Page 24 of One More Night
NINE
Corinne
When you reach the point in your life where living on the edge is defined by whether you can manage to sneak a bottle of disinfectant into the breakroom unnoticed or not, you know you’re in trouble.
Thisis the most daring thing I’ve done in years … well, beside the whole reason for the pine fresh cleaner.
How far we fall.
I drag out my cup of coffee, sipping until it goes cold while I wait on Suzy in HR to leave the room. Satisfied I have a few precious minutes to myself, I dash across and rip the cloth from under the sink, gathering the bottle of disinfectant from my purse.
I cleaned thoroughly after Jordan left last night. Yet the thought that even a speck of my misdemeanor could find it’s way unknowingly into a bought lunch left me awake half the night.
I scrub the chemical into the table top with raw determination, pausing every so often to check I’m still in the clear. Safe for now. My hand stinks of pine needles by the time I’m done, yet I’m somewhat slightly more at ease with the idea of a colleague eating at the head of the table.
God help me if anyone brought a blue light in here.
I shouldn’t have bated Jordan. Shouldn’t have let him manhandle me into what we did.
Yet, I don’t regret a hot minute of it. Sheesh. I’d be crazy to wish for a life where I didn’t know the skill of his tongue, the feel of his fingers.
With the bottle of cleaner safely stored in my purse once more, I rinse the cloth out and hang it over the tap to dry. Relief washes over me, a weight lifted now that I’ve removed any guilt from my subconscious.
The feeling of lightness is short-lived however, tension twisting deep in my chest when Ted walks in.
“Suzy said she’d seen you in here.”
“Looking for me?” I collect my purse, indicating I’m on my way back to my desk.
He twists his wedding band, blocking my exit. Damn.
“Got a minute?”
“Sure.” My heart thunders in my chest as I follow Ted on the walk of shame through the cubicles to his office.
It’s akin to following the principal to the admin office in school. Curious eyes steal a look my way as we pass, no doubt reading me for any clues on why I would be trailing Ted with my purse in hand.
“Have a seat.” He gestures to the retro orange chair before his desk.
I shut the door behind us, eager to place a physical barrier between the speculation of my colleagues and myself.
“How have you been, Corinne?” Ted fusses with a stack of files on the side of his desk.
“Since I left last night?” I give him a wary smile. “Fine, thank you. Why?”
He clears his throat. Pushes a file to the left. Up an inch. And then back to where it started. “So, you’ll understand that after what happened over the weekend we’ve had to be thorough. We were required to review everything that transpired in the office immediately before, and immediately after the breach occurred.”
“Of course.” They’ll need to rule out any inside involvement.
“Reviewing staff movements in the office is part of that. Security card usage, where people have been, and if it relates to their department … all of that.”
I duck my head in an attempt to meet his eye. “What does this have to do with me?”
I haven’t snooped around the other departments, nor tried to use my card to gain access to any offices that are out of bounds—not that there are many places locked down on our floor.
Mostly just the server room.
“Something came up when we reviewed the, ah …” He clears his throat, shifting his weight between his feet.