Hidden Threat (25 page)

Taking the papers and looking down at her desk, she sighed. All she wanted to do was curl up on the couch with Matthew and forget about her day. The unfortunate truth was she would be spending the majority of her evening going through the files she didn’t get the chance to glance at today.

***

Matthew sensed her distress, and it mingled with his own. He wanted nothing more than to comfort her, to be able to forget about the day he’d had away from her. But with Lisa still hovering, he couldn’t.

Instead he reached down for her briefcase and handed it to her, letting his fingers brush ever so slightly with hers as he tried to convey his feelings, the ones she knew about and the ones he couldn’t share. Her head came up and their eyes met for a moment. She smiled back at him, and he nearly forgot where they were. The impulse to pull her into his arms and kiss her tugged so strong, he had to step away before he gave in.

He watched from a discrete distance as Cali loaded the case with her paperwork and closed it. She walked out of her office, and he followed, saying goodbye to Lisa on their way out.

Twice on the ride down in the elevator, he almost reached for her, and twice he had to hold himself back. There were cameras. He couldn’t chance it.

The drive home was much the same. He wanted to touch her, and technically, per his own rules, he could. They were safe from prying eyes. Not knowing if he’d be able to stop at just holding her hand or caressing her thigh was what held him back. Matthew didn’t want just a part of Cali; he wanted all of her.

By the time they reached the house, Matthew was wound tight. He followed her inside, locked the door, and set the outside alarms. They wouldn’t be going out again tonight.

Grabbing Cali by the upper arm, he turned her and pulled her flush against him. Her breath came out in a rush as their bodies collided, but she didn’t protest. Instead, he both felt and heard her briefcase hit the floor as her hands gripped his waist.

His free hand reached up tangling in her hair as he kissed her, his lips claiming hers aggressively. It had been too long, which was crazy because it had only been a day, not even that, only nine hours. But knowing she was so close and not being able to touch her, claim her, was just too much. He had to have her now.

Later, as their breathing calmed and they came down from their high, their naked bodies pleasantly languid from spent desire, I love you began to repeat like mantra in his mind. Losing his nerve, he whispered into her hair, “I missed you.” 

She hugged him tighter. “I missed you, too,” she whispered and pressed a light kiss to his shoulder.

***

The next day was a little better. They did manage to have lunch together although it was under the watchful eyes of Lisa. But even then, just being close was better than being apart.

Today, Cali was scheduled to meet one on one with the other executives, and she dreaded the meeting with Peter. He had either called or stopped by to check on her every day since she’d been back. But it wasn’t that part she was dreading; his concern for her was nice. It was going over the financials. An intelligent person she might be, but an accountant she was not.

Last night, after Matthew had shared with her the reason for his earlier wariness, another hijacked shipment, he’d sat with her in the living room and helped with as much of the paperwork as he could. Granted there wasn’t a lot he could do, but to her, it was the thought that counted. He’d gone over the weekly financial reports with her for the last two weeks, and it had helped her greatly. His background in business helped her to understand exactly what the numbers in front of her were trying to say.

When Lisa announced Peter, Cali put on her game face and greeted the man who would most likely take the reins of Stanton Enterprises in another five to ten years, or whenever her dad decided to retire.

Peter entered the office, looking as put together as ever, carrying a file two inches thick under his arm. She held back the groan and greeted him. Always gracious with the pleasantries, he greeted her politely before they headed over to the conference table and got to work.

***

The drive home was more peaceful this time. As soon as Matthew’s car exited the parking garage, he reached for her. Driving home hand in hand was simple but meaningful. In private, they were just like any other couple, and Cali relished the time she had with him.

Dinner was quiet and relaxed except for Matthew’s revelation that more surveillance pictures had been found in her mail, which was now prescreened by Matthew or Jason prior to her receiving it. These showed her latest trip to her father’s and included Matthew, who was never far away. And just like the others, there was no return address, just a Chicago postmark.

Cali tried not to let it bother her. She knew Matthew was doing everything in his power to keep her safe. But that night, as she curled into his arms, she found her thoughts drifting to the what-ifs. What if the mole got to her despite their precautions? If this person were to find out about their relationship, would he or she try to hurt Matthew too?

Her arm gripped tighter, and he responded by tightening his own around her; his deep easy breathing told her he was asleep. For Cali, sleep took a little longer to come. She didn’t want to lose him now that she had him.

Lisa sat at her desk Friday morning assembling reports. There wasn’t anything special about what she was doing; it was a mindless task she performed at the end of every week. But it was that same mindlessness that had her mind drifting.

She leaned over, looking through the open door at her boss. Cali was bent over paperwork of her own, oblivious to everything around her. She wore a smile even though Lisa knew whatever she was working on couldn’t possibly be the source of her joy.

The week had been normal with meetings and conference calls. There’d been no more attempts on Cali’s life, thankfully, and nothing that would be considered out of the ordinary.

The one exception was Cali’s good mood, and Lisa would bet a weeks pay that it was because something had changed between Matthew and Cali. She wasn’t sure what though.

When she saw them together, they didn’t act any different, not really. It was more the mood in the room, if that made sense. Before, there had been a near hostility, now there was a soft hum. They didn’t appear to be at each other’s throats anymore. Living in the same house, they must have formed some sort of truce.

The more she thought about it, the more she honed in on the way they addressed each other. While they’d always referred to the other by Mr. and Ms. here at the office, it wasn’t the same. Now it seemed to be a private joke between them, and that didn’t make any sense either.

She’d brought it up to Jason two nights ago. He did say Matthew seemed to be in a better mood, but nothing else stood out. Jason, of course, rarely saw them together. Lisa was sure that if he did, he would agree with her wholeheartedly.

Something was different. Something had changed.

Shaking herself out of her musings, she refocused on what she was doing. She still had at least two hours worth of work in front of her. If she continued with the what-ifs, she’d drag her work out to a full day. Picking up the next folder, she got back to work.

With a final keystroke, Lisa hit print. It had taken her the entire morning to finish because every time she lost her focus, her mind would start wandering again.

Only sheer determination got her through.

The sound of the elevator brought her head up. Cali had requested no appointments today so she could catch up on her work; therefore, no one was expected, except maybe Matthew or Jason. So when a woman she had never seen before stepped off the elevator, Lisa went on alert.

As the woman approached, Lisa gave her a polite smile. “Good morning.” 

The mystery woman smiled back. “Good morning. Is Cali Stanton in?”

“Do you have an appointment?”

Lisa knew for a fact the woman didn’t, but she was standing here. Maybe her response would give Lisa some answers.

The woman laughed. “No. No, I don’t. I just got into town and thought I’d drop by and see her.”

“You’re a friend?” Lisa asked cautiously.

She laughed. “Yes,” She paused and shifted her purse. “Could you tell her Rachael Michaels is here to see her?”

“Of course,” Lisa said, reaching for the phone. There really wasn’t any other response.

***

Cali answered seconds later and, in less than a minute, was standing a foot away, embracing the mystery woman.

“It’s good to see you again, Cali,” she said as they broke apart.

“What are you doing here?” Cali demanded but then looked chagrinned. “Not that I’m not glad to see you. I just thought you were still in Africa.” 

Rachael laughed again. “Up until two days ago I was.” 

Cali shook her head in disbelief. They had been friends when they’d worked together, often times working side by side over a patient. She couldn’t believe Rachael was standing right in front of her. “How long are you here?” 

Rachael shrugged. “Not sure. I needed a little civilization so I decided on a break, a month, maybe two. I’m just going to play it by ear and see what happens.” 

Cali just smiled at her friend. That sounded so much like the Rachael she knew. “I’m glad you came to see me. It’s good to see a friendly face.”

“Well I did have a reason for stopping by today. I was hoping I could persuade you to join me for lunch. Are you free?”

Lisa stiffened. This was not good. Before she could respond though, Cali answer, “Yes, just let me grab my purse.”

Cali disappeared into her office and retrieved her purse from her desk. Turning around, she came face to face with Lisa holding a cell phone out in front of her.

“What—” She didn’t get a chance to finish her question before the phone on her desk began ringing. With a sigh, she picked it up, already knowing who it was.

The voice on the other end didn’t even give her an opportunity to say hello.

“Where are you going?” Matthew asked.

He didn’t sound upset, and in reality he wasn’t, just curious. She hadn’t mentioned any meetings to him today and neither had Lisa. He heard her sigh and on the screen saw her sit down at her desk in what looked to be defeat. Her body language was making him edgy.

“A friend of mine is in town and invited me to lunch.”

“Who?” His voice was sharper than he’d meant it to be, but he didn’t like surprises; that was usually when bad things happened.

He saw her run a hand through her hair. She was frustrated. “We worked together.”

“Where?” he asked, trying to keep the nerves from showing.

“Africa.”

Matthew was silent for a long moment, and Cali was getting nervous. Finally, she heard him say, “I’m coming with you.”

“No!”

“No?”

He could see her shaking her head. “You can’t. How would I explain it to Rachael?”

The hard edge returned to his voice. “Cali, I don’t care what you tell her or what she thinks. I don’t know anything about this person, and I won’t take a chance with you like that.”

Cali’s back stiffened a little. Matthew was being ridiculous. “That’s stupid. I’ve known her for two years.”

“In case you’ve forgotten, Cali, someone took pictures of you in Africa, too. I don’t trust people I don’t know. And I don’t know her.”

“Well, I do. You’re not being reasonable about this!” They were both frustrated and neither said anything for a while. It must have been longer than Cali thought because she looked up and saw Rachael walking toward her.

Matthew saw her too. They needed to end this conversation. It was obvious Cali was not going to back down, and although he could force the issue, he didn’t want to.

With a sigh, he offered an alternative. “Take her to Marc’s?” he asked. “I can follow behind and sit at another table.” She could hear the almost desperate plead in his voice. Matthew was offering a compromise, and she knew that was a big step for him.

“Sure.”

She heard him release the air in his lungs. “Thank you.” 

Cali hung up the phone and turned to Rachael. “Ready to go?” she asked as she picked up her purse again and walk toward her friend. “I was thinking of this little Italian place nearby.”

***

Cali and Rachael entered the same Italian bistro where she’d first gotten to know Matthew. As they sat down, she noticed both Matthew and Jason enter. Matthew looked her way for a split second before following Jason to a table. Turning away, Cali focused on her friend.

Their conversation over lunch revolved mostly around what they’d been doing since they’d seen each other last. Cali avoided mention of what had really been going on in her life and stuck to the usual. That was difficult as her life had been anything but normal ever since her first day at Stanton Enterprises.

For her part, Rachael was full of information. She’d stayed in the village where she’d worked with Cali and gave her an update on the little boy she’d been treating. Thankfully, his family had been located, and he’d been returned to them.

Rachael had arrived yesterday afternoon, but had been so exhausted, she’d passed out in her hotel room. They both laughed together over this. It was a common ailment after spending almost a full day in flight. The body could only take so much before it finally said, “enough.”

They shared dessert and talked some more about Rachael’s plans while she was in town. Rachael was more of a partier than Cali was, so it was no surprise when her friend asked about the local club scene as they walked back to the office.

“Well, I’m not sure.” Cali thought about it for a minute. “Lisa might know. She and her friends go out pretty regularly.”

A huge smile spread across Rachael’s face. “That’s great! Maybe we can all go together then.”

***

Cali didn’t see Matthew again until he came to her office to pick her up. One look at his face, though, told her he’d already knew about tonight. It also didn’t take a genius to figure out who’d told him.

His face was a mask. He was quiet as they made their way home; they were both waiting for the other to speak. There hadn’t been this much tension between them since the drive back from her father’s the first time, but even then, it was different. This wasn’t sexual tension. Matthew was upset with her, and on some level, she understood that. But she was just as upset.