cross. As was typical with a new position, she’d had back-to-back meetings all morning, introducing herself to other department heads and making sure they were all up to speed with her agenda. That had left Shondra with only her lunch hour for research.
After an unsettling weekend, during which she’d spent too much time pushing Connor out of her mind, Shondra had shown up this morning a woman on a mission. In addition to her normal workload, Shondra’s side investigation should have kept her far too occupied for lustful thoughts.
Her first order of business had been to find out how to track down the main switchboard’s call list. There had to be a way to discover which extension her father had been transferred to, as well as the outgoing calls from each extension. Of course, getting what she needed on the first try would have been too much to ask. None of the employees’ extensions matched with her father’s phone log or the anonymous caller. But the numbers were registered to the company, so they might belong to an empty office or an old mobile phone.
Forced to take a more in-depth investigative approach, Shondra decided to search for any business dealings that tracked back to Harmon Braddock. That basically amounted to looking through files to see if her father’s name came up.
A computer search of the company files revealed that a lot of what she wanted was either password protected or on coded hard drives.
Once again, she found herself butting up against a wall. It was painfully clear that security and confidentiality were a high priority within the company.
That meant she was going to have to go about finding facts the hard way. Shondra had immediate access to several contractor and client contracts so she decided to start there. Hopefully, she’d find some mention of a business relationship between Harmon Braddock and Stewart Industries.
That wouldn’t clear up whether or not her father’s accident had been murder, but it could turn up the name of a contact she could follow up with. It could also show that Connor’s family had a legitimate connection to her father, rather than one behind closed doors. Shondra couldn’t deny that she had a new vested interest in that outcome.
Glancing up at the clock, she realized she only had fifteen minutes to grab a sandwich at the corner deli before her next meeting. She was in the process of grabbing her purse when her desk phone started ringing.
She picked it up, secretly hoping it was her boss. “Shondra Braddock,” she said into the receiver.
“Shawnie.”
Shondra winced at her childhood nickname. No matter how often she told her brothers not to call her that anymore, the habit was so ingrained that they’d probably never change it.
“Malcolm? What’s up? I was just on my way out to grab some lunch.”
“What’s up is exactly what I’d like to know. I’m still trying to figure out what possessed you to take a job at Stewart Industries.”
Rolling her eyes, Shondra told her brother to hold on while she closed her office door. She was located only a few feet away from the quadrant of cubicles where the secretaries sat. If gossip traveled through this office the way it had in her previous ones, all of her business would be the late-breaking news within the hour.
Returning to her desk, Shondra resigned herself to missing lunch. Appeasing her oldest brother could take a while. He saw himself as the family protector, now more than ever.
“Okay, I’m back. And as for my new job, I’ve already spoken to Tyson about this. I thought he’d filled you in.”
“I spoke to him, but I’m interested in hearing it from you. What exactly do you hope to accomplish?”
“Well, I’m their new CCO, so I’m in the process of designing new internal controls for—”
“Stop it. You know what I’m talking about.”
Wincing, Shondra could scarcely believe this was the more laid-back version of her oldest brother. He’d mellowed quite a bit since he’d begun dating Gloria Kingsley.
Just not quite enough to stop checking up on her as though she were still twelve instead of twenty-eight.
“You and Tyson wanted to know what Dad had to do with SI. Now I’m in the perfect position to find out.”
“Don’t you think taking a job there is a bit rash? Why didn’t you discuss it with us before you took such a prominent position within the company?”
Shondra stared out her window, wishing she could climb out of it. “Because everything moved so fast. And because I don’t need your permission to change jobs.”
“Shawnie, you have no idea where this could lead. What if someone working there was involved with Dad’s death? Don’t you think the Braddock name will stand out? It’s entirely possible that you’re putting yourself at risk.”
“Don’t worry, Malcolm. I’m an expert at risk management.” She’d hoped to lighten the mood, but her brother wasn’t having any of it.
“Don’t get cute. I’m just trying to make sure you’ve thought this through and that you’re being cautious.”
Shondra had taken into consideration that if someone at SI had been involved with her father’s death, her family name could put her in danger, as well. But she felt that was a chance she had to take.
To her way of thinking, it was much more significant that the anonymous warning had come from SI. She hoped that her presence would encourage that person to make contact again with more information.
“What you should be asking—” she was hoping to rush through the rest of this conversation “—is if I’ve found anything.”
There was a long pause on the other end of the line, as though Malcolm was trying to decide whether or not to encourage her. “Did you find anything?” he asked with obvious reluctance.
“I spent a good bit of time looking through contracts today. I still have more to do, but I’m getting the feeling that if Dad had dealings with someone here, it wasn’t related to oil.”
Malcolm blew out is breath. “That’s what I was afraid of.”
Shondra finally got off the phone five minutes before her next meeting. Her stomach was grumbling loudly, which was the last thing she needed before tying herself up in a conference room for a couple of hours.
She knew the fifth floor had a snack machine. At least she could suck down a few chips and quiet her stomach. She was in the process of deciding between corn chips and pretzels when she heard someone come up behind her.
“A snack-machine lunch? I thought you were some kind of health nut.”
The back of her neck tingled as she turned to face Connor. “It wasn’t my first choice, but it’s been a busy day. At this point, it’s either junk food or office supplies.”
Connor shook his head. “I’ve tasted the pencils. I can’t recommend them.”
Shondra laughed, feeling nervous now that she knew what his lips tasted like. And it was hard not to focus on those lips right now. He looked great today in his dark gray suit.
Feeling her skin heat, she realized she was staring. Grateful for something to do, she spun away, thrust her coins into the machine and punched J5 for the pretzels.
And, of course, they got stuck on the coil. She slammed her palm into the glass to no avail.
“Here, let me help you with that.”
Shondra started to move aside, but Connor had already trapped her against the machine with his body. He was now close enough for her to smell the clean, fresh scent of his soap. Her heartbeat sped up, and she hoped she wasn’t perspiring, because she was feeling really hot.
Gripping both sides of the vending machine, Connor gave it a vigorous shake, bringing his body into contact with hers. Shondra sucked in her breath. The whole exercise took less than