Filed to story: Watch Out, I’m The Lady Boss (Eleanor & Sebastian) Book PDF Free
“I’ll… I’ll think about it.”There were so many things to think about, and this was not the place or time to do it.
“Mr Laurent.” Savannah shuffled up, looking dejected.
“I’ve had people poring over the security footage, but, um, there was nothing unusual in the showroom that day.”
“The footage wasn’t deleted?” I asked, surprised.
“No.” The look she gave me was so complicated, I didn’t bother analysing its dozen emotions.
“We retrieved the footage. It showed everything as per normal. No one touched the display case.
“Then you didn’t check thoroughly enough,” Sebastian said.
Savannah looked like she wanted to argue, but didn’t. She cleared her throat.
“Maybe we missed something. Should I check again?”
“Don’t bother.”I speculated, “If there’s no sign of a break-in, they must’ve used old footage to cover it up.”Would vanish into thin air.
Savannah glanced nervously at Rexford Caldwell, who was clearly wishing he If the footage had been overwritten, there was no way to prove Violet had stolen anything. It was a dead end.
“If Mrs Laurent says it was overwritten,” he said, his voice tight, “then it’s been overwritten. We’ll handle this properly, later. Let’s just head to the conference room, shall we?”He gestured with a forced politeness, but Sebastian didn’t budge,
“Mr Caldwell, you’re acting like my wife and I are the ones causing trouble here.”Rexford Caldwell’s forehead was sweating. He waved his hands frantically.
“No, no, of course I trust you. It’s just that… It’s just a necklace, I mean, how much is it worth, really? I know how valuable your time is and I don’t want to waste it. There’s no need to get worked up-“
“Mr Caldwell, if the security footage from Nyx Collective can be tampered with, I wouldn’t trust you to handle the security system for our new mall.”Rexford paled. He snapped into action.
“We’ll get to the bott it was deleted or overwritten, we’ll find the traces!” of this! I’ll have someone here to investigate right now. Whether He dialled a number, barking instructions to someone on the oth Rexford was eager to reassure what was possibly the biggest client of his career.
“Mr Laurent, you have my word. I’m meticulous when it comes to these things. The mall project will be handled with the utmost care. There’s no way we’ll miss anything.”Sebastian gave a brief nod.
“Tampering with security footage would require the help of someone with authorised access.” He looked a question at him.
Rexford answered, “That’s management and security staff.”Savannah jumped in.
“I swear I never tampered with anything. I’d stake my job on it! I don’t even know how to do it.”Rexford narrowed his eyes at her, then said, “So, that leaves security.
“I’ll ask them to come up.” Savannah was already on her phone.
Three security guards entered. An older man who seemed to be the team leader, and two younger ones.
Savannah didn’t waste time.
“Which one of you helped Violet Lin tamper with the security footage?”The guards looked at each other, their faces blank, no one saying a word.
Savannah turned her glare on Violet Lin.
“Come on, speak up. Who helped you delete the footage?”Violet’s face went white.
“No one. I didn’t do anything! You’re making a huge mistake!”I pointed to the youngest of the trio, who still had peach fuzz on his jaw. His name tag said “Jace”.
“I saw him talking to Violet one night, after everyone else had left the building. She handed him a card. Then they went up to Savannah’s office together.”Violet looked ready to murder me with her eyes.
“You don’t have to take my word for it.” I shrugged.
“Call the cops. Let them handle it.”The young guard finally showed a reaction. He looked ready to bolt Rexford was reluctant.
“Must we involve the police? That can’t be good for the company. Think of the publicity. Mr Laurent-“
“Do it.”Rexford sighed and turned to Savannah.
“Do it!”
“Wait!” Jace shouted.
“Don’t call the police! It was me, I helped Violet Lin swap the footage. But she paid me, alright? I was desperate. Please, don’t call the cops! I don’t want to go to jail again!”He slapped Savannah’s phone from her hand, sending it skidding across the floor. The screen went dark.
Savannah was too shocked to be angry about her broken phone.
“Violet? You really did it?”Violet’s murderous glare switched targets.
Jace glared right back, “What? You paid me, yeah, but to rig the footage. You didn’t pay me enough to go to jail for you.”Violet!” Savannah nearly screamed.
Violet would have bolted from the office if the three-deep crowd hadn’t hemmed her in.
Violet? Speak!”She shuffled her feet, stammering.
“It wasn’t like that. The necklace was really popular, I just… I thought I’d try it on, you know? I was going to give it back the next day. No harm done, right?”
“Then where’s the bloody necklace now? The one in the display case is fake!”I sort of, um, misplaced it. I can pay for it. I’ll pay ten times its worth. Please, just don’t call the cops! I can make this right.”Savannah pinched the bridge of her nose.
Her eyes darted between Rexford and Sebastian.
Rexford hesitated.
Sebastian said, “My order stands.”Rexford gritted his teeth.
“Savannah, call the police.”
“Fine.” Savannah borrowed a colleague’s phone.
“They’ll be here shortly.”Jace tried to run, but the entourage that came with Rexford and Sebastian blocked him.
Cornered, he turned and screamed at Violet, “This is all your fault!
He glowered at me.
“And you, you meddlesome bitch. If you’d kept your mouth shut, none of this-“I barely registered Sebastian’s movement.
In a flash, he was no longer at my side but had Jace by the collar, shoving him hard against the wall.
The guard’s face went puce-coloured in a matter of seconds, Sebastian’s grip hard enough to cut off air supply.
Sebastian stood back.
Jace slipped to the floor, spluttering and gasping.
Sebastian said to Rexford, “When the police get here, get them to run a search on this man. More likely than not, he has a record.”Rexford had long given up trying to contain the mess; he simply nodded.
“Keep an eye on him,” Sebastian ordered his men.
“I wasn’t trying to run,” Jace said weakly.
“I just wanted to make a call… to my family. For bail.”I agreed with Sebastian; the man knew too much about police procedure not to have been through it before.
“I won’t run again, I promise!” Jace pleaded.
“Just allow me one phone call, please? I don’t have my phone with me.”Rexford turned to Sebastian, asking for direction.
Sebastian said nothing.
Jace struggled to stand. He limped to the nearest landline and dialled.
Sweat beaded on his forehead.
“Come on, pick up, pick up… You have to save me…”The ringing tone went on and on.
He swore, hung up, and dialled again.
I stepped forward involuntarily Sebastian held me back, a question in his eyes.
“I need to see the number,” I whispered to him.
“You recognise it?”I nodded.
“I think so, yeah.”For a period after my breakup with Daniel, that number frequently appeared in my unanswered calls log.
Once I knew who it was, I blocked it.
Jace dialled the number again, hitting redial at least ten times before someone finally picked up.
“You’ve got to get me out of here!” He whined.
“I got caught messing with the company footage. The police are on their way. You’ve got to bail me out at the station, quick!”I was standing right next to him, but couldn’t hear what the person on the other end said.
It was just a short sentence, then the call ended with a sharp click,
Jace swore.
He was about to call yet again when I stopped him.
“Who are you calling?”Jace scowled, visibly annoyed, though the expression vanished the moment he caught sight of Sebastian behind me.
“A friend,” he muttered, sullen.
“Who?” I pressed.
“Just a friend.”
“I’m asking for a name.”?`??????????
Irritation flickered in his eyes. He looked like he’d rather punch me than answer me.
But then he looked me up and down again, and something shifted. A smug glint replaced the irritation.
“I guess it doesn’t matter if you know now. I was calling Cathy.”
“Cathy? Catherine Vance?”He crossed his arms and gave a slow nod.
“Yeah, that Cathy. Bet you didn’t see that one coming, eh?”So I’d been right. The number was Catherine’s.
“She’s a friend of yours?”