Page 55 of Boss

She ignored the question.

He sighed with acceptance. Anything she offered him from here on out would be by force and she decided that she was not going to play his game. He walked her to the door and tossed it open. She frowned discovering that it was unlocked. Was there someone else present?

“Go on,” he encouraged her.

She went inside with him following. “Where is the furniture?” she asked.

“I told you no one lives here,” he said after he closed the door. “Don’t worry there’s electricity.”

She crossed her arms in defiance and refused to take another step.

“We’re going there,” he tossed his chin to the left. She glanced over to a set of tall double doors that were closed.

“What’s in there?” she asked.

He didn’t answer. He just stared at her and waited. She caved and walked stiffly to the door, past the stairs.She sucked down a breath of bravery and opened the door. It was a larger room with handsome furnishings around a fireplace that had a television mounted above it.

“Sit down and wait here,” he ordered.

She glanced back at him as he closed the doors, locking her inside. She turned to stop him, but it was too late.

“Shit!” Kassidy said.

The house was cold but not as cold as it was outside only her nerves had left her perspiring with panic. She shrugged off her coat and tossed it to the L-shaped leather sofa. She went around the room in search of a phone. There was none. Next she tried the windows. Each felt as if it were nailed shut. She looked out at the snow falling. It was beautiful. In all her life in Texas, she’d never seen snow like this. And then she worried. The more it fell, the worse her plight would be. Even though she doubted someone was looking for her, how could they find her in these conditions?

She turned from the window when Tarek returned. He breezed in with the binder she had stolen from his company. She watched him in silence as he walked over and picked up the remote control. The gas fireplace flickered on, and began to warm the room immediately. He then aimed it at the television and it flipped on. The news broadcast blared.

It’s the worst storm Dallas has seen in over a decade. If you are inside, then stay. The Dallas North Tollway is at a standstill. Highways I-635 and I-820 are also at a standstill.A radar map appeared with the image of the troubled areas in red. The storm covered the entire city it seemed. Tarek stared at the screen and Kassidy stared at him. The weather woman continued to explain the trouble areas, and said emergency crews were out clearing roads for salt trucks.

“They predicted this. When the sun goes down a lot of this snow is going to freeze,” he said. He glanced over at her. He tapped the binder against his leg as if he were thinking.

“Okay, you caught me. I was going to turn that over to the E.P.U. Yes. I’m guilty. Call the police," she said.

“I knew there was something about you the moment I met you. I couldn’t put my finger on it. At first I thought it was Dale. He’d tried this shit before. But I was wrong. Still, I didn’t think it was the EPU. How did I miss that?”

“Are you serious? Who the fuck cares Tarek? You caught me. It’s over. You won.”

He tossed the binder to the coffee table, and then took a seat. She glared at him. He waited. Kassidy walked over to the chair and sat down. The sooner they were done the better. And he wasn’t going to like what she had to say.

“Why did you want to work for me?” he asked.

“It’s obvious,” she said, and pointed to the folder she stole.

“No. It’s not obvious. You could access this information without working for me. You sought me out. Me, over Dale, and even Henry. Why choose me?”

“I didn’t seek you...”

“And that little performance you gave me in Chicago. The one at the airport and on my private plane and later in bed... and then Alaska. You had plenty of information after Alaska. Why now?”

“None of it matters now because this stunt trumps anything Daniel and I have done—”

Tarek smiled. His cell phone buzzed in his pocket. He removed it, and answered.

“Yes, good. Call me. Okay,” Tarek said, and ended the call. “You were saying?” he asked.

“I said Daniel is going to go to the police. He’ll tell them you kidnapped me. This will get a lot worse for you,” she said.

“Your friend Daniel was just picked up. He’s not going anywhere but to his office to get me every file, and every document you gave him. And then he’ll come here. When I’m satisfied, you both are going to jail,” Tarek said.

---