Page 90 of Emergency Exit
“The easy answer is to set up a new master account and calendar,” said Romeo. “But I have the feeling Mel probably has other thoughts.”
“Yeah, sure, we can do that, but for the next little bit, I think we should continue to use the calendar so she doesn’t know we’re onto her. I’m just putting some precautions in place to ensure she can’t access the work server.”
“What about my home computer?”
“I’m going to have you head home and log on, and then I’ll take over from here and run—” Mel cut off and looked at Ash. “I’m going to do some stuff. It’s going to be great.”
Ash chuckled. “Got it. You’re going to work your magic, and I’m going to be grateful you’re on my side. All right, well, let’s not waste any time.”
Ash stood up and grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair.
“I’ll call you when I get home. You can walk me through whatever you need me to do.”
He texted Harper on the drive. Each new thought caused himto pop off a new text.
Mel and Romeo figured out the problem with the calendar.
Don’t accept anything until we tell you to.
Long story short: it’s Emma. I’ll explain more when you get home.
He was relieved to have an explanation but embarrassed that he would have to tell Harper what an idiot he’d been. The memory of picking up the iPad and discovering all of Emma’s text messages still sent a hot wave of embarrassment across his chest. It was even worse than being cheated on. Emma had never moved in, but she moved through his life with ease.
“A friend of mine wanted some information about one of your projects. I sent it to him. That’s all. You know you always say to give anyone a prospectus.”
She’d tossed off the line so smoothly.
“This is not a prospectus, Emma! This is proprietary research!”
“Well… oops! I’m sure he won’t tell anyone. Anselm is very trustworthy.”
“Emma, that research could only have come from my computer. You took documents off my computer.”
“Just a few. It’s not that big of a deal.”
Her dismissive attitude had been a bigger shock than her betrayal.
“Emma, who is Anselm? Who does he work for?”
“He’s a friend of my father’s. I’ve known him for ages. It was just the one time.”
The lie was so blatant.
“The iCloud storage has been linked to your phone since I bought it for you,” said Ash. “All of your texts are on this iPad.”
Emma had gone pale, and somehow, that was more confirmation than the texts themselves.
“There are at least sixteen individuals in here that you’ve sent documents too. And they have all sent you money. Emma, thatis fucking industrial espionage if it’s not outright espionage because I’m pretty sure some of these are foreign operatives. Emma, what the hell have you been doing?”
“Nothing! I just help people get some information if they’re interested. It’s fine. I promise there’s nothing wrong with it.”
“Nothing… Emma! I promise my partners that their information is safe, and you’re stealing it! It’s illegal, it’s dishonest, and if anyone finds out, I will be through!”
“Then let’s not let anyone find out!”
It wasn’t just the words. It was the smile and the pat on his shoulder as she tried to brush by him. Every soft emotion he’d ever felt toward her evaporated in one poof of white-hot rage. He’d hoped she had some sort of explanation or legitimate excuse. But there was nothing.
“Give me your phone and your key,” he said, grabbing her arm and stopping her from going further into his space. She pulled free angrily.
