Page 4 of Through the Five-Hole

“You’re the best.”He waved.

I took the elevator up to the twenty-fifth floor and walked out of the elevator to see the familiar sign reading Image Hackers on the wall.I opened the office door and made my way inside, walking through the office.It was busy this morning, but I still heard the low mumbles surrounding me as I made my way to my corner office.

I rarely paid any attention to anyone in this office, but this morning those same inaudible murmurs I heard bothered me.My co-workers deemed me the Ice Queen because I treated each case with a lack of emotion and precision, like a surgeon.They also didn’t like the fact that I kept my private life private, which gave them less to talk about.

Not that there was much to talk about.Our private life was dead.Mark and I never went on double dates; we also didn’t participate in any office events with this office.With the amount of gossip that went on here, I’d had no other choice than to pull away, especially after the great scandal sheet that went around.Actually, with the amount of gossip that goes on in any office, it should be enough to make everyone realize the importance of keeping important things private.

Then, sometimes I wondered if gossip might not spice things up between us.I wasn’t happy with how things were, just like he wasn’t, but the truth was we were both married to our jobs.The only dates we ever went on now were with his clients, which were always business related, and recently he’d stopped asking me to go with him on those unless it was an important dinner like this weekend because he claimed I was too busy with work to attend most times.Which honestly wasn’t a lie.

I placed my coffee down on my desk, pulled my laptop from my bag, and began setting up my desk, getting myself prepared for what I hoped was a busy week.I was just about to check my email when I heard a tiny knock on my door, and I looked up to see Jane standing there, a small smile on her face.

“Morning, Emma.I just wanted to let you know Kerry has asked to see you.She has an assignment for you.”

“Oh, wonderful.Do you know the details?”I asked, excited to learn more.

Jane shook her head.“All she said was that it was massively important, and she wants to see you immediately.”

“Okay,” I said, frowning as I grabbed my notebook and pen.

Five minutes later, I walked into Kerry’s office and took a seat across from her.I smoothed my skirt, then crossed my legs, opened my notebook, and got ready to make notes as I always did.

“You can put your notebook down,” she said, opening her top drawer, pulling out a file, which she placed on her desk, and then clasped her hands together in front of her.

“I’ve been working on some things for the past month, and this morning I got the call with permission to move ahead.I need someone to take on a rather urgent case.”

“I’m all ears.”I smiled.

“It’s a do-or-die sort of case, and you are the only person in this entire office I can trust enough to take this on.In trust, I mean holding yourself out there to represent this company the way you always do, but also, to keep things private for the sake of the client.”

“Wow, okay, well you’ve piqued my curiosity,” I said, smiling, knowing immediately it must be someone with a high public profile.

“I’m glad.It’s not just the case.I owe someone a huge favor, and when this came across my desk originally, I knew it was my way to pay them back.Under no circumstances can this fail.”

I sat up a little straighter, noting the look in Kerry’s eyes.She wasn’t joking around; she was serious.

“Of course.I’ll do whatever it is, and you know I’ll take it seriously.You can trust me on that,” I replied.“I love working for Image Hackers, and I always handle every case with discretion and professionalism,” I said.

“I know.That was why I immediately thought of you this morning when I got the approval,” she said, getting up and going over to her small coffee station, pouring two cups and bringing them back over to her desk, placing one cup in front of me.“It also works perfectly since you’ve finished your entire caseload and are completely clear for a while.”

“Thank you, yes, I worked hard to get all the loose ends wrapped up in a timely manner so I could start fresh in the fall, although the cases weren’t that challenging, but they are all finished now,” I said, taking a sip.

“Well, I hate to say it, but this one might be a little different from the others.Tell me, what do you know about hockey star Colton Fox?”

I swallowed hard.“Colton Fox?”I asked.

“Yes, Colton Fox.”

Almost immediately, all I could see were his stunning glass-blue eyes looking at me before he walked away from me.There was no way this was the same Colton Fox, I thought as I sat there internally and silently praying that it wasn’t the same guy I’d known from childhood.

“Not much, why?”

Kerry pulled out a pile of photographs from the folder in front of her and placed them on the desk, along with a pile of newspaper clippings, spreading them out for me to see.

I flipped through them all, then through the pictures, swallowing hard.Pictures of him coming out of clubs with women draped all over him, walking out of casinos flipping the bird to the camera, then more pictures of him with women.The article headlines were crazy, some dealing with gambling issues, relationship issues that ranged anywhere from public breakups to one-night stands, and a whack of articles suggesting anger issues.

I picked up another image of Colton.It most definitely was the same Colton Fox, and suddenly I regretted being so eager to take on this case.

“I don’t understand?Where is the urgency?These articles are dated more than a year ago, most from when he was playing for his last team.There is nothing recent that I can see,” I said, my jaw tight as I dropped the photograph onto the desk.