Fallen Angels. Lori Foster
knock on the door had both men swinging their heads around. “Come in.”
Raymond Stern sauntered in, his three-piece suit immaculate, his hair styled. Dane winced at the sight of him. The man, though pleasant enough, represented everything Dane disliked about the corporate world and his family. “Thank you for stopping by, Raymond.”
Raymond looked at Alec, a suspicious frown in place. “No problem. You said you wanted to talk?”
Dane nodded and reseated himself behind his desk. Alec stood. “I’ll be going now, unless you need something else?”
Dane shoved the file folder into a drawer before answering. “No. I’ll be in touch with you later.”
As Alec left, his eyes briefly skimming over everything and everyone in the room, Raymond asked, “A crony of yours?”
“One of my top men.”
A look of disbelief, or maybe scorn, passed over Raymond’s features. “Is he working on something right now?” Before Dane could answer, Raymond continued. “I think this P.I. business is fascinating, regardless of how your sister feels about it.”
“Oh?” Dane cocked one eyebrow, wishing he could plant a fist in Raymond’s face. “And how does Celia feel?”
He chuckled. “That you’ll outgrow it. She seems to think now that you’re enmeshed back in the office, you’ll want to stay.”
There was an unasked question in his tone. Dane started to reassure the man that once he married Celia, the business would be his, with Dane’s blessing. In truth Dane wanted no part of it. He was already bored with the endless paperwork and the tedium of board meetings. But he decided against it. Let Raymond stew. Let him wonder if the company was part of the marriage bargain.
“Celia has never liked it that I stepped out of the family’s affairs.”
“I think it’s incredible that you’ve always been located so close, yet I never met you.”
“My own offices aren’t that far away, true, but I’ve traveled a lot, especially in recent years. Some cases require constant surveillance, and that means you follow all leads, regardless of where they take you.” He didn’t add that he deliberately hadn’t kept in touch with his family, hadn’t clued them in to where he would be or for how long.
And now his brother was dead and he hadn’t even made it to the funeral.
Quickly closing that particular subject in his mind, Dane went on to another. “I asked you here because I know you transferred over from the Aeric Corporation.”
Raymond straightened with pride. “That’s right. Derek was there often once his intent was known, and he and I met. I agreed it was a natural acquisition, combining your family’s interests in health products manufacturing with Aeric’s research capabilities. When Derek finalized everything, he asked me to join him here.”
“You were at the funeral?”
Shaking his head, his eyes downcast in a regretful way, Raymond said, “No, unfortunately I missed it, also.” He looked back up, his expression resigned. “I hadn’t realized what happened until I reported here a week later. Derek had given me time to tie up my own loose ends and I spent two final weeks at Aeric, then took a break to sell my house and move closer. When I reported to work here is when I was told. That’s also the day I really got to know your sister.” A small smile now curved his mouth.
“I see.”
“When I asked to see Derek, I was referred to Celia. Things were still in an uproar, your mother most upset and Celia constantly on the verge of tears. They couldn’t locate you and they needed everything to be kept quiet, contained. Derek’s death hit them all very hard…” Raymond stuttered to a halt. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t making accusations. I realize it was very difficult for you as well.”
“Yes.” Dane knew that Raymond had shown up when the company needed him most, his past experience and lack of emotional involvement, along with Derek’s written blessing, making him the ideal man to take temporary control. Every effort was made to keep the stockholders from panicking. If nothing else, he owed Raymond his gratitude for that.
But Dane deliberately kept his own dialogue brief in the hopes Raymond would say more. Trying to get information from his sister or mother had proved most provoking. Anytime he mentioned Derek’s name, they would turn solemn, overwhelmed with the loss. The entire episode of the takeover of Aeric seemed very hush-hush.
“Anyway, I guess you could say your sister and I hit it right off. I care deeply for her.”
And deeply for the Company, but Dane kept those thoughts to himself. His sister was old enough, and certainly wise enough, to choose her own husband.
“Did Derek associate on a regular basis with anyone else at Aeric?”
Raymond shrugged. “Most everyone on the board, the managers, the—”
“No, I mean in a social way.”
“Well, there was the woman, secretary to the R&D department.”
Research and Development. Dane already knew what Angel’s position had been. Somehow, Derek had gotten information from her that had enabled him to take over the company.
And then he’d dropped Angel cold.
“Were they close?”
Raymond shrugged, looking thoughtful. “Everyone thought so. She’d never dated much, and then suddenly she had a steady date. At that time, no one realized Derek was after the company. But I suppose it should have been more obvious that he was using her. She was a mousy sort of person, not real talkative, withdrawn, but apparently good at her job. Good enough that the head of R&D often sent her top-secret information through a P.O. box to work on at home.”
“A post office box? That’s unusual.” Derek remembered the address Angel had given him, not a home address, but the anonymity of a post office.
Raymond shrugged. “Her supervisor was from the old school and didn’t trust the company computers, swearing too many secrets had been stolen. But he trusted the wrong person. Angel got the last of the information, a huge breakthrough worth top dollar that would have offset the takeover attempt, and she gave it to Derek. Of course, we found all this out after Derek dropped her.” He laughed. “She got fired real quick. Most everyone else was able to keep their jobs.”
“I see.”
“Why do you ask?” Raymond straightened. “She’s not here asking for a job, is she?”
Raymond looked appalled by the possibility. “No, of course not. I just wondered if I could get in touch with her, to talk to her about Derek.”
“Why?” Raymond’s eyes narrowed and he shifted forward. “What’s going on?”
Keeping his tone smooth and nearly bored, Dane said, “Not a thing. It’s just that I hadn’t seen my brother for some time. I’d like to talk to the people who knew him.” Raymond relaxed and Dane asked, “What happened to her, do you know?”
Dane had to keep his hands beneath the desk. His fingers had curled into fists as Raymond spoke and he imagined Angel’s humiliation, her hurt. He didn’t like feeling so much anger toward a dead man, especially when that man was his twin. The conflicting emotions ate away at his control.
“I have no idea. I haven’t seen her since I left Aeric. And Derek broke things off with her during a board meeting, for everyone to see. He asked her to sit in on the meeting, then deliberately told everyone where he’d gotten his information. That pretty much proved she couldn’t be trusted in the company.”
“Good God.” Sick dread churned in the bottom of his stomach.
Raymond laughed. “Yeah, she was stunned to say the least. But maybe it taught her a lesson about keeping business dealings private. As I’m sure you already know, even though