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He nodded first, then spoke. “Glad you’re on top of this, Wentworth. Ms. McCarthy and I have to be away from the office because of a project and cell service is not the best where we’re going. I’m going to give you a landline where we can be reached 24/7.”
Another pregnant pause. Rowan could only guess at what Michael’s thoughts were, and she didn’t like her assumptions. She wasn’t sleeping with the boss, but would Michael think so? Yet another rumor to strike down. Would it ever end? Would she ever be seen for the capable leader she’d worked hard to become?
Chewing her lip in frustration, Rowan stifled the thoughts. There wasn’t time for that now. “Thanks, Michael. I know you can handle this.”
“We have every faith in your ability. Let us know when both the laptop and the man are apprehended,” Gerard added.
Rowan could almost see Michael sit up straighter. “I’m on it, sir. And will do.” There was a pause before he continued. “What about Linda?”
“What about Linda?” she asked.
“I’m not generally one to spread rumors, but word is she and Tom were an item.”
Rowan wanted to beat her forehead with her palm. With Gerard there, she didn’t dare show her growing panic.
“Tell the police. Let them handle any interviews. I want this resolved yesterday.”
“Will do, boss.”
After they hung up, she stared at her phone, digesting the conversation. “Tom Masters was involved in both of those last two bids that went south. Do you think he’s been undermining us?”
“Undoubtedly.” He looked up from the paperwork in his lap. “Apparently, you kept that we can lock down and track our technology a secret.”
“It seemed better to keep that private unless we needed someone to know.”
“There are pros and cons either way, but I prefer your method.”
She nodded. This was one more cog in machinery that had been breaking down for a while. Before she came on board, but if she didn’t find a way to fix this, she’d get flushed down the drain and possibly take the Barrett Investment Group with her. Should she talk to Gerard? Let him know what she’d just begun to notice? No. She wasn’t ready. She needed more proof, more verification of exactly how bad things were getting first.
He watched her. She could see him in her peripheral vision.
“You and Mr. Wentworth seem close.”
His voice changed as he made that statement, taking on a stronger, more focused timbre. Like her answer was important.
“Michael is great,” she said. “Intelligent, knowledgeable, and good at his job.”
“You made him your second-in-command.”
“Yes. He earned it.”
“And just how did he earn it?” Except for the barest hint of anger in his eyes, Mr. No Emotion was back, his stoic mask firmly in place. What was he trying to get at? Did he think she and Michael—
Rowan straightened as much as her seat belt would let her. “Michael and I are coworkers. That’s all. I resent any implication that there might be something improper going on between us. He’s a married man.”
“But he did make a pass, correct?”
“Twice, if you must know. If I had to guess, I’d say he did that because my predecessor encouraged that kind of behavior.”
He nodded. “That’s the primary reason we asked the man to retire early.”
“I didn’t know that until Michael told me. He and I had a good, long talk about him asking me out, and now I consider him a valuable part of my team.”
“Hmmm.”
“What?”
“Nothing.” Gerard shook his head, his face as unreadable as ever. Was he thinking she’d lied to him? That she was having some torrid affair with her second-in-command? “Michael and I are co-workers. That’s it.”
