Rough Harbor (19 page)

“I missed you,” Caitlyn said and went into Noah’s arms as if she belonged there. She still hadn’t decided what to tell him about what she had found out last night. There were too many unanswered questions. But she needed to see him, reassure herself that they were okay. Because all of a sudden, no matter what had happened in the past, what was happening in the present, she wanted him.

“Me, too,” he said, hugging her back, but she sensed a hesitation, a reserve.

She looked at him carefully. “What is it?”

He motioned her into the house, back towards the kitchen. He poured her a cup of coffee, finding her cream, one sugar, just as she liked it. All the while, he remained silent, and she felt a corresponding heaviness come down on her.

“You have to tell me what’s wrong,” she pleaded, knowing she needed to know what he was thinking, no matter how much it hurt.

Noah looked at her, his eyes dark, impenetrable. “What really happened?”

“What do you mean?”

“When you left London and your job. Something else happened that you haven’t told me.”

She looked at him, feeling her skin redden.

“What is this about?” She thought she could leave that behind. Maxwell had told her not to worry, told her he didn’t care.

“It’s about you and us, Caitlyn.” Noah made as if to reach out and touch her hand, but he drew it back. “About why you really came back. About why you’re with me.”

“With you? I’m with you because…” Caitlyn trailed off. She couldn’t say it, could barely admit it to herself. “Because I like being with you. You make things feel right,” she finished.

“And is that it?” he asked, looking at her, waiting. When she said nothing, he shook his head and started to walk away. “I don’t know what he did to you, over in London, or what you think Maxwell did to you, but I’m not either one of them. And until you figure that out, maybe, maybe… just show yourself out, will you? I have work to do.”

“Wait.” Caitlyn couldn’t let him walk away. “There is more to it. But I didn’t tell you because I’m embarrassed by it.” There, she had said it.

“It can’t be that bad, can it? You didn’t do anything wrong, did you?”

Caitlyn shook her head and sat down. “I think I might have.”

Noah walked back, stood closer to her, but still didn’t touch her.

“Tell me.”

And Caitlyn knew she had to.

“After I found Michael sleeping with my best friend, I was upset. I moved out, back into a small little studio. I seemed to have less money than I thought, when there was Michael around. I was unhappy, upset, angry and basically not much good to anyone. My friends snubbed me, and Michael tried to persuade me to come back. And when that didn’t work, he told lies. He became the injured party, and I became
persona non grata
. Not very good when your job is to be out there, mingling, going to parties, getting clients. It seemed that a lot of my good fortune had rested squarely on Michael’s shoulders. But I still had a few loyal clients and, well, things did seem to get a little better.

“But then somehow, one of my clients, an older man, ancient really, who couldn’t be expected to know what was going on in the gossip pages, sent a check. And supposedly it got misplaced. In the wrong account. His money went missing, and there were some errors in my accounting. He called about it, of course, and the whole thing was taken very seriously. There was an investigation. I couldn’t remember getting the check, didn’t know what happened to it.

“But my assistant swore she had seen it. She said it came across her desk, I endorsed it and then had it deposited in an account I had control of. I demanded a full investigation.”

“What happened?”

“The paper trail led back to Michael. He wasn’t very smart about it.”

“And what happened to him?” Noah’s voice was rough, angry.

Caitlyn shrugged. “Michael’s father is a very important man. The whole thing was hushed up, I was cleared of any wrongdoing, and after a little while, everything died down. They didn’t quite apologize to me, and, well, I could tell that I was going nowhere at the company, or in London. A fresh start seemed the best thing. Maxwell knew that. He saved me.”

“So, you didn’t come back out of revenge?”

Caitlyn looked at Noah and laughed. “Revenge?”

“Against my father. For stealing the firm, for ruining your life.”

Caitlyn put her hand on Noah’s arm, and he let her. “No, that’s not why I came back.” But she couldn’t help thinking of what she had learned. Perhaps if she had known then what she knew now?

She looked into Noah’s eyes and saw that he was confused. He believed her, but he had his doubts, and how could she blame him? She had been very angry and bitter for a long time, and he didn’t know the whole story. She couldn’t tell him yet – it would be too much and not quite believable. Instead, she asked him to hold her, and one thing led to another.

<<>>

Caitlyn dressed and let herself out of the bedroom, leaving a note. She tiptoed across the hall and down the stairs. This was wrong, but she thought of Maxwell, who would want her to do this, and the thought strengthened her. If he had been alive, she would have asked him, but he was not, and his son simply wasn’t ready.

She went to the study, to Maxwell’s desk. The drawers were unlocked; Noah had already been through them. She found what she wanted easily enough, in the second drawer, the master set of keys to the office. She left the house and went out to the car. It was dark; dawn was still far away. She looked up at Noah’s window and then got in the car.

Caitlyn was alone on the dark, midnight roads, but now she couldn’t discount the fact that she was being followed, had been for a while. She thought again of the person who had been in her house and did not know what they were looking for.

She drove down into Queensbay, to the parking lot of the office building. She had only half-dressed. She had on her skirt but no pantyhose, and no coat, and it was cold as she hurried across the parking lot and let herself into the building. Her ID card still worked, and she took the elevator up to the fourth floor. Only dim, emergency lights were on as she opened the doors of the office and made her way towards Tommy Anderson’s office. The key was in there; she felt it.

Caitlyn slipped a key into the door of Tommy’s office. It took a few tries, but she found the right one and let herself in. It was so perfect in here. She turned on the desk light, and the fluorescent bulb came on jerkily. There was the picture of his family, his wife and his baby, all smiling. His wife was a pretty woman as well. She came from money; her father was a local land developer.

Caitlyn looked at the row of binders behind the desk. He had given them to Heather to be copied, but she had no idea if he’d given her the right ones. There was a whole row of them. She looked over at the desk and tried some of the smaller keys. She opened the drawers, but found nothing of interest, just supplies and some files.

She turned back to the row of binders, checked her watch and began.

<<>>

She hadn’t been followed from home. She had left the office early in the morning, before dawn, and gone home to shower and change. She would need to come in this morning to face whatever she needed to face. And hopefully that would be it. Then she would be free to go. She was pretty sure she had found what she was looking for, the thing that Flynn had been after.

The look on Heather’s face said it all. Caitlyn wondered if she should even bother to take off her jacket and then thought it would look bad if she didn’t. She thought for a second about how the scene should be played. She needed them to believe she was hiding something, stonewalling them, but that she thought she was innocent. Because she was, and someone knew it.

“Mr. Harris wants to see you,” Heather told her. She looked so pained that Caitlyn almost wanted to ask her what was wrong. But she did not, simply smoothed her hands over her jacket and played dumb.

Sam was in his office alone. Caitlyn shut the door behind her and took a seat, not waiting to be invited.

“Caitlyn.”

Caitlyn smiled, trying to fake a braveness she did not feel.

“Why were you in the office last night?”

“Excuse me?”

“We have security cameras, you know, and they showed you coming into the office in the very early morning hours.”

There weren’t security cameras in the office, just in the lobby. Caitlyn swallowed. She hadn’t quite thought about that. Still, though, they wouldn’t know what she’d been doing once she’d been inside the office.

“I had some work to do.”

He looked at her, his blue eyes gazing directly at her. “I find that hard to believe. How did you get in?”

She shrugged. Not much she could say there, without dragging Noah into it.

Sam went on. “Caitlyn, I have been informed that there are some irregularities with your accounts.”

“My accounts?” This time, instead of fear, she felt anger. It was happening again.

“Yes. Inconsistent accounting, amounts missing. I am launching a full investigation into it, and until that time, I am suspending you without pay from all firm-related activities.”

Caitlyn saw that Sam was trying hard not to gloat. He thought she was done, out of the way, an obstacle removed. So, she let him believe it, protesting her innocence and even letting her eyes water. But he was adamant, would not show her anything. He did not bring up what had happened in London. At the end, she collected herself and her dignity and got up to go.

“Caitlyn.”

She turned.

“This looks bad. I thought…” he paused. “It’s just that Maxwell trusted you so much.”

She looked at him and nodded.

Head held high, she marched out. Eyes followed her out. She saw Tommy Anderson, and she stared at him, and he looked back at her. They held each other’s eyes until he smiled and she dropped hers.

She took her coat and said nothing to Heather, who just looked at her, a cross between fear and triumph on her face.

“Enjoy your time here, Heather. It was a pleasure working with you.”

Heather said nothing, but the look on her face changed. She seemed about to burst into tears, but then she recovered, drew herself up and just gave Caitlyn a cold stare.

There was a security guard waiting for her at the elevators.

“I need to escort you out, miss.” He was young, and they had once had a friendly relationship. He didn’t quite take her arm, but he was uncomfortable. He asked for her badge and then for the keys.

“I don’t have the keys.”

He looked at her.

“But how did you get in last night?”

She shrugged and gave him the badge. She walked out the door and to her car, driving first to Noah’s.

They were facing each other, like tigers ready to strike. He looked at her and hated himself. She was close to tears, he thought, dark color suffusing her face, her lower lip unsteady, her whole body twisted and coiled.

“Are you saying you believe him?”

He looked at her, reaching for her. “No, of course not, I know it’s not true. But there’s something going on.”

She felt a rush of relief. “Well, it’s the right answer, but it took you too long. If you had to think that hard…” Caitlyn picked up her jacket and started to move away from him.

“Don’t go. Listen, I had no idea you would take my keys and do something stupid like break into the office.” Noah ran his hands through his hair. He’d been proceeding carefully, working with his lawyer and a team of investigators. No matter what, his lawyer had said, they didn’t want to spook the perpetrator. They had to catch the crook red-handed.

“Stupid?” Caitlyn shook her head.

“Listen,” Noah said. “It’s true. There are some problems with your accounts. I’ve had a team looking into it.”

“My accounts. Do you think I would steal?” Caitlyn was angry, her body tight and coiled again.

Noah wanted to reach out and grab her, pull her close to him, but he knew she wouldn’t let him.

“No, I don’t, but someone is.”

She seemed to relax a bit after that. “So, you know about it?”

“Not that much yet. And I don’t know who. I haven’t even told Sam Harris what’s going on. No one can know, yet. We don’t want to tip our hand.”

“What made you think…?”

Noah sighed and told her about his meeting with Michael. “Hopefully he’s well on his way to London. But it got me thinking, about what you told me… Tony Biddle’s account. That friend of Adriana’s.”

“But you don’t know everything yet?” she asked.

He shook his head. “But I need to ask you for your patience, let this all play out. If the person who’s doing this knows we think it’s you…”

“He, or she, will do something stupid.”

Noah nodded. He could tell she was still mad. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. These things are delicate.” He wanted to pull her to him, tell her it would be all right, that he would make it right for her. He took a step towards her, but she moved back.

“Don’t touch me.” She laughed bitterly. “I know how these things go. In case you’ve forgotten, it’s not my first time being accused of being a crook.”

“Caitlyn, don’t,” he said. He pulled her close, and she let him. He touched his lips to her hair, put his arms around her back and pulled her in.

Finally, she pushed away, gently, then harder.

“No, Noah. No. I thought… I thought I could get away from it, thought I could leave it behind. But I can’t. Our choices stick with us. There are always consequences. I wanted to get away from here so much, I went too far away. Now I am not sure I can ever come back.” “Caitlyn, where are you going?” She had picked up her coat.

She shook her head. “There will be a lot of evidence against me. There will be those stories, which everyone hears, but no one knows where they came from. It will be very difficult to believe that I haven’t done anything. I will look very bad. And I get it. Noah Randall, CEO, philanthropist, investor, big man around town can’t be associated with any of that.”

“Caitlyn.” He felt panic rushing over him. He couldn’t let her go. This wasn’t what he had meant to happen.

“Noah, don’t put yourself in for this. Let Sam Harris do what he needs to do. Let your investigators do what they need to do. I need to do something for myself. I would like to ask you to trust me, to believe in me, but I supposed if I have to ask, well, then it’s already too late.”

“No, Caitlyn, I do. I do.” She was already walking, and she quickened her pace.

He moved to go after her, but she turned around, just inside the door.

“Noah, if you trust me, let me go.”

She let herself out, and he stood there, alone and miserable, not sure what to do. Let me go, she had said. It was what she had said to him years ago, after her grandfather’s funeral. He had gone to her, to tell her that he would stay with her, be with her as long as she needed him to. And he had been told to let go, to let her go, to leave for his own life. He had left her then, let her go. And now. He sat down on the step of the stairs, looking around him at this big, empty house that wasn’t his.

Believe in me, but let me go. The hell with that, he thought as he heard her car pull away. Caitlyn Montgomery was not getting away from him. Not this time, not ever again.