Page 53 of Hale Yes (Highway to Hale #1)
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Espionage and a fly
Helix
Staring down at the box in my hand, I smile. This is something I never thought I would do, but when I flick up the lid and see the light catch the enormous solitaire diamond, I know I’m making the right decision.
I am going to propose to Nicolette.
I considered doing it on Valentine’s Day, which is in two weeks, but her sister is getting married that weekend, and I want this proposal to be special and not overshadowed by anything else. And besides, I have very romantic plans to ask Nicolette to be my wife.
For Christmas, I gave her a week-long vacation in Aspen, and the date we scheduled is coming up in March. A secluded cabin. The mountains as a backdrop. A cozy fire in the fireplace. It’s going to be perfect.
When the door to my office opens, I quickly close the box and pocket it, mildly panicking that it’s my future fiancée, though I know it’s not. She’s off work for the rest of the day to get her birth control shot.
“Hey, Dad,” I say, relieved to see him striding purposefully inside and closing the door. Until I get a glimpse of his face. “What’s wrong?”
He slams a sheaf of papers down on my desk, and I notice the pallor of his face. “What is this?” he demands.
Looking down at the paper, I inspect the formula with detailed notes below it. “This is our formula for the additive for the new fragrance line.”
“I know,” he says sharply, and I shake my head.
“Is there some kind of problem with it? We’ve tested and re-tested it a million times, so I don’t?—”
He cuts me off. “Look at the next page.”
“Okaaaay,” I draw out, turning to the next sheet of paper as my father begins to pace. That’s when my blood runs cold. “What the fuck is this?”
He stops his pacing and jabs a finger onto the paper. “That,” he snaps, “is a patent application that was just filed today by Aquarius Cosmetics in New York.”
“But… no.” Dread seeps into my system, and I shake my head back and forth like I’m trying to shake the idea of this from my brain. “How did they get hold of our formula?”
“That’s what the hell I’d like to know,” Dad roars, bracing himself with both hands on the desk. He doesn’t look well, and I don’t blame him. I feel pretty shitty myself.
Rounding my desk, I take my father by the arm and guide him into one of the leather chairs across from my desk. “Just calm down,” I tell him. “Let me get you some water.”
“I don’t need fucking water. I need to know how Aquarius Cosmetics got our goddamn formula.” Despite his protests, he accepts the bottle I hand him from the small fridge in my office. “There’s been a leak.”
“Obviously,” I fume, resting my butt on the edge of the desk so I can grab Dad if he topples over. “Have you told anyone about this?”
He guzzles half the bottle and wipes the back of his hand across his mouth.
“Not about that.” He waves his hand at the offending paperwork, a look of disgust pinching his face into a grimace.
“As we agreed, we’ve leaked rumors of a groundbreaking new fragrance.
You know, just to get some excitement generated in the industry. ”
“But you didn’t release the actual formula.” I state it rather than ask it because I already know. He and I worked with Phoenix on the exact wording of the rumors.
Dad just stares at me like I’m insane for even entertaining such an idea. “I would never release an actual formula. That would be pure ignorance, and I didn’t get into my position by being ignorant. Who else knows this information?”
“I do, of course, and Nicolette. We produced small batches of it ourselves for testing purposes so not even the production line has seen it. We’ve kept it top secret, and other than the copy we gave to you, all our paperwork stays locked in my safe.”
My father nods and takes another drink. “Dammit, I need something stronger than this.”
“Me too,” I mutter, digging around in the cabinet along the far wall and coming up with a dusty bottle of bourbon Remi gave to me last year. I used to drink a small glass when I was working late to take the edge off, but I haven’t touched it in months. Nicolette has been taking care of my edges.
I pour us each a healthy portion into two coffee mugs. My father would normally complain that it’s a crime to pour fine bourbon into simple mugs, but he doesn’t utter a word, simply taking a long sip. I do the same, feeling the warm burn down my throat.
“First of all, let me check this against the one in the safe,” I say, rapping a knuckle against the patent application. It’s kind of silly to do because I could reproduce this formula in my sleep, but I’ll feel better if I can lay them side by side and compare every single element listed.
When I open the safe, the envelope that should be right on top is gone. I feel like I’m going to puke. I rummage through the meager contents, certain my eyes must be missing the hundreds of pages of notes and test results.
“It’s not here,” I finally croak out.
“Okay,” he puffs out on a long sigh. “Who has access to your safe?”
“Phoenix knows my password,” I say before remembering something. “Oh, and Nicolette.” My father’s eyes widen, and I shake my head. “She’s very cautious, Dad, and she would never remove the formula and just leave it lying around where anyone could find it. She’s not stupid.”
“I know that, son, but we need to talk to her and Phoenix to see if there was some kind of inadvertent… whatever. I don’t even know.” He drains his drink, and I do the same.
“Nicolette is out of the office today for a doctor’s appointment, but let’s head over and talk to Phoenix. I’ll tell him to meet us in your office.”
“I have no clue,” my twin says, looking as disturbed as Dad and I feel. “I know the password because you told me years ago, but I’ve never even opened your safe.”
“Dammit to hell,” I curse, checking the time. “Nicolette’s appointment time is happening right now. She’s going to freak the hell out when I tell her about this.”
“When was the last time you saw the envelope?” Phoenix asks.
Running my fingers through my hair, I reply, “Day before yesterday at the end of the day. It was in the safe.”
“You’re sure?” Dad asks, and I frown at him, though this isn’t his fault. We already checked, and his copy of the paperwork was sitting securely in his office safe. Only my and Nicolette’s copy is missing, obviously stolen.
“I’m positive. Let’s get over to security and have them check the cameras from the past two nights.” A sense of unease settles heavily on my shoulders as we take the skybridge over to the main building.
Bernadette Starrett is our head of security. A former officer in the United States Army, she’s no-nonsense down to her core. As soon as she sees the CEO and his two sons being let into the security room, she knows something is up and marches from her office to greet us.
After filling her in, we’re invited into the control room, where a wall of screens shows views of the executive office building and the laboratory building. Bernadette is stone-faced. She knows this is serious.
Three hours later, we’ve found jack shit.
Bernadette has fast-forwarded through all the camera feeds in the lab building, finding not one hint of a person in the hallways the past two nights.
Isla was the last person to leave yesterday, which isn’t unusual.
She often stays to catch up on emails once everyone is gone for the day.
Her office is down the hall from mine, and she never even approached that end of the hallway.
No one else was seen until Nicolette and I arrived first each morning, as usual.
“Shit, let’s watch it again,” I say, frustrated beyond belief. “Maybe slower this time.”
“I need to go pick up my kiddo,” Phoenix murmurs. “Do you want me to get Mom to pick her up so I can stay with you?”
“No, you’re fine.” I glance at my dad, whose face looks haggard and still a bit pale. “Why don’t you drop Dad off at his house since he’s in the same neighborhood as us?”
“I can stay,” our father protests.
Bernadette takes over, obviously picking up my cues that Dad needs some rest. “Mr. Hale, let me do my job. Dr. Hale will stay with me as an extra set of eyes, but there’s no need for you to watch all this again.
If we see anyone, I’ll call you straight away, but I’m not hopeful. There’s simply no one there.”
Dad’s body sags a little. “So you’re telling me a damn ghost sneaked in and stole that information?”
“I have no idea, sir, but I’ll get to the bottom of it. I doubt anyone would steal it during the day because there are so many people around, but we will check the hallway feeds throughout both workdays just to make sure no unauthorized person went into Dr. Hale’s office.”
Finally relenting, my father allows Phoenix to drive him home, and Bernadette and I get back to work.
We watch the two days on fast-forward, only slowing down when someone passes my office door.
The only person who didn’t simply walk by was Isla, and the camera clearly showed her sticking my messages in the box affixed to my door and immediately going back to her own office.
No one went inside except for Nicolette and me, and we were always together.
I check my phone for the time and notice a text message from my girlfriend.
Nicolette: Hey, want to grab dinner?
Hesitating, I decide not to fill her in on the situation by text. She’s understandably going to be upset, and I want to be there to comfort her when she finds out the news that our work has been stolen.
Helix: Not tonight. I’m worn out.
It’s the truth. This whole thing has me exhausted.
Nicolette: Ok, see you tomorrow. Love you.
Helix: Love you too, baby.
“What time do you get off work?” I ask Bernadette when I pocket my phone. It’s after seven in the evening.
“My shift ends at midnight, but I’ll stay as long as you need me. Let’s watch the nighttime videos again, as my guess is that’s when the information was stolen.”