Silken Threads (17 page)

“
I wish it didn’t have to be that way.”

“
For Kirk, it does,” Jane stated sagely. “If you hadn’t come here with a big title, it might have been different, but to most of the men...the cowboys, it would look as if Kirk was chasing money and selling out.”

“
But it’s not that way.”

“
The men like you; they’re getting to know you. When the time is right, it won’t matter to them. But right now it may.”

“
You really do believe that. You accept it, too, don’t you?” Cassandra asked, surprised by this new revelation.

“
I accept it because there’s no choice. Everything is changing in the world; here it just takes longer. I accept it, yes, but I don’t like it. Just remember one thing, Cassandra, both of us—you and I—are living in a man’s world.”

“
So I’ve noticed,” she said dryly.

“
Which doesn’t mean we can’t do what we want.” Then Jane took a deep breath. “I know it’s none of my business, but…”

Cassandra waited, but she saw that Jane was still hesitating. “We’re friends, remember?”

“
I remember. This trip to New York you don’t want anyone to know about it; is it personal?”

Cassandra smiled broadly. “Business, all business.”

“
Then why not tell Kirk?”

“
Because he wouldn’t agree with what I’m going to do. His pride would get in the way. I’ll tell him when I get back. Will you cover for me?”

“
I’ll do what I can.”

~~~~

Cassandra missed the last direct flight to New York, but she’d caught a flight to Dallas and from there by the sheer strength of determination and desire, managed to make all the connecting flights to New York.

At ten o’clock, the morning after her conversation with Jane, she walked into the offices of Leeds International and went straight to her father’s private office, only to find him gone.

“
When will he be back?” she asked his secretary, Elizabeth.

“
He’s in Switzerland and isn’t expected back for another week. Your mother’s with him, too.”

“
That’s surprising,” Cassandra commented.

“
Not really; it’s their anniversary,” Elizabeth informed her.

Cassandra closed her eyes and shook her head. “And I’m stupid. Is the office I was using still free?”

“
Yes.”

“
Good. They’re staying at the Mont Royal?” Her father’s secretary nodded her head. “Elizabeth, could you do a favor for me, please. Would you get me an international florist?”

“
Of course,” Elizabeth said, her tone softer now.

“
Could you also call Mr. Charter? I need to meet with him.”

“
He’s out of town also. He won’t be back for two more days.”

“
I see,” Cassandra said. “Okay, I guess I should have called before I flew back.” Cassandra went to the available office and sat down at the desk. While she waited for the call to the florist, she played absently with the computer.

A moment later the phone rang, and she ordered a large bouquet of flowers, charging them to the company and making a mental note to leave a check with Elizabeth to pay for them when the bill came in. Since her father had canceled her credit cards, Cassandra hadn’t bothered to apply for more.

Refusing to accept her efforts in traveling to New York as wasted, Cassandra looked up files in the company’s main computer.

As she worked, she realized that perhaps this trip had not been futile. She was here, and her father and the comptroller were not. It was a golden opportunity to do some unsuspected checking-up.

Her first order of business was to learn about the Carway contract. Because of the sophistication of the Leeds computer, all the information regarding its subsidiaries was permanently stored in the large mainframe computer. Cassandra learned to use the computer during her first week of work, before she’d left for Arizona. What she did now was to request the files for the Twin Rivers Corporation, which she did with a few simple keystrokes on the keyboard. Once she had the directory of Twin Rivers on the screen, she looked it over, and called up the contracts file.

Reading it carefully, Cassandra saw that there was no new information, but just as she was about to get the directory back, she noticed a cross-reference notation for Carway Distributors.

Marking down the data base code, Cassandra quickly cleared the screen and called up the new file. When she read the first two lines, her breath exploded.

“
So that’s your secret,” she whispered as she continued to read about Carway Distributors, a wholly owned but well-hidden subsidiary of Leeds International.

Now she knew why the noncompetitive price-setting exclusivity clause was in the contract. Her father couldn’t lose. The lower the price Carway paid for the beef, the higher the profit for Carway.

Why make one part of the company have a deficit to make another show a profit?

Nodding to herself, Cassandra pulled up the profit and loss statements for Carway. She saw that Carway was indeed a big profit maker, much bigger than Twin Rivers would be for several years.

Switching back to the Twin Rivers file, she looked up the tax statements for the last two years. As she suspected, the losses more than balanced out the taxes on Carway. In fact, the Twin Rivers losses made up for all the taxes paid by Carway.

Intuitively, Cassandra sensed there was more that wasn’t right. Again, Cassandra checked over the directory for Twin Rivers, her eyes speeding from line to line. At the end of the file, she paused, backing up the screen as she did.

She studied every entry, until she noted one item that didn’t ring true—the land survey file. It had a sub file titled “Geological Findings.”

What geological findings? Cassandra asked herself while her fingers pressed the keys that would call up the file.

The screen went blank for a moment, and then letters began to appear. After the fourth line, the cursor blinked maddeningly as it waited for instructions.

“
What kind of a geological survey?” she asked aloud as she reread the screen.

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY FINDINGS—TWIN RIVERS CORPORATION

WARNING! SECURITY CLEARANCE REQUIRED

SECURITY LEVEL 5.O

PLEASE ENTER USER PASSWORD

What is a 5.0 clearance?
she wondered. And wondered, too, at the need for a security password. Shrugging her shoulders, Cassandra typed in a random word. The computer responded with quickly formed letters

ACCESS DENIED—ILLEGAL PASSWORD

“Okay,” Cassandra said to the screen. She cleared the screen and stood. Only then did she realize how stiff she was and glanced at her watch. It was almost four o’clock.

Leaving the office, Cassandra crossed the hall and went into the computer department, where she spoke with the data processing supervisor, Mr. Holt.

When she asked about the security clearance level, he gave her a funny look. “I would think you knew about that.”

Cassandra shook her head. “I seem not to know about a lot of things around here.”

The man didn’t think her comment overly funny, and his face attested to that fact. “Most major corporations use a complicated series of security passwords to protect vital information. We have five levels of security here, Miss Leeds. I myself have a 4.0 clearance.”

“Who has a 5.0?” she asked.

“Your father and Mr. Charter.”

Cassandra smiled in defeat. “I should have known. But why would only one file have security protection?”

“Usually it’s because there’s confidential information contained in it that must be denied to the casual user.”

“I’m far from a casual user,” she stated imperiously.

“I’m afraid that anyone not cleared to access the file is a casual user, Miss Leeds,” he replied, turning back to his own console in dismissal.

Cassandra left the computer center and went back to the office. She sat before the computer once again and called up the information. She studied the information on the screen and then decided to print it out and take it back to Arizona. Kirk’s personnel file stated his experience with computers operated by the CIA in the Middle East.

She called the airlines and learned the last direct flight to Phoenix had just departed. If she would like, the airlines informed her, she could take a flight with two stopovers, which would get her to Phoenix by five in the morning.

Cassandra, tired from the hectic pace of the past twenty-four hours, decided not to take the flight. Instead, she made a reservation on the first direct flight in the morning.

After that, she left the office and went to her parents’ town house, where she soaked in a tub for a wonderful hour and then went to bed as the clock struck nine.

~~~~

Hunting for the mountain lion had been more than just a chore. Although Kirk had three other men with him, being in the mountains and living close to the earth had brought with it a sense of peace and a chance for deep introspection.

The men had seemed to understand Kirk’s desire for quiet and for as much privacy as possible. For the two nights and the day they hunted the horse-killer, Kirk barely spoke at all. He’d had too much on his mind to want to make any but the most minimal conversation.

As they had hidden, waiting downwind from the cat’s lair for the cougar to return, Kirk was alone with his troubled thoughts.

His last talk with Cassandra still weighed heavily in his thoughts. He had seen in her eyes that if the ranch did not make a profit, he would lose her.

It wasn’t right, he told himself. He also realized that Cassandra was the daughter of a wealthy and very powerful man, and as such, her life had never really been her own.

He loved her, he admitted, and loved her so deeply and so passionately that whenever he thought of it, he felt shaken. The reality, too, of time reared its ugly, laughing head. They had six weeks left before the end of the fiscal year.

What can I offer her?
he asked himself.

Only my love
, he replied silently. He had nothing other than his emotions and his ability to do the work he loved. It would still take another two years before he could afford to buy the ranch he wanted.

It would have been sooner, but in order to go to college after his army tour overseas, and in order to make sure Jane would have a future for herself, he’d had to secure a large loan. It had taken him until three years ago to pay it off.

Kirk never regretted any of what he had done. Jane was his only family, and his sense of responsibility ran deep. That she had chosen to return to ranching rather than to pursue a career in psychology made no difference. Her education was what had been important.

What about Cassandra? Kirk had been surprised at how well Cassandra adapted to life on the ranch, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but wonder if it was because she had no choice. She had grown up rich, used to having whatever she desired.

Suddenly he heard a low whistle. Instantly alert, Kirk watched the trail leading to the mouth of the lair, hidden within a rocky crevice and lit by the newly arriving day.

A moment later the cat appeared. It was a female. She was sleek and beautiful except for the way she dragged her blood matted front leg.

Behind him, one of the men cocked his rifle. He raised his hand quickly to stop him. The cat was too beautiful to destroy. Turning, Kirk reached into the small pack and withdrew a long cylindrical object. As the cat neared the lair, Kirk lifted the special his rifle and loaded it with the tranquilizer dart.

Raising the rifle, he centered the sight on the cat’s flank and, without hesitating, pulled the trigger. The dart struck the cougar. She whirled, snarling at her unseen enemy. In less than fifteen seconds, the cat had fallen helplessly to the ground.

Kirk and the three hands rose from their concealment and walked over to the cat. None of the men spoke; each held his rifle ready, eyes wary. But the cat remained motionless; its large golden eyes open but empty.

“Jeez, look at that paw,” one of the men said after he was certain that the cat would not move.

The men studied the paw, and Kirk, sure that the drug would sedate the cat for a good six hours, bent close to it.

“At least we know why it was going after the horses.”

“What do you think happened?” asked another.

Kirk lifted the injured leg and grimaced. “Stepped in a trap. I don’t know how the hell she got out.” Then he stood. “Let’s get her tied up and over to the Rover. We’ll bring her to the vet and let him figure out what to do.”

“She’ll never be able to hunt again,” commented one of the hands.

“Maybe a zoo will take her,” Kirk replied.

The men worked quickly and efficiently, and an hour and a half later, the carried the cat, suspended between two very nervous horses, out of the mountains.