“It’s a good thing you didn’t get serious about that playboy, isn’t it?” Matt had a superior little smirk on his face.
A flush stole across Grace’s skin. It was a damn good thing she hadn’t run around the office proclaiming her conquest. Only Adam, Jake, and Kayla knew she’d been seeing him away from work. At least she thought that was all. God, she couldn’t handle it if everyone knew she’d played around with a younger man and got dumped after only a few nights. It was a good thing he wasn’t coming back. She didn’t think she could handle seeing him back in the office, potentially hitting on someone new.
“Yeah. It was just casual.”
He pinned her with a glare that made her wonder how much he knew. “I’m glad. Maybe now you can concentrate on work. Let me know how the party planning comes. I want this to be perfect, Grace.”
Grace nodded and was relieved to find herself dismissed. She slunk out of Matt’s office. It wasn’t surprising that he would call her out. He’d been against her relationship with Sean from the beginning. He’d been the one to tell her she should be cautious. Cautious? He’d told her flat out Sean wouldn’t stay, and he hadn’t.
The rest of the afternoon centered around calls to caterers and plans for the big party. At three, Evan Parnell strode into Matt’s office after giving Grace a smirk. He’d never actually looked her straight in the eyes before. The contact unsettled her. It also made her remember that slip of paper he’d dropped the day before. Following her instincts, Grace looked up the address on the Internet. It was to a mail facility that offered safety deposit boxes as well as mail collection services. She thought about that long list of numbers. Some of them she recognized now. She’d checked them against bank accounts that Wright Temps used and matched three of the numbers. One of them, though, was too short to be an account number. Grace wondered if it was a box number or a locker code.
When Evan Parnell left Matt’s office, Grace was a minute behind him.
It was stupid. She knew it as she followed him out to his truck. She had zero business playing the private eye, but the longer this thing with Parnell went on, the more she suspected he was blackmailing her boss. Matt was getting markedly worse, and he almost always went on a bender after meeting with Parnell. Logic told her Matt should have dumped him as an employee long before. So why was Parnell still around?
Grace tried to follow at a distance. She lost him twice, but caught sight of the black truck at the bank. Parnell parked in the parking lot and went in. He was in the bank for ten minutes. He came out holding an envelope and immediately crossed the street.
Grace checked the name of the street. Mount Dale Avenue.
Grace put the car in park and slipped out to follow Parnell into the Addison Mail and Storage Center. The storefront was new, and the center appeared to take up most of the small strip it was located on. From the street she could see that Parnell was talking to the clerk. They spoke for a moment and then Parnell was allowed behind the desk and led to the back of the store.
What did Evan Parnell need with a storage locker? He had a large storage facility for his janitorial supplies. She doubted he was keeping mops and brooms here. Now that she knew the name of this place, she remembered the check she had written out. Matt had told her to pay it. It was for a small locker here. She’d paid for the full security package for a year. She’d assumed it was for Matt. Why was Matt paying for Parnell’s storage with Wright Temp funds?
Grace glanced down at her watch. She would have to hurry to meet Adam and Jake. She briefly considered canceling on them, but decided not to. The thought of going home to her lonely little house and thinking about Sean all night was too much.
Besides, she had a mystery to solve. That alone could take her mind off her almost-lover. Whether Matt wanted it or not, she was going to save him from the clutches of one Evan Parnell. She was going to figure out just what kind of hold the man had over him.
* * * *
It was late when Adam and Jake dropped her off at home. Adam parked her little hybrid in the driveway. Despite her protestations that she was more than capable of getting herself home, the boys had insisted. Adam had stolen her keys at some point and refused to give them back. Jake had followed her. He pulled his Jeep in next to her. Adam shut off the car and was out and opening her door before she could get her seatbelt off.
“Thanks.” She put her hand in Adam’s and let him help her out of the car.
The evening had been pleasant. She’d genuinely enjoyed the time she’d spent with them, but her heart still ached at the thought of Sean. Was he back in Chicago now? Did he already have a date? He probably had two or three. And she bet they weren’t gay.
“Keys?” Jake held out his hand. Adam passed them to his boyfriend and led her up the little walkway to her door. Jake had the door open. He frowned. “Don’t you have an alarm?”
Yes. It was obnoxious and emitted the nastiest sound when she couldn’t get to it in time. She set her briefcase down. “It’s a nice neighborhood. My sons insisted on having it installed when they went away to college. I try to remember to set it when they’re home, but otherwise, I’d just as soon not deal with it. Would you like some coffee?”
Sean had made her set the alarm. He’d been upset to discover she didn’t use it on a regular basis. She had agreed to be more thoughtful about it. Of course, he had his mouth over her pussy at the time. She would have agreed to just about anything.
“You should set the alarm, Grace. I don’t care how nice the neighborhood is, bad things still happen. If your sons love you enough to want to protect you, you should let them.” Jake stood over her. He was bigger than Adam and quieter. Adam was all light and fun. Jake was a broody hunk of man. He was the authoritative one in the relationship. His voice was dark and deep. Grace almost found herself nodding and agreeing with him simply because of his voice.
Nope. Not going there again. She managed to shrug. “I have a baseball bat, and I know how to use it. Don’t worry about me.” She strode into the kitchen. She was done with domineering men, even if they were just doling out good advice. She started the coffee pot. She had taken care of herself for a really long time. A couple of days as Sean Johansson’s sub didn’t change that. Besides, he had only wanted her for sex, so she had been on her own anyway. “Maybe I’ll get a dog. Or a gun.”