Authors: Casey Griffin
Jumping to her feet, she grabbed her backpack and headed for the gate. Colin trotted next to her and back to the parking lot like a faithful sidekick—well, she thought, she was probably more of the sidekick. But this time, she was the one who was going to kick some bad guy butt. Or maybe that was the Supergirl costume talking.
“Wait!” Holly stumbled after her, Hey, You following like her shadow. “Where are you going?”
“To talk to Aiden,” she said. “It’s the only way to get some real answers.”
“Do you think that’s safe?” Zoe asked.
This brought her up short. She stopped walking and spun around. “Safe? Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Well, what if it’s true?” Zoe gave a small cringe to apologize for being the devil’s—aka Holly’s—advocate. “What if Aiden is somehow involved in all this?”
Piper didn’t want to think about it. She’d entertained Holly’s conspiracy theories enough for one day. “I’ve heard enough. I’m going.”
“Wait!” Addison cried, grabbing Zoe and locking the gate. “We’re coming too.”
Holly looked like she was about to have a fit from all the excitement. “Ooh, confrontation.”
Zoe held up a hand. “Not you, Jerry Springer.”
“We’ll take my car!” Addison unlocked her MINI convertible with the remote.
The soft top was down, and Piper controlled the urge to Dukes of Hazzard it over the hood and flip herself into the car. Instead, she opened the passage door, threw her bag on the other seat, picked up Colin, and scrambled into the back. She wanted to get away from Holly and her badgering questions as soon as possible. Questions that made her uncomfortable. Yes, they might have sounded like conspiracy theories, but the worst part was they were starting to make sense.
She gripped her knees, digging her nails into her bare skin as Addison and Zoe got in and buckled up. Not soon enough, the little four-seater car pulled out of the parking space, kicking up gravel that ricocheted off the new sign. Piper’s short red cape sticking out of her jacket caught the wind and flowed out behind them as they flew off.
The last thing she heard Holly yell as she ran after the car was, “I get the exclusive, right?”
Addison’s blue eyes flicked to Piper’s reflection in the rearview mirror. She gave her a confident we’ll-get-you-to-the-ball-Cinderella look. “I’m sure this is all a misunderstanding.”
Piper held Colin close, for her own comfort and his protection as Addison took the next corner like they were in a high-speed chase. “I hope so.”
Zoe remained silent, staring out the passenger window, but Piper could see her expression in the side mirror. It didn’t look like she agreed with Addison’s point of view, but she kept her mouth shut, throwing worried glances at Piper now and then.
Addison cranked the wheel, tires squealing. “He cares about you, Piper. Anyone can see that. He’s your Noah.”
“Her what?” Zoe asked. “Oh, I get it. As in Noah’s Ark, right? A reference to their two dachshunds?”
“No. As in Noah from
The Notebook
. You guys are soul mates, Piper.”
“I thought he was my Richard Gere.”
“No, he’s much more than that.”
He was. At least, she thought he’d been. But Holly’s words chased her all the way to the Financial District. No matter how fast the MINI went, the girls couldn’t outrun them.
She didn’t want to believe it. Aiden was no attempted murderer or cold-blooded businessman. But facts were facts; he was trying to destroy her beloved center, to take away the home of her friends.
Over her dead body, she thought. She just hoped that wasn’t a real possibility.
The MINI convertible whipped into the underground parking beneath Aiden’s office building. Piper’s heart began leapfrogging in her chest. She wasn’t sure how it could still beat so fast and break into a million pieces at the same time. Aiden knew what the rescue center meant to her, and yet he planned on taking it away from her.
No, she told herself. There had to be another explanation for it. Holly was trying to get a rise out of her again. Nothing more.
Addison pulled into a visitor-parking stall and killed the engine. She turned around and gave Piper a hopeful look. “Here we are.”
“Thanks for the lift,” Piper said. “I won’t be long. I promise.”
Zoe spun around in her seat. “Oh no. You’re not going in without us.”
“Yeah, we’re your reinforcements,” Addison said.
Piper couldn’t help but smile, grateful for friends’ support. “This is Aiden’s office we’re talking about. Not Fort Knox. I’ll be fine.” She rearranged her raincoat to make sure it hid her costume. Because while Supergirl would be formidable considering her powers, Piper had none to speak of, you know, besides the ability to make men’s pants grow tighter.
Zoe gnawed at her lip. “Unless, of course, Aiden really is somehow involved in all this. And I’m not saying he is.” She threw her hands up. “I’m just saying that this person, whoever it is, tried to kill you twice now. There’s a connection. I’m trying to think logically. And I don’t want to see anything happen to you.”
“But to be fair. The car thing was more of a spur-of-the-moment maiming rather than a planned thing,” Addison argued. “Maybe.”
“Yeah, much better.” Zoe hopped out of the front seat before Piper could protest.
Addison leapt out of the driver’s seat. “This is like an action movie. Or maybe some spy operation. We’re like Charlie’s Angels.”
“Who’s Charlie in this instance?” Zoe asked.
“I guess that would be Marilyn.”
Piper turned to Colin. She couldn’t leave him behind. “Well, Colin. I guess that makes you Bosley. But you’ll have to hide in here for now.” Unzipping her backpack, she emptied the contents and tucked him inside, leaving an opening big enough for him to watch her back as they headed for the elevators.
Piper fidgeted all the way up to the fortieth floor. Addison used the mirrored doors to pretend she was a Charlie’s Angel, pointing her fingers like a gun. Zoe remained silent, thoughtful.
The doors slid open to reveal Veronica arranged behind her glass desk. Piper wondered if she practiced poses and held them all day or if she waited for the elevator
ding
before positioning herself like she was in a game of musical chairs.
When she saw it was just Piper, she slumped back into her chair and threw her head back, cackling at something someone said into her Bluetooth.
“She did not. No way. No way! OhmyGod,” she said like it was all one word.
Piper tried several times to get her attention, but Veronica spun her chair, angling away from them, as though if she didn’t see the three girls she couldn’t be accused of ignoring them. However, Piper lacked the patience for her today. Leaning over the desk, she plucked the Bluetooth from her ear and tossed it onto the desk.
She smiled sweetly at Veronica’s Botox-petrified expression. “I need a word with your boss.”
“He’s in a meeting at the moment, and can’t be interrupted.”
“I’ll wait.”
“It’s a long meet-ing.” She enunciated each word like Piper didn’t understand English.
Piper’s eyes narrowed. “Then I guess he’ll need a break,” she shot right back.
“They ordered in for lunch.”
But Piper wasn’t about to back down. “I need to speak with him. So hit that little button of yours and let me through. I’m sure he’ll understand. This is important.”
Veronica’s bleached smile didn’t reach her eyes. “So is his meeting, and he doesn’t need you coming in here at all times of the day interrupting him. Tamara’s told me all about you.”
She rolled her eyes at the mention of the PA. “I’m sure she has. Now let me through those doors.” She reached around the desk to hit the release button, but Veronica slapped her hand away.
“This is not a dating service. This is his place of business.” Veronica straightened in her chair and clipped the Bluetooth back to her orange ear.
What exactly did Tamara tell her? “Well, unfortunately, I’ve discovered that his recent business involves me.” Piper grabbed the Bluetooth again and tossed it over her shoulder. She was done playing nice.
Veronica bolted upright. Her chair flung back, rolling away on the polished floor. She glared at Piper across the glass desk, her skin flushing until her orange tan appeared peach. “I don’t understand why you should have any business at all talking with a sophisticated man like Mr. Caldwell, far less dating him. You’re an uncouth, uneducated, and uncivilized…”—her eyes raked over Piper, pausing at her neckline—“prostitute.”
Piper glanced down. The telltale
S
peeked out from beneath her coat. Grabbing her collar, she ripped her coat open further like it could transform her into the superhero. She was certainly mad enough to lift the desk up and throw it at the orange girl. “I’m not a prostitute,” she said between clenched teeth. “I’m a telegram singer.”
“And she’s educated,” Addison said. “She’s going to be a veterinarian.”
“Yes. A
doctor,
” Zoe added. “And she also happens to be your boss’s girlfriend. So are you looking to get fired? Or are you just stupid?”
Colin chose that moment to poke his bony head out of Piper’s backpack and give Veronica a growl of disapproval. Yeah, because toting around an oversized purse dog like the trailer park version of Paris Hilton helped Piper’s argument. She tucked his head back in.
“Well, Supergirl. I’m the administrative assistant to the CEO of this company. And I say that unless Aiden has a sick cow in his office, you won’t be seeing him today.”
“We don’t need to go into his office to see a cow,” Zoe muttered. “We’ve got one right here.”
“Excuse me?” Veronica leaned on her desk like she was ready to stab a pen into Zoe’s eye.
For a skinny Japanese girl, Zoe was tall, with looks that could kill. In fact, she’d persuaded more than one cold-footed groom down the aisle with nothing more than an arch of her eyebrow. And right now she looked like she wanted to rip Veronica’s hair extensions right out of her head.
Piper’s focus was on the catfight in the making, so she didn’t notice Addison sidle to the other end of the reception desk until she heard an innocent, “Whoops.”
Then came the crash.
All three girls turned from the desk. Colin poked his head out in curiosity. Next to Addison’s ballet flats sparkled the shattered remnants of the giant crystal vase and its scattered Casablanca lilies.
“It was an accident?” And it would have been believable if Addison weren’t grinning mischievously.
Veronica stomped her heel. “All right. All of you need to leave before I call security.”
“I can’t,” Addison said too cheerfully. “I’m afraid to move. What if I cut myself on all this glass?”
“It’s not glass. It’s Swarovski crystal. Or rather, it was. Now get out!”
Addison crossed her arms. “I could bleed to death. Lose a toe. How would your boss feel about an amputation in his office?”
Veronica huffed. “Don’t move. I’ll get a broom.”
Heels clicking on the marble floor, she walked to the side of the room and slipped her hand into a notch in the wall. Like magic, a hidden door appeared to reveal a room Piper didn’t know existed. Apparently, even the closets were modern. Veronica ducked inside, the wall sealing off again behind her.
“Now’s your chance,” Zoe hissed. “Hurry.”
Piper glanced back at the wall. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, we’ve got you covered,” Addison said. “There’s plenty of stuff to break in here.” And by the look in her eye, Piper knew she’d do it.
“Okay, but don’t hang around too long. I’ll meet you down at the car.”
Eyeballing the wall, Piper scurried past the invisible door and hit the button behind the desk. The lock on the door clicked open and she slipped through. She slowed her pace, strolling down the corridor of glass-walled offices. Nothing said “I don’t belong here” like frantically bolting through a building.
Gaze forward, she strode to the end of the hall until she stood in front of Aiden’s office. She couldn’t see inside. The shutters were drawn shut, probably because he was in a meeting. Taking a deep breath, she tapped on the glass door, not wanting to alert anyone else in nearby offices.
There was no answer. Either he didn’t want to be disturbed or his meeting was being held elsewhere. Piper glanced over her shoulder, shifting from foot to foot. Colin sensed her growing anxiety and he squirmed in her bag, digging his little paws into her back. The longer she stood out in the open, the more likely it was Veronica would come searching for her. Or worse. Security would.
A loud crash followed her up the hall from the reception area and Piper cringed. Addison sure made one hell of a distraction. A chair squeaked in an office nearby. Someone had stood up to go investigate the ruckus.
Body frozen in indecision, heart hammering, Piper finally tried the door. It was unlocked. She supposed it wasn’t like anyone would dare break into the CEO’s office. But, as he’d once pointed out, Piper wasn’t one for rules.
She hurried inside and closed the door behind her. It latched shut only a second before footsteps thumped outside. Piper’s muscles tensed and she held her breath until the sound receded down the hall, away from Aiden’s office. She breathed a sigh of relief.
The office was empty. The lights were off, but she didn’t dare turn them on in case someone noticed. The light filtering in through the tinted window overlooking Montgomery Street was bright enough to see by. Now that she looked around the room, at the fastidious arrangement of pens, notepad, and coffee cup, at his neatly hung jacket on the back of the door, the invasiveness hit her. She had no right to be here, in this world. Without him, it felt so foreign and wrong.
She considered escaping before anyone noticed, but then she heard another loud crash from up front and decided against it. Digging into her bag, past Colin’s squirming body, she grabbed her phone and texted Addison.
I’m in. Get out. Will meet you guys at the car.
She hit
send,
hoping they wouldn’t be leaving in handcuffs.
Feeling like an intruder, Piper took a seat across from Aiden’s desk and let Colin out of her backpack. She wasn’t doing anything wrong if she just sat there, right? Surely Aiden wouldn’t mind if she waited for him in his office. At least … so long as he had nothing to hide. So long as he wasn’t trying to kill or maim her, that is.