She Left Me Breathless (5 page)

Allen Carmichael, Assistant Vice President of Computer Logistics swaggered over to her. “Welcome back, Sydney,” he smiled, showing a mouthful of teeth that were too perfect and too white to be his own.

“Thanks, Allen. It’s good to be back,” Sydney said.

“Everything is running as smooth as when you left. I took extra care to make sure there were no hitches,” he said, falling into step beside her on the sidewalk.

“That’s good to know. I have no doubt that Welsh was in capable hands,” she said. The man reeked of arrogance. Everything about him was perfect. From his grey custom tailored pinstriped suit, to his $800 chiseled haircut. He was more suited to be on the cover of GQ and she would have preferred that to having him in her boardroom.

“I also took the liberty and had the main conference room set up for your meeting with Bill Amos at 9:00.”

“Thank you, Allen, that wasn’t necessary but I appreciate it,” Sydney said, sliding her badge in front of the security door reader. “Karen would have taken care of everything.”

“Here, let me get that for you,” he said, holding the door open. “I know it’s not my job and I’m sure that Karen is very capable but I didn’t want to take the chance of anything going wrong. I know how important this meeting is to you,” he said with a smug look of satisfaction on his face.

He was right about that. This meeting was important to her. In fact, this meeting was the catalyst that would set the stage in order for her to carry out a much larger plan. The plan she had been working on for the last two years now. The same plan that centered on the work Jackie had privately been doing for her.

Allen followed Sydney across the lobby to Karen’s desk. Sydney couldn’t help but smile when she saw Karen. The woman’s state of dress never ceased to amaze her. Today, the twenty-seven year-old redhead was wearing a black studded dog collar around her neck with matching studded earrings. Her face was paler than usual, making her ruby red lipstick stand out against her white complexion. Sydney noticed immediately that Karen had recently cut her hair. The red two-inch strands of hair stuck up all over Karen’s head and Sydney liked it. It was so Karen. Based on the black fishnet top covering Karen’s white checked blouse, Sydney guessed that Karen was back to her Goth kick. She would have also been willing to bet that Karen was wearing a leather miniskirt and six-inch high-heeled boots that stopped just below the knee.

Sydney watched Karen as she spoke animatedly into her headset. Her hands were flailing around in the air as she tried to make a point to whoever was on the other end of the phone. Finally satisfied that the caller understood what she was saying, she disconnected the line. Karen glanced up. Her eyes went wide and a big smile crossed her face when she saw Sydney.

“Well, would’ya look at what the vampire’s drug in,” Karen said, standing to lean over the desk to hug Sydney.

“I swear you people act like I’ve been gone for months. It was less than a week.”

Karen’s facial expression turned serious. “Oh glorious one who holds domain over this wonderful establishment we call Welsh, we missed you so, so much.”

Sydney laughed. “I swear you’re not right.”

“I think she looks as beautiful as ever. The Florida sun did wonders for her tan, don’t you agree, Karen,” Allen said, from behind Sydney.

“She always looks great, Allen,” Karen said, with a tinge of annoyance in her voice. The smart retort was not surprisingly, lost on Allen.

“I will see you two ladies later. I have reports to run and we all know those little sheets of paper will not run without my help and guidance.”

Karen and Sydney watched Allen disappear inside the elevator.

“Pardon me while I puke,” Karen said, putting her finger in her mouth and pretending to make gagging sounds.

“Oh he’s not that bad, Karen,” Sydney chided although she felt like puking herself.

“Not that bad? Surely, you jest wonderful employer of mine. If he bent his head down any further to kiss your ass, his neck would have snapped.”

“Yeah, I guess he
was
pretty bad,” Sydney chuckled.

“Be it far from me to ever question authority but—”

“Since when?” Sydney teasingly interrupted.

Karen ignored her. “As I was saying … I still can’t understand how such a pompous ass like him was ever hired to begin with.”

“I’m not the one who hired him, Meredith did.” 

“That explains it, ‘nough said.” Karen twisted her red lips into a smirk. “The Florida sun did wonders for her tan,” she sarcastically mimicked what Allen had said. “How could he not know that you have dark skin all year round? In fact I think you are the only person I know who can get a tan sitting in the shade unlike my white albino ass.”

“Maybe he’s not as perceptive as you are and maybe he was just trying to make small talk.”

Karen cleared her throat. “I bet that’s not the only small thing about him.”

Sydney lost it. She was laughing so hard that tears were in her eyes. Out of all the employees she had personally hired, Karen was one of the best. No matter what was going on in her life, Karen always had a way of making her laugh.

“Seriously though, I am so glad to see you. Have you spoken with Caitlyn yet this morning?”

“No, I was planning on going to see her next.”

“Here, I want to show you something.” Karen came out from behind her desk to stand beside Sydney. She pointed at the carpet in front of the desk. “See that spot right there?”

Sydney nodded and Karen kneeled down on her knees. She made a sweeping gesture with her hand over a two-foot section of carpet. “Can you see how the carpet is worn down in this here area?” She stood up and pulled down the edges of her skirt.

“Those marks are from your protégé. She has driven me absolutely freaking bonkers this morning. Since six am, she has shown up at my desk every fifteen minutes asking if you have arrived yet. Those indentations you see, they’re from her pacing. For the love of God woman, will you please go see her before I have to get new carpet installed?”

Sydney laughed. “I promise as soon as I drop off my briefcase, the first thing I will do is go to her office.”

“Thank you sweet Jesus of vast mother earth,” Karen said with a mock salute.

“By the way, I love the new haircut. The skull and crossbones on your boots are a nice touch, too,” Sydney said over her shoulder as she stepped into the elevator and punched the button for the fifth floor.

“Oh great payer of paychecks, that compliment means more to me than you’ll ever know,” Karen yelled just as the elevator door closed.

Sydney laughed at Karen’s over the top theatrics. She had been right about the leather miniskirt and boots. Karen Lauder was something else. She had been the main receptionist at Welsh for the last seven years and attended college in the evenings. She only had one semester left before she received her B.A.S. in Computer Programming with a minor in Business Management. Sydney’s gift to her would be a promotion to high-level management on the day she graduated.

The elevator door opened and Sydney stepped out onto plush burgundy colored carpet. She glanced up and down the empty hallway that Karen had so lovingly nicknamed Executive Boulevard. She called it that because the fifth floor was filled with spacious conference rooms and offices that housed all of the Welsh Executives and their assistants.   

Her office sat at the far end with a conference room on one side and Maureen, her assistant’s office on the other. With luck, she would make it to her office without being accosted by an executive who thought their problems required her immediate attention. Her first order of business of the day would be with Caitlyn, followed by her meeting with Bill Amos. Depending on how her meetings went, she just might take the rest of the day off.

She walked into her office and kicked the door shut with her foot. She let out a sigh of relief and tossed her briefcase on the desk. She took off her black leather jacket, slung it over the back of her chair, and pushed the sleeves up on her sweater.

The smell of freshly brewed coffee hung in the air. She silently thanked Maureen for having the coffee ready. She poured herself a cup, added four packs of sugar, some cream, and took it back to her desk. She dropped down onto her chair with a thud. She glanced at the stack of messages piled up near the phone and decided to look at them later. They couldn’t be too important or Maureen would have said something when Sydney had called to have her pack Anne’s things.

She glanced around the festive looking room. Maureen always decorated her office for the holidays. It didn’t matter whether it was Halloween or Easter and Christmas was no different. Maureen had placed Poinsettia plants on either side of the gas fireplace at the far corner of the room. Christmas lights were strung around the floor to ceiling bookcases and lighted candles had been placed on all four windowsills.

Sydney took a sip of coffee and leaned back in her chair. Her thoughts turned to Caitlyn Ashburn, her protégé as Karen had called her. Caitlyn was only nineteen years old and made almost as much money as her executives. Sydney knew that it had ticked off certain employees when Caitlyn came to work at Welsh but she didn’t care. Caitlyn was a prodigy and had more intelligence than all of her executives combined.

When Caitlyn walked into Welsh Enterprises, it was the first time Sydney had seen her in thirteen years. The last time was when Caitlyn was just six-years-old. She had been a little concerned given Caitlyn’s level of intelligence that she might have remembered her. When it was apparent that she hadn’t, Sydney was more than relieved.

Since the age of eight, Sydney had kept an eye on Caitlyn and received weekly updates on the girl’s progress. By the age of ten, it was obvious that Caitlyn possessed the intelligence of a graduate student. By the age of fifteen, she had graduated from high school and by the age of seventeen, she had completed her Masters degree in Computer Science as well as a Masters degree in Business Management. In less than three months, she would have her Doctorate.

It was at the age of seventeen that Sydney had sent two of her top executives to approach Caitlyn and her parents with a job offer. She would be assigned to work in the IT department and would be reporting directly to Welsh’s CEO.

Caitlyn of course was thrilled, as was her adopted stepfather, Edward Ashburn who Sydney suspected only saw dollar signs. Caitlyn’s mother however, had some reservations.

Although Caitlyn was above intelligence, to her mother, she was still her little girl. In the end, Rachel had conceded and Caitlyn had joined Welsh much to Sydney’s relief. Having Caitlyn work at Welsh was an integral part to the success of Sydney’s grand plan. Without Caitlyn, there would have been no plan at all.

Sydney pushed away from the desk. She refilled her coffee, grabbed a pen and notebook, and left the office. She didn’t have to go far. Caitlyn’s office sat directly across the hall from hers. She rapped lightly on the door with her knuckles, pushed it open, and poked her head in.

Caitlyn had been oblivious to the knock on the door and Sydney watched for several minutes as the young woman continued to tap away on her keyboard. No matter how many times Sydney saw Caitlyn; she was taken aback by the young woman’s beauty. To say she looked like her mother would be an understatement. Caitlyn was the spitting image of Rachel. The two women looked more like sisters than mother and daughter. Rachel was slightly taller and Caitlyn wore her hair a little longer but they had the same strong jaw line, same shaped face, and bright blue penetrating eyes that sparkled when they laughed. 

Caitlyn looked up. Her face instantly lit up at seeing Sydney.

“Good morning. Hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Sydney smiled.

“And good morning to you, too,” Caitlyn grinned. “You have no idea how glad I am to see you.” 

Sydney stepped into the office and shut the door. “I think I do,” she laughed.

Caitlyn frowned. “How long were you standing there?”

Sydney grabbed a chair and slid it over next to the desk by Caitlyn. “Not long,” she answered, dropping down into the chair. She laid the pen and notebook on the edge of the desk. “You looked so intent. I didn’t wanna bother you.”

“You are the only person besides my mom who I would never classify as a bother.”

“I think that may have been a compliment,” Sydney said with a chuckle.

“It was.”

For the first time since Sydney came into Caitlyn’s office, she took notice of the young woman’s attire. The Bob Marley t-shirt, faded jeans, and sneakers were in stark contrast to Caitlyn’s normally ultra conservative three-piece suit and heels. On rare occasions, Sydney would see her in pleated slacks and a blazer. “Uh, Caitlyn … how long have you been here?”

“It will be two years in February. Why do you ask?”

Sydney laughed. “I don’t mean your hire date. I meant the last twenty-four hours,” Sydney said, nodding at Caitlyn’s clothes.

“Oh,” Caitlyn said, glancing down at her t-shirt and jeans. It was obvious that Caitlyn had been so preoccupied with what she was working on that she hadn’t realized how she was dressed. “Since nine … um, yesterday evening,” she said almost apologetically. “I went home but I couldn’t stop thinking about the software code so I decided to come back in. I guess I didn’t realize how long I had been here. I can go change. I keep extra clothes in the closet.”  

“That’s not necessary. You look fine dressed the way you are and besides, I like Bob Marley,” Sydney laughed.

“It used to be my mom’s.”

Visions of Rachel’s firm breasts straining against the t-shirt flashed through Sydney’s mind. She shook her head to dispel the image. “Okay, tell me what’s going on.”      

“This missing money has got me stumped,” Caitlyn sighed. “Well, actually that’s not true. I’m not stumped. I know how they did it but I’m having trouble figuring out who did it and it’s making me a little more than nuts.”

Sydney knew by the furrowing of Caitlyn’s brows that she was frustrated and that was something that did not happen often, actually, it never happened. She couldn’t think of one instance where she had seen Caitlyn unnerved or upset. It just did not happen. “Okay, why don’t you start from the beginning and tell me exactly what you’ve found, how you found it, and then we can go from there.”