The Price Of Secrecy Read Online Free PDF

illness on picture day” underneath where her photo should be. She also wasn’t
the only one without a high school picture in the yearbook. Same thing in
college. So that would explain it. Quite a coincidence, but still a plausible
reason.
    But
it bugged him now, and he wasn’t a person who let things go when they bothered
him. He had always trusted his gut. So the question then became why? If she or
her mother were hiding, from whom were they hiding, and for what reason? She
was skilled enough to have manufactured a past for herself and her mother, and
that could also be the reason he hadn’t found any photos, but again, why? What
was she trying to conceal?
    Why
was he asking these questions now, instead of two weeks ago when he’d taken one
look at that project and emailed her to set up an interview? He was desperate
to get this team built, that’s why. She had stood out among the applicants, so
he’d gotten sloppy. Sloppy led to mistakes, and mistakes were dangerous, but it
was too late now. He’d have to stick close to her and watch her. Not a problem,
unless he couldn’t keep his fucking hormones out of the picture.
    ****
    Angela
was half an hour early Monday morning because she was so damn excited she
simply couldn’t sit in her apartment and wait any longer. She had to wait in
the HR lobby for fifteen minutes before someone showed up, and then they didn’t
call her back until almost 8:45.
    After
she finished the paperwork online and had her access badges, one of the HR assistants
took her up to the department where Merrick waved to her from his temporary
office. “Trish is already in your new office. I’ll stop by in a bit and make
sure you’re all set up.”
    “Thank
you.”
    Merrick
eyed her new suit as she walked past, and Angela hoped Dominic appreciated the
way she looked in it as much as Merrick obviously did. Affordable business
clothing was difficult to find, but Lesli had used her employee discount and
bought three new suits for Angela. She promised to pay her back as soon as
possible, but Angela knew that Lesli wasn’t keeping score. Still, these damn
things had been expensive, even with the discount.
    She’d
worn the red one today because it was a power color, it was the latest design,
and it set off her dark hair and eyes. She’d pinned up her hair but left
tendrils hanging near her face and on the back of her neck. That also had been
Lesli’s idea. Her jewelry was understated and gold, although none of it was
real, but who would know that?
    The
shoes were dark, but they matched her purse, so that was acceptable. She looked
as chic and professional as any woman she spotted inside the building today,
and the result was that she felt confident and ready to tackle her new role.
    Trish
Bowling was a chipper person, and Angela liked her immediately. She got Angela
set up on the company’s system within minutes, and went over every page of the
Intranet with her. She made her sure her email program worked, and had even
added key contacts to it for her ahead of time. “I have administrative access
to everyone’s systems, as do Merrick and Dominic.”
    “That’s
a good idea. Thanks for all your help.”
    “That’s
what I’m here for. And since you and Merrick are the department right now, I
don’t have much to do yet.”
    “When
do you think Dominic will hire more people?”
    “He’s
very picky. If rumors are true, and in this building they usually are, he’s
already interviewed close to fifty people and has only hired four. One is you,
and he’s hired one other woman and two men. The others are moving from another
city or have to give notice at their current jobs, so they won’t start for two
weeks.”
    “I
worked at the Painted Dragon Internet Café. People come and go so quickly there
that they didn’t even care I simply quit Wednesday afternoon.”
    Trish
gave her a knowing smile. “Dominic hasn’t stopped talking about you since your
interview. He said if he could find a