Page 14 of Twisted Truth

I scroll through my email until I find the one Emily had mentioned. It’s short and to the point, and doesn’t even say Mr. Langford’s name. It’s just two short, plain lists.

LIKES:

Travel

Sports: football, basketball, and polo are his favorites.

Exercise

Cars

Hiking

Scuba diving

Piloting small aircrafts

Interesting.

DISLIKES:

Extreme sports, e.g., skydiving, bungee jumping

Outdoorsy activities like camping (hiking is his limit)

Hunting (except he likes to shoot clay pigeons for sport)

Overly crowded places, e.g., amusement parks

I scan the list again,fixating on the last dislike. Amusement parks.Who doesn’t like amusement parks?That seems like a red flag. Maybe he’s a secret serial killer. That’s the only plausible explanation. Or does he just not like them because they’re crowded? Food for thought. Then I wonder if it’s bothersome for Mr. Langford to have such personal knowledge sent out tohis employees in a Monday evening email like it’s nothing. What’s it like to have so much power and yet much less autonomy over your own life than most people? The paradox is so strange to me, and I can’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy for him.

He really is an enigma. He can be a completely arrogant and demanding prick, as was evident in our meeting this morning, but he also had no qualms or questions when Matthew insisted on taking me shopping for new work clothes. I’ve always known, working for Langford Holdings, that I was working for a company owned by some of the richest people on the planet, but with this project I’m getting a much more intimate view of the dynamics of that family and the company, and it’s messing with my head. This whole thing is crazy, and it’s just getting started. Which reminds me of another thing I need to get to tonight—the NDA in my bag. The mission of our team must be kept completely secret, so the Langford Holding’s legal team came down this afternoon to meet with us and to give us NDAs to sign. We were allowed to bring them home and read through them tonight, but they are expected to be signed and turned in first thing in the morning.

I read through the document, understanding only a fraction of the legal jargon, and then I sign it, crossing my fingers that I haven’t signed my life away. The minute I set my pen down, Zahra calls me on her break to ask about my day. I’d left her short, cryptic texts all day, and I know it’s been driving her crazy.

“Hey, boo, how’s the restaurant tonight?” I say, answering the call.

“Too busy for a Monday, but I suppose that’s a good thing; it keeps me employed. But I didn’t call to talk about the restaurant. I want to know why Mr. Langford was in your meeting this morning. That’s crazy! I know you work for his company, butthe odds of you being in a meeting with him were razor thin. You’ve never seen him in all the years you worked there, right?”

“Right.”

“Is he as hot as he is in all the pictures?”

“Hotter.”

“No fucking way!”

“Yes, it was quite distracting, actually.”

“Oh, my god. So, what was the meeting about?”

“Just another marketing meeting, but he wants to be more closely involved with the project.” I bite my lip, feeling guilty for lying to her, but the NDA is sitting in front of me on the coffee table, practically giving me the stink eye.

“And you stumbled into the meeting late, in that outfit?” She barks out a laugh.

“I know! Don’t laugh, it’s not funny! Okay, it is funny, but at this point, my life feels like a joke.” I proceed to tell her all about the events of the day concerning Matthew, lunch, and the shopping spree, hardly believing the words as they come out of my mouth.

“No way! You’re making this up!” she says as I finish.