Chapter 11 - THE EMPLOYEE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH|
Wednesday morning began with an unexpected phone call.
Jade Morgan was halfway through her shift when Colin Hayes asked her to come to his office.
She found him sitting behind his desk with a cardboard box beside his chair.
His expression looked exhausted.
“Close the door, Jade.”
She remained standing.
“What do you want?”
Colin sighed.
“You've worked here for four years.”
“And?”
“I've always considered you a reliable employee.”
Jade nearly laughed.
“That's funny. You usually call me replaceable.”
Colin ignored the remark.
“Things have gotten out of control.”
“You mean because you nearly got an elderly woman killed?”
His eyes narrowed.
“Be careful.”
Jade crossed her arms.
“Or what? You'll fire me?”
Colin reached into the box and removed a folder.
“Your employment record contains several disciplinary warnings.”
Jade stared.
“I've never received a disciplinary warning.”
“They're here.”
He pushed the folder toward her.
Missed shifts.
Inappropriate conduct.
Failure to follow management instructions.
Every document carried her name.
None carried her real signature.
“You forged these,” Jade whispered.
Colin leaned back.
“I'm offering you a chance to avoid an unpleasant termination.”
“What do you want?”
“Delete the recording of Patricia Crane offering Amara money.”
Jade went still.
Colin smiled.
“Don't look so surprised. I know what you recorded.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Your employment record will follow you to every major hotel in Chicago.”
Jade felt fear rise in her chest.
She supported her younger brother, who had recently lost his job.
Losing her income would hurt both of them.
But then she remembered Amara standing beside the wheelchair.
Her swollen cheek.
Her trembling hands.
Jade slowly took out her phone.
“You know what, Colin?”
His smile widened.
“I'm listening.”
“I used to be afraid of you.”
His expression changed.
“And now?”
She placed the phone on his desk.
“Now I think you're afraid of somebody else.”
Colin leaned forward.
“Delete the recording.”
“No.”
His fist struck the desk.
“Do you have any idea what these people can do to you?”
Jade didn't flinch.
“Who are 'these people'?”
Colin realized his mistake.
Before he could respond, someone knocked.
Rosa Delgado opened the door.
“Mr. Hayes, two detectives are downstairs. They'd like to speak with you.”
Colin turned pale.
Jade picked up her phone.
As she walked toward the door, Colin whispered something.
“You think Amara is the hero of this story?”
Jade stopped.
Colin stared at her.
“She doesn't even know why she was hired.”
Jade slowly turned around.
“What did you say?”
But Colin said nothing else.
An hour later, Jade repeated the conversation to Amara.
Amara frowned.
“Why I was hired?”
Jade nodded.
“Those were his exact words.”
Amara remembered applying for the hotel position eleven months earlier.
She had submitted her application online.
Three days later, Colin had personally offered her the job.
Without a second interview.
At the time, she had considered herself lucky.
Now she wasn't so sure.
Because inside the hotel's archived employment records, someone had added a strange instruction to her original application.
APPROVED BY EXECUTIVE REQUEST — DO NOT TRANSFER OR TERMINATE WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION.
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And the authorization had come from an office Amara had never visited.
Meridian Capital.
