After they’d had their brief talk about their relationship, the rest of the work week had gone by without too much incident. Her lawyer was still working on clearing her name, while Heather had compiled a list of Dover’s hacking experts who had previously worked for their rival, VLA. She hated having to consider her co-workers as suspects, but she needed a lead. There was no telling how long the board would be willing to keep her on with this cloud of suspicion over her.
As much as she hated to admit it to herself, without Simon’s protection Dover’s board would have probably fired her by now. She might have repeatedly refused his help, but his power was so expansive that even when she didn’t want his help Simon still ended up helping her in subtle ways.
“You really think the electricians who worked on your apartment would be willing to give us some information?” she asked.
“It’s taken forever for them to agree to talk to me,” he said. “My lawyer and I questioned my building’s super, and I don’t think he had anything to do with the photos or the hacking of my home computer system. At first the electricians refused to talk to me about the day they worked on my apartment, but my lawyers have managed to put enough pressure on them. They’re scared enough to talk.”
“I’m surprised they’re so willing to talk now,” she said as she closed the oven door, and then turned it off to let the residual heat bake this last batch of cookies.
“Well, they can either talk to us or they can wait for the police to swoop down and ruin their reputation later on,” he said. “It took them a while to see the light, but I don’t think they want their company to get a reputation for hacking and criminal behavior.”
“And you want me to be there while you talk to them?” She frowned. “Why are you still trying to help me?”
“The truth is, Dover is running its own investigation into this whether you like it or not,” he said. “As the CEO I’m privy to this information, and it would crazy for me not to share information with you. I know you don’t want my help, but I was already going to talk to the electricians since I’m the CEO and they broke into my home system.”
She could see his point. If Dover was going to run an investigation to protect itself, it made sense for the company to share its findings with her and the police. Just like it would make sense for her to share her findings with Linda, Dover, and her own lawyer.
“I guess that makes sense,” she said cautiously.
“I know I didn’t trust you in the past, but I trust you now,” he said. “The police are obviously doing their own digging while Dover is also investigating. Your investigation means we’ve got at least three investigations going at the same time. The way I see it, having multiple investigations at once can be both a hindrance and a help. We could end up stepping on each other’s toes, or we could share information others might have missed. Don’t think of this as me interfering. Try to think of it as information-sharing.”
“Is this your way of getting an excuse to see me over the weekend?” she asked.
“Well, I guess you caught me red-handed,” he replied, sounding a little sheepish.
That made her laugh.
“I could pick you up if you want,” he offered.
“Don’t worry about that,” she said. “I don’t mind driving and I’ll be at your place in no time.”
Her parents were over, so she could spare some time to work on her investigation. They had agreed to take things slow, but that didn’t stop her heart from racing. There were already butterflies in her stomach at the prospect of spending the afternoon with Simon.
Chapter 14
When he opened his front door he found Heather standing outside, holding a basket.
“Glad you made it.” He stared at the hamper, suddenly curious. “What’s that?”
She held up the basket and smiled. “Fresh baked chocolate chip cookies.”
He returned her smile. “They smell amazing.” Simon remembered the cupcakes he’d eaten at her place the last time she had him over. It had been one of their rare domestic moments, and he remembered how at home he felt. Now it was his turn to make her feel at home.