She resumed her analysis. Ten minutes later, she leaned forward and checked the screen one more time. What she’d found was...disturbing.
“Why the frown?” Lex was suddenly standing in front of her. “Have you found something?”
“I don’t know.” Reluctantly she swiveled the screen toward him. “VHL, they’re competitors of yours, aren’t they?”
“One of our main rivals. The last management bid we lost was to them.”
Jacinta’s heart sank. “I’ve detected a few emails going between them and...”
His fists whitened on the polished wooden desk. “And who?”
“Kirk.” She peeked at his face. His jaw clicked as he clenched his teeth. “About four emails since Thursday. He used a web mail service, not the company one, but it’s definitely coming from his computer and his login.”
She expected him to swear or growl or smack the desk, but he just stood there, his face a rigid mask. Anxious, she chewed on the inside of her cheek. “Lex? Do you want to read the emails?”
He eyed the screen where she’d positioned the mouse over the incriminating emails. One click was all it would take to open them.
Lex jerked his head from side to side. “No.”
She stared back at him. That wasn’t the response she’d anticipated.
“No,” he repeated. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Kirk isn’t that stupid. He wouldn’t use his company computer to send emails to the opposition.”
“But he did use a web mail service.” She wouldn’t be doing her job correctly if she didn’t point out that Kirk’s behavior was suspicious. “Don’t you want to find out why?”
Muttering an expletive, Lex turned away to stare out the window. “If I read those emails,” he said, “I’d be crossing a line I can never uncross. I don’t know if I’m prepared for that.”
Her heart rose. So there was hope after all. If he thought the worst of Kirk, he wouldn’t hesitate to read the emails, so his reluctance spoke volumes. “You don’t want it to be him. I understand that.” She shut down the monitoring program and closed the laptop.
He spun around, still wired. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t read them. Just not today. If we don’t find any other evidence soon, then I’ll have to look at those emails.”
“Okay. Let me know when you’re ready, then.”
“Thanks, Jacinta.” His glacier blue eyes flicked over her. “I appreciate it. If I had to have some stranger, some employee of mine telling me all this...” His knuckles tightened again. “I don’t think I could have handled it.”
He pressed her shoulder, causing her heart to skip at the genuine appreciation in his gesture. “I’m glad I could help,” she murmured.
Exhaling, he straightened his shoulders. “Let’s forget this spy business for now. It’s my grandmother’s birthday today, and I don’t want to ruin it with a bad attitude.”
She stood and gestured at her casual clothing. “I guess I’d better get changed before the guests arrive.”
He nodded. “I’ll wait for you downstairs in the conservatory.”
It took her just a few minutes to change into the cream embroidered silk dress that she and Lex had both agreed suited the occasion. She completed her makeup and swept her hair into a classic chignon. In her brand-new high-heeled shoes, she made her way downstairs carefully. Lex was in the conservatory as he’d said, together with his grandmother.
“Oh, you look absolutely charming.” Nana Alice nodded her approval at Jacinta before turning to Lex. “Doesn’t she look charming, Lex?”
“Almost as charming as you, Nana.” The corners of Lex’s lips edged up. He seemed calm and assured, the stress of a few minutes ago masked.
Eyes sparkling, his grandmother clasped his arm. “You are a one. Oh, I’m so happy. You two, well, I couldn’t have a better present on my birthday.” She beckoned Jacinta closer and drew the two of them toward her. “Yes, it’s wonderful.”
Over the elderly lady’s snow white hair, Jacinta met Lex’s stare, as baffled as he was by his grandmother’s babbling. He lifted his eyebrows in silent query, but she could only shrug her shoulders. “Nana,” Lex said, slowly drawing back. “You’re being very mysterious.”
She chuckled. “Yes, it’s a big secret, but I’m sure all will be revealed quite soon. Won’t it, Jacinta?”
Jacinta shook her head. She was about to ask what she meant, but before she could do so, Nana Alice glanced toward the terrace outside the conservatory.
“Ah, I see Nancy has just arrived.” She looked up at her grandson. “I thought you and Jacinta might keep an eye on her from time to time. Make sure she’s looked after.”
“I think she’s capable of looking after herself,” Lex replied.
Peering through the glass doors, Jacinta blinked in surprise at the sight of Nancy Bird trailing behind a fresh group of guests approaching the house. She wore a prim gray dress with a small cameo brooch pinned at her neck. A number of company executives had been invited to the party, but she hadn’t expected Lex’s personal assistant to be one of them.
“You know Nancy isn’t comfortable in these sorts of social events,” Lex’s grandmother gently chided him. “I’m counting on you, dear. After all, you are her boss these days.”
“Fine, Nana.”
Nana Alice bustled off to greet the guests, leaving Jacinta to raise her eyebrows at Lex. “Did you invite all your administrative assistants?”
“I didn’t invite Nancy. My grandmother did. Nancy’s been with the company for so long she’s practically part of the family. She put up with a lot of long, unsociable hours when she was working for my dad. I guess Nana wanted to show her appreciation.”
“She doesn’t look too comfortable.” Jacinta observed Nancy’s pale face with some sympathy.
“It’s probably the long car ride. Let’s go outside. I see Carl and Brooke have arrived too.”
Jacinta drew in a breath as she stepped into place at Lex’s side. Showtime. Time to go out there and play the part of the adoring girlfriend. Except it was beginning to feel more real than make-believe to her.
Chapter Ten
Jacinta had anticipated it would be difficult to pretend to be Lex’s girlfriend in front of three hundred illustrious guests, but she found it surprisingly easy, and all because of Lex. As the crowds swelled, he stayed by her side, introducing her to dozens of guests and easing the conversation whenever required. He touched her lightly and easily, his hand on the small of her back as he ushered her from one group to the next. His attentiveness helped her to relax as she chatted with the guests. In some, she sensed a curiosity about her status, which she put down to Lex’s superb acting ability. He played the considerate boyfriend so perfectly even she was partway convinced.
Halfway through the party, he was called away by his uncle to prepare for their speeches. Jacinta had just set down her champagne flute when Carl walked up to her.
“My first chance to talk with you all afternoon,” he said with his easy smile.
Jacinta smiled back, glad to see a familiar face. “Hi, Carl.”
He nodded toward Lex’s retreating back. “Looks like he’s been stuck to your side all day.”
“It’s a bit overwhelming for me to meet three hundred strangers.”
Carl was still watching Lex, who was standing in a huddle with his uncle, Kirk, and Holly. “Good to see him getting along with his relatives for a change.”
She swiveled to Carl, curious as to how much Lex had confided in his friend. “You know about the tension between him and them?”
“Oh, sure. But what can you expect from a bunch of Rochesters? Except for Nana Alice, they’re all difficult in their own way.”
“I think things would be much easier for Lex if he could just trust them a bit more,” Jacinta said. If only she hadn’t found those questionable emails of Kirk’s.
“Hmm, well, that’s probably true, but after the stunt his dad pulled on him, it’s no wonder Lex has a few trust issues.”
“What stunt?” she asked, knowing she wouldn’t like the answer.
“It happened when Lex was put in charge of one of our subsidiaries in Seattle. He went there thinking he had a chance to show his old man what he was capable of, believing he had a free hand. Turned out, his dad planted a mole in his office to report back to him everything that Lex was doing.”
Jacinta rubbed her arms, suddenly chilled. “That’s awful.”
“Yeah. Lex thought he was finally earning his dad’s respect and getting a chance to do things his way, but old Philip Rochester never liked letting go of any control. He didn’t trust Lex not to screw things up. To make matters worse, the mole was a personal friend of Lex’s, someone we both knew from college.”
What a horrible trick to pull. No wonder Lex found it hard to confide in people. “What did Lex do when he found out?”
“He fired his friend, of course.” Carl pulled a grim face. “The bastard deserved it. Thought he’d suck up to the CEO by going behind Lex’s back. Lex had a big argument with his dad, demanded he have a free hand with the subsidiary. I think that took Philip by surprise. Didn’t expect his son to stand up to him. So he backed off, and Lex turned a loss center into a big moneymaker.”