Covert Attraction (20 page)

“Okay,” she conceded. “But let’s hurry.”

They got ready to leave Daniel’s quickly. He accompanied her to her car and told her to stay parked till he drove around the building.

She took the opportunity to send a quick text to her family, one she probably should have sent last night, reassuring them that she was okay. She of course used the burner phone with its limited minutes and difficult-to-trace location.

When they reached her place, she obediently listened to Daniel’s instructions. He checked things out, and all seemed safe. He even waited till she had showered and changed in the bathroom, the only place in her little unit where she could get some privacy, and then they left once more.

Knowing Daniel was behind her—for now—she drove back to the Corcoris campus, wondering what today would bring.

* * *

Because it was Saturday, Daniel was able to pull his car into a space directly beside Beth’s. He got out and did what they’d previously decided on as their usual thing in case anyone was observing them—talking briefly, as if the nerdy lab guy had a crush on the shy cleaning-crew member.

“You sure I can’t convince you to go home?” he asked softly, with those stupid glasses on and as geeky a smile as he could manage when he felt so mad.

“Of course not.” She ducked her head in her pseudo shyness as if he had instead paid her a compliment.

“Then keep your phone on. Stay in touch. And I’ll check on you as often as I can.”

“Thanks, but no need.” She pushed the button to lock her car and walked off.

He had to let her go to maintain their routine. Slowly, watching the sway of her slender form from behind as she headed out of the garage and toward the main building, he began to follow, his jaw clamped in frustration.

What he’d wanted to do, instead of pretending to flirt with the woman whose beauty was hidden beneath her pretense at being no one, was to shake her. Insist once and for all that she get out of there and leave the investigation—and potential danger—to someone who knew how to deal with it.

Now, he would not only have to do his job today and carefully assist the FDA in its inspection—and in finding anything useful hidden in the Corcoris labs and computer system—but he would also have to keep watch on Beth to make sure she didn’t put herself in any further danger.

He might not have said a whole lot to her about her missing friend here, but that particularly worried him. He had apparently been even more of a threat to the company than Andrea—before—and he had disappeared. Another thing they’d continue to look into.

This was going to be an interesting day.

Daniel just hoped they both got out of it with their joint mission accomplished—and with both of them alive, healthy and safe.

* * *

As usual, Beth headed down to the basement after using her security card to get into the building. She hadn’t expected to see Mary Cantrera there, since the woman had been around giving her orders for the past ten days. Her comment about Beth talking to someone else in charge about coming in on Sunday had also indicated she wouldn’t be here. She should have the weekend off, shouldn’t she?

But there she was, standing at the far end of a longer row of carts than Beth had seen here before. As expected, there were apparently fewer cleaners on duty today despite the need to primp labs and halls for the FDA inspectors.

Beth edged toward Mary, head bent, a subservient smile on her face. “Hi,” she said. “You’re working some extra time, too.” She didn’t inquire whether Mary needed the money, as Beth herself had claimed to.

Mary responded to her unasked question. “I’m here because I was asked to work this weekend to make sure things are done right.”

Asked by whom, Beth wondered. Probably her boss. Beth knew Mary reported to the head of the Support Team, and he in turn reported to someone in Operations. She didn’t know names, nor did she need to.

Her targets were several rungs above the top of that group.

“I’ll do whatever I can to help. Where would you like me to clean today?”

She expected Mary to designate someplace on one of the laboratory floors, where the building staff could appear to be busily engaged in doing their jobs to impress their visitors.

Or maybe another stint cleaning the cafeteria or someplace like that.

But she intended to head upstairs to the executive floor sometime today. There would be fewer people around, so she could do some of the snooping she’d planned to do from the moment she’d arrived. That was where she might find some evidence.

And it was where she might find some answers...about Milt.

Since she had given the impression of being diligent but not overly intelligent, she should be able to get away with feigning confusion if she was caught.

She was shocked, therefore, when Mary said, “Our usual elite crew isn’t here today, but Mr. Rissinger came down here himself a short while ago. The executives will be having some meetings with the inspectors later in the conference room a floor below their offices. They’ll probably give the inspectors a tour of the executive floor, so they need someone there now to make sure everything is spotless. That’s where I’m sending you today.”

Chapter 20

B
eth felt her eyes widen in surprise, and she quickly looked down at the floor.

This could be the perfect chance to finally achieve what she had come here to do.

It could also be a perfect fiasco.

She looked up at her ostensible boss with a tentative smile on her face. “Oh, this is such a wonderful opportunity to prove myself. I can do it. I know I can.”

“I hope so.” Mary sighed. “I just wish I had asked one of our usual staff who cleans on that floor to come in this weekend just in case.” She stared hard at Beth. “You’d better do a good job. And let me know if you have any questions. Now, get up there right away.”

But Beth said she needed to head to the ladies’ room first.

“Hurry up,” Mary cautioned her. “You know the bosses. They always want everything done yesterday.”

“Oh, yes, I’ll be quick.”

Beth dashed down the hall. It wasn’t that she needed to use the facilities—except for the mirror.

She had to look at herself, make sure she bore no resemblance to Andrea Martinez—who months ago had had an office on the executive floor.

A tiny office tucked way back in the public relations area, to be sure. But she had interfaced with a lot of the executives. Beth had no idea who would be around today, but because some Corcoris administrators were to meet with the FDA inspectors, she anticipated that Rissinger, who had demanded the cleaning, and his direct boss, Preston Corcoris, could be present.

If one of them knew who she was—and that was why that guy had been hired or whatever to follow her in that stolen vehicle—then both of them knew. But if so, why hadn’t they confronted her before this?

More likely, it wasn’t them but someone else who was curious about why a cleaning-staff member was hobnobbing with a lab tech—and that could be anyone in the chain of command, most likely someone fairly far down who had felt like checking it out. Either way, she would remain cautious.

Fortunately, there was no one else in the ladies’ room. Beth squared her shoulders and stared into the mirror.

Who was she looking at?

The eyes, at least, belonged not to Andrea Martinez but to Beth Jones. She’d liked their bright violet shade when Beth had lived in Seattle and done proofreading for those online newspapers and magazines for a company headquartered in the area. She could be a quasi-normal person, a bit introverted, sure, since weren’t all people who wanted to deal more with words than people introverted? She’d rarely had to appear in person at the office, so her appearance wasn’t particularly important.

But here that eye color had probably made her stand out. Which was another good reason to assume a shy personality and watch the floor.

Her makeup was a lot different from public relations–staff member Andrea’s, her hair shorter, blacker, less attractive than Andrea’s longer, highlighted brown locks. Her body was more toned than Andrea’s, even though she hadn’t had an opportunity or a place to work out since arriving here the way she’d had in her Seattle home.

She supposed if someone looked only at her facial structure beneath the makeup and recognized her high cheekbones... Well, she could just keep her head bent as always here.

And if she found herself alone in an office with the computer on? Well, she knew one password now, thanks to Daniel’s having “borrowed” Georgine Droman’s and, at her urging, passing it along to her. Not that she’d ever had an opportunity to sit down at a computer here before.

Daniel. What would he have thought about her if she’d still looked like herself? Like Andrea?

It didn’t matter. But she hoped she could impress him—and Judge Treena—by actually accomplishing something here.

Maybe she could even find more passwords. In their own offices, executives might post reminder notes on their monitors or in their desk drawers.

She would see.

In a few minutes, she would definitely see.

* * *

Daniel had been in the lab at his assigned cubicle for half an hour, wearing his white jacket and geek glasses as always. There were more people there than usual on a weekend—not surprising, given the flurry around the inspection.

He had an urge to drop something on the floor so he’d have an excuse to call the cleaning staff and have them send someone to take care of it. He couldn’t specifically request Beth, but considering the likelihood of a reduced staff that day, he could hope he would get her.

But with the other lab techs there, all hanging over their assigned microscopes and computers, adding to the chaos there wouldn’t be such a good idea.

He had to find another way to check up on Beth.

Just wandering the building wouldn’t work, though. Nor would going to the cleaning storage area and asking whoever was in charge today what Beth’s assignment was.

He decided to risk something else. After all, Beth wouldn’t have to respond to a text if it put her in an awkward position. He headed into the hallway.

The FDA inspectors appeared to be just arriving. Weren’t they supposed to be checking out the manufacturing building that morning?

They were alone, at least. This appeared like a good time to say hi...and more.

“Hello,” he said, pasting on a nice geeky smile in case anyone was watching. He didn’t remind the men that he’d had a brief interface with them yesterday. They’d remember it. “I so admire people like you who really care about the people who use our medicines. Of course, Corcoris works so hard on quality control, and we conduct tests all the time. I’m sure you’ve been told where to find the results and the reports, right?” The ones the execs wanted to be found, sure. But the rest?

The three officious-looking people, all in suits rather than lab garb—for now, at least—maintained their cool expressions. Good. They helped to maintain his cover.

He edged closer and said softly, “Weren’t you supposed to start out in the other building today?”

The only woman among them, Neva, said loudly, “It’s so nice to meet a member of the staff who really gives a damn.” More quietly, the young woman, without looking at him, said, “Change of plans. We’ve got a meeting later this morning with some of the executives. We’ll check out manufacturing and packaging this afternoon.”

“Got it,” Daniel assured her in a whisper. He didn’t dare talk to them any more, since Manny, the lab tech with whom he’d clashed now and then, emerged from the elevator. Daniel continued on his way to the restroom, figuring that Manny must think he had a bladder problem since he spent so much time there.

But so what? He headed for a stall and locked the door. He then pulled his cell phone from his pocket and texted Beth:
Where are u 2day?

Her response was quick, which suggested there was no one near her—a good thing.

But when he read it, he stared, and his heart began hammering.

He had to figure out the best way to get to her. To keep an eye on her.

To protect her.

For her response was:
Exec floor. All fine.

* * *

Because Ivan Rissinger had been the one to ask for someone to clean on this floor, Beth headed for his office first.

Not directly, though. Just because Andrea Martinez had known her way around this area didn’t mean that lowly Beth Jones, who had never before cleaned around here, could easily figure it out.

Would it look best if she called Mary and asked directions? No, the less she remained in contact with the crew chief the better.

Fortunately, there wasn’t anyone else visible to ask, either. The hallway was empty, and all office doors were shut.

They were labeled, though. And supposedly figuring out where Rissinger’s lair was would allow her to walk the hall, try to see which offices were occupied...and even pop in one or two to learn anything she could up here.

Like whose computer might be on but in sleep mode.

Better yet, who had posted their password somewhere accessible, as she had already hoped she would find.

She—Andrea—knew that Rissinger’s office was the next to last on the right. The farthest one, the corner office, belonged to Preston Corcoris.

She would be working next door to the hangout of the man she wanted least to see...and most to find something damning on.

Was he there right now?

Possibly. If there were to be meetings with the FDA folks as Mary had said, he would at least be coming in today.

Beth slowly wheeled her heavy cleaning cart along the carpeted hall of this floor.

Something was going to happen today. She could feel it.

She only hoped it would lead to the results she craved—and that she would come out of it okay.

And even more important, that Daniel would, too.

Her mind again focused on Daniel—as if he ever completely left her thoughts. He was in the same building. He had already checked up on her. Should she have lied to him about where she was? He would worry about her being here—because she could mess things up for him if she screwed up. Or make him look bad if she was somehow harmed.

Not that it would hurt him the way the loss of his confidential informant had, of course. She knew that had to be the main reason he wanted to protect her. And the only reason he sometimes acted as if he cared about her was their charade around here. No matter how attracted she’d been to him, it was one-sided and nearly over.

Beth made herself push the cart forward. Time to get to work.

* * *

Daniel was furious. He knew he should just let Beth do as she pleased, allow her to get caught by Corcoris or someone else.

Maybe they’d assume she was the person she appeared to be.

Maybe they had known all along who she really was.

And he wasn’t fooling himself. He would protect her no matter what nonsense she tried. He would go look for her shortly.

“What time is it?” he heard a voice say from outside the bathroom stall.

“Nearly time for us to go upstairs to meet the execs.”

Daniel smiled to himself as he flushed the toilet and pushed open the door. Sure enough, the two FDA men stood there.

“Hey, guys,” he said in his dorky lab rat voice. “Don’t you think you could use a techie employee’s presence at the meeting to let you know all the wonderful things Corcoris Pharmaceuticals is doing to ensure quality control?”

They got it. The one named Alan raised his eyebrows, and the one he knew as Doug just smiled. They understood that for whatever reason he wanted to accompany them upstairs.

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Doug said.

“Me, too,” said Alan.

* * *

Beth still saw no one as she pushed the heavy cart down the hall lined not only with doors but also with oil paintings that were probably worth a fortune— unlike downstairs, where the only things resembling artwork were pictures of the Corcoris drugs on the hallway walls and posters encouraging people to work harder.

Were the silence and emptiness a good thing? Sure. She could go wherever she wanted and act totally oblivious if someone showed up and kicked her out.

She found herself heading to the executive office she had once been most familiar with—Milt Ranich’s. Could her former boss and mentor have left something useful behind to point to evidence of the company’s fraudulent quality control—and what had happened to him?

When she arrived there, she saw that the office was no longer designated for the head of PR but for Bert Jackson, the new VP of products, whom she’d heard dubbed the “manufacturing mogul” of Corcoris. He was in charge of all that went on inside the other building on the campus, where the products were mixed and packaged.

If anyone knew about quality control—or lack thereof—it would be Jackson.

Maybe she still could find something useful there.

She knocked on the door first, loudly enough to be heard inside but not so loud that anyone besides someone inside that office was likely to hear it.

No answer. She carefully opened the door, which was, fortunately, unlocked. The good thing was that she could get in, but the accessibility also suggested that the guy whose office this currently was had nothing to hide.

This visit was likely to be useless.

Just in case he was there but hadn’t heard her, she said, “Housekeeping.” Still no response, so she pushed the door open.

This compact and completely neat office area was where his secretary would sit during working hours, so despite its being empty, Beth again remained careful since Jackson could still be in his own inner lair without knowing she had come in.

Luckily it, too, had no one inside. Beth shoved her cart in front of her, then pulled out the rags and other equipment she would use here if she were, in fact, cleaning. Instead, she looked around.

Previously, the places on this floor where she had hung out hadn’t included those occupied by people in charge of manufacturing the products but by those who shouted their existence and superiority to the world. Or at least to the world of physicians and consumers.

Those people worth lying to.

Beth relaxed just a little. She thought of Daniel. Should she text him again and gloat that all was well?

No. No need to tempt fate—or to take up precious time she needed here to do some searching.

Too bad Daniel wasn’t here, though. She could use an extra pair of eyes and hands to get through here as quickly as possible.

And his presence would help keep her calm and directed, as far from the shy, inept woman she had to pretend to be around other people here as Beth was from Andrea.

The office gave the impression that Jackson was proud of what he did. Awards from organizations she hadn’t even heard of hung on the wall; giant and colorful plastic representations of pills sat on shelves in a cabinet that also contained photos and books on the pharmaceuticals industry.

And, of course, there was a desk with a computer on it.

Beth would head there in a minute, but first she continued to scout to see what else might be of interest.

She smiled when she noticed, just under the desk, a covered wastebasket that was labeled For Shredding. Perfect—assuming the guy hadn’t sent everything potentially iffy to be destroyed before in anticipation of the FDA visit. Wearing the rubber gloves that were supposed to prevent contamination but also succeeded in preventing her from leaving fingerprints, she knelt and pulled the container toward her.