Lies Read online

  The doors to the elevator opened and we stepped in. The panel before us only had a few options: P, A, 2, and G. “It seems a little limited in our choices.”

  “It’s safer that way. This garage is private.”

  As we descended, I gave it all more consideration. “Patrick, if I asked you something, would you tell me?”

  He didn’t verbally answer, but his lips quirked.

  “Okay, I know you can’t tell me some things. I want to know, if I looked at this building from the sidewalk, would I see the top floors?”

  Patrick shrugged. “It depends on the cloud deck.”

  That didn’t really answer my question.

  The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened to what he called a private garage. From the number of vehicles within, it seemed to be private for many people. “Who drives all of these cars?”

  “People within the Sparrow organization.”

  “You mean Sparrow Enterprises.”

  “Yes, that’s what I mean,” Patrick said.

  If these were based on Sterling’s preference, it appeared he had none. The models were mostly recent with a few classic muscle cars. American and foreign manufacturers were represented. There were Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, and BMW. Styles varied. There were SUVs like the one I’d seen him with in the parking lot of my warehouse. There were sedans like Patrick had driven me in on my first trip back to Chicago. There were also crossovers and hybrids. Along the far wall were sports cars and Jeeps.

  “This is like a dealership,” I said in amazement. “It’s too bad that I left my Honda Accord in Boulder.”

  Patrick pointed the opposite direction of the sports cars. “There it is.”

  My eyes widened as I followed his indication and saw my car. “How?”

  “Ma’am, your apartment caught fire. It seemed best to get your car away from there.”

  “Then I can drive myself.”

  He didn’t answer—not verbally—yet the small shake of his head told me that I probably wouldn’t be driving myself to work, the grocery store, or the bakery.

  As he opened the back door of a sedan much like, if not the same as, the one we drove before, I sat. Before bringing my heeled feet into the car, I asked, “Can you tell me if Louisa, Winnie, and Sinful Threads are safe?”

  “That is something I can tell you. Yes. Sparrow is making sure of that.”

  I sighed. “What you all did for my neighbor...it meant a lot.”

  “It may be difficult to believe him sometimes, but when he says that if it’s important to you, it’s important to him, Sparrow’s shooting straight. Ma’am, he doesn’t lie.”

  I lifted my heeled shoes into the car as Patrick’s words resonated. Before the door shut I said, “Still, thank you.”

  “You can thank him.”

  Once Patrick was in the car, our eyes met in the rearview mirror. “I will, but I’m thanking you, too. I mean it. Sterling told me that you were the one who remembered to text Louisa and Winnie while I was ill.”

  “I’ve watched you with Sinful Threads,” he said. “It’s important to you. I sincerely hope you’ll be able to manage both.”

  The car was moving, slowly passing through a tunnel-like structure that had multiple gates.

  “Both?”

  “Sinful Threads and Araneae McCrie.”

  I thought about what he was saying. “Do you mean Araneae or Sterling?”

  “I believe they’re a package deal.”

  Were they?

  Abruptly, the tunnel’s road angled sharply upward. After one more gate, we were thrust into the morning sun, easing into rush-hour traffic. I tried to look up, out of the darkened windows to the buildings around us.

  “The garage entrance and exit is two city blocks from the building,” Patrick offered.

  Taking my phone from my purse and opening my satchel, I reviewed a few notes I’d made last night on the phone with Louisa as I scanned new emails. Within minutes, I forgot that I was being driven, falling back into Kennedy Hawkins, co-owner and founder of Sinful Threads.

  “Patrick,” I said as I looked around, realizing I hadn’t even tried to see where we were going. His eyes were covered by sunglasses, but by the tilt of his face, I knew he was seeing me in the mirror. “After the assistant arrives and we get her set up on phone calls, I’d like to make a visit to the warehouse, unless you’ve been given instructions to keep me in the office.” I hated that those thoughts occurred, but that didn’t stop them. “There are more than a few things that concern me about Franco Francesca.”

  He nodded. “My instructions are to keep you safe and let you do what you need to do. If Kennedy Hawkins needs or thinks she wants to go to her warehouse or distribution center, then that’s where we’ll go.”

  My cheeks rose. Sterling said he wasn’t trying to take away my dream. “Thank you.”

  “There is one thing,” Patrick said.

  “What?”

  “I’d like to enter the warehouse with you.”

  He’d said the same thing the first time we went there. That time I wanted him to enter with me because the man in the parking lot made me feel uneasy. Now, it could be the same reasoning. Having Patrick with me would be what that dark-eyed man from the parking lot would want; however, this time, it was more than that. It was more than Sterling’s desire; Patrick’s reassuring presence was what I wanted.

  “I think that would be a good idea.”

  Araneae

  “I’m in the office now,” I said into my phone. “It’s going to be perfect while I’m here.”

  “I’m excited. Hopefully after Kennedy is born, I can come see it. I get the feeling you have decided you want to keep Chicago.”

  I let out a sigh as I leaned back in my new office chair. The office around me was simple yet professional. Six rooms on the twenty-second floor of a building on South Wacker, complete with Sinful Threads etched in glass on the door. Computer equipment was new and connected to the Sinful Threads network in Boulder. My new assistant would be in the front office. That room connected to five others: my office with my own bathroom, a conference room, a supply room, another office, and another bathroom. Attached to my office was also another room—my new chaos room. That wasn’t what Patrick called it, but that was what it would be. From my office space, I had a spectacular view of other buildings.

  Though it hadn’t been confirmed, I doubted Sinful Threads was paying the current market rate for this little piece of real estate. The contract that I—actually, Patrick—sent Louisa over the past weekend was in my emails and according to that, the deal had been negotiated through Sparrow Enterprises. While it was a legal document—other than my forged signature—when I saw the monthly rent we were set to pay, I was certain this acquisition by Sinful Threads, if investigated, would be found to be way below market value.

  “Of course not,” I said, knowing how much Chicago has meant to Louisa. “You set up this market here. It’s yours.”

  “I’ve been thinking about it and talking to Winnie and Jason. At first, I was upset. I’m just being honest with you.”

  I nodded as I pictured my best friend. There had been too many things happening in my life. I hadn’t taken the time to consider how she felt about them, not really.

  “But I’ve changed my mind,” Louisa went on.

  “You have?”

  “Yes. With Little Kennedy coming, I think we should recognize that you’ll need to do more of the traveling for a while. I’ll be here. You know I would never leave Sinful Threads. I’ve decided to add a few furnishings to your office down the hall.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “A crib.”

  That made me smile. “I can’t wait to be back and have her or him sleeping while I’m working.”

  “Her.”

  My heart jolted. “Oh my goodness, you found out?”

  “We weren’t going to, but it was pretty obvious on the ultrasound yesterday.”

  “Yesterday? You didn’t tel
l me last night.”

  “We weren’t sure if we wanted to tell, but I can’t keep a secret from my best friend.”

  Her words filled me with guilt. There were so many secrets I was now keeping, but I tried to keep my voice light. “I’m so happy for you and Jason.”

  “So when you’re back for Kennedy’s birth, we can talk about it more. I’m thinking that since you’ve rented this space, you plan on being in Chicago longer than we discussed—which is okay,” she added. “Logistically, Chicago is a great place because we get most of our silk at the Port of Chicago. Besides that, there are more flights out of Chicago for you to jump over to New York or down to Atlanta. I’ll keep things going here and fly west when needed.”

  I shook my head. “You’ve given this some thought.”

  “I have. I hate not having you here, but you were right. I’ve been a bit emotional and to be honest, my decisions have been based on hormones. Thankfully, I have Jason and Winnie. They helped me see that what you said made sense: divide and conquer. Together we’ve made Sinful Threads. Distance isn’t going to keep us from making it bigger and better. If anything, it will help it.”

  “I miss you,” I said honestly.

  “Then call more or answer my damn calls.”

  “Yes, ma’am. You can be bossy.”

  Louisa laughed. “You need someone to tell you what to do.”

  That position was definitely taken.

  “You think so?”

  “Sometimes,” Louisa said, “you can act a tad impulsively, like renting office space.”

  “It was a great deal.”

  “It was. But, Kenni, you also make great decisions. You’re smart and I know we wouldn’t have taken the chances we did without your confidence. Just because I might not agree at first, it doesn’t mean I can’t be convinced.”

  “Hey, thanks, Lou.”

  Patrick stuck his head into my office. “She’s here.”

  “I need to go.”

  “Okay. Talk to you later. Winnie is ready to talk to whomever you hire. She’s cleared time in her schedule. Oh, and she’s over the moon about being in Chicago next week. It’s all she’s talked about and seeing her friend.”

  “I’m excited to see her too. I’ll talk to you tonight.”

  “Bye.”

  Hanging up the phone, I walked around the desk as Patrick brought a young woman down the hall toward me. “Jana?”

  “Ms. Hawkins.”

  “You already have a job,” I said, puzzled.

  “I do. I also have a husband and son here in Chicago. I would never leave Mr. Sparrow, but the opportunity to not have to travel was too good to pass up. I promise I’m a fast learner.”

  My eyes went to Patrick as his smile grew.

  “Jana,” I said, “please have a seat.” I gestured to the chair grouping in the outer office. “Could you excuse us a moment while I have a word with Patrick?”

  When Patrick followed me back to my office, I closed the door. “I’m confused and a little upset.”

  “Why? You know her. Isn’t that better than a stranger?”

  I turned a small circle. “Does Sterling know about this?”

  “I told him I’d hire from within.”

  My head shook back and forth. “Listen, I appreciate this...” I gestured around the room. “...all of this, such as the office space. I do. I know Sterling is renting this to us for a ridiculously low price. But you and he are both overstepping your bounds.”

  Patrick didn’t speak, waiting for me to finish.

  “Sinful Threads is mine and Louisa’s. I’ll be more than happy to talk to him about it at the end of the day, like...a couple talks to one another. I do not want his employee working for me and reporting to him. That’s a hard no. And besides, when I mentioned her to him in Ontario, he blew a gasket.”

  I leaned my backside against the front edge of my desk and crossed my arms over my chest.

  “A gasket?”

  “I got the whom to trust lecture.”

  Patrick nodded. “Ms. Mc—Hawkins, I’ll tell her to go or you can, if that’s your decision. Sparrow has a lot on his plate. The daily running of Sinful Threads isn’t one of them. Right now, he thinks it would be best to keep Araneae and Kennedy separate. We both know that won’t last long.” He shrugged. “I stepped in. I’m the one who’s overstepped your bounds, not him. May I tell you why?”

  I let out a long breath. At least Patrick had manners on his side. “Go on.”

  “I thought that when your two worlds came crashing together—which they are going to do—that it would be best to have as much of a buffer zone as possible around you, one that understands the importance of confidentiality and discretion.”

  Patrick was wrong. My two worlds had already collided. The public side of it would simply be residual tremors of the earthquake Sterling Sparrow had caused.

  “Also,” Patrick went on, “Jana’s being forthright about her husband and son.” Something Patrick and I knew wasn't legally part of an interview. “Her son is nearly ten years old and when Sparrow makes last-minute travel plans or changes his plans, it’s difficult on her as well as her family.”

  “Yet,” I said, “she could have just quit working for him.”

  “She wouldn’t do that.”

  I thought more about what he’d just said. “Ten-year-old son? She looks to be close to my age.”

  “A year younger.”

  My eyes widened. “Okay. Will she still be working for Sterling?”

  “Unofficially, as in she’s doing something she knows he’ll support. Officially, she’ll be working for Sinful Threads. She’ll be on your payroll.”

  “What if I can’t pay her what he did?” I didn’t let Patrick answer. “Then you’ll be sure that she’s compensated for the difference.”

  He didn’t need to respond, but he did. “To her, not traveling is compensation. Would you like me to send her home?”

  “Does she want the job? Is she capable?”

  Patrick opened the folder he’d been holding and handed me two papers—Jana’s résumé.

  I quickly scanned the information. “It appears she’s been employed by Sparrow Enterprises for the last six years.” She was hired when she would have been only nineteen. “No employment before that. How does that qualify her for this position?”

  “She had prior employment before that also wouldn’t qualify her for this position. My opinion would be that what she lacks in personal-assistant experience, she’ll make up for in enthusiasm and eagerness to learn. How will you explain to an outsider when Sparrow decides to whisk you away at a moment’s notice or even my constant presence?”

  I laid her résumé on my desk. “I can’t be whisked away. I have a company—”

  “Wouldn’t it be nice,” he interrupted, “to have someone who could see both of your worlds and keep this one under control?”

  I had to admit, Patrick was making sense.

  “Fine. Send her in and I’ll interview her. Then I’ll make my decision.”

  Patrick nodded and turned toward the door.

  “Patrick.” He looked my way. “My company. The final decision on everything is mine and Louisa’s. I told you that I appreciated your help but no more unilateral decisions by you or Sterling.”

  “Yes, Ms. Hawkins.”

  My brow furrowed. “That goes for Araneae too.”

  He smiled. “I’ll remember that. Are you ready for me to bring her in?”

  “Yes.”

  As he disappeared, I let out a deep breath. It seemed like I was having identical conversations with both Patrick and Sterling. Maybe I should give Reid a call and let him know the same applied for him.

  Oh, no, I couldn’t. He was busy beefing up Sinful Threads’ security.

  Gah!

  “Ms. Hawkins?” Jana said, standing at my doorway.

  Without her flight attendant outfit, wearing a skirt, blouse, and flat sandals, she looked more relaxed than she had on Sterling’s pl
ane. Maybe it wasn’t the change in clothes but the fact that Sterling wasn’t present. He had a way of stressing people out.

  Her dark hair was pulled back on the sides with long, soft waves hanging in the back. The style helped her appear younger.

  “Please.” I gestured toward the two chairs before my desk.

  It wasn’t nice to judge a person’s age, and I wouldn’t have known hers if it weren’t for Patrick. Another violation of personal information on an interview. However, knowing it, I decided that even with her hair down, she didn’t appear younger than me. The realization saddened me. My gut told me there was more to her story, more than being a young mother.

  Though that made me want to help her, I didn’t like the idea of a Sparrow spy within my company.

  Really? What was Patrick?

  If Sterling Sparrow wanted information, he wouldn’t need to get it from Jana. And although she’d been the subject of my whom I could trust lecture, Patrick must trust her or she wouldn’t be here.

  How would Sterling feel about this?

  Why did that matter?

  I looked her in the eye. “Jana, tell me why you want this job?”

  Araneae

  After my round of questions, I explained the structure of Sinful Threads to Jana, including a brief telephone conversation with Louisa. I later told Louisa the truth: I trusted Jana as a member of our team.

  As much as I disliked Patrick’s meddling in this hiring, I had a good feeling about her. I’d liked her on the plane before I knew anything about her. She had excellent keyboarding skills and passed the few tasks I asked her to perform on data entry with ease.

  “Jana, the job is yours if you are sure you want it.”

  “I do,” she replied, her smile growing.