Sleeping With My Boss: A Standalone Novel (An Alpha Billionaire Romance Love Story) (A Dirty Office Romance) (133 page)

“Yeah, I couldn’t let it go and it turned
into my first class action.” I spoke with people after from the factory where
she had worked for over thirty years after her death. The factory made airplane
parts, and although my mother had worked her way up to supervisor prior to her
death, she had spent at least twenty years working on the floor.

The different types of materials that they
used, the plastics and glass and steel plates, were often treated with chemicals
to help them keep their shape and withstand heat and cold, etc. I found out
that there had been a large cluster of people from the factory who had died
from cancer over the years, specifically lung cancer.

With a lot of investigating, and after spending
hundreds of thousands of dollars that I’d had to borrow on experts and other
expenses, me and my small team discovered that one of the chemicals the
employees were in constant contact with had been banned a few years earlier by
the federal government due to its tendency to cause lung cancer with repeated
exposure.

The chemical had been in use at the
factory for over forty years and the last ten, illegally. During that time, at
least twenty-two employees had died of lung cancer. I sued the company in my
mother’s name and for the families of twelve other victims who joined the suit.

We won a judgment of sixty-four million
dollars. The company paid half of that, and then filed bankruptcy and went out
of business two years later. My firm had made enough to pay off our loans, and
had gained much needed positive publicity.

Hanson and Associates grew into a large
and respected firm, and only got bigger and better from there on out. None of
that had eased the pain of losing my mother, but I firmly believe that she was
still looking out for me and I owed my success to her. Thinking about her had
gotten easier over time when the pain had become less fresh. But at times like
these I missed her the most.

“No more sad talk,” I told Alicia. “This
is our time.” My mom really would have loved her. She’d begged me not to marry
Marjorie, but her warnings fell on deaf ears. In spite of that, she had been a
big-hearted woman, and had tried to have a relationship with Marjorie for my
sake, but Marjorie looked down her nose at the hard-working woman and only
pretended to be nice to her when I was around since she knew I would have never
tolerated anything less.

Trying to change the subject and lighten
the mood, I said, “I wonder if the FBI agent over there feeding the ducks knows
that his fly is open?”

Alicia busted out laughing. “I thought he
was probably an agent earlier when I spotted him, but I hadn’t noticed his
fly.”

“Well, I must say I’m glad of that,” I
said with another chuckle.

We talked for a while longer, and when I
walked Alicia to her car, I said, “So, are your parents home or do you think we
have time for a quickie?” That made Alicia laugh again. She kissed me and then
said,

“Just imagine the look on the Lady
Winston’s face if she walked in on that.” We both laughed at the thought and
then I said,

“Seriously though, do you think we’ll have
some alone time before the New Year?”

“How about this,” Alicia told me, “I’ll
buy them tickets for a Broadway show on Monday night and get them a room at the
Plaza so they won’t have to make the drive back so late…and then…”

“Alone time,” I said with a smile.

“Alone time,” Alicia agreed, and we sealed
the deal with a kiss.

********

Since I was going to be alone again, I
decided I’d call Alex and see if there was anything I could find out. I knew
they didn’t want me milking him for information, but whether or not he was
involved was nagging at me. I just couldn’t believe it and I was still hoping
they would turn out to be wrong about him.

“Hey, buddy,” he said when he answered the
call. “What’s up? Are you okay?” All of this drama had made me question
everything and I found myself even questioning our years of friendship. I
suddenly wondered if this was a bad idea. I’m not the best actor in the world.
What if he figured out what I was trying to do? “Adam?”

“I’m here, sorry. I dropped the phone.
Alicia’s parents are still in town, and I’m bored. I was wondering if you might
have time for a beer.”

“Hell, yes, I have time for a beer. I have
been up to my eyeballs in financial documents all day. I need a break. You want
to meet at Sports Center?”

Sports Center was a bar where we used to
spend a lot of time hanging out. “Sounds good, about eight?”

“I’ll be there.”

I got to the bar before him and ordered a
pitcher of beer and some nachos. I sat there and thought back to when Alex and
I first met. We were both undergraduates at Brown University and had been at
the same political rally. Alex had taken the stage against the current
Democratic government’s latest increase in tuition and fees. I had been
impressed with how articulate he was, and how well informed he seemed to be on
current affairs. After Alex’s speech, I had gone up to him and told him so.

We began talking and I told him about my
plans to start my own law practice after I graduated from law school in a few
years. Alex told me he planned to be President of the United States. I had only
known the young man for a few hours at that time, but I actually believed it
was a good possibility.

Now, there were these federal agents
telling me that the bright young man I watched grow from an ambitious college
boy to a political powerhouse was nothing more than a mere criminal. I’d heard
about how bad it felt to lose your best friend, but I had never experienced
that kind of hurt until now. When I saw him come in the door, I told myself to
shake it off or I was going to screw this up. I pasted a smile on my face and
as soon as Alex sat down, he grabbed one of my nachos off the plate and popped
it in his mouth.

“Help yourself,” I said with a grin.

“I think I will,” he said, taking another
one.

“So, tell me how the new post is going,” I
asked him while he chewed.

Alex sighed heavily. “It’s good, just
tiring. It’s more than a full-time job, being accountable to the President
himself.”

“I can imagine,” I told him. “I’m sure
you’re accountable to a lot of powerful people these days.”

“You got that right. I have contributors
calling me at all hours, wanting to know how every penny of our money is being
spent or wanting to tell me how we should be spending it on top of the campaign
staff and the Presidential advisors. Sometimes I’m tempted just to turn off the
phone and ignore them all.” He took a long drink of his beer and another one of
my nachos.

“You should,” I told him, “Give yourself a
break, take a vacation, why don’t you?”

Alex laughed, “That’s the dream, buddy.
Unfortunately, those powerful people we were talking about me being accountable
to wouldn’t allow it. It’s alright, though. I’m making some great political
contacts, not to mention an outrageous salary.”

I smiled. “I guess that’s the silver
lining. Have you heard any more about what happened to Vick? The police have
arrested Brigham, but I have to tell you, Alicia and I both really don’t
believe he had anything to do with it.”

Alex rubbed his chin, a sign I had come to
know over the years that he was trying to think of how to phrase his words
wisely. “Vick was stealing from him. Brigham had a lot to lose as long as Vick
was in that position.”

“I agree. But why kill him? Why not just
expose him and move on? Brigham has everything to lose if he is convicted of
this.”

“True,” Alex said. “But Brigham isn’t
known for his rational thinking when he’s angry. He also had just found out
about Vick and that David guy. Maybe he just went to talk to him, intimidate
him, and the whole mess got out of control.”

“Maybe,” I said, thinking that Miles’
reputation as a hot-head had definitely helped out whoever had set him up if
that had been the case. I decided to try something else.

“Alicia has an old friend who’s in town on
business. His name is Jack Grant; do you know him?”

Alex looked surprised and then said, “Hmm,
name sounds familiar but I don’t recall where I’ve heard of him from.”

“Oh, I was just asking because Alicia
mentioned that she thought she had seen the two of you talking a few days ago
outside of the courthouse. She asked me if you’d mentioned knowing him.”

“Oh yes!” he said suddenly, “That guy with
the British accent.” I could actually tell that he was trying to sound as if
he’d only just remembered. “He was asking me about some contributions his
father was thinking of making to our campaign.”

“Kind of odd, don’t you think,” I asked,
“Someone from the UK interested in putting money into our politics?”

“Yes,” Alex agreed, “I thought so, too, at
first. It seems that his father is trying to bring his business to the US and I
think it’s all about gaining some powerful contacts.”

“I suppose that would be a good way. It
seems that the more money you sink into a campaign the more friends you make.
Miles Brigham IV is a good example of that.”

“Yes, but unfortunately, Brigham’s recent
escapades has made him like poison to be around. All the negative press has
caused people in high up places, and people that wish to be in high up places
to start cutting ties with him.”

“You were put in your position because of
him, right?”

“Yes, that’s true. I’m grateful to him,
but I have to look out for myself. If he’s found guilty of Vick’s murder, it
might make it look like I’d been involved in that, too, right?”

“I don’t think he’ll be found guilty,” I
told him.

“Oh?” Alex asked, “Even though you don’t
believe he’s guilty, it sounds like the D.A. is going at him with both
barrels.”

“When it does go to court, Alicia will be
defending him. He couldn’t do any better than that.”

Alex laughed, “Spoken like a true fiancé.”

The conversation turned to Alicia and I
getting married at the Plaza, and we sat and talked for over an hour more. I
didn’t come away from it feeling like I’d gotten any more information than I
already had. It made me sad to think that my best friend was a crook, and
sadder yet to believe he may be tied to not one but two murders. I was dying to
ask him just one question when and if this was ever resolved…why?

CHAPTER
THREE

ALICIA

I stopped at the grocery store on my way
home from lunch and I was happy to see that Adam and I were no longer top news
on the tabloids. A young actor had overdosed at his Manhattan apartment the
night before. He lived, thankfully, but the newspapers and magazines were
speculating on whether or not it had been a suicide attempt. I was glad the
young man hadn’t died, but I was more than happy to give the front page to him.

When I arrived home, Luis was at the door,
as usual. He held the door for me and after asking how my day was going he
said,

“You have company,”

“Yes,” I told him. “My parents are still
visiting.”

“No, Mr. Grant just got here a few moments
ago. I told him you were out, but he said he was here to visit with your
parents today.”

“Oh.” He was looking worried that he may
have done something wrong. I felt bad and said, “Thank you, Luis. He’s an old
friend from back home. I’m sure my parents were happy to see him.” He looked
relieved to hear that.

As I walked to the elevator in the lobby I
noticed a man sitting in the lobby chair that I didn’t recognize. Being a New
Yorker now, I of course did not know everyone who lived in the building, but I
had lived there long enough that I knew how to spot a new face. The man was
reading or pretending to read a
New York
Times
. I waited a few beats before pushing the up button on the elevator,
and when he felt me looking at him he looked up and gave me an almost
imperceptible nod and a smile.

I knew then that he was one of the agents
looking out for me, and it made me feel more secure as I got in the elevator
and rode up to see what it was Jack wanted this time. I did wonder what story
the agent had given Luis, who was also protective. He made a point to not let
strangers in unless someone was expecting them. I’m sure if the man did tell
Luis he was FBI, he would be discreet about it.

I let myself into the apartment and found
my parents and Jack having tea in the sitting room. When Jack saw me come in,
he stood up and said, “Alicia, I hope you don’t mind me just stopping by. I
wanted to get a chance to catch up with your parents while they were still in
town.”

“No, not at all,” I said, swallowing the
lump in my throat. Jack gave me a kiss on the cheek and for the first time
since I met him all of those years ago, it made my skin crawl a little.

“Jack was just telling us about his
father’s business coming to the States,” my mother said. “Isn’t that nice?”

“Yes,” I said and then looking at Jack, I
asked, “Strange though, you working with him, huh?”