“Hmm.” She peeled off a gold sticker and stuck it to the item. “Keep looking. You don’t want her screwing with him or you don’t want her screwing him?”
I grimaced. “Well, preferably both. But the latter isn’t a possibility or I wouldn’t have her working there at all.”
She looked up from the catalog. “Spoken as a woman who hasn’t yet discovered an affair. Trust me, Cat. There’s always a possibility.” She moved aside a few pages, collecting the stack together. “Think of Corinne Woodsen. Her husband slept with that aardvark of a woman with the wooden leg.”
“It wasn’t a wooden leg. She had knee-replacement surgery. The brace was temporary.”
“Well, it wasn’t sexy.”
“Just because Corinne Woodsen’s husband can’t keep his hands to himself doesn’t mean that I need to be paranoid over a new employee of William’s. She’s married,” I pointed out. “I’m telling you. It’s fine.”
“Uh-huh.” She moved two fabric swatches to the middle of the table. “I’m going with these patterns, but in the school colors.”
I reviewed the options and gave a supportive nod. “Looks great.”
She moved beside me and thumbed through the narrowed-down list of options for the uniform shirts. “How much digging did you do into her?”
“Neena?” I shrugged. “I checked to see if they had applied for membership to the club.”
“And?”
“They toured it but didn’t put in an application. I’m guessing the initiation fee scared them off.”
“Hell, that almost scaredusoff.” Kelly laughed, as if the six-figure initiation fee had ever been a concern for her or Josh. “And where did she work before?”
“Plymouth Industries. Apparently they loved her there. I read the recommendation letter from Mr. Plymouth. He couldn’t say enough great things about her or how much they’d miss her.”
“Well, Josh knows Ned. Says he’s a total hard-ass, so she must have some sort of skill.”
“Which is why we hired her.” I picked up my bag, mentally done with the conversation. “Look, I love you, but I’m going to run.”
“Okay.” She kissed my cheek and gave me a warm hug. “We leave Thursday, so let’s grab lunch before then. And wait a minute.” Walking over to the bookshelf, she pulled out a thin binder and set it on the counter. Flipping through the pages of business cards, she paused, then worked a white card free of its plastic holder. “Here.”
I examined the gold-embossed print on the card. Tom Beck. Beck Private Investigations. “Is this the guy who followed Josh?”
“Shhh ...” She glanced into the hall to make sure her teenagers weren’t around. “Yes. He’s good. Really good.”
“I’m not having anyone follow—”
“It’s not for William. Lord knows that man is head over heels for you. But if I were you, I’d have Tom do some digging on Neena. She’s your next-door neighbor and your employee. You should find out more about who you’re bringing into your life.”
“I don’t know ...” Even as I wavered, I dropped the card into the open neck of my purse.
She shrugged. “Just keep his info and think about it. And if you do call, tell him that I sent you. He’ll take good care of you.”
I gave her a hug and tried to dismiss the idea of hiring a private investigator to look into William’s newest employee. He’d be furious. HR would have already done a criminal background check and drug test. William would accuse me of paranoia and snooping.
It was a crazy idea. But then again, what harm could it do? And how would he ever find out?
CHAPTER 10
NEENA
With the phone pressed to my ear, I rounded the far end of the lake and glanced at the Winthorpe building, the reflection of water and sky glimmering against its all-glass facade. The first floor was retail, the second Winthorpe Capital. Tech occupied the third and fourth floors, and the top was under construction—rumored to be the future home of Winthorpe Development.
Matt was in the third minute of a long and drawn-out story about propane-tank relocations. I cut him off as I entered the north section of the trail, and the view of Winthorpe disappeared behind the row of cypress trees. “I have to run. I’ll call you in a few hours. I love you.”
He returned the sentiment, and I ended the call and worked the cell phone into the side pocket of my bag.