The 5-Year Plan (Friends to Lovers Romance Book 1) (8 page)

Jason pulled a face. “Yeah, I heard what happened. Can’t believe they want to pin it on you.”

“Shit happens.” Victoria shrugged. “Guess I have to learn to deal with it.”

“You’re a tough cookie. If it’d been me, I’d be totally drunk and unable to move.” Jason glanced at Trent and back to Victoria. “Sorry. Guess that was insensitive, given that we’re in a bar.” He lifted his beer mug and drank.

Trent signaled to a waitress and got her over to the table in two seconds—always the big advantage of going anywhere with Trent. Waitresses couldn’t wait to serve him. While he ordered, she studied Jason.

She didn’t know him well enough to hold any opinion of him. She’d always taken any computer issues straight to Trent. But office gossip put Jason’s reputation as that of a ladies’ man, and that could be explained by his Irish good looks. His blue eyes sparkled with a touch of mischief, and his tall, lean frame would pull in any woman’s glance. The man was hot—and she was going to bet he knew it.

“What will you have, Tori?” Trent asked while the waitress hovered.

She asked for a white wine and said, “This place is packed.”

“You should see it on weekends.” Trent gestured to the crowd. “Great place for singles.”

Jason gave a laugh. The waitress came back with their drinks and Jason lifted his beer mug. “Which is why you’ll find Trent here most nights.” Trent shook his head, and Jason turned to Victoria. “You’re not seeing anyone, are you?” Before she could answer, he leaned closer. “I always liked you. Quiet. Efficient. Nice and nice to look at.”

He smiled. Victoria shifted in her seat. She glanced at Trent, but he wouldn’t look back. She frowned at Jason.

Any other time, she might have found the attention flattering, but this was a bizarre situation. Trent—a guy she’d said she liked—was sitting next to her, not even looking at her. And here Jason was, seeming like he wanted to flirt. If she hadn’t been so wound up, she might have seen the humor in this, but she felt like she was teetering on the edge of a precipice.

She fiddled with her wine glass. “Thanks. I heard about your…bad luck.”

He lifted a shoulder. “Gambling is a two way street. Sometimes you go straight up and sometimes right down to the bottom.” She caught a slight accent, a bit of Irish lilt rolled into his word.

“Were you born in Ireland?” It was as good a conversational topic as any. She couldn’t exactly ask the man if he was the genius Trent said he was—meaning good enough to hide his tracks even from Trent.

“Born and raised. Moved here when I was eleven. But I love this country. Plenty of opportunity for a man who’s looking to make a name for himself.”

“And are you looking for such an opportunity?” She sipped her wine, a woody chardonnay with a fresh edge.

“Me? I’m just looking to have a good time and earn good money. And of course, a pretty woman is always worth more than any of those things.” He winked at Victoria. “How about dinner tomorrow? I’d like to cheer you up, and you’d cheer any man’s soul.”

Victoria choked on her wine. “Ah…actually…”

Trent cut in, his voice sharp. “Hey, Jason, how’s the wife? You have a new kid, too, don’t you?”

Jason’s face flushed. “Don’t know why you called me for a drink. Excuse me.” Picking up his drink, he finished it and left.

Victoria turned to Trent. “That went well—not!”

“I didn’t like him hitting on you.”

“Like I can’t take care of myself?” Victoria gulped down her wine to give herself a moment to calm down. Trent had blown it with Jason. From the sound of it, he’d needed Jason’s help, and now Trent would have to do everything on his own. “I have been dealing with guys like that for many years, and I can do so without your expert help.”

“I didn’t like the way—”

“You don’t have a say in that. And, excuse me, but you’re having a baby with another woman, so I don’t think you’re in any position to be a Miss Manners on dating.”

He glowered at her, opened his mouth, and closed it again. Taking a deep breath, he picked up his glass and drained the beer. “Okay. Come on. I’ll take you home.”

Angry, Victoria wanted a fight, not for Trent to give up and give in. Standing, she left her drink. Outside she hugged her arms against the night’s chill. The city’s lights gleamed far too bright around her. She and Trent headed back to her place in silence, and she didn’t want to think about him, so she put her focus on the next step.

In front of her apartment door, she turned to Trent. “I’m going to have to meet with Bob next.”

“What? Why? I though you hate that guy now.”

She fished her phone out of her purse. “Well—duh. Isn’t he next? Old boyfriend. Guy who had access to my computer. How am I going to see how he’s doing, financially and otherwise, if I don’t meet him?”

Trent frowned and stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets. “I thought he moved out of town.”

“Apparently he’s back. He called and texted me a couple of days ago. In fact he texted the same day all hell broke loose in the office. I should have seen it before—that can’t be a coincidence.”

Trent’s frown tightened. “What did he want?”

She was about to tell him Bob wanted to hook up with her but the look on his face stopped her. Was Trent actually jealous? Damn it! They were not a couple. So what was the big deal about her seeing her ex-boyfriend and him…doing whatever the hell he decided to do with his ex?

Instead of saying anything to Trent, she punched in a text and sent it to Bob before she changed her mind.

Want to meet up tomorrow? Coffee at Delight? Five?

Delight was her favorite bakery and only two blocks from her apartment. A message flashed back.

Yes. See you then.

“It’s on,” she told Trent in a flat voice.

Snatching the phone, he glared at the message. “This isn’t a good idea.”

Certain he’d be pissed off no matter what she said, Victoria decided to keep her mouth shut before they got into a real argument. Turning, she headed into her apartment.

The sooner they solved this mystery and got her life back on track, the sooner she could go back to being the strong one in their relationship. Then she would find a way to help Trent out from his current mess. And they could all get back to normal.

Trent glanced at his watch. Ten past five already. He’d have left the office a little earlier but Peter had given him another long list of information he needed regarding the theft. Trent didn’t like it that it seemed like TerraDyn hadn’t let this go—they’d said they weren’t going to charge Victoria, but they were still digging into the files. It might just be that they wanted to know the full extent of all the thefts—or maybe they were building a case. Either way, he didn’t have any intention of being left out of the investigation. He gave Peter everything he’d asked for and kept copies of the files for himself. Now he was ten minutes late to check up on Victoria’s meeting with Bob.

She wouldn’t be pleased. He didn’t care. He’d never liked Bob. The man was vain, impulsive, egotistic, and selfish. And that was just the tip of a very dirty ice berg. Perhaps his dislike for the guy had to do something with the fact that Bob had dated Victoria. That was something that Trent didn’t have—and he wasn’t any closer to getting her into his bed. Cynthia’s news had destroyed the small steps he’d made on Victoria. And now she wasn’t talking to him, either. Trent had called her last night, but she hadn’t picked up her phone. He’d left messages that they needed to sit down and talk, but she hadn’t called back. He would have thought she’d be desperate to find out what his plans were regarding her and the baby, but it seemed she had better things to do.

Opening the door at Delight, the smell of fresh bread, sugar and cinnamon hit him. His mouth watered. He could smell coffee as well, but his stare locked in on a small table where Bob and Victoria were sitting—way too close. Looking up, Victoria’s mouth gaped. Bob glanced around and scowled. Their dislike seemed to be mutual and very much present.

He headed over to their table.

Stiffening, Victoria glared at him. “What are you doing here?”

Pretending he didn’t understand, he smiled. “I just thought exactly the same thing when I saw you two. Came to get coffee and a fresh donut from my favorite place and guess who I run into.” Trent pushed his hands into his pockets. Bob’s mouth lifted in a sneer. Pulling out a hand, Trent picked up a chair and put it next to Victoria. “So Bob? You’re back in town? How is it going?”

“Fine.” Bob folded his arms and leaned back. He faced Victoria again. “Hey, babe, you never did say—how’s work?”

She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Oh, good, you know…same old.”

Trent watched Bob. If he’d been stealing the files, he had to know that Victoria’s login was no longer active—he’d know she’d left the company. Bob didn’t as much as twitch. Bob lifted his coffee. “You should see the great place I’ve got in Manhattan.”

Not far enough away
, Trent thought,
and now he’s back in my territory
. Resisting the urge to kick the guy, Trent leaned back in his chair. “So why are you here?”

He knew Bob worked in a construction firm—doing something. Bob glanced at him. “Just taking a few days off. Had to see someone.” He glanced at Victoria and smiled.

Under the table, Trent’s bunched a fist. He wanted to wipe the smirk off the guy’s face.

Victoria leaned forward as if fascinated. “That’s great to hear!”

“Oh, gag me,” Trent muttered.

“What?” Bob glanced at him—finally.

Trent shook his head. “Just saying, oh, great.”

Bob turned back to Victoria. “So are you dating someone?”

“Not seriously, no. But I do have a special someone in mind.” Trent smiled. That earned him a kick from Victoria under the table. Rubbing his shin, he glanced at her. “Oh, sorry. Were you talking to Tori? My bad.”

Bob curled his upper lip. “Well, are you, Victoria?” Trent knew Bob had never liked Tori’s nickname.

She picked up her coffee cup. “No, actually, I am not.”

A grin spread across Bob’s face. “Yeah—that was a hard breakup we had. Lotta regret there.”

“Is that a new watch?” Victoria pointed at his arm. “It looks…expensive.”

Bob lifted his arm and flashed the watch. “You bet. Rolex. Got a real good bonus. Kept some of it, thinking of taking a trip to Hawaii. Sunny beaches, cool drinks, sounds a dream, right?”

Trent thought about making a gagging gesture. Tori sipped her coffee. “When are you going?”

Resting his elbow on the table, he flashed his watch again, glancing at the dial. “Haven’t decided yet. Going alone seems a little…boring, you know. I’m hoping to convince someone to come along, all expense paid, you know.” He winked. “Got a little business to clean up first, but extra cash coming means living in style.”

Trent draped an arm over the back of Tori’s chair. “I thought you were taking some time off?”

Victoria turned to him. “Didn’t you want to get some coffee?”

“What—and leave this scintillating conversation? How can I drag myself away? Hey, Bill—”

“That’s Bob.”

“Oh, yeah—Bob. Sorry. I thought the construction industry was going through tough times.”

“You heard wrong. You still stuck playing with your geek toys?”

Trent fused his smile in place. He was not going to be lured into pointing out that he liked being in the same position. “You bet. Geek-o-matic here!”

Shaking his head, Bob turned to Victoria again. “How about we set up a date, say, sometime in the next couple of days? Just the two of us.” He glared pointedly at Trent.

She fiddled with a spoon, smoothing the handle. “Actually, I am a little busy.”

Bob appeared not to hear. Standing up, he peeled off a twenty from a wad of bills. “I’ll call you, babe.”

He left and Victoria faced Trent, her mouth pulled flat. “Are you done stepping all over my efforts to figure out if Bob’s been playing me?”

“No need. He’s our man. I’d bet on it. Bonus? Trip to Hawaii? That man has cash to burn and if he earn it though legal means, I’ll kiss his ass and say I’m sorry.”

She huffed. “He inherited property when his mother died. He gets rental income. The guy is doing well—unfortunately. I don’t think he needs money off my misfortunate. I don’t know what I was thinking when I put him on the list.”

“Oh, come on. You can’t seriously think he’s innocent. That man was just…” He waved his hand, looking for a suitable description. “Gloating.”

“Is he pushy? Yes. Overbearing? Very. But a thief?” She shrugged. “I’m afraid we have to cross him off the list. And mentioning lists, do I need to make one for you? Perhaps write down the five most inappropriate things that you shouldn’t do to a friend?”

“Here it comes. The lecture!”

She clattered her cup into the saucer. “You can’t stalk me.”

He stiffened. “Stalk is not a suitable word. I just don’t trust that guy. Which means I was looking out for you.”

“Oh, here we go.” She leaned back. “You’ve got my back—you’re my wingman. Well, let’s please not get into an argument. I’ve got a pounding headache from Bob’s stories as it is.”

He grinned. “You got tired of the monosyllables? Or the me-me-I-did-this club? Don’t know what you saw in that macho jerk.”

“Hmm… well, another dead end. My sister is the last on my list, and she’s even more unlikely than Bob. Jillian may know how to switch on a laptop, but the idea of her having the patience to dig through data to find something she could sell would strain anyone’s belief. She doesn’t even have the patience for online shopping. But I’m going to stop by to see her. And in the meantime, I’m going back to my apartment to see if I can find some more discrepancies.”

“More? You’ve caught more?”

“Three. Last month on the twenty-third, I’m pretty sure I was stuck in a meeting with Julie from marketing all afternoon. But your files showed me as logging in a few times. I can’t call her to confirm, but I may have to verify it by some other means.”

He covered her hands with his. “No—no. That’s good. That’s a break in the pattern—and it’s given me an idea.”

She looked at their joined hands, a strange expression in her eyes. “What?”

Lifting a hand, he flicked her nose. “Can’t say just yet. But I’ll let you know I gotta go”

He headed back to the office and started to compile the logs of all logins for the twenty-third of last month. No way could one person be logging in on two different accounts from the same computer. If someone at the company showed up as logged in and active, that person had to be innocent. But if he got a short list of those who weren’t logged in and active—they were suspects. He also started a log file to compare logins for Victoria’s account under every computer in the company—he could trace them all. Activity from a strange computer might lead him outside the company—and then he was going to have to trace IPs across the Internet. That, he hoped, would lead him to Bob.

It was going to take a few hours to compile the data, so he leaned back in his chair and called Cynthia again. The woman didn’t answer. She was proving to be more elusive than ever. How could she drop a bombshell on him and then leave him hanging? He left yet another message and hung up.

Scrubbing his hands over his face he decided life was suddenly too complicated. What with Tori’s problems and his own, it seemed like everything was just piling up. He missed the good old days—the ease of friendship he’d had with Victoria, the fun. An idea struck him. Picking up his phone, he made some calls and left his tracking programs running.

An hour later, he rang the bell at Victoria’s apartment.

She opened the door in gray sweats, her hair pulled up into a bun, her makeup gone, and her eyes a little bloodshot. “What now?”

He stepped inside and bounced on the balls of his feet. “I’ve got a brilliant idea.”

She groaned and leaned on the door. “You and your brilliant ideas. Do you know how long it takes to go through every single entry—I had no idea I really worked that hard.”

“That’s why you need a break. It’ll open your mind to more possibilities.”

Grabbing her shoulders, he turned her. “Go change into something friendly. And fun.”

She glanced over her shoulder at him. “What are you talking about?”

“We’re going out to eat.”

“It’s not even six o’clock! Besides, I’m not hungry.”

“By the time we get there, you will be. Now change.” He let go of her and crossed his arms. “Or do you want me to dump you in the shower, and you know I will.”

Her chin came up. “You just try.”

He smiled. “Remember second year of college?”

She bit her lower lip, but suddenly her eyes widened. “You invaded the girls’ locker room.”

“I can do it again.” He took a step toward her. She scurried away. She came back in ten minutes, her hair still wet and still pulled back, but now in a matching dark skirt and top.

He grabbed her hand. “Let’s walk. It’s a fine evening. Windy, but not cold. Pleasant.”

She pressed the button for the elevator and gave him a sideways glance. “What has gotten into you?”

Trent stepped in. “We’re working too hard. Sometimes it’s good to step aside and let new ideas flood your system.”

She rolled her eyes. “Have you been spiking your coffee?”

He hated the misery in her eyes. No matter how hard she tried to erase it, it was a constant reminder of the tough times she was going through. If he could bring a smile to her face, he’d be happy. “You know me—fun is my middle name.”

On the street, she strode along beside him, seeming to not really care where they were headed. Perfect! He wanted to surprise her. Glancing at him, she said, “I think we need to review our list of suspects. I think it has to be someone from the office.”

“Right. Sure.” He spotted the sign he’d been looking for, grabbed her hand and dragged her in that direction. “Good idea.”

“I never did like Keith. Maybe it was him. And Josephine—down in the mail room. Isn’t she always sneaking around and jumping up when you least expect it?” She looked up and blinked. Pointing to the sign, she asked, “What are we doing here?”

He grabbed her hand. “Fun. Remember that concept? And the last time we went to a fun fair?”

“Yeah, we were sixteen. I don’t know about you but I am way old for this.”

He paid for admission, grabbed the tickets, and pulled Tori toward the gate. People were filtering into the fair and the place was hopping. Bright lights twinkled on the stalls that lined the perimeter. Rides—twirling, loud, and brightly-colored—sat in the middle of the huge field. “No one is too old for a fun fair. And if you don’t have a good time, we’ll leave. And I’ll give you your money back.”

“We’ve got a thief to catch and…and—”

“And it’s all being handled right now. I’ve got some programs running. Let them do their work and I’ll get back to it.”

“Your problem is that your priorities are all backwards.”

“My priorities are quite fine, thank you. Because you are number one.” He glanced around the colorful, noisy scene. Families milled about, friends stood in group, and teenagers chased each other through the throngs of people and stalls. The fair smelled of burning sugar, popcorn, fried foods and sweat. “This is a blast from the past.” He grinned. “I’ll win you a prize just like last time.”

She raised a hand and mimed shooting. “I won
you
a prize due to my amazing aim. You never could learn how to handle a side arm.”