Page 136 of Smoke Screen
This hug, Maddy decided, wasn’t a greeting.
Aileen was freaking out. And she didn’t know the half—the quarter—of it.
Everything might change, and Maddy couldn’t even warn her. Instead, she returned the hug, gently patting Aileen’s back. “It’s okay. I think it’ll all be over soon and things will go back to normal.”
Whatever normal would be after this mess.
Maddy backed away from the hug, gripping Aileen’s forearms. “You okay?”
She lifted her chin, gave a tight smile that was anything but okay. Still, she tried.
“I’m good,” she said. “Heading out to lunch, so if you’re not here when I get back, it was great to see you. I miss you. I hope you’re back soon.”
The last week played in Maddy’s mind. In six days, she’d gone from being the Thompsons’ messenger and hiring BARS, to being questioned by the FBI, losing the trust of her employer, and falling hard for Phin.
And Aileen had just told her what she’d yearned to hear from her bosses. That they missed her. Wanted her back.
All Maddy could do was nod. Bob her head like one of those cheap dolls from baseball games.
“Ditto,” she finally managed.
She hurried away, pulling herself together while walking toward Phin and his brothers, all looming in the hallway with the two Secret Service agents. The testosterone level in the suite might be at epic heights with this bunch.
Four feet from her closed office, she stopped. Just inside that door were her belongings. Certificates and photos and the crystal paperweight of the American flag the Thompsons had given her in recognition of her hard work the day the Center opened.
Now it all seemed a blur. A different Maddy.
A light throb thumped at her temples, and she peeled her gaze from the door, leaning against the wall beside Phin. “This sucks.”
“Absolutely,” he said.
Voices sounded from behind the conference room door and the light throb went to an all-out pounding. Right inside that door, Louis Three could be lying. Making up some story about why he took Maddy’s keys.
Prior to meeting with the jerk who worked for the Veras, she didn’t believe it. Now, all she knew was he’d stolen them. He’d gone intoheroffice, openedherdesk, and took them.
And that pissed her off.
Big time.
Enough.
She stepped between Phin and Zeke. “Pardon me. I’m going in.”
One of the Secret Service agents shot her a look, but didn’t move.
“Whoa—” Phin held up his hands. “Not a good idea.”
She gripped the handle, let the cool metal bring her thoughts to sharper focus. “Actually, I think it’s an excellent idea.”
She pushed the door open and stepped inside.
27
“What in the hell?”Louis Junior hollered, his eyebrows hiked nearly to his hairline. “This is aprivatemeeting.”
“Too bad,” Maddy said. “My reputation is wrecked and I want answers.”
President Thompson sat in his normal spot at the head of the table. Louis Junior, dressed in his typical CEO suit and tie with pocket square, sat to his right with an empty chair between them. Louis Three, directly to President Thompson’s left, stared across the table at her like she’d lost her mind. Maybe she had.
