Page 39 of The Perfect Secret
Hannah panicked as she sat in her office a day later. There were rumors circulating that Fortex’s CEO embezzled funds. No one knew the source, but the financial papers picked up on it. Her phone had been ringing for hours.
No matter how many times she and her colleagues spoke to the CFO, he swore up, down, and sideways there was nothing going on with their finances. It might be true, but the papers were going to have a field day with this. Only a week ago, she’d begged the media for coverage, now she’d give anything for them to ignore this. She tried to create other stories for the media to pursue, none of which resulted in any bites. Everyone was yelling at her. If she didn’t figure out the source of these stories, she would lose her client, or worse, her job.
Jim stuck his head in her office. “How are you doing with developing case histories for some of Fortex’s medical success stories? Your marketing plan will take too long to develop. We need something positive now.”
Hannah swung her chair around and pointed to a stack of folders on her desk. “Fortex is a huge pharmaceutical company. I’ve got calls out to everyone on their case study list and I’m waiting to hear from them. In the meantime, I’ve drafted the bare bones, so all I have to do is plug in the specific information.”
“Good. When you’re done with it, put together a media list for which publications we plan to target. We’ve got to get them some positive publicity or we’ll lose them.” He turned to go, but paused and fixed her with his penetrating stare.
She shivered. That stare made him a star with the clients. It freaked out his staff, though. Hannah had never been the recipient of it. She didn’t like it.
“We need to figure out where the rumors originated.”
She gulped. “I know.”
Looking at his retreating back, she shook her head. How in the world was she supposed to figure out who started the rumors?
The next day, Jim was waiting for her when she arrived at work. “Hannah, can I see you in my office?”
His tone brooked no argument. “I’ll be right there.” Her stomach plummeted and her head began to ache. She straightened her posture, smoothed her hair, and walked to her boss’s office. His back was to her when she reached it, so she knocked.
He swiveled, motioning her inside. “Sit down. The other day your friend visited you. Dan Rothberg?”
Hannah caught her breath. “Yes, he’s my boyfriend. Why?”
He leaned on his desk and steepled his fingers, resting his mouth on their tips. “The same Dan Rothberg who works for Lorpman LLP?”
“Yes, that’s the name of his firm. Why?”
“We have a huge problem.”
Her stomach dropped. “What do you mean?”
“Lorpman is the firm investigating Fortex, and Dan Rothberg is the lead investigator.”
“Wait, what?” She leaned forward.
“Your boyfriend is investigating their financials. If Fortex finds out you’re dating him, they’ll think you’ve given him information and access.”
“I don’t understand. Dan is the one investigating Fortex?” She sank onto the nearest chair and gripped the armrest. This couldn’t be possible.
Jim pulled up a photo from the internet. It was a professional headshot from Dan’s office’s website. Same salt and pepper hair, same to-die-for blue eyes, same smile-crinkles around the eyes, same lips she couldn’t get enough of.
“They have no idea how he found and accessed this information.”
“Neither do I. He’s good at his job. I didn’t know he was investigating them.”
“Still, we’ve got to figure out what to do here. We can’t put our business with them at risk.”
All the oxygen siphoned out of the room. “You know me, Jim. I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“I know it’s all in the perception, Hannah. Even if you didn’t say anything on purpose, it’s easy to slip. To say something you think is harmless but isn’t. There’s no telling what you gave away by accident. And if the client finds out, it’s not just your job that’s on the line.”
Her head pounded harder as her pulse rushed in her ears. She couldn’t afford to lose her job. If this got out, her reputation and her ability to be hired anywhere, would be impacted.
“They should be more concerned with the illegality of what they’ve done than who I date.”
“They’re a company, Hannah, and they’re fighting for their livelihood. That’s what they’re focusing on now, and what we have to do as well. I have to do damage control.”