Rock gave him a crooked smile. “You know me too well.”
And so, as Richard asked, he bought out his business and he didn’t regret it. It wasn’t that he needed another business in his portfolio. It just felt good to be able to help a friend. He blinked, bringing himself back to the present, to a bright and sunny afternoon in New York City in the month of May, his favorite time of year. “So what mountains have you climbed in the last couple of months?” he asked Richard.
“Sorry, no mountains yet but I’ll add Kilimanjaro to my list of things to do. But I’m happy to say that Margaret and I just got back from a sailing trip in the Caribbean.”
“Very nice,” Rock said with a nod. That was the kind of thing he liked to hear. Richard was enjoying life and that was what mattered.
“The doctors are happy with my progress since the surgery,” Richard continued, “but let’s not talk about me for a minute. That wasn’t why I asked you to join me for lunch. I want to know if you’ve made any progress in finding the leak in the company.”
“Nothing definitive,” Rock said, “but I’ve got my eye on a couple of people.”
“Like?”
“The financial controller is at the top of my list. He’s the one handling the funds which, by itself, already puts him in a sensitive position. What makes it worse, though, is that he never looks me in the eyes. I can’t trust a man who won’t look me in the eyes.”
Richard grimaced. “Sean Johnson. A reserved fellow. Not very friendly. But he’s been with the company for over three years now and the craziness started happening late last year. You’d think if he’d had a mind to do that sort of thing, he would have started before now.” He took another sip of beer then rested his mug on the table. “Somehow I don’t get the feeling it’s him.”
Rock frowned. “He may not be the mastermind but he’s got to have a hand in this. There’s no way that guy is innocent…unless he’s incompetent.”
Richard drew in a deep breath then let it out slowly. “I don’t know…”
“Don’t worry about it.” Rock had seen the look of concern in Richard’s eyes and he wanted it to disappear. “It’s not your problem anymore so let me handle it. I’ll get to the bottom of it. Trust me.”
The older man nodded. “I know you will.”
“But there’s one thing I need to know.”
“Yes?”
“Dana Daniels. What’s she really like?”
Richard looked confused. “You’ve been working with her for almost two months. What kind of a question is that?”
Rock put up his hands. “Okay, okay. I know this is going to sound stupid but she confuses the heck out of me. So tell me, what did you think of her while she was working for you?”
“Smart girl. I was planning to transition her to the public relations department when this thing happened…” His voice trailed off then he gave Rock a pained look. “I should have spoken to you about that. I was so caught up in my personal problems that I totally forgot.”
“Under the circumstances it’s understandable,” Rock began but Richard put up a hand, silencing him.
“No, I let Dana down. She graduated with a liberal arts degree, summa cum laude, no less. And then while she was working for me she did her MBA. She’d be perfect for the PR department and she and Claire get along really well.” He jerked his chin toward Rock. “So, will you consider it?”
Rock cocked an eyebrow at him. “Lose my executive assistant just when I’m trying to figure her out?”
Richard laughed. “What’s there to figure out?”
“Well, for starters, she avoids me whenever she can. She only comes into my office when she absolutely has to, and even then she spends the bare minimum amount of time and then she’s gone.” Rock sighed, half frustrated, half confused. So they’d gotten off to a rocky start, but still…
Richard was frowning. “That doesn’t sound like Dana. The Dana I know is outgoing, a real go-getter, and very ambitious. One thing, though. She will speak her mind if she feels it’s necessary.”
“And she’ll flirt with the male employees?” Rock had to throw that in there. He was eager to see Richard’s reaction. He shouldn’t be this concerned but for some reason he just had to know who the real Dana Daniels was.
“Pardon?”
“Or is it just Jason Blake? Is she in a relationship with him?”
Looking bemused, Richard shook his head. “If there’s something going on between them it’s the first time I’m hearing about it. In fact, at one point I thought she disliked him.”
That piqued Rock’s curiosity. “How’s that?”
“A few weeks after he joined the company we had a staff meeting and he made an off color comment. Dana didn’t hesitate to let him know it was inappropriate. She didn’t give a hoot that there was an audience. She just let him have it.” Richard chuckled. “After that they started call her my bulldog.”
Rock nodded slowly. Had he been wrong about his executive assistant? She hadn’t seemed to mind that Blake had his lips on hers. Or had things developed between them since Richard’s departure? Ever since the day he’d caught Dana and Jason kissing he’d been cool and businesslike with her, making his displeasure obvious. She, too, had been aloof but now that he thought about it, it was probably all his doing. His behavior had set the tone for their working relationship and so far it hadn’t been pleasant. In fact, he’d have to describe it as strained.
Thanks to him, and as much as it pained him to admit it, he knew why.
He’d been darned jealous. That was the problem. The day he’d walked into the office and found Dana in Jason’s arms he’d felt like ripping them apart. The anger that had risen inside him was a shock and he’d had to hide it behind a forced smile but inside he was seething.
And that, he knew, was dangerous. The woman was his assistant, not his lover. What right did he have to get riled up?