I’m coming for you, fucker.
“Well, we’re certainly glad to have you back, Maxwell,” he said, turning to leave.
“Mr. Wallace,” I called and he turned back. Thank God the Feds made me learn some of the names of people who worked here (or rather the suspects).
“I’ll get another copy of that file you were looking for and get that over to you ASAP.”
“The file?” he said, like he had no clue what I was talking about.
“The Matthews file?” I said like it was obvious.
Idiot.
“Oh, yes. Please get that to me. I need it right away.”
“I’ll just get the info off my flash drive here and print it out.” I patted my briefcase as he walked away.
My words halted his steps.
He turned to look at me.
“What did you say?”
“I said the information you were looking for is on my flash drive.”
Our eyes locked.
In the moments that passed, we both knew exactly what we were talking about.
“You son of a bitch,” he breathed out.
I smiled.
It was a real smile. The smile of a predator. “Something wrong, Mr. Wallace?” I asked innocently.
His face flushed and he took a step forward. I couldn’t wait to hear the threat he was about to let loose. It made me wish I was wearing a wire.
Before he could speak, someone walked into my office behind him. It was a man of about sixty with gray hair and a crisp suit.
“What’s going on—” His words halted.
He looked at me.
He looked at Mr. Wallace. His son.
Mr. Wallace Sr. was the driving force behind this company. He had been at the helm for almost thirty years. In the past five years, his son, Johnathan Wallace (the little puke I wanted to punch), had come aboard and that’s when the money laundering, the fraud, and the espionage began to take place. Or so the FBI told me.
Looking at the two lizards now, I would surmise the Feds were right.
“Maxwell,” Wallace Sr. said, “we were concerned about you.”
I smiled and leaned back in my seat. “I was just telling your son here that everything was fine.”
Wallace Sr. looked at Wallace Jr. They exchanged a silent word.
“Wonderful!” Wallace Sr. said.
“If either of you need anything I’ll be in my office all day, catching up.”
“Well, then.” Wallace Sr. began. “Have a great day.”
I watched them leave the room and then got up to shut my office door. Before I did, I watched the two men walk into a large corner office and shut the door.
I smiled.
They were likely calling up their hit men right now and demanding to know why I was still breathing.
I chuckled and shut the door to my tiny office. The walls were bare and it was literally shaped like a box. It made me feel claustrophobic. I couldn’t understand how Max spent so much time in here.
I didn’t have to understand. I just had to do what I came here to do.
Judging from the look on Wallace Jr.’s face, he hadn’t found the flash drive. Which meant I still had time to get to it first.
I yanked off the navy suit jacket and tossed it on a nearby chair. Then I rolled up the sleeves of my white dress shirt and got to searching.
12
Charlotte
The hours in today seemed endless. As if this were some twisted form of Groundhog Day and I was doomed to live this day for all eternity.
Or maybe I just needed to take off these stupid heels.
Heels were like acceptable modern day torture for women. What was worse is that women everywhere actually paid for it. But nothing quite complimented a pair of legs like a hot pair of heels.
It was dark and I was exhausted so I hailed a cab once I left the restaurant and sank into the back of the yellow car, trying to ignore the pungent smell of onions. My stomach lurched. It reminded me of the man in my apartment.
The cabbie took off, veering wildly down the street and swerving around some walking bystanders who started yelling at his insane driving. I didn’t even blink. All the cabbies in NYC drove like this. I used to pray every time I got in the back of one. Now I barely noticed. One time my driver actually hit a pedestrian on a bike. He didn’t stop. In fact, he started muttering in some language I couldn’t understand.
My business dinner could be categorized as a success. The clients would be coming by the offices tomorrow to sign the final papers. I already emailed the partners and their assistants so they could ready the paperwork so all it needed was some signatures.
They were going to be pleased. This was a big account, the biggest I closed. I was hoping they would let me sit in on the meeting tomorrow. After all, I was the one who did the legwork to get them to sign. It was my right to be there for the good part.
Pretty soon I was going to be handling cases and hopefully someday a partner. All those advanced early classes in high school, all those extra credits and heavy course load I took in college… all of it was for this. My father would be proud. I wished he were here for me to call and tell him about tonight.