Lip Lock (22 page)

“Go ahead.” Should he accept her retraction or find a way to make her say those words again?

“I figured out who is behind the blueprint theft,” she said in one big rush of words. “It’s Sara.”

Kyle went rigid. It suddenly hurt to breathe. “What?”

“Sara,” Molly repeated. “I have reason to believe she’s behind all this.”

“Molly, I already told you that I don’t think you did it.” She had no right to question his most trusted employee. Stone cold anger formed inside him.

“I know that.”

“So there’s no reason to start pointing fingers.”

Molly took a step back from his desk. “I wouldn’t be saying anything if I really didn’t feel this way.”

“Sara has been with Ashton ImageWorks forever.” The cold anger radiated throughout his body.

“I know.”

“She’s privy to most of the top-secret information.”

“To the business deals,” Molly pointed out. “Not the actual product.”

“There has never been any question of her loyalty,” he said through clenched teeth.

“I’m sure,” she muttered. “Otherwise you would have booted her out long ago.”

“Why would she do this? Now?” The coldness rolled through him like a storm and he barely kept it in check. “For this blueprint, after all the products we’ve made.”

“I don’t know,” Molly said carefully. “People change.”

“Why are
you
doing this?” He glared at her. “Sara has always been the one person I trusted more than anyone else.”

Molly pressed her lips together and didn’t reply. She glanced at the door as if she regretted starting this.

“What’s your proof?” he demanded. Whatever it was, he would rip it to shreds.

She shifted from one foot to the other. “I don’t really have what you would call proof.”

“Uh-
huh
.”

She rotated her hands in the air. “It’s more like a hunch.”

“It’s more like slander.”

Molly flinched. “Listen, Kyle. I’m trying to warn you so you can watch out.”

“What’s this hunch of yours?”

“Well, it’s about my job performance review.”

“Oh, God.” When he got back to the office, he was going to abolish the system altogether.

“I was talking to Sara about it just now”—she gestured in the direction of the door—“and it became clear to me that she didn’t work on it.”

Kyle stared at her, waiting for more, but apparently that was it. “This is your hunch?”

“Why did she send me on a wild goose chase looking for something that she knew wasn’t done?”

“You’re assuming it wasn’t completed.”

Molly’s jaw shifted to the side. “Yeah, I’m assuming, but it’s an educated guess.”

His eyebrow rose. “A missing file means she stole a blueprint?”

“Okay!” She held up her palm to stop him. “I know that sounds like such a leap, but it’s too much of a coincidence that once I’m looking for this file—that no one ever saw—the blueprint shows up on my desk.”

“You’re wrong,” he said with a mix of certainty and relief. “Human resources found the file.”

She jerked her head back. “They did? Did you see it?”

“I didn’t have to.”

Molly frowned. “Then how do you know?”

“Sara told—” Kyle gritted his teeth. He abruptly stood up. “Enough. I will not have you questioning Sara’s integrity.”

“I’m trying—”

“Sara has been in my confidence for years,” Kyle informed her as he pressed his hands on his desk. “
She
doesn’t lie to me, and
she
doesn’t steal.”

A blush crept up Molly’s neck and flooded her face. “I…”

“If it comes down between choosing her word over yours”—Kyle leaned forward, pinning Molly with a cold glare—“I will choose her side. Every time.”

Molly looked away. He saw the way her eyelashes fluttered and the tremor that swept through her body as she fought for her composure. He realized he wanted to take her in his arms and comfort her. Make her feel better.

But he couldn’t. Not this time. Because he couldn’t let her poison his mind about the one person who had proven her loyalty to him over and over again.

“Do I make myself clear?” he said in a low voice.

“Yes.” Molly didn’t look at him and walked to the door, her movements awkward in her haste. “I understand perfectly. I won’t disturb you anymore,” she promised and closed the door behind her with a sharp click.

On Saturday morning, Molly decided to put her plan into effect. She was going to protect Kyle whether he liked it or not.

She saw Sara walking along the beach and decided to confront her there. Braving the biting wind, Molly marched toward her former boss.

“Sara? What are you doing out here?” Molly asked, hunching deeper into the coat she borrowed from Kyle. “It’s freezing.”

“I love this kind of weather.” The woman raised her face to the sky. “Don’t you?”

“Can’t say that I do.”

Sara cast an odd look in her direction. “Why are you out here, then?”

Molly bit the inside of her lip as she struggled against the wave of uncertainty. “Because I want to talk to you. I want to know why you lied to me about my review.”

“Say what?” The woman huffed. “I didn’t lie.”

“Yes, you did. You said you gave me a perfect score because you agreed with me.”

Sara shrugged. “So?”

“I didn’t give myself a perfect score.”

“What are you talking about?” She turned to give Molly her full attention.

“I was giving myself room for improvement for the next review,” Molly admitted.

Sara scoffed at the idea. “Everyone gives themselves a perfect score.”

“Not me.”

“Okay, so I don’t remember it correctly.” The woman made a face. “Whatever you gave yourself, I matched it. What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is that I don’t think you looked at my review.” Molly felt jittery inside. She wasn’t sure where this was going to lead, but she knew it had to be said. “In fact, I think you said let’s do the review that Friday because you needed time to get me away from my desk. That excuse was a surefire way of doing it.”

“And why would I do that?”

Molly shivered slightly inside the voluminous coat. She wasn’t sure it was from the cold wind. “Because you planted the blueprint on my desk.”

“
I
did?” Sara’s eyes rose with disbelief.

“Yep,” Molly said with a sharp nod. “I thought about this all last night and it dawned on me. All of the top advisors were in a meeting that you didn’t know about. They cornered one of your partners in crime and you needed to get rid of the evidence fast.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sara said.

“Oh, don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.” Molly turned to face the choppy water. “I could shout it from the rooftops and no one would listen.”

Sara rocked back on her heels and studied Molly. “What is it that you want?”

“Why did you make me lose my job? That’s all I want to know.”

The woman looked at her in the eye. “Like I said, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Huh. I must scare you somehow,” Molly said, trying to sound casual as her stomach did flips.

“Excuse me?” Sara’s voice rose.

“Because there’s no reason to frame me.” Molly really hated in-your-face confrontations. She was never good at this. “And there was no reason to come running over the minute you heard I was here.”

“You think I’m here because of
you
?” Sara’s laugh was short and sarcastic. “Have you forgotten that Glenn told me I had to be here?”

“No, he didn’t. I heard his side of the conversation. You invited yourself over here and made it sound like it was his idea.”

“And once again, you don’t know what you’re talking about.” Sara pivoted on her heel and walked back to the house.

“I guess I’m trying to figure out why you did it,” Molly called after her. “You have a cushy job. Accumulated a lot of stock options.”

Sara kept walking.

“For all I know, you could be secretly in love with Kyle and see me as a threat.” Okay, it was a wild hypothesis, but it was all she could come up with.

“Kyle is not in love with you.”

Ouch. Didn’t even miss a step on that. “Are you in love with him?”

“I have worked with him for over ten years, and believe me,” she said with a quick glance over her shoulder, “there is
nothing
lovable about him.”

Molly wanted to disagree, but she had to keep her focus on the real issue. “Ten years?” she asked as she hurried up to the other woman. “Wow, so you’ve been working at Ashton Image Works almost from the time it started.”

Sara’s brisk walk slowed down to a shuffle. “Almost?”

“Yeah, because if it was on the very first day, you would have…” Molly smacked her forehead with her hand. “The picture.”

“Picture?” Sara stood still.

“You’ve been with them since the beginning,” Molly said as it finally dawned on her. “You were the one behind the camera.”

Sara’s shoulders dipped and she looked away. “I really don’t want to talk about this.”

“How come you’re not in the picture?” she persisted. “Because you’re not one of the founders?”

Sara closed her eyes in defense. “Go away, Molly.”

“Because you’re a woman?” she guessed, and then shook her head at her mistake. “No, that can’t be right because Annette was in there.”

“Because,” Sara said in a low, raspy voice. “I. Was. The. Secretary.”

“Huh?” That was not the answer Molly had expected. “I…I don’t get it.”

“I helped build that company,” she declared. “But do they see it that way?”

Probably not
, Molly admitted silently. “I’m sure those guys invested money, and…and…” Okay, she had nothing to argue with.

“You really don’t get it.” Sara irritably swept her red hair from her face. “I showed up for work when a regular paycheck wasn’t guaranteed. I worked for them before they could offer me benefits.”

“Really?” Now that was dedication. Molly wasn’t sure she could do that.

“I have a college degree, too, you know.” Sara’s mouth twisted in a wry smile as she looked back at the water. “But guess what? They needed my office skills more in the beginning.”

“And you wounded up being the secretary.”

“I didn’t set out to be an executive assistant. I wanted to be an executive. I still do. And I can’t be that at the company I helped establish.”

“Why not?”

Sara sighed with impatience. “Molly, a little career advice,” she said, and looked at her. “Once you do secretarial work, the powers-that-be will never see you as anything but the girl at the front desk.”

Molly clucked her tongue. “That’s not true.”

“Yes, it is. I’m living proof. If I want to be an executive, I have to go elsewhere. And I have to move into an executive position, otherwise those entry-level jobs are just another way of becoming a secretary.”

“And for you to walk in as an executive, you need to bring something big to the negotiating table,” Molly guessed. “Like a blueprint.”

“Now you’re catching on.”

But it didn’t make sense to Molly. “Why would Curtis help you with this?”

“For the money,” she answered simply.

“What money? I thought this was all for an executive job with the perks.”

“I wouldn’t exchange a blueprint just for a job. There’s money involved. Big money. I’m giving the blueprint to the one company that would give me the best price and the best executive position.”

“You got the blueprint?” This was news to her. “But you gave it up when you planted it on my desk.”

“That was a temporary setback,” Sara said confidently. “And it all worked out in the end. Everyone thought you were behind it and then they let their guard down.”

“Then why did you come running over here if you already have the blueprint?”

“Because of you!” Sara pointed at Molly. “You keep popping up, messing up my plans. You are the only factor I can’t predict or control. I had to find out how much damage you could cause.”

“And what did you find out?”

“You have no power at all,” Sara said with a smile. “Not over my plan, and certainly not over Kyle.”

Molly felt her chin tilt with defiance. “Wanna bet?”

“You could run back to Kyle or Glenn and tell them everything I said verbatim,” Sara taunted, “and they won’t believe you.”

“It doesn’t mean I’m going to sit on the sidelines quietly.”

“Go ahead, Molly. Do your worst,” Sara said with a jeering grin. “Because by the time you get someone to believe you, I will be long gone.”

Kyle stood at the balcony and watched Molly and Sara from the shadows. Anger, cold and fierce, roared back inside him. When he first saw Molly approach Sara, he wanted to go down there and interrupt. But something stopped him. They were too far away to hear, the wind muffling their voices, but he picked up the signals and body language.

Doubt crept up again, and he couldn’t shake free.

He watched Sara as she tilted her shoulders back. His skin prickled with warning as she braced her stance. And then numbness blanketed him as he took in Sara’s angry, indignant gestures with her hands.

Something wasn’t right.

Damn Molly for filling his head with suspicions. Kyle stepped inside the master bedroom. Just once he would like to look at someone close to him and not shield himself.

He retrieved his cell phone and punched in a familiar number. “Timothy?” he asked as he stared out the window.

“Kyle, this had better be good,” the head of security said, his voice thick with sleep. “You are screwing with my wild weekend.”

“Sara is behind the blueprint theft.” His announcement was met with stunned silence. “I need you to check her computer and office. Find anything that links her to Curtis.”

“You are going off the deep end, Kyle. This is
Sara
we’re talking about.”

“I know.” Kyle said as he watched the two women and noted Sara’s cynical smile.

“Okay, fine, I’ll do it,” Timothy said. “I don’t like it, but I’ll do it. Sara’s going to find out about this eventually. And when she does…”

“I’ll deal with the consequences.” And if he was wrong, he wouldn’t forgive himself for allowing Molly Connors get under his skin and in his head.

Timothy’s sigh was loud and long. “Anything else?”

“Yeah,” he suddenly decided and turned away from the window. “See if human resources has Molly Connors’s job performance review.”

“Huh? How is this related?”

“They are. Trust me on this.”

Molly lay awake that night, wondering why she left the light on for Kyle. He’d probably shared this room twice during the course of the week. What made her think he would do so today? Wishful thinking?

Anyway, she didn’t need the distraction. She had other problems. Her mind buzzed with random questions, but no answers.

Why was she trying to come up with a solution for Kyle? He was going to be fine. She needed to think of what she was going to do after this weekend. As of Monday, the charade was over, and she needed a place to stay.

Why was she even thinking of Kyle? Molly rolled her eyes with self-disgust. He didn’t want her help, her love—and he definitely didn’t want her opinion.

“If it comes down between choosing her word over yours, I will choose her side. Every time.”

Molly sniffed as the words echoed in her head. Fine. Be that way. Trust the wrong person. See if she cared.

Molly stared at the ceiling. She did care. She didn’t have a whole lot of a power—okay, she didn’t have
any
—but she could watch over him.

She lifted her head off the pillow when she heard the doorknob turning. Molly quickly turned to her side, tucked her hands primly under her head, and closed her eyes. She peeked through her lashes as Kyle opened the door and stepped inside.

She truly hadn’t expected him. Molly closed her eyes and tried to breathe as if she was asleep. For several nights he’d worked in his office, and she suspected he fell asleep on the couch. He didn’t even look in her direction last night, so angry that she should suggest Sara was less than trustworthy.

So why was he here right now?

She nearly leapt out of bed when she felt the mattress sink. She didn’t know if she should pretend to sleep. That was a form of lying, though, wasn’t it? And she really shouldn’t break her new rule over something so trivial. Why did she come up with this new rule, anyway?

“Molly?” Kyle said in a whisper.

Molly slowly opened her eyes. “Yeah?” she asked cautiously. She saw his grave face and foreboding trickled down her spine. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” He placed his hand on her arm. “Everything is going to be fine.”

“Going to be?” She wasn’t sure if she liked the sound of that.

His fingers glided up and down her forearm. “I want to tell you…”

Uh-oh. It wasn’t like Kyle to talk in incomplete sentences. “It must be something important if you’re waking me up in the middle of the night.”

“I think it might be,” he said with a shrug. He looked down, not meeting her eyes. “I want to tell you that I’m sorry.”