and nodded toward Slade, who turned to her, arms crossed over his wide chest. He reminded her of a prosecuting attorney about to slice and dice an opponent.
“How long have you known someone was stalking you, Hannah?”
The silky slide of his voice didn’t fool her. He was pissed off. Maybe it was time to come clean. “About a month.”
All three men huffed.
“Tell us.” Gavin didn’t ask. He simply commanded.
What would it hurt now? Her secret was out, and maybe they could help. Though she wouldn’t admit it, it felt like a huge weight had just lifted off her shoulders. “It was phone calls at first. I would answer but no one was there, just a lot of breathing.”
“Caller ID?” Dex asked.
“It showed up as unavailable. He called my home phone, not my cell.” Hannah remembered being annoyed at first. She’d stopped answering the phone. “Then, after a week or so, he left a message, but in a weird voice.”
Slade sat back in his chair, his hand going to the folder, fingers tapping against it.
“According to the police report, he used a computer-simulated voice. Burke should be able to get a copy.”
Hannah took a deep breath and forced herself to go on. “Then I changed my number and made it unlisted. He called me again two days later.”
“Bastard,” Dex cursed. “He must work for us.”
“Agreed.” Slade nodded sharply.
Really? She couldn’t imagine which fellow employee would go to this much trouble to scare her.
“Hannah sent HR a notification when she changed her number. Besides the three of us, HR
was the only one with a record.”
“So it’s likely someone with access to the HR files. We should have known something was going on when she changed her number.” Slade cursed under his breath.
Dex nodded, then turned back to her. “How many friends have your new number?” She didn’t have a horde of friends, but she did have a few good ones. “Uhm, I told Wendy and Heather. Oh, and a couple of people from work.”
“We’ll need you to write them all down,” Gavin said.
“I can do that,” Hannah replied.
“What about Preston Ward, our CIO? You gave him your number after he kissed you?” Dex arched a brow at her.
“What the hell?” Slade stood, staring, his expression thunderous. “He what?” Hannah flushed. “I’ve handled that. And no, I didn’t. He must have gotten it from HR.”
“Why didn’t you tell me he’d come on to you?” Gavin demanded, looking none too pleased.
She looked at her boss—former boss—trying to understand the reason for this third degree.
“You’re the CEO. You don’t have time for my troubles.”
“Like hell,” Gavin snarled.
Slade’s mouth flattened into a thin line that Hannah couldn’t help but think boded ill for her.
Dex speared her with another stare. “What else haven’t you told us?” She confessed the rest. It was like ripping off a Band-Aid. Once she started, she just wanted to get it over with. She explained that this crazy man had somehow gotten her IM address and had started sending her long notes on her laptop about how beautiful she was and how much he wanted her. He’d called one night in a rage threatening to hurt her because she’d come home late. He’d asked if she’d been out with those perverted brothers.
“I think he meant you and Slade,” she said, biting her lower lip. Gosh, she didn’t want to offend them. “He obviously doesn’t understand that we just work together.” Slade frowned. “I think he understands all too well.”