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Powell summoned me a little while later.
“Benson, I checked the logs this morning, and I didn’t see any data from your visits last week,” he said when I reached his office. “You had your accident on the way back, isn’t that right?”
“Yes, sir. The people at Excalibur Plating uploaded their data directly. But Knife Creek Chemical didn’t provide any. They were very…” I searched for the polite word. “Difficult.”
He shook his head. “I double-checked and didn’t find anything for either company.”
“No, I saw them upload?—”
He jumped to his feet. “Are you implying I’m a liar? There’s no data in the system.” The vein on his temple throbbed. It was time to get out of this office before he blew.
“No, sir, not at all. They must have made a mistake I didn’t catch.”
He calmed slightly and sat again. “The position of external auditor is not a license to run around town and not get work done. You will not be making any more visits unsupervised. Someone will have to show you how the job is designed to be conducted, including bringing in data. Without data, we can’t begin enforcement. Without enforcement…” He checked his watch. “Get out. I don’t have time to teach you what we do here. I’ll assign you to someone.”
“Yes, sir.” Turning on my heels, I scooted.
This was not my day. Practically none of the days were my day lately. Powell was a manipulative bastard, and I could see him using this to fail my probation and promote Remy.
Just before theend of work, I got the call that my house was all cleaned up, a bunch of replacement clothing had been purchased, the damaged furniture was replaced, and my kitchen was restocked. For once, I was glad the Benson name carried clout.
I hesitated before calling Duke. After almost being fired, I should want him to comfort me the way I knew he would. But I dreaded tonight even more. I’d promised to tell him the truth I never talked about. The nightmare I never wanted to revisit.
I pressed the button to call.
Duke
After work,I started the car.
Serena buckled in. “I’m moving back home tonight.”
I hadn’t expected that. “You can’t. It’s not safe.”
“Yes, I can. The house has been all cleaned up. Terry told me himself that I have the best security system in the city.”
It didn’t make any sense. Her house had been completely trashed just yesterday. “How did you?”
“I’m a Benson. My dad taught me how to get things done.”
If she followed her father’s script, that meant throwing around money and threats. “I don’t like it.”
“You don’t like anything,” she shot back. “I can’t stay at your place forever.”
“One night is not forever,” I pointed out.
“Please,” she pleaded. “Having my own place is really an important milestone for me to maintain.”
“Stay tonight, at least until Terry has a chance to check out the system.” Having her in my bed was important to me, but it didn’t seem right to put it that way.
She sighed and offered her hand on the console. “Okay.”
After a few blocks, the fear that she’d pull her hand away eased.
She kept contact with me all the way home, a sign of trust I cherished.
Just in caseZolotarev was even stupider than I thought, I made a circuit of the parking lot, checking for Russians before pulling into a slot.
When we reached the door, Oliver produced a rose from behind his back. “For the lovely lady.”
