Page 45 of Smoke Screen
Beyond the glass entry doors, the dimmed lights in reception indicated Aileen had gone home. On a Friday night, she didn’t expect anyone to be in there.
She knocked lightly and waited. If necessary, she’d be forced to call security and ask the guard to unlock the executive suite.
After the day she’d had, and the media attention attached to it, the entire staff must know she’d been questioned. Add to that her key card suddenly not working and the gossip mill would be going full steam.
She knocked again.
Nothing.
She pulled her phone from her purse and scrolled her contacts for Frank’s number. With any luck, he’d still be in the building.
Two rings in, he picked up. “Maddy?”
“Hi. I’m so sorry to bother you. I need to get my personal laptop out of my office and for some reason, my key isn’t working. I think everyone is gone. Are you still here?”
“Uh, no. I left an hour ago. Margaret and I have a dinner.”
Great. So, he was probably driving and his wife was listening in via Bluetooth. “I apologize,” she said. “I’ll see if security can open the door for me.”
“I’ll call them,” he said.
Huh? Why would he call them when she was standing right here? “No. That’s okay. I can do it. Go enjoy your dinner.”
For a few seconds, silence filled the line. No doubt a by-product of her having multiple conversations with the FBI.
“Maddy, you can’t. I’ll have to.”
“Ican’t? Why?”
“Hold on. I need to pull over.”
Maddy’s pulse throbbed against the skin at her neck. Call it fatigue, call it stress, call it a damned rotten day, but she was not in the mood for all this wordplay.
“Can you hear me?”
Frank’s voice, clearer now, as if he spoke directly into the phone rather than via the car’s Bluetooth system. Somehow, it didn’t make her feel any better.
“I can hear you.”
“Good. I’m sorry to do this over the phone, but while you were with the FBI, we had a meeting.”
A meeting.Excellent.“And?”
“We didn’t expect you back today and planned on waiting until Monday. We’re putting you on administrative leave.”
Administrative … wait. What?
She cocked her head, replayed his words in her mind.
“With pay, of course,” Frank continued.
“You’resuspendingme?”
“Notsuspending. Time off. We feel it would be best if you weren’t in the office for a bit.”
That alone devastated her, and she turned, leaned against the solid wall of glass while her legs decided if they’d keep her upright.
“You can’t believe I had something to do with this. Please, Frank. I did nothing wrong. I swear to you.”
