“Careful, Sebastian,” Dylan said softly. Kehoe’s mouth snapped shut. Suddenly he shook his head.
“No. No, I’m not going to let it happen. I’m not going to let that know-it-all, trailer-trash upstart claim the position of Durand executive. She’s completely unsuitable,” Kehoe shouted.
“I suggest you calm down. As for Alice, the twelve Durand managers seem to disagree with you. And it’s what the majority vote says that counts.”
“It’s because of your constant intrusion that we’re in this situation. You brought her here. I would never have hired her as a counselor to begin with. You contrived to get that interview with her while we were in Chicago, didn’t you? You’ve been manipulating me! I will not let this happen.”
“Then you’ll be out of a job, won’t you?”
“I was working and excelling at this job before you knew how to drive. How dare you threaten me,” Kehoe bellowed.
Dylan stepped forward, anger pouring like ice through his veins. “You really think that was a threat? That was reality, plain and simple. Am I making myself clear?”
Kehoe looked apoplectic. Dylan had been in more than his fair share of fistfights as a kid and young man. He had the familiar feeling of being face-to-face with a person who had reached his limit, with whom logic’s hold was weakening. The word rabid came to mind. He tensed, fully prepared for Kehoe to physically attack him.
“What’s this all about?” a mild voice asked from behind them.
Eyeing Kehoe carefully and remaining on high alert, Dylan took a step back.
“It’s Sebastian Kehoe. He’s expressing some concerns about some goings-on at the camp tonight.”
Jim stepped into Kehoe’s view. He looked pleasantly surprised to see Kehoe standing at the threshold.
“Evening, Sebastian,” Jim drawled. “Nice night, isn’t it? Can I help with anything?”
Kehoe flinched and twisted his mouth, like he was gargling acid. He definitely was considering spewing some nasty words. Or worse.
Instead, he did an about-face and marched down the stairs. Dylan and Jim watched until Kehoe disappeared down the top of the road. Dylan swung the door shut with a brisk bang. Jim gave a low whistle.
“Did you hear it?” Dylan asked quietly.
“Every word.”
“Good.”
Dylan waved his hand and both of them headed back to his office.
After they’d spoken for several minutes about Kehoe’s bizarre, insubordinate tantrum, Dylan started to calm down a little. He confessed one of his more immediate concerns about Kehoe.
“It looks as if I have to be out of town for two nights, starting tomorrow. We’re opening a plant in Reno, Nevada. Originally, I was scheduled to be there for five nights. I’ve managed to whittle it down to two, but I’m not going to be able to get out of it. I was planning on doubling Alice’s security, but after what Kehoe just pulled, I’m not comfortable going at all.”
Jim frowned. “You really think he’d try to harm Alice?”
“You heard how crazy he sounded when he talks about her. I thought he was going to come at me out there. If you hadn’t shown up, he might have. He’s losing it.”
“I know I’ve never shared your concern about Kehoe and Addie Durand, but I still feel like I’m missing something.”
“Join the club,” Dylan muttered under his breath.
“Do you think Kehoe knows Alice is Addie Durand?”
“I didn’t think he did at first, but now I think he might.” He filled Jim in on the details of Thad Schaefer overhearing Alice talking about having memories of Addie. “Kehoe has been suspicious of Alice since day one. He knew I considered her special. Different. I think at first, he just thought I was attracted to her, so she was an object of not only interest to him, but derision. It’s no secret among the board of directors that Kehoe disapproves of me, and so I thought he was just transferring that dislike to Alice. I’ve heard rumors he’s down on her at the camp a lot, although she’s a high performer so it’s hard to call her out on specifics. I don’t know how long Schaefer was standing in that hallway last week, or how much he actually heard, let alone understood. I haven’t been able to get him to admit that someone, quite possibly Kehoe, has asked him to spy on Alice—to influence her. I’m trying to convince Schaefer that I’m not the bad guy here, but unfortunately, he’s having trouble seeing reason when it comes to Alice. He’s pretty invested in seeing me as a jerk because he wants her for himself. But if Schaefer did hear Alice that night and if he did feed information to Kehoe right after the Alumni Dinner, then Kehoe might very well suspect Alice is Addie Durand.”
“Kehoe is picking a strange way to garner favor with his new boss, then.”
“That’s my whole point. He was that pissed off tonight at the idea of Alice becoming a Durand junior executive. Can you imagine what his fury would be if he suspects or knows she’s the owner of Durand Enterprises? And what if he was involved in the kidnapping? What then?”
Jim’s eyebrows arched in understanding. Dylan had shared his feelings on that topic before, and Jim suspected there might be some truth to the idea that there was a shadowy puppet master behind the Durand kidnapping case. Kehoe was certainly a possible suspect they’d discussed over the years. Presently, Jim brought up the point where they usually ended up stuck.