“Holy shit. You think she’s the one who attacked me? I mean, Gretchen’s tall. In heels, she’s eye-level with you.”
“I think those odds are very, very low. Gretch and I left things on good terms. In fact, she was the one who technically broke things off with me, so it’s not like she has a reason to be upset and threaten my life.”
“I didn’t realize a woman needed an excuse to do that,” Jacob said with a grin.
“Usually, I’d laugh with you, but this is serious. Whoever this person is, they’ve escalated from notes to attacks, and I’m pretty sure the only reason I wasn’t the one attacked was that I was in Vegas. I can only assume everyone around me is now a target. Like Emma, for instance.”
“Interesting. I thought you would’ve thrown Sam’s name first,” he said.
“Figured that was a given,” I said with a shrug.
“You think you should get some protective detail on her too? If you’ve got it on me, you might need it on her.”
“What we’ve got going on now is enough. Sam and I are keeping things in a low profile. Romantic evenings in. Not going out together in public. Things like that. She’s good for now, but you’re not. And as much as I know you hate it, John stays.”
“Fine. But if the gossiping gets too bad, it’s not going to matter what I said.”
“I hear you. Now go home and get some rest, okay? I’m serious. Don’t make me come over there and knock you out again just to get you to sleep,” I said.
“With the beating I took, that would be considered foreplay now,” he said with a grin. “I’ll catch ya around, Derek.”
The moment Jacob shut the door behind him, Sam emerged from the washroom. She had a fun little setup in there now to keep tabs on me and the cameras in my office. I turned toward her as she made her way to me, and I could tell by the look in her eye, she had more information to play around with.
“Something Jacob said made me curious,” she said.
“Okay. What’s this fun little curiosity of yours?” I asked.
“I started going back through Emma’s files while you two were talking. In there, it states she worked for LampLight Corporations.”
“I bought that company out during a merger four years ago. Why is that important?” I asked.
“According to newspaper articles, that merger and acquisition resulted in a massive number of layoffs. Some newspapers speculate over five hundred employees were taken out by the time the merger and purchase was complete. Not too long after that, Emma interviewed for your personal assistant position.”
“Wait, was Emma one of the ones who were laid off?” I asked.
“No, Emma quit once her father was laid off.”
“Fuck,” I said.
“You said Emma’s been working with you for around four years, right? If I go back in there and start up my research again, I’m almost certain I’m going to find that she interviewed for your company directly not long after quitting her job at LampLight Corporations.”
“I don’t keep tabs on who was fired because of purchases and mergers. I’m not solely responsible for Emma’s father getting laid off.”
“A disgruntled daughter wouldn’t see it that way.”
“Then why come after me now? That was four years ago, and she’s been working with me for a long time now.”
“She could be working a long-term revenge scenario. Lie in wait long enough for the heat of the merger to die down and for it to fall to the back of your mind. It would help cover up her tracks because you would jump to her defense because of your track record with her,” she said.
“I still don’t think it’s Emma.”
“And trust me. I’m not willing to try and convince you any more of that. But this Gretchen thing is weird too.”
“Do I even need to note what Jacob said about his assailant? About him being a tall guy and needing a tall assailant to get the jump on him like that?” I asked.
“Heels,” she said. “Heels exist. And so do long, hard things like crowbars and metal pipes. Can I get back to this Gretchen thing?”
“Whatever,” I said.