Hearts Under Construction (17 page)

“I don’t know.”

“Why do you automatically assume I’m behind this?”

“Look, I know this isn’t like you. Are you feeling okay?”

She stared at him.

“I mean, look at this, Ellie, it does have your name on it.”

Well, duh. What was she thinking? “I don’t know what to say. I didn’t do it. Period. Why would I type a phone message? When have I
ever
typed a phone message? If you don’t believe me, you don’t believe me.” She stood and started for his door.

“We’ll have to talk to Jax about this when he comes back tomorrow.”

She whirled around. “Are you threatening me?”

“Come on, Ellie, all I know is strange things are happening around here, and your name is stamped all over them.”

She glared at him. “Seems I remember you telling me to trust you once. That’s an interesting word.
Trust.
Not easy to do, though, is it, Cole?” She yanked open the door and stomped out, trying hard to keep her tears in check.

C
ole and Ellie pretty much stayed away from each other over the next few days. Cole couldn’t make sense of things. It seemed Ellie was forgetting calls, incoming and outgoing. She was ordering supplies from the wrong places. He even wondered if she could be sick.

One glance at his watch confirmed what his stomach had been telling him. It was lunchtime. No wonder the office was so quiet. He decided he might as well grab a sandwich. He locked the office door behind him and got into his car. Barely making it around the block, Cole remembered he had wanted to drop off some house plans while he was out, but he had left them at the office. He swung the SUV around and pulled back into the parking lot. Oh, good, Alex’s car was there. He wouldn’t need to get out his office key.

He walked up to the office and pushed on the doors. They were still locked. He hated to disturb her, so he pulled out his office key and unlocked the door. When he pushed through, Alex wasn’t at her desk. Probably eating her lunch in the kitchen, he figured. He decided to leave Ellie a note that he would be dropping off the house plans. He walked down the hall and found Alex sitting at Ellie’s desk, rummaging through her bottom drawer. Her back was to him.

“Hi,” he said.

Alex jumped and whirled around with a start. Her face looked flushed.

“Are you okay?”

“Uh, yes. You startled me, that’s all. I—I—was just, um, looking for something. No big deal.” She got up from the chair.

Cole nodded. “I was going to leave Ellie a note so I wouldn’t have to disturb you, but since I already have disturbed you, I guess I’ll tell you.”

Alex offered a weak smile, her hand next to her throat. “What do you need?”

“I’m going to drop off some house plans with the framers so I won’t be back till around two o’clock.”

“Oh, no problem. I’ll let Ellie know.”

“Great.” He started to turn. “You sure you’re all right?”

“Oh, I’m fine,” she said with a wave of her hand. She’d already started back toward her desk.

Cole shrugged. “Okay, well, I’ll see you later.” He disappeared into his office, grabbed the blueprints, and headed outside to his car. Once he had pulled out into traffic, he started thinking. What was Alex doing at Ellie’s desk? Whatever it was, she looked like the cat who had swallowed the canary. He thought a moment longer. Maybe she was caught off guard, just nervous because she was in the office alone. Still, why was she rummaging through Ellie’s desk?

Something didn’t set right with him on this. Maybe he’d better check things out. It’s not that he thought she would purposely cause problems in the office. Besides, Jax was the source of her anger, why would she take it out on Ellie?

He wasn’t sure exactly what he would do, but he definitely needed to look into the matter. Alex had been after him, trying to get him to go out. Maybe he’d spend a little time with her to see if she would reveal anything. He’d talk to Jax about it and get his take on the matter.

Ellie grabbed a glass in the kitchen cupboard, took some aspirin for her headache and went back to her desk.

“You okay?” Alex asked.

Ellie turned to her. “Oh, yeah, thanks. I’m fine. Just have a headache.”

Alex nodded. “Um, Cole wanted me to tell you he’ll be back around two o’clock. He had to drop off house plans with the framers.”

“Okay, thanks,” Ellie said, turning back to her computer screen.

Alex didn’t move. “He sure is a nice guy, isn’t he?”

Ellie turned to her. “Who?”

“Cole.”

“Oh, yeah, he’s nice,” Ellie said, wondering where this was leading.

Alex inspected her nails. “You know, I never understood why you two never dated. Guess you just weren’t his type.”

Alex put her hand down and looked at Ellie. Why, Ellie was positively speechless. But even if she had found her voice, Alex didn’t give her time to say anything. “Did you ever meet Cole’s brother, Caed?”

Ellie wasn’t sure how to answer that, since she hadn’t met him as Caed. She said simply, “No.”

“I’ve never mentioned this to anyone. Caed told me that Cole was planning to take over the business soon.”

“Well, I know Jax would like that.”

Alex raised her brows. “I don’t think Jax is ready for that just yet. He needs the money to finish school.”

“What are you saying, Alex, that Cole wants to force Jax out?”

She shrugged as if to say that’s exactly what she meant.

“I don’t think Cole would ever do that.”

“I’m only telling you what Caed told me.”

“Well, I don’t know why Caed would say that, but I don’t believe it.”

Just then, Morgan and Chad walked into the room. “Well, I’d better get back to work,” Alex said.

Ellie thought about what Alex had said. It couldn’t be true. Cole wasn’t a permanent kind of guy. She couldn’t see him planning to take the business from Jax. He wouldn’t want to be saddled with it. At least, she didn’t think he would. But what if Caed did say that? And what if it was true? Maybe Cole was behind the mysterious happenings in the office. That would mean Jax was in trouble.

To make matters worse, Jax trusted him completely.

“Cole, come on in,” Jax said, as he opened the door wide for Cole to enter the house.

“Sorry to bother you so late, but I thought I’d better talk to you here rather than at the office.”

“No bother. I just finished studying, and I’m ready to relax. You want something to drink?” Jax headed for the kitchen and Cole followed.

“You have any pop?”

“Sure do.” He plopped some ice into glasses and poured them each a full glass. “Let’s go in the living room,” he said, leading the way.

After they had settled into their seats, Jax took another sip of his drink and set his glass on a coaster on the coffee table. “Now, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Um, I don’t know that I have any basis for this, but I just wanted to share my concerns with you,” Cole began. Then he proceeded to tell Jax his feelings about the recent problems in the office and how he wondered if Alex was behind them.

Jax ran his hand through his hair. “Boy, I don’t know, Cole. Alex might be spoiled and a little self-centered, but I wouldn’t have imagined her capable of stirring up that kind of trouble. Are you sure it’s not just a fluke? I mean, the carpet, the missed appointment. Those things happen. Maybe it’s nobody’s fault really. We all make mistakes.”

“Maybe. But I have a feeling it’s more than that.”

They talked awhile longer and by the time Cole got ready to leave, they had decided to keep an eye on things, but not to do anything rash. Cole let Jax know he was going to spend some time with Alex just to see if he could find out anything, but he didn’t want Jax to think there was anything going on between the two of them.

“Look, Cole, it wouldn’t matter if you did want to date her. She’s free. Alex is a nice woman, she’s just not for me.”

“Well, she’s not right for me, either. I already have my sights on someone.”

“Ellie?”

Cole smiled.

“I thought so. I knew it was just a matter of time. If she hadn’t seen me like a brother from the get-go, though, you wouldn’t have stood a chance.”

Cole laughed. “Thanks, bro. I appreciate it.”

Jax laughed with him while they walked to the door. He put his hand on Cole’s shoulder. “Just be careful. If Alex is doing these things, it’s rather serious. Who knows what she might do next?”

“You be careful, too. You’re the one she’s trying to hurt, you know.”

Jax winced. “I guess you’re right.”

Cole stepped through the door. “I’ll be praying for you.”

“You, too.”

When Ellie walked into work the next morning, there was a definite chill to the air inside the office. Everyone sat at their desks working, which wasn’t unusual, but no one looked up when she walked in or uttered a greeting of any kind. The room was eerily quiet.

Once she had settled into her chair, she reached over to start her computer. Cole’s voice stopped her.

“Don’t bother turning that on.”

She swiveled around in her chair and looked at him. “Why not?”

“Come to my office.”

She picked up her paper and pen and followed him. He closed the door behind them once they were inside his office.

When he sat down, she got a good look at him. Dark circles framed his eyes, whiskers shadowed his face. “Cole, what’s going on?”

He took a drink of what looked like cold coffee and made a face. “Our computer crashed. Lost all the house plans. Everything. We’re done. I don’t see any possible way of fixing this.”

“What about the backups we do each night?”

“Destroyed. Whoever did this saw to it that we were ruined.”

“This was deliberate?”

“No question. Jax will have to bring in the authorities.”

Ellie thought about what Alex had told her. Could this be an act? Did Cole bring about this disaster to get Jax to fold early so Cole could take over? He hung his head, staring at the desk in front of him. She studied him. She couldn’t imagine him capable of such things. Still, doubt nagged at her.

She could have the answer to the computer problem, but wasn’t sure she should tell Cole just yet. Not until she knew whom she could trust.

“Well, I just wanted you to know. Work on your phone calls, do what paperwork you can until the computer people come in here and tell us what they can do.”

“Okay.” She stood. “I’m sorry,” she said before exiting the room, leaving Cole in his misery.

Cole wanted to throw up. This was the worst mess he’d ever seen. What bothered him was Ellie didn’t seem all that surprised or upset. Didn’t she understand the enormity of the problem? Perhaps she didn’t care.

He took another drink from his coffee cup. One sip and he pushed it aside. It was cold and horrible. This problem was beyond him. They needed God’s intervention. It irritated Cole to no end that he didn’t know who was behind this sabotage in the company. He needed to spend some time with Alex, see what he could find out. He refused to believe Ellie could do such things. Surely his heart wasn’t in the way of his good judgment, was it?

Ellie’s heart weighed heavy in her chest. A cloud of gloom seemed to hang over the office. She’d better get home and see if she could find the CDs. First, she’d get some coffee, finish up the things on which she had been working, then she’d make an excuse to leave. Maybe even wait until lunch to go so no one would get suspicious. She didn’t want to get their hopes up for nothing. After all, she hadn’t checked the backup to make sure it was working. She felt stupid about that. It only made sense to do so, but for some reason, she hadn’t given it a thought.

She stopped short of the kitchen when she overheard Jax and Cole talking. Not wanting to eavesdrop, she turned to go back to her desk and give them their privacy, but Jax’s words stopped her cold.

“I’m telling you, Cole, I want out. I can’t take it anymore. I wanted out before the problems, but this just confirms the matter for me. If you don’t want the business, I’ll sell it to someone else. Someone who has an eye for business and can see the potential.”

Alex’s words played over in Ellie’s mind. Ellie felt sick. She didn’t want to believe that Cole had set this whole thing up in an effort to take over the business. Everyone knew Jax eventually wanted out, why would Cole take these measures now? It didn’t make sense. He would have been given the opportunity to take it over, so why did he need it now? Alex had tried to imply that Cole had said the place was a gold mine and Jax wouldn’t recognize a good business if it hit him over the head. The words hurt her even now. She loved Jax. And Cole. Oh, what could she do?

“You okay, Ellie?” Alex called behind her.

Ellie swallowed hard and nodded. She walked back to her desk, feeling embarrassed that Alex had caught her eavesdropping. She decided the best thing she could do was pray. So she did. She could hardly wait to get home at lunch and check the CDs.

The computer repair guys came in to work on the system. Ellie walked to Cole’s office to let him know she was going to lunch. When she reached his door, she couldn’t believe what she saw. There stood Alex inches from him, staring up into his eyes, her hand about to caress his face. Ellie found it hard to swallow. Cole looked up.

“Ellie, come in.”

She glanced at Alex who didn’t seem to mind in the least being caught in their romantic moment.

“I—I just wanted to let you know I was leaving for lunch,” Ellie said, not daring to look at them.

Cole pulled away from Alex and walked toward Ellie. “Okay, Ellie.” He reached for her arm, causing her to look at him. “Thanks for your help this morning.” His gaze held hers for a moment, then she glanced at Alex who lifted her chin and quirked an eyebrow.

“I’ll be back in a little while,” Ellie managed, pulling herself free from Cole’s touch. She walked from the office, her pulse pounding hard against her ears.

She couldn’t get home fast enough. Nothing made sense. Cole and Alex. In this together, out to destroy Jax. Why? Not only was she losing the man she loved, but he was destroying her best friend in the process.

Once in her house, she knelt at her bedside and prayed for the office and all that was going on. She prayed for Jax. Although a bit reluctantly, she prayed for Cole and Alex. Only God could bring them all through this situation.

After prayer, Ellie washed her face and walked into her computer room. There on the desk were the CDs she hoped would save the day. Turning on the computer, she checked first one CD, then the next in the drive. The backup was complete as of last Friday. So, they had only lost what had been put on the computer for the last three days. Great news. Praying Jax would still be at the office, Ellie pulled out the last CD, placed it in the plastic case, and stuck it in her purse.

By the time she arrived back at the office, Jax was just walking into the parking lot. She shut off her engine, grabbed her purse, and climbed out of the car. “Jax, may I talk to you a moment?” she said with a wave of her hand.