Unleashing the Receptionist: ...the Receptionist, Book 3 (10 page)

“I’ll pass. I don’t intend to be here long, so talk fast. I’m a busy woman.”

“I know you are. That’s one of the things I admire about you.” I had to dig my fingers into my thigh to say that with a straight face. “I think women in business should help each other out, don’t you?”

That part I did believe. Too bad she didn’t. She struggled to keep a straight face, then gave up the battle. She gave an unpleasant laugh, baring white, perfect teeth. Some orthodontist had paid his mortgage thanks to her. “Absolutely, Receptionist. I’ll help any woman if it suits my purposes. Any man either, if it comes to that. I’ll help that soup if it suits me.”

At least she was honest.

“So how can I help the receptionist of Cowell & Dirk? More importantly, how can
you
help me? Why don’t you answer that last part first, so I know I’m not wasting my time here.”

“Well, for one, I know Peter Standish works for you, not the IRS. He’s been snooping around, looking in our files, and I caught him. He wouldn’t tell me what he’s looking for. I even threatened to call the IRS and turn him in.” I rolled my eyes with exaggerated indignation. “Trying to be a hero, I guess.”

“He’s not the sharpest tool in the toolbox,” she said, sniffing in contempt. “Which is why I chose him, of course. But it has its disadvantages.”

I thought of Standish, recording all of this. I hoped his ego wouldn’t take too big a blow.

“Did you tell Ethan?” Margo asked me.

Bad girl that I am, I enjoyed the nervousness in her voice. “Of course not. He might kill the poor dude. You know him.”

Margo swallowed, the bones moving in her pale throat.

“Or torture him slowly to get his revenge. Who knows what he’d do.”

Her eyes went glassy.

“I needed Standish. I was afraid you wouldn’t see me unless he set it up. So I asked him to contact you.”

She studied me with her sharp green eyes. “What exactly are you offering?”

“I’ll find the stuff you want. I have access to all the files. It’ll be easy for me. I’ll get you whatever information you want.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re going to make me a partner in your company. I looked it up. You have a new consulting firm, Lang Unlimited. You don’t have any partners. Well, now you will.”

She started to laugh. It turned into a series of snorts. Not very graceful, if you ask me. I just sat and let her do her thing. Finally she stopped.

“You think I’d take on their receptionist as a partner? What skills do you have besides servicing Ethan and Simon? Can I expect you to eat my pussy on demand? Expose your breasts to interested clients? Maybe even perform a blow-job now and then, if the situation calls for it?”

I stared at her, hating her so much I wanted to upend the table and squash her under it. I barely managed to contain myself, though I knew my cheeks were tinted red.

“No,” I whispered, and it was the hardest thing I ever had to do in my life. “All I want is a job. I’ll do excellent work for you, you’ll see. If you don’t like my work, you can always fire me. Just give me a chance, that’s all.”

I held her gaze while she assessed me and my offer. I knew her game. She was trying to humiliate me into revealing any hidden agendas I might have. I let her win the stare down and pushed myself to my feet.

“Never mind. This was a mistake. Forget I ever came here.”

I was halfway past the table when her arm shot out to seize mine.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

I nodded feebly, as if I was on the edge of tears.

“Then sit back down.”

I sat. Letting her call the shots didn’t feel good, but I knew it was the only way she’d go for it. That’s the type of person she was.

“I suppose I could use an assistant. How does that sound? You can learn the ropes. So to speak.”

I didn’t react to her snide little double-entendre—it felt like too much of a betrayal. I pretended I didn’t hear it. “That’s all I want. I want to learn.”

“You already know how to fetch coffee, I suppose?”

Actually, Ethan and Simon frequently brought
me
coffee. But I nodded eagerly.

“Then we’re on the same page.” She stuck out her hand and I shook it, though touching her gave me the heebie-jeebies.

“So what do you want me to do?”

She leaned forward, her glasses glinting in the light from the window. “Have you heard of the Caper deal?”

I shook my head, wide-eyed.

“Simon and Ethan don’t want me to talk about it, but that’s when they screwed me out of my own company.”

“Really? It’s hard to believe they’d do something like that.”

“You think not?”

“It just sounds so unethical, that’s not really like them…” I trailed off.

I saw her rise to the bait like a sharp-eyed, red-nailed fish.

“I hate to shatter your naïve little world, but Simon embezzled funds and Ethan pinned the blame on me.”

Bingo.

“Wow. That’s terrible. No wonder you don’t like them.”

“That’s one way to put it.” She drew back, drumming her fingers on the table.

“So you want the file on the Caper deal?”

“That’s part of it. Mostly, I want to know what they really pulled in last year. If they’ve cheated me even a little bit…” She stopped with a click of her blinding teeth.

I didn’t know what she intended to say, but it didn’t matter. I had enough.

“I’m on it,” I said. “Should I bring what I find to your office tomorrow? After I do this, I won’t be able to go back to Cowell & Dirk.”

“After you do this, you’d better hope you never see them again.” She snickered. “If I were you, I’d hire a full-time bodyguard. If Ethan Cowell has a pet peeve, it’s traitors.”

I shrugged. “You’re still alive, right?”

Her head whipped toward me. I returned her gaze with an innocent look. I’d gotten what I needed. Now it was her turn to worry. A shadow of doubt played across her face, only to disappear as her arrogance took over. I could practically see her reassure herself. I was just a receptionist, after all. What possible harm could I be?

“Tomorrow at noon. If you don’t have anything by then, the deal is off.”

I looked appropriately cowed. She left, striding out like the Wicked Witch of New York, trailing the scent of dry-cleaning and citrusy body spray after her. Luckily, the usual Great Wok fumes of soy sauce and steamed noodles drowned it out quick enough.

I went back to the office, knowing Standish would join me as soon as he could. When I was safe at my desk, I listened to the backup recording I’d made on the smartphone Ethan and Simon had issued me. Margo’s voice came across with perfect clarity.

When Standish got back, first thing he did was change back into his regular clothes. I stashed Simon’s clothes away, hoping he wouldn’t miss them before I could get them cleaned. They smelled of fear. But Standish himself looked bright-eyed, almost feverish.

“Not the sharpest tool in the toolbox?” His indignation amused me. “Who does she think she is? Her financials would be a mess without me.” He set the video camera on the desk and rewound it. There was Margo, or at least the left side of her. Then the camera tilted up to show her face, or at least the underside of her jaw. Not her most flattering angle. Her jawbone looked enormous. Standish turned the volume up. Through the background of Great Wok sounds—cook calling, “Order up,” cash register ringing, customers chatting, the door dinging as people walked in and out, I heard her clear, nasty voice.

“You did it, Standish. You rock. We have to show this to Ethan and Simon.”

He blanched. “I don’t know about that.”

“Don’t worry. I told you to trust me.” I fixed him with a stern look. Stern, but kind. He needed a firm hand, not abuse or threats.

As soon as Ethan and Simon returned from their meeting, I tapped on Standish’s door. He still looked frightened, but he didn’t protest when I gestured for him to follow me. Together we faced my bosses. They looked tired; it must have been a long meeting. Ethan leaned one hip on his desk. Simon had his briefcase open on the desk. He leaned over it, sorting through papers.

“Standish and I have something for you,” I announced. “But before I show it to you, I want you to promise to consider him for the position of accountant. Now that Barnes has gone missing, we need someone new.”

“Him?” Ethan straightened up to his full, intimidating height. With his arms folded across his chest and a mighty scowl, he looked so terrifying I was surprised Standish didn’t run for the door. I felt him quiver next to me. “Why him?”

“Because he’s innocent in all this and he’s trying to help us out.”

Ethan didn’t look convinced. His eyes burned with such blue fire I swear I felt the singe.

“Just check this out.”

I motioned to Standish who, screwing up all his courage, hoisted the video camera into the air. He pressed play and suddenly the quiet office was filled with the conversation between Margo and me. I winced at the sound of my voice, so meek and pitiful. So fake. I wasn’t in the habit of faking things, Ethan and Simon knew that. Would they understand?

I couldn’t look at them until the tape was done. Then I searched their faces. Neither of them showed anything. Had I made a mistake?

“See…” I cleared my throat. “She just broke the confidentiality agreement. She told me Simon embezzled. On tape.”

“Hm,” said Ethan.

“Standish didn’t know he was impersonating an IRS auditor. Which means he wasn’t, technically. She was trying to trick us so we’d give him access to our files. But she never even told him what she was looking for. She couldn’t because of the agreement. But when he didn’t get her what she wanted, she got frustrated. She didn’t think I was any kind of a threat, so she just went for it.”

“Hm,” Ethan said again.

“Not only that, Standish feels terrible about what she wanted him to do. He wants to help us instead. He knows all about her company and the shady things she’s done.”

“Hm.” Ethan switched his “hmm-ing” to Standish.

“All he wants is to work for someone good, someone who treats him well and gives him what he needs.”

I looked desperately from Ethan to Simon. Simon hung back, waiting for Ethan to speak first.

“Standish,” Ethan addressed him suddenly. “Whose idea was this?”

“Well…er…that is…”

“Just answer the question.” His voice softened. “There’s no wrong answer.”

“I suppose…it was Ms. Arthur’s. But I agreed right away. I was horrified to find that Ms. Lang had set me up like that. And I don’t approve of her methods, really I don’t. I-I was afraid to stand up to her alone. But with Ms. Arthur…Dana…it was different.”

I twisted my hands behind my back. “I have it on my phone too. Plan B.”

“Very prepared.” His neutral tone freaked me out. Was he unhappy with what I’d done? What we’d done? I wasn’t so much afraid for myself—I knew Ethan would never hurt me. But would he rip Standish into little accountant-niblets?

“None of this is Standish’s fault.” My voice came out high and reedy. I cleared my throat. “He’s blameless in all of this. And he’s a really good accountant. Once he knew what to look for, he found all kinds of proof of what Margo did. She hid all that money as a payment to a dog-grooming service that doesn’t exist. Does she even have a dog?”

“I’m sure she would if she needed one,” said Simon. He was watching me with the oddest expression.

“Yes, that’s exactly how she is. First she used Simon, then Standish, then she tried to use me—why not a dog too? Poor thing.” I found myself growing outraged at the thought of a poor little fluffy puppy in the hands of Cruella de Margo. That indignation made me forget that Ethan still hadn’t said anything much. “So can we hire Standish? He’s proved himself. And I promised we’d give him a shot.”

“Promised?” Danger lurked in Ethan’s ice-blue eyes.

“Well…” Yes, I had promised. I’d overstepped my role. I’d forgotten I was only the receptionist. Mortification flooded me. My face felt hot while my body went cold. I stared down at the beige carpet, willing the stupid tears not to fall.

“In that case,” said Ethan briskly. “Consider yourself hired, Mr. Standish. I trust Dana. If she promised something, it’s a done deal.”

The relief made me sway on my feet. The carpet blurred before my suddenly teary eyes. Ethan trusted me. I felt as if millions of bright bubbles were floating through my system.

“If you don’t mind, we’ll start with a probationary period so all parties can decide if we suit each other. We’re not a typical firm, as you may or may not know.”

“I, um, think I have an idea.”

I looked under my eyelashes at Standish, whose cheeks had turned a mottled pink color. How much did he know? The guy was plenty smart, though a little clueless in some areas. Margo didn’t know him the way I did.

Like most of us, all he needed was a little love.

“Then it’s decided. We’ll have to find you a proper office, Mr. Standish, but for now, why don’t you return to the file room and get yourself sorted out. We’ll meet with Margo tomorrow, the three of us. You’re welcome to join us if you please.”