Table For Two: Barrington Billionaire's Series: Book Two (13 page)

“He wanted to know what you’re like when you’re not around him. You know like in the office or when we played hooky last week and went out shopping, totally blowing off work for the day.”

“You told him about that?” Here she was threatening Lexi about being responsible and she had done so much worse last week.
Way to go, Tessa.

“It may have slipped. He was cool with it. Actually, I think he liked hearing that you are not Little Miss Perfect all the time.”

Oh, I am far from perfect. If he only knew about the severance packages. I’m going to have to tell him about those. Just not today.
“What else did you two discuss?”

“It’s not what I said; it’s more what he said, or more like what he didn’t say. I’ve known him since we were fifteen. Not that we really were close, but Kenzi used to talk about him, and I am a pretty good judge of character. So he hasn’t been seriously involved with anyone. Not even close. But yet, he is taking you to a family brunch on Sunday. He has never taken a woman to meet his family.”

Her heart felt like it was going to pound right out of her chest. What did that actually mean? They hadn’t known each other long, and he was taking her there already? When he asked her last night, or maybe early this morning, she figured it was something they all gathered for, and she would be like any other date. Knowing this now scared the hell out of her. She knew his family would be looking at her much closer.
Why did I agree to go? Is it too late to back out? Damn.

Lexi filled her in with a few other unimportant details. Tessa stopped listening after a few minutes and could not stop thinking of Dean. His lack of a call today no longer troubled her. Sunday was the one and only thing on her mind right now.

“So what are you going to wear on Sunday?”

And thanks for the added stress, Lexi. Just what I needed.
“How do you feel about another shopping adventure?”

“Sounds good, but it will have to wait till after work. I don’t want to get fired,” Lexi said as she headed out of Tessa’s office.

You and me both.

T
essa had hoped to hear from Dean yesterday, but didn’t. If it weren’t for what Lexi had told her, she would have spent her entire night last night eating double chocolate chunk ice cream.
It wouldn’t have been the first time, but no one should do that more than once in their lifetime.

Walking down to her office she saw Lexi with a grin on her face that said, “I know something you don’t know.”
Now, what?

“Good morning, Tessa. How are you today?”

Just spit it out, Lexi. No time for games today.
“We’re extremely busy, and we have a lot of catching up to do from yesterday. So let’s get to it.” Tessa tried walking by, but Lexi was having none of that.

She bolted from behind her desk and started walking with Tessa. “Dean was down here looking for you.”

If she wanted her attention, she knew exactly how to get it. “Did he need anything?” Dean made it a point to avoid connecting with the staff on any level. That probably was a good thing as whenever he did, they found themselves unemployed. Lexi most likely was safe because they were friends. Tessa was feeling more confident after the night they shared, but even then, he was all business when it came to how he liked things done.

“Nope,” Lexi said and continued to follow Tessa to her office.

When Tessa opened the door and turned on the light, she saw exactly why Dean had come to visit her so early. There were dozens of daisies filling her office. Her eyes glistened with tears threatening to flow, but she fought them back. If she had been alone, it probably would’ve been a different story entirely.

“Oh, my.”

“Yeah. I can’t believe how romantic this is. I asked him what was with the daisies and he said . . .” Lexi made a funny face then continued, “Well let’s just say he made it clear there were things that are none of my business. Which, of course, made my mind go crazy, so you’ll have to tell me.”

Tessa looked around and still couldn’t get over how many there were. “Go to work, Lexi, before you don’t have a job.”

Tessa ushered her out of the office and closed the door. When she made her way back to her desk she found a single daisy laying there with a note. “May all your rainy days be filled with sunshine. Dean.”

She held the card to her chest. He remembered what she said. He had acted like he wanted to be anywhere but with her on that ride. Even taking business calls. But he remembered what this flower meant to her.
You surprise me. Wonder what else I don’t know about you. Whatever it is, I look forward to finding out.

Sitting down, she picked up the phone and called his office.

“Hi, Tessa. This is Brittany-Lynn. Dean’s in a meeting. May I take a message for you?”

No. This is one I will deliver myself.
“No. Just checking to see how the job is going. Have things improved?”

“Yes. Tremendously. Thank you for convincing me to stay. I am really enjoying the job.”

Don’t say that too loud. We each have a number on our back, and if we look happy it seems to move us up the list.
“Good to hear. You know how to find me if you need me.”

She couldn’t help feel a bit disappointed as she hung up the receiver. The flowers were wonderful, but hearing his voice would have been better.
Patience, Tessa. He knows how to find you.

Turning on her laptop, she pulled up her usual files. The last one seemed to be missing information. She closed it and reopened it. Nothing.
That’s odd. I never delete anything in here. It’s for HR use only. How can things be gone?

She remembered what every IT department had ever told her. “Restart your computer.” Tessa did so, and when she opened it up, there were even more missing files from that folder.
What the hell? No one has access to this except HR. How can this be happening? These are confidential files.

Tessa was tempted to call Dean and let him know right away. But if she did without any more information than files are missing, he would surely see her inability to run the department. No, she had to figure this out herself. But how?

She was sure Lexi didn’t have access to these files. They were not password protected, but they were on a secure server. Before she panicked, she needed to make sure she wasn’t missing something. There wasn’t anyone left here who she could call to ask. Hence, why she had the job she now held.
Who can I call?

Tessa tapped her fingers on the desk trying to come up with someone, anyone.
Why not? She worked here before and, with her title, I am sure she had access to everything.

Pulling out the paper she had put away for an emergency, she dialed the number.
I think this qualifies as an emergency. I just hope she is willing to come and help.

“Good morning. Brice Henderson’s office. This is Nancy. How may I help you?”

What do I say? I am pretending to be an HR manager in Brice’s brother’s company and seem to have lost extremely important files?
“Hi. I’m . . . my name is Tessa. Tessa Brooks. I work for Dean Henderson at Poly-Shyn.”

There was a pause for a moment before she spoke again. “What can I do for you, Tessa?”

“Well, I am the HR manager here and was left your number to call if there ever was an emergency.”
Boy, I sound ridiculous. But I can’t tell her what is going on over the phone. Dean would be pissed if his brother found out about it before he did. No, this needs to be done in person.
“I was hoping that maybe you could come by and meet with me this morning.”

“This morning?” Nancy replied, sounding shocked.

“I know it is short notice but I have an issue and really could use your help. Will you come?”

“I’ll be there around noon if that is okay. Can it wait till then?”

I sure hope so.
“Yes. That will be perfect. Thank you again. I am on the fourth floor. I will let security know to send you up. Oh, and sorry to ask, but can you please keep this meeting private?”

“For now, yes.”

Tessa wasn’t sure what that meant. Was Nancy going to learn the issues and report back to Brice? If so, she might as well go bite the bullet now and tell Dean herself. The results would be the same, but at least she wouldn’t look like a total coward.

Worrying about it wasn’t going to get the rest of her work completed, so she dove right in to her other duties. It wasn’t easy staying focused, but she eventually found a rhythm to it, and the time seemed to fly by. Before she knew it, there was a knock on her door. Looking up at the clock she saw it was exactly noon.
Wow. Now I know why she holds a high position. Lexi could learn a thing or two from Nancy.

“Come in.”

When the door opened, she saw a woman close to her parents’ age standing there. “Hi. I’m Nancy, and you must be Tessa.”

Tessa reached across the desk and shook Nancy’s hand. “Yes, I am. I really appreciate you coming here on such short notice.”

Nancy sat across from her. “Your tone said it was important. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on, and I’ll let you know if I can help.”

Tessa took a deep breath and started with what little information she had.

“So when did you notice these files gone?”

“I only noticed this morning. There could have been some before then but not enough to make me notice. I probably should have been watching more closely.” Tessa knew it was her responsibility to make sure everything was secure.
HR protects the business and all its employees.

“Unless you are the one deleting them, then don’t beat yourself up because of it. Open that laptop and show me the folder.”

She did as Nancy asked. Nancy clicked and searched places that Tessa hadn’t even been in before. There were so many folders hidden away. How was it Nancy still knew about them after all these years?

“Okay. You have a problem here. Have you brought Dean into the loop yet?”

“No. I wanted to find out what the issue was before bringing him in. He is under a lot of stress right now, and I don’t want him worrying about this if it is nothing,” Tessa said, but she knew it was only half of the truth.

“I can’t tell you this is nothing to worry about. The files that have been deleted have access to information regarding the Hendersons. If it wasn’t you, then whoever did this didn’t accidently choose those files. Why this is happening is not something I can figure out. I highly suggest you take this matter to Dean.”

“I can’t without more information. Is there any way to find out who did it?”

Nancy shook her head. “I would say it’s an inside job, but I don’t have the skills to find out who. You need someone very tech savvy.”

“Do you know anyone who could help?” Tessa pleaded her case. “I really need to find a way to fix this before it goes any further.”

Nancy pulled her cell phone out and scrolled. “I hope I don’t regret this.” She wrote down a name and number and handed it to Tessa.

Bennett Stone.
“Thank you. I’ll call him right away.”

Nancy stood and turned back when she got to the door. “I will give you one week to figure this out. After that, if you don’t go to Dean, I’ll go to Brice. Understood?”

Tessa nodded since she had no option.
One week. I better call him now.

As soon as Nancy was gone she dialed the number.

“Bennett.”

“Hi. I’m calling to see if you can . . . umm . . .” Tessa had no idea why she was so nervous. Maybe it was the sternness of tone or what he might actually find when he dug into the files.

“Take your time. I charge by the hour,” Bennett said.

“I was given your number because she thinks you can help me.”

“Who referred me?” Bennett asked.

“I’d rather not say.”

“Then find yourself someone else.”

“Wait. Nancy from B&H Advanced Engineering referred you,” Tessa spat out before he could hang up.

“What do you need?” he asked.

Tessa gave him the same information she gave to Nancy and then waited.

“Did you tell Dean?”

Why does everyone ask me that? They don’t know him. He doesn’t like mistakes. Big or small, they all have the same outcome.
“I will once you tell me what’s going on.”

“I’m out of town but will be there first thing tomorrow morning. Don’t touch anything in those files. And don’t discuss this with anyone. Not one member of your staff. Understood?” Bennett ordered.

“Understood.” Tessa hung up the phone, closed her eyes, and laid her head on her arms that rested on the desk. She felt so defeated. If she couldn’t figure this out, she would have no option but go to Dean empty-handed.
Please let my timing be on the money this time.

“Are you watching the stock?” Trent asked.

No, I’m just rolling the dice and hoping for the best.
“I know what I’m doing, Trent.”

“Dean, this is not normal. If you ask me, this is intentional.”

Oh, that I know. I can’t find the link back to Dax, but when I do, game over.
“Do you know anything specific or are you just calling me with the obvious?”

He appreciated Trent trying to watch out for him. But he didn’t need it. He was no child. When he was and needed help, who was there? No one. He had learned to be on his own, and there is where he was going to stay.

“This says inside job all over it, Dean. Be careful who you trust. If you need some additional security measures, I have people.”

“So do I.” Dean needed to change the subject before he let on that he wasn’t quite as confident as he was making it out to be. “How is that new addition to your family? The baby must be keeping you up at night.”

“It’s the second best reason for a lack of sleep. Everyone is doing fine.” His tone changed back to serious as he continued, “Trust me, Dean, I’ve been exactly where you are today. It was a great ride. Needed no one. Didn’t care who got hurt along the way because I never let anyone close enough to me to care. I’m lucky that a woman like Elaine was able to see past what an asshole I was, but she wouldn’t be with me now if I still were that person. There is a time in everyone’s life when you have to decide between who you are and who you’re going to be. Don’t wait till you get to be my age before you figure it out.”