The Secret (The Scinegue Series Book 1) (18 page)

“Wow! What time is it?” Billy asked the surprised receptionist who was used to a more professional response.

“It’s six fifteen, Mr. Roth. You should probably be leaving for the day, too. The company doesn’t encourage overworking. They don’t believe it makes for a good employee.”

“I still have a few reports left to go through. Do you think I should stay and finish them?” he asked her sincerely.

She laughed. He was the only person in this office that she knew of who didn’t have his professional face on every minute of every day even if they didn’t have a clue what they were doing. It was refreshing to work with someone so down to earth.

“Billy,” she confided, “you’ll soon find out you are pretty much a boss around here. As such, it’s up to you to do as much or as little work as you feel is necessary. If you really want my opinion though, I say go home, enjoy your personal life. Work will be here when you come back. Have a good evening, sir. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Billy stared at the intercom. He was a boss? Mr. Bryant hadn’t mentioned that. He had treated him differently when they met that morning, though. Calling him sir and asking if there was anything else he needed. “Stranger and stranger,” he murmured, before shutting down his computer and heading for the door.

S
arah met Billy at the front door, picnic basket in hand and an appreciative smile on her face. “Whoa! Look at you!”

He glanced down, having forgotten his new attire. He shot her a half embarrassed grin as she twirled a finger for him to turn around and model.

“You look great! Where did you get the suit?”

“I told you I met with a tailor at the office yesterday morning, didn’t I?”

Sarah shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe. I really don’t remember with everything else that was going on. So, tell me everything.”

He laughed and loosened his tie. “Do I get to come inside first, or do I have to pass your inspection on the front porch?”

She laughed with him and stepped aside, using her free hand to wave him in graciously. “Sorry. I guess you’ll want to change before we go. So, tell me about the suit,” she demanded playfully as she followed him up the stairs to their room. “You look very handsome in it, by the way.”

“Not much to tell. The tailor measured every inch of me yesterday, and today he was waiting for me with this suit to try on. He said he will have another one, possibly two, ready for me tomorrow, and by next week most of my wardrobe should be completed.”

“He custom-made that overnight?” Sarah asked in disbelief.

“I don’t know.” He looked back at her with a blank expression and a shrug. “It sounds like they have some partially completed suits in stock, and then just hem them and stuff so they fit right.”

Sarah laughed at Billy’s simplified explanation. “Well, they did a great job however they went about it. How was work today?” she asked as he walked into their closet to change.

“Wow!” He poked his head back out of the closet and looked at her wide-eyed. “Have you seen the size of this closet? I think it’s bigger than our bedroom at home. Our old home,” he corrected with a shake of his head, “where we lived yesterday.”

Sarah smiled at his excitement. “It’s amazing, isn’t it? I spent most of the day exploring. The whole house is amazing! It’s all so beautiful, but it’s also so ‘us’. Right down to the books in the study and the DVDs in the living room. Definitely stuff we will enjoy reading and watching.” She refused to dwell on the fact that someone had been studying them very carefully.

“So, tell me about work,” she persisted. “Did you find out what you’ll be doing?” She set the picnic basket on the bed and followed him into the closet.

“Some,” he answered as he carefully shrugged out of his jacket. “Today I had several reports to go through. When I finish them I have to write a summary report myself.”

He turned to her excitedly, tie in hand. “I really enjoyed myself, though. The reports were all so interesting that the day just sped by. I set up a couple of spreadsheets to keep track of some information. For the most part, today my job was just to read.”

He smiled as Sarah took the tie from him and ran a hand down the length of it, enjoying the feel of the silky material before hanging it up.

“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself,” she answered hesitantly. Was it a good thing that he enjoyed working for a company that even now might be preparing to poison a portion of the food supply?

“Are you up for another outing?” she asked, changing the subject. “I planned a picnic dinner for us.”

“You know, I would really like to check out our new house myself. I haven’t even seen the backyard yet. Maria said something about her husband buying gardening equipment. I guess that means we can put in a garden here?”

“Maybe,” Sarah answered slowly, then gnawed at her lower lip. “I really hoped we could go have a peaceful picnic and just
talk
,” she emphasized.

Billy bent over to tie the laces on the sneakers he put on with his shorts and t-shirt. “That sounds nice, but I’m excited to learn my way around this place. I’m pretty tired, too. Which is funny,” he glanced up at her with a grin, “considering I’m used to doing physical labor every day and coming home just fine, and today all I did was sit at my desk and I’m exhausted.”

Sarah was afraid to say too much, quite sure her every word was being listened to, but she had really been looking forward to telling Billy about everything new she’d learned.

Billy could sense her disappointment. “I know!” he exclaimed, his face lighting up. “We’ll have a picnic in the backyard.” He straightened up and popped a quick kiss on her nose before heading out of the closet and towards the stairs. “Do you want to come explore with me first, or did you have your fill of exploring for today?”

Sarah debated her options. She could impress upon him that they must go somewhere for a picnic, but she was afraid it might sound suspicious after he made it so clear he didn’t want to leave the house. Or, she could keep quiet about what she’d learned for one more day and find a way to talk to him tomorrow. She wasn’t sure if it was safe to talk in the yard or not.

Billy was already jogging down the stairs when she came out of the bedroom. His profile looked so relaxed and carefree as he hurried down the stairs that she decided to let him have at least one night without adding to the burdens he already carried.

“Why don’t you explore without me? I’ll meet you out back in about thirty minutes.”

“Sounds great!” He flashed her a smile and disappeared towards the kitchen.

“
Y
ou have always been an amazing cook, but this food is some of your best,” Billy told Sarah as he focused on the delicious food on his plate. He’d already sampled the crispy fried chicken and creamy potato salad, and had just taken a bite of a cold green bean salad with some kind of spicy dressing.

“Thanks, it makes it easy to cook with such a well-stocked kitchen.” Sarah took a careful bite of a crunchy drumstick, trying not to get crumbs all over. “Maria said food will be delivered weekly. Scinegue provides groceries for all the employees at your level and deducts the cost directly from your paycheck.”

“Mr. Bryant said something about that. They probably do it so we can take advantage of the wonderful food that Scinegue grows. I’d say that’s a definite job perk, wouldn’t you?” He looked over at her with a broad smile.

Sarah agreed that it was and lit a couple of jarred candles she’d found in the kitchen. They released a hint of tropical fragrance as they held back the encroaching darkness. She placed the two jars in the center of the red and white checkered picnic blanket that was tucked inside the picnic basket, and sat back trying to enjoy the beautiful evening.

“I saw Ritchie today,” she finally announced, unable to hold everything inside any longer, and slanted a look towards Billy to gauge his reaction.

“Your brother?” he asked casually as he glanced up.

“Yes, I asked if he was interested in house-sitting for us,” she said slowly, wondering if she should say something to clue Billy in that they’d discussed much more important things than just house-sitting. “He said he would do it. I think he’ll be glad to move out of his apartment.” She gnawed on her lip in indecision.

“I’m glad. I didn’t like the thought of the house just sitting empty.”

“Yeah, so we
really
need to get together with him to visit sometime,” she tried to emphasize. “I don’t know the last time you two saw each other.”

“That sounds good. I like Ritchie.” Billy finished off his chicken and took a sip of lightly sweetened iced tea.

“How about tomorrow?” Sarah persisted with a focused look that Billy completely missed. “I could invite him to join us at the Brown’s tomorrow night. I don’t think they would mind since he’s my brother. They might be able to give him some pointers on taking care of our garden,” she added in case their backyard was bugged.

Billy frowned. “Is that already tomorrow?”

“Billy, we need to get together with him, okay?”

“Sure.” He gave her a questioning look as she pushed the issue. “I told you I like Ritchie.” He raised one shoulder in a shrug. “It will be good to see him.”

Sarah clenched her jaw in frustration. Billy was usually so attuned to her every mood. Tonight, however, he seemed oblivious to the fact that this was very important to her. She wasn’t sure how closely they were being monitored in their new home, but was afraid to raise suspicions the very first day. She would set things up with Ritchie so they had time to visit before going to the Brown’s, she decided.

Billy finished the rest of his meal and leaned back, resting on his elbows and forearms. “That really hit the spot. I didn’t even eat lunch at work today. The day just seemed to go by so fast I didn’t even realize I missed it until it was time to go home.”

Sarah looked over at him sympathetically. He had even more going on in his life right now than she did. It would probably do him good to have a break from thinking about evil plots for at least an evening. Tomorrow would have to be soon enough to tell him her latest discoveries. She hoped.

“Want to try out that hot tub?” Billy turned to look at Sarah with a smile.

Sarah bit back the sigh that wanted to escape and replied jokingly, “Thought you would never ask.” She started gathering up the remnants of their picnic until Maria came rushing out of the house fluttering her hands at them.

“No, no! You go now,” she commanded as she took the basket from Sarah’s hands. She’d apparently been keeping an eye on them from the window.

“I will take care of this. I would have cooked for you too if Mrs. Roth would have let me,” Maria sniffed, sounding offended.

“Thank you, Maria. We aren’t used to having anyone help us around the house, but we really appreciate that you are here,” Sarah soothed and Billy added his agreement.

“Okay,” she replied, her feathers a little less ruffled. “Go on now, and let me put everything away. Go!” She shooed them away like children and they left obediently, hand in hand, with a private chuckle at their overzealous housekeeper.

“
M
r. Roth,” Billy’s intercom buzzed shortly after he arrived at work, pulling him from the report he’d just started reading. “Mr. Bryant would like you to grab a suit and your overnight bag from the closet, and meet him by my desk in ten minutes,” Mary Sinclair informed him briskly in her most professional voice.

“Okay,” Billy replied with a surprised blink. “Why?” He flipped through his desktop calendar, hoping something would be written in on today’s date, unfortunately, every page was blank.

“He mentioned that you have a meeting with one of the Tops in Seattle this afternoon.”

“Okay,” Billy repeated, knowing he must sound stupid, even as his mind raced. A meeting with a Top in Seattle. Wow! He hadn’t expected to ever meet one of the elite group who oversaw Scinegue, and here he was on his third day of work with an appointment already set for this afternoon.

Billy hurried to the walk-in closet in the bathroom and found a small, brown leather satchel on the top shelf. He set it on the counter by the sink and opened it to find it already filled with everything he needed for a night away from home. Right down to his underwear, he realized a little embarrassed, wondering who had packed for him.

He closed it back up, grabbed the suit hanging in the closet and zipped it into a suit bag that was hanging behind it, then hurried to the front desk, arriving just as Mr. Bryant walked out of his wing of the building.

“Are you ready, Mr. Roth?” he asked in a tone of deference that he had never used with Billy before.

“Yes, sir, I am.” He turned to Ms. Sinclair. “Do I have you to thank for packing my overnight bag, Ms. Sinclair?”

She looked up from the paperwork on her desk. “Yes, sir. I hope everything is satisfactory?” she asked hesitantly.

“Satisfactory? Everything is perfect, right down to the brand of tooth powder I like.” He decided not to mention the underwear. “Thank you!”

Mary shook her head once again at Billy’s exuberance and ducked her head to hide her smile from Mr. Bryant. “Thank you, Mr. Roth. Would you like me to phone your wife and let her know where you’ve gone?”

“Oh, Sarah! I forgot all about letting her know I’m going out of town. Thank you, but I’ll give her a call on the way.”

Billy turned and almost bumped into someone. “Excuse me!” His mouth went dry as his eyes locked on a familiar face and time froze once again. He was inches away from the man he secretly met at the Corner Store.

‘Bob’ walked past right past him with a nod and no sign of recognition. Billy couldn’t look away from him and watched as he entered a code on the door which allowed him access to the hallway on Mr. Bryant’s side of the building.

“Coming?” Mr. Bryant called over his shoulder.

With a final glance at Bob’s disappearing figure, he followed Mr. Bryant to his car and put his things in the back. This was unexpected
;
being chauffeured by Mr. Bryant, being referred to as Mr. Roth. “Are you going to Seattle also, Mr. Bryant?” He asked, tearing his thoughts from the appearance of Bob as he settled into the passenger seat.

“How many times do I need to remind you to call me Eugene?” He shook his head in mock sorrow. “No, I am just taking you to the airport so you don’t have to leave your truck parked there overnight. I’ll pick you up when you get back.”

“Oh. Okay, thank you.” Billy was a little confused why he was getting such special treatment. He could have easily driven himself or called a cab. He mentally shrugged, then pulled out his cell phone to update Sarah.

“But Billy, tonight is our organics class. Ritchie is coming, too. Remember we were going to spend some time with him before going to the Brown’s?”

Billy heard the plaintive tone in Sarah’s voice and it irritated him. “I’m sorry,” he replied coldly, “but this is pretty important. Maybe you didn’t hear me say,
I have a meeting with one of the Tops
?”

“No, I heard you just fine,” Sarah replied shortly, stung by the iciness in his voice and very concerned about what might happen with everything Ritchie had told her. “Have a safe trip. I love you,” she said finally, certain she wouldn’t be able to persuade him not to go without telling him what was going on, and knowing there was no way she could do that with a likelihood of the phones being tapped.
Maybe the Browns would be able to help her,
she thought hopefully.

“I love you, too,” Billy replied in a much gentler tone, already regretting his lack of patience with her. She probably just didn’t understand what this meeting could mean to them. If anyone knew what this company stood for it was the Tops, and Billy hoped the one he was meeting would at least give him a clue about the company’s true intentions.

“Trouble with the Mrs.?” Mr. Bryant asked snidely after Billy hung up.

“What? Oh, no, not really. We just had other plans for tonight. She’s disappointed that I won’t be able to go with her.” Billy considered the sharp edge that came into Mr. Bryant’s voice every time he mentioned ‘the Mrs.’, as he often referred to Sarah.

“What about you, Eugene? Are you married?”

Mr. Bryant didn’t look away from the road. “Unfortunately, yes.”

“Unfortunately?”

“My marriage was arranged by the company. You would think with all of their research on compatibility they could have picked someone just a little more
compatible
for me.”

Billy decided there was really no way to comment on that, but it did give him some unexpected insight into Mr. Bryant’s attitude towards Sarah. If his marriage was as unhappy as he made it sound, he probably didn’t hold marriages in general in very high regard. They rode the rest of the way to the airport in silence and Billy lost himself in plans to ‘accidentally’ bump into Bob at work again.

Mr. Bryant leaned out his window and punched in a code at the gate leading to the airport runways, then drove the car through as the automated gate rolled open. He passed the main terminal of the small airport and drove to the end of the field where a large white jet with blue stripes waited in front of a huge white hangar.

The car rolled to a stop directly beside the plane, and Mr. Bryant himself got Billy’s suit bag and satchel from the car and handed them to one of the pilots who carried them onto the plane. “Your plane will be met in Seattle,” Mr. Bryant informed Billy briskly, but with a tone of deference, “and you will be taken directly to your meeting with Mr. Berkley. He will probably ask you to join him for dinner.

“Depending on whether he wants to meet with you again tomorrow or not, you should be able to fly back tonight or fairly early tomorrow. The plane will remain there on standby. If you are to spend the night, a car will take you to the suite reserved for Scinegue. I’ll be waiting here to meet you whenever you do return.”

He returned to his car and drove away as the captain of the plane came over and introduced himself to Billy. “It will be a short flight in this plane, sir. If there is anything you need just let our flight attendant know.”

He let Billy precede him up the lowered steps and into the airplane where he was met by an attractive female flight attendant who said her name was Michelle. Billy caught a glimpse of a beautiful wood-toned galley to his left, and Michelle directed him in the opposite direction towards the cabin. “You’re welcome to sit wherever you like,” she told him as he walked wide-eyed through the lavish airplane, his head turning from side to side as he tried to take in every gorgeous detail.

He passed four roomy chairs, two on either side of a beautiful wood-top table. A little farther back he finally chose a buttery soft, light brown leather chair that faced the front.

Michelle advised him to buckle up for takeoff. He reached down to fasten his seatbelt even as the engines roared to life one by one. He couldn’t stop himself from gawking at the plane’s interior and was surprised by the size of the couch placed lengthwise across the roomy aisle from him.

This thing was huge for a private jet,
he thought. Not that he’d ever been on a private jet, but this was larger than he would have imagined. And it was just so beautiful with lots of wood and leather. The pilot had seemed pretty proud of it. He guessed he would be proud too, if he flew an incredible plane like this.

After takeoff the flight attendant came back and asked if he would like a drink or snack. He chose mineral water and she brought him an unopened bottle and a glass with ice. “Have you worked for Scinegue long?” he asked, watching as she poured his drink.

“I’m as new as this plane,” she joked. “I don’t know if you’re familiar with aircraft, but this plane hasn’t even been released yet as far as the rest of the world is concerned. Scinegue has some connections pretty high up I guess,” she added with a pleasant laugh.

She was dressed in an attractive navy skirt that stopped just above her knees, topped with a light blue satiny blouse. She cocked a hip to the side and leaned against a dividing wall in front of Billy’s chair. “I was hired to crew this plane less than a month ago. I worked for the airlines before that, but I love this.” She looked around and gestured to encompass the plane’s beautiful interior.

“The plane is clean and gorgeous and the passengers, so far, have been very respectful and dignified. I never knew what I would have to put up with on a commercial flight,” she confided with a roll of her eyes. “It seemed like there was always someone who was angry on every flight. I guess if people could travel like this they probably wouldn’t have been so upset.” She laughed and pushed her long dark curls over her shoulder.