“I trusted her. Why would she leak confidential information about our company to the press?”
“Ask her.” Tyler had wondered the same thing about Iris when he thought she’d tried to sabotage the company. Now it seemed she’d been set up.
I’m asking you to believe me. Trust me, Ty.
Tyler heard Iris’s words again and was sick to his stomach. He should have listened to her. He should have trusted her.
Xavier checked his watch. “Lauren’s meeting me for lunch in about an hour.”
“All right.”
“What do I do if she admits to everything—taking the test results, using my card to gain access to Iris’s office, sending the email to The Gamer’s Seat?” Xavier faced Tyler.
Tyler’s temper stirred. “We could have her arrested and charged with the federal crimes of leaking trade secrets and confidential company information.”
He’d threatened Iris with those charges. His heart twisted in his chest.
Xavier crossed back to sit at his desk. “How could I have been so stupid?” He held his head in his hands.
They’d both been stupid. Xavier had trusted a woman who’d betrayed them. Tyler had accused a woman he should have believed in.
“I’d rather avoid the negative publicity of having Lauren arrested.”
Xavier lowered his hands. “I agree.”
“But for the sake of the company, she has to be banned from our offices.”
Xavier met Tyler’s gaze. “How hard was it for you to confront Iris?”
“Extremely.” Tyler rose from his seat. “I’ll let you get ready. In the meantime, I’ll send a company-wide reminder that no one is to loan their key card to anyone. Ever.”
“Ty.” Xavier’s voice brought Tyler to a stop. “I’m sorry for the trouble this has caused you and Iris. Frankly, I like her. It was hard to believe she could have been the leak.”
“As it turns out, she wasn’t.” Tyler shoved his fists into the front pockets of his gray Dockers. “I should have followed my instincts and asked for the key-card access report sooner.”
Iris had asked him to trust her. He hadn’t, not at first. When he asked for her forgiveness, would she be as unrelenting? What could he do to make things right between them?
Chapter 14
Iris hesitated in the doorway to Tyler’s office Wednesday morning. She ignored the way his ice-blue button-down shirt spread across the width of his broad shoulders. He rose from his seat at his small conversation table and crossed to her. Iris looked away from his lean hips and long, powerful legs clothed in granite-gray Dockers.
“Iris, thank you for coming.” Tyler pushed the doorstop free with the toe of his black loafer, allowing his door to close, then gestured toward the table. “Please have a seat.”
Her heart pounded against her chest. Judging by Tyler’s tense expression, he wasn’t looking forward to this meeting, either. Then why am I here? Are they planning to sue me? Do I need a lawyer?
Iris squared her shoulders and strode into the room. She sat at the table, setting her briefcase on the floor beside her, then folded her hands on the Plexiglas surface. She channeled her inner Rose. Don’t show weakness.
“What’s this about?” Hopefully her voice sounded more forceful in reality than it did in her head.
Tyler joined her at the table and took his sweet time answering. It was a test of her self-restraint to remain still under his intense regard.
Finally, he broke his silence. “I wanted to formally apologize for accusing you of leaking the test results. Further investigation proved that you weren’t involved.”
“Then who was?” Iris’s heart rose to her throat. What is Tyler saying? Has my name been cleared?
“Lauren. She used Xavier’s key card to enter your office. She must have been able to get into your email account because you hadn’t locked your system.”
Lauren? Iris hadn’t been expecting that. “How do you know it was Lauren?”