Well, Janet was definitely not low-paid. Perhaps he was a little short sometimes though.
“Thank you, Janet,” he said as an afterthought.
She gave him a look of surprise, which made him feel even worse. Maybe Joey had a point.
Cole weaved through the towering maze of boxes that now filled his usually sparse and spacious office. He clipped one of the boxes with his hip and sent the tower tumbling into the stack next to it. A frown crossed his face. It barely felt like there was anything in the box. He picked one up and shook it to hear the faintest rattle inside.
He chucked the box into the corner, taking out some of his frustration out on the package. Then he sat at his desk and tried to focus. His gaze kept coming up to the mess of boxes in the space. It was impossible to concentrate in this mess.
He punched the intercom on his phone. “Janet, when will Ms. Rodriguez be here?”
“My name is Joey.”
The low, almost sultry voice had him jerking his eyes to the doorway. She looked incredible today. Yesterday, her hair had been straight, falling in front of her eyes during their entire conversation. Now, it was curly and barely restrained in some sort of messy jumble just behind her ear.
He cleared his throat. “Ms. Rodriguez, what is the meaning of this?”
Joey’s mouth curled up in a wicked smile. “Oh my. Did my order come to your office instead? What a strange mistake. I’m sure I put my name and office on the order information.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Why are there so many boxes?”
She looked around. “You know, I don’t really know. I ordered a computer and some pens and sticky notes and such. I can’t imagine they would ship each item individually, can you?”
Her voice was full of innocence and confusion. And Cole wasn’t buying any of it.
“You did this,” he stated with absolute certainty.
Her hands flew to her chest. “Me? What do you think, that I somehow got into the inventory and shipping software inside of Best Buy’s system and changed the settings on each item I ordered to ship in its own oversized box, just for the pleasure of inconveniencing you? Why would I do such a thing?” Her eyes were wide and her tone full of exaggerated sweetness.
“Joey,” he growled in warning. He didn’t have time for this. Didn’t have time for the way she was making him feel.
She crossed her arms in front of her. “Cole,” she replied without any trace of the innocent act.
He paused at her refusal to back down. Why wouldn’t she back down? She had turned one comment from him into an absolutely ridiculous display of her skills. Skills that he admittedly needed. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right to be upset about his words yesterday. “I’m… sorry I said that about your job.”
She raised her eyebrows, as though waiting for him to continue.
“Obviously, I got a little carried away.” He shook his head. “And you have proven yourself to Flint. I heard what you said last night. You’re the right person for this job.”
Joey took a few steps forward. “Darn right I am. I’m going to be pressing into things you might not like. Asking questions you would rather not answer. But I need you to be completely honest with me, because while you might trust me because of Flint, I haven’t decided if I trust you.”
He reared back in surprise. “What? Why not?” That didn’t even make sense. He was the one who was revealing all kinds of proprietary information to her. He was the one who needed to trust her. She didn’t even have any skin in the game.
“That’s my business. Just don’t keep secrets and we’ll be just fine. And don’t threaten me again, Cole. You’ll find a prank like this is the least of what I could do to you, okay?”
Everything within him resisted the power struggle between them. He liked being the one in charge. He liked being the one calling the shots. But where had that gotten him. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed her—someone from the outside. Someone trustworthy.
She didn’t trust him? “I don’t have anything to hide,” he said firmly.
“We’ll see about that.”
He frowned. “Your job is to find the leak. I don’t see what I have to do with that.”
“Mr. Kensington–”
“Cole,” he corrected.
“We’ll find the leak. But I need your help,” she said simply. “The fact is, you’re the key to everything that happens in this company.”