Page 158 of Broken
“Your aunt is flying to Manhattan for the weekend, so I’ll be relaxing by the pool.”
“How’s the rebranding project with TopCon going?” Prescott began.
“Fantastic!” Artemis replied.
“What kind of time frame are we looking at?”
“I’m sure they’ll turn it around ASAP.”
“Did you see our in-house proposal for the sensitive skincare brand?” Prescott continued. “That campaign mirrored the one you presented by TopCon. That’s some coincidence, huh?”
Artemis stepped close. “I showed our marketing team TopCon’s rough mock up. Now, don’t get me wrong, I amnotpointing fingers, but I think they incorporated some of the consultant’s ideas. And I get that. They’re concerned about job security, but we’re a three hundred-billion-dollar company with deep, deep pockets. A mil and a half for TopCon is a drop in the bucket.” After patting Prescott on the back, like he was dismissing him, he said, “I wouldn’t give it a second thought.”
Artemis headed toward the elevator and Prescott fell in line with him.
“You’ve gotta run TopCon’s campaign by the brand manager once it’s finished.”
Artemis stabbed at the elevator button. “Don’t tell me how to run my own company.”
“That’s just it, Artemis, it’s notyourcompany. We’re a publicly traded organization with a responsibility to our shareholders, our employees, and our consumers.”
The elevator doors opened, but Artemis stood there glaring at Prescott. “When your beloved career came to an abrupt—and humiliating—end, who was there for you? I was! I step one toe out of line and hire a consulting company and you go ape shit! You should be kissing my ass, Prescott McCafferty Armstrong, for offering you a C-level position at a company where the only thing you ever did was keep a motherfucking seat warm on the board!”
Artemis stepped into the waiting cab, spun around, and said, “You should be ashamed of yourself for speaking to me like that!”
The elevator doors shut and Prescott’s lips curved into a smile. That kind of outburst could only mean one thing. His uncle was guilty of something.
And Prescott was determined to find out what.
21
LOVE ME, LOVE YOU
Jacqueline
Jacqueline spent the morning doing a deep dive on the five former ALPHA Ops who’d worked with Gloria and Bert.
One had passed away, one had retired to Florida, and the third had moved to New Mexico. They had no motive to kill either Op, and she found nothing that indicated they’d returned to the area to take them out. The fourth had taken a job booking cruises at a travel agency. From the posted pics on her social media accounts, she spent a lot of time at sea. While she’d been in town the night Gloria had been murdered, Jacqueline had confirmed the travel agent had been working at her office, then driven straight home.
Frustration had her shoving out of the chair.
She was pushing hard to find something—anything—that would help move her case forward, but, so far, she’d come up with nothing.
She found Loki conked out in the middle of the family room. As she got closer, he opened his eyes and his tail started swooshing back and forth on the floor. She sat beside him and he rolled over for a belly rub.
“Hello, handsome. How’s my boy doing?”
One rub later, he trotted toward the front door. She leashed him up, grabbed her sunglasses and a doggie waste bag, and left.
After pausing in front of the retina scanner, she said, “Computer, lock all exterior house doors.”
“Doors secured, Jacqueline,” replied the computer through the intercom.
The day was warm, the sun bright. She walked up the street, turning onto the next, then made her way down that short street. Rather than continue, she retraced her steps, and passed by Prescott’s beautiful estate toward the cul-de-sac. Around it they walked, then back toward home.
The neighborhood was quiet, the homes pristine. As she got closer to the house, a gray sedan drove slowly toward her. She glanced through the windshield and her heart jumped into her throat. The driver was dressed as a clown—except this was the scariest, most freakish clown mask she’d ever seen.
Fear powered through her.
