Lip Lock (12 page)

She ran past him and hurried to her desk.

“We are not finished,” he called out to her.

Molly chose to ignore him. And later tonight, after she regained her composure and had a celebratory drink, she would let him have it for the tone he took.

She grabbed her phone. “Ashton ImageWorks,” she said as professionally as possible. “This is Molly.”

The fine hair on her neck stood to attention. Kyle stood beside her. She didn’t need to check to see if he was watching her. Staring. She could barely concentrate on what the caller was saying.

“I’m sorry,” she said into the phone. She grabbed her
M
notepad and turned away from Kyle. “Would you repeat that?”

Molly sat down, her legs feeling weak. She felt wrung out, actually. She scribbled down the information, fully aware of the tension growing in Kyle. It was like a storm brewing, the dark clouds rolling in.

Did she really need this right now? Molly murmured her all-rights and I-got-its into the phone. Today had started so hopeful and all of sudden everything turned worse.

“Yes, thank you,” she said cheerfully as tears stung the back of her eyes. Tears? No, she wouldn’t. She absolutely refused to cry. “I’ll give—Hello?”

The line went dead. She quickly turned to look at the phone. Her eyes widened when she saw Kyle’s finger pressed firmly against the disconnect button.

Her gaze flew to his face. “What did…” She puttered to a stop when she saw his ferocious anger.

“What are you,” he asked with lethal softness as he held up a thick green book, “doing with this?”

Molly’s stomach churned. She decided right then and there that she would take his raised voice over the low, raspy tone. She instinctively knew she’d done something horribly wrong. Can-never-take-it-back wrong. But what?

She swallowed heavily. “What is it?”

“It’s the blueprint.”

He acted like she should know. Was that the problem? “The blueprint? I don’t know what it’s for.”

“Sure you don’t.”

“I don’t.” Why? Why did this have to happen on her review day? The tears were threatening to spill but she refused to cry. “I don’t know what it is, where it came from, or where it’s supposed to go next. I don’t know why it’s on my desk.”

Kyle froze. The skin on his face tightened and paled. He took a step back.

“What?” She looked behind her, but there was nothing there. “What is it?”

“You blinked.”

What? “I blinked?”

“Molly,” he said, his voice barely a whisper, his face darkening as his eyes blazed with fury. “You’re fired.”

“I’m fired for blinking?” She stared at him. “Ha. Ha. Not funny.” She couldn’t believe he would do that to her. It was mean. Cruel.

“I’m not joking. Keep your hands away from your desk.”

She held her hands up.
Whoa.
“You know how important this job is to me and I find your humor in poor taste.”

“Sara!” Kyle called out.

She took a quick glance at the glass security door. “What are you doing?”

She saw Sara run to the door and push it open. “Yeah, Kyle?”

He kept his eyes on Molly as he said, “Call security and have Molly escorted from the premises.”

“What?” Molly jumped from her seat.

Sara stepped into the reception area. “What’s going on here?”

“Molly had this.” He held the book up.

“I don’t even know what
that
is!” She gestured at the book as if it were poisonous.

“Kyle.” Sara raised her palms, attempting to placate him. “I’m sure there is a reasonable explanation.”

“It’s not like someone dropped it off on her desk.” His hands gripped the book. “And any unauthorized personnel seen with this are immediately terminated.”

Molly held her arms close to her body and bunched her hands into fists. “Will someone
please
tell me what is going on here? Why are you trying to fire me?”

“I’m not trying to. You
are
fired.”

“Kyle, there is a procedure—”

“Sara,” he said coldly. The muscle next to his eye twitched. “Call security. Call human resources. Call legal. Is that enough procedure for you?”

“Legal?” Sara and Molly asked in unison.

“For stealing trade secrets.”

“Stealing!” The accusation was like a slap. “I haven’t stolen anything.”

“Molly, in my office. Now.”

“No.” She was not going in there by herself. Nuh-uh. No way.

He reached over her desk and grabbed her by the arm. Molly gasped. His touch didn’t hurt, but it surprised her. Her feet shuffled and tripped as he marched her back to his office. The moment he slammed the door behind him, he dropped her arm.

“Start talking.” He tossed the green book on his desk.

“I have nothing to say to you.” She folded her arms across her chest. “Have you been stringing me along? Is this how you get your kicks?”

“I’m warning you—”

“No.” She pointed a shaky finger at him. “I’m warning you. Don’t you accuse me of stealing!”

Kyle rubbed his hand across his forehead. “You are a con artist and I can’t believe I fell for it.”

The tears were really burning now. “No matter how many ways you call me names, you’re still wrong.”

He pointed at the book. “I have proof that you are a liar and a thief.”

“Once again, I don’t know what that is or how it got on my desk. Have you ever considered the possibility that someone left it there?”

“Under boxes of envelopes?”

“Then someone planted it there.” The idea was unnerving to say the very least.

“You’ve been here for three months and you’ve already made enemies?” Kyle tilted his head as if it was an interesting concept. “What kind of threat are you? You’re a receptionist.”

“My desk is out in the open,” Molly pointed out. “It’s not protected by your security glass.”

There was a knock on the door and Timothy poked his head in. “Kyle—”

“Out!” Kyle didn’t divert his attention from Molly.

“Okay.” Timothy dropped back and closed the door.

Kyle stared at her with such intensity that it took every ounce of courage to meet his eyes. To stand her ground.

He shook his head. “You’re good. I’ll give you credit for it.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she whispered fiercely.

“I believed you were fighting the odds by yourself. I actually admired you for it.” His soft laugh was filled with bitterness.

Admired her? He did? Molly didn’t know what to say.

“I fell for your hoax. I wanted to help you.”

“No, you wanted to bed me,” she said with a flash of anger.

“Did you try to seduce me as a distraction?” he asked, circling her.

She stared straight ahead. “I did no such thing.”

“Keep me occupied while you take from me?”

She refused to turn and watch him get closer and closer to her. She would stay her ground. “I didn’t take anything. Why are you even trying with the argument? I didn’t sleep with you—remember?”

“Right. You don’t sleep with the boss. Like you have rules of conduct.” He scoffed at the idea. “More like you know the chase will distract me. It’s all part of the game.”

“This is not a game!” She squeezed her eyes shut. “This is my livelihood you’re playing with.”

“And mine. Do you think it’s okay to steal from me and I wouldn’t miss it?

“I am not a thief.”

“You can say that all you want, but I’ve seen you in action. The way you get your clothes. Your food. It’s all a form of theft.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. You can accuse me all you want, but you’re basing it all on one green book.”

Kyle’s pause crackled. It freaked Molly out more than his direct questions.

“That’s right,” he said quietly. “You don’t know yet.”

She felt like she didn’t know about
anything
that was going on. “Know what?”

“We got Curtis.” Kyle stood in front of her. Invaded her space. “You know, your boyfriend.”

She glared at him. “I already told you he wasn’t.”

“But you didn’t tell me that he’s your partner in crime.”

“He’s not.”

“Too late, Molly.” Kyle dipped his head, his eyes level with hers. “He already confessed.”

“To the theft?”

“And that you were the one who’s behind it all.”

She sat primly in the luxurious seat in Kyle’s office, wishing she could curl up in a ball and hide from the world around her. She tried to block it out, staring at the panoramic view of the Cascade Mountains—but she was far too aware of the executives swarming around her like vultures.

“Come on, Molly,” Annette said impatiently. “We need to know your buyer.”

This couldn’t be happening. Curtis had fingered her as the mastermind behind an elaborate espionage ring. And these people believed him!

What did she do to Curtis? Because she didn’t take him up on his offer for sex? Or was this another form of his sick humor?

Glenn stood in front of her. Towered over her. “Curtis grabbed the deal we made him.”

“By offering my name,” she replied dazedly.
Who’s the con artist now?

“You’re not getting one from us.”

She looked up at him. “I’m not asking for one.” What would she do with it? She had no information to give. No names. Nothing.

When she found Curtis…

And then it hit her. Hit her so hard, she wanted to gag.

Even if she proved her innocence, she’d already lost her job. There was no way—no way—they were going to let her continue working here.

She lost. Bile filled her mouth, knowing that she gave it her all and managed to lose. All that hard work, the juggling, the sacrifices—the lies. All for nothing.

“Molly?” Annette snapped her fingers right in front of Molly’s eyes. “Don’t you get it? You can go to prison for this.”

Prison. They feed you there, don’t they? You get a roof over your head. Heat in the winter. They probably have cable TV
.

Wait. What was she thinking? Now was not the time to give up! She was not going to prison. She had done nothing wrong.

Molly looked up and saw four of the most powerful people she’d ever met staring back at her. They were ruthless and they had more money than she could imagine. They also had the very best legal minds working for them just one building away.

She had no job, no money for a good lawyer, and a reputation for lying.

Was this the punishment she received for all the lies she told? Was she now getting punished for telling the truth? If that was the case, she should learn to keep her mouth shut.

Her emotions were jumbled and threatened to ooze out of her, but she took a deep breath, determined to appear unflappable. “I don’t know why you assume Curtis is telling the truth.”

“Because he is—was,” Annette quickly corrected herself, “one of the greatest minds in computer programming and you are a receptionist with a talent for lying.”

“A receptionist is supposed to lie,” she muttered. How many times did she say, “Oh, sorry, he’s not at his desk,” and other such polite ways of saying the caller wasn’t important enough.

“He had everything to lose,” Glenn said. “And you have nothing.”

Ha. Curtis was now known as a renegade programmer. Thumbed his nose at the establishment. By the end of the year he would have a cult following.

The phone rang. No one moved. No one took their eyes off of her. It rang again.

“Are you guys expecting me to get that?” she asked.

Kyle answered it. It was the first time he’d moved or said anything since his advisors took over. She allowed herself to look at him, greedily taking in every detail of his gorgeous face and sleek, masculine body.

She lost something with Kyle, too. Something that could have reminded her that life didn’t have to be always worrying or hardship. That life could be fun.

Kyle looked at her and their eyes met. The pain dragged against her like claws. It was a good thing she didn’t get involved with Kyle. Thank goodness she listened to her instincts.

“You can leave, Molly,” Kyle said as he hung up the phone.

“What?” Glenn whirled around. “You can’t let her walk out.”

“There’s nothing on her computer or in her belongings that corroborates Curtis’s story.”

“She had the blueprint!” Glenn shouted.

“It’s not enough to press charges,” Kyle explained coolly. “Only enough to fire her.”

Kyle turned his attention on her. His eyes were wintry, and his gorgeous face held no hint of kindness. Molly knew she couldn’t reach him or plead her case. His decision had been made and it was final.

“Molly, there are two security guards outside those doors. They will be with you at all times as you clean out your desk and they will escort you from the premises.”

So, that’s that. Could he be any more dismissive?

“Your ID, please.”

Molly slowly rose from her seat and walked over to him. She felt like she was walking through thick sludge as she made her way to him. With fumbling fingers, she unclipped the ID from her dress. She dropped the piece of plastic in his outstretched hands, careful not to brush her skin against his.

“You can so forget about dinner,” she said in a hiss.

She saw his muscle bunch in his jaw. Molly pivoted on her heel and walked to the door, doing her best not to look over her shoulder. Not to expect him to come to his senses and call her back.

Why did she say that? Molly knew that for exit lines, it sucked. Like he was going to care. Or remember.

Yep, it a good thing she hadn’t slept with him.

“You let her go?” Glenn shoved his hands in his hair and paced the floor. “You fucking let her go!”

“I didn’t have enough evidence,” Kyle said, wondering why he felt the need to explain his actions.

Glenn motioned at the door where Molly had just left. “We could have gotten it out of her.”

“Which would have been intimidation and illegal,” Kyle pointed out coolly.

“Then why did you pull her before you had enough?” Glenn yelled.

Good question. Why did he? Why didn’t he act with strategy, instead of following his anger? “I messed up. I saw the blueprint on her desk and I snapped.”

“You messed up?” Glenn paced faster. “This woman may have taken all of our ideas, which will bring in millions, and all you can say is that you messed up?”

Kyle locked eyes with the other man.

Glenn viciously threw his hands in the air and stormed off. He ripped the door open, the wood panel slamming against the hinges as he walked out.

Timothy watched Glenn leave and slowly turned to face Kyle. “I’m going to put an investigator on Molly. That could give us some good leads.”

“Okay.” So much for getting the con artist out of his mind and out of his life. Now he’d get daily reports on what she was doing.

“I’ll get on that now.”

Kyle watched Timothy leave and his mind started to drift off into space. He stared at the door, feeling numb. Shutting off. Shutting down. He was definitely in survivor mode.

He remembered that Annette was still sitting there. Kyle slowly became aware of her watching him. Studying him.

“What?” He was in no mood for company.