Chapter 27
Starkey and Turk were mischevious devils were doing everything they could to duck and weave her. Emma was getting extremely frustrated but had to tip her hat to the two men...not many people could avoid her so easily...avoiding people was her party trick.
Killian had promised to take care of the two men and she hoped he was discrete enough not to tip them off. Emma didn't want to have another encounter with him in the offices today. Being near him made it hard for her to breath and she easily forgot what her objectives were. Getting so close to him probably hadn't been her brightest idea but god it was satisfying...and pleasurable.
Mary Margaret had come and collected her for lunch...something that was becoming a regular thing. A quick trip to the 7th floor cafeteria where the food had been surprisingly good and Emma had enjoyed chatting to Mary Margaret. She was one of the easiest women to get along with and always had something interesting to talk about - the topics of conversation were so refreshing and so far removed from Emma's own life that she felt herself fitting into her under cover life too easily.
It was scary...and she didn't know if she could leave it all behind...leave him behind.
She had too...It was the job!
Starkey and Turk both suddenly became available to her upon her return from lunch. A small note had a smile quickly quirking up her lips.
You're Welcome
It was scrawled on a yellow post-it-note and stuck to her screen. No doubt where it had come from. Her investigation was progressing nicely but without Killian's help she would be hitting brick wall after brick wall. His trust in her had allowed her unprecedented access into his world. She wouldn't take back for anything.
Emma caught up with Starkey first. The Chief Financial Officer was definitely in a position to abuse his power if so needed and in many of her previous cases funds were being siphoned off by those with such power and access. Emma cornered Starkey in the hall on the pretense of needing account information for Killian.
Emma had been surprised by his impeccable manners and the way he presented himself. He may have come across as a little shady but he definitely knew his job and the company inside out.
She did rely a lot on her 'secret weapon' but her lie detector had never failed her in the past. The man set off none of the alarms in her head and was actually quite pleasant to chat too. If anything Starkey showed pride in his work and she sensed a loyalty to Killian. She hoped that she was barking up the wrong executive but it would take a bit more digging to prove whether her gut feeling was right or not.
Turk was still a little hard to catch up with but she managed to catch him in the elevator. A few quick pointed questions and she was soon narrowing down the suspect list further.
Emma knew she still needed to access to both offices in order to plant the spyware on their computer. She didn't foresee any problems as there was a board meeting scheduled for the afternoon.
The board meeting would provide Emma with a big opportunity to hit up all of the remaining suspect's offices. She'd have Killian draw out the meeting for as long as possible...she was sure that he wouldn't take much convincing. Emma would need to be swift because as Killian's executive assistant she was required to attend the meeting. It wouldn't be hard to come up with a few excuses to be gone for a little while but the last thing she needed was to draw attention to herself.
Working for the boss had perks and she had found herself able to talk her way into most areas of Corsair's without any body batting an eyelid. It would prove very helpful when getting past the other executive assistants not attending the meeting.
Emma gave the door a few knocks before pushing it open...not even waiting for an answer. Killian was on the phone...his back to her, facing the city. It was in moments like this that Emma found herself studying him...seeing him in his element put a smile on her face.
"I need it done!"
Listening to Killian's accent still created a delicious tingling feeling in her belly that spread warmth throughout her entire body. The commanding tone in his voice just added to the list of things she found attractive about him. Killian had power...a lot of it but he never abused it. He was tough and unforgiving at times but never without reason. If he delegated a job...he expected it to be done and done extremely well. Emma could appreciate that in her line of work and it was his smart, witty, fingers in all the pie approach that she found was his best quality.
Emma approached the desk and perched herself against it quietly. She crossed her legs and watched Killian with interest. He was still on the phone giving orders but the muscles in his back had started to ripple and his shoulders tensed.
He knew she was there.
Emma loved that she could affect him so easily. She'd never had such an all consuming connection with another man...it was instant between them.
Crazy.
Killian finished his conversation and turned quickly to corner Emma against the desk.
"You are a vixen."
His voice rumbled against her throat...his body pressed lightly against hers. She could feel the heat radiating between them and arched her neck back. Killian began peppering kisses up and down her throat...sucking lightly against her collarbone.
"I am here for something serious..." Emma breathed loudly enough for him to hear. She shouldn't be letting Killian touch her...it was dangerous and against what she had emphatically told him the night before. It seemed that fighting was becoming too hard.
"Mmmm..."
Her hands were now running down his back, soothing the muscles that had been bunching. Killian's hands were also busy roaming and he had pulled her blouse out from her skirt. His touch against her bare skin burnt, sending electricity spiking along her nerves.
Emma squeezed her eyes shut and moved her hands to his shoulders and pushed.
"Serious."
Killian pulled back and gave a smile. "You're no fun love."
Emma furrowed her brow and gave him a stern look. There was a mad man trying to kill her and take down his business and he just wanted to goof around? The message must have been plain on her face because he got it. Killian backed away slowly and raised his hands into the air as if surrendering.
"Later?" His question held lots of promise and she was excited...it should have shocked her but it didn't. She gave a quick negative shake of her head.
"Let me guess...The board meeting?" Killian was on the money and it wasn't the first time it had felt like he was reading her...it was scary that he could read her as easily as a book. His eyes always felt like they were piercing into her soul...dragging stories and thoughts from her that she had showed no one.
Emma raised her eyebrows at him as if to say...'come on then...show me what you've got.'
Killian chuckled, his eyes dancing with laughter.
"Let me see..." He began drumming his fingers against the side of his cheek...pretending to be deep in thought.
"You want me to keep everybody busy whilst you snoop around?"
Emma nodded and easily filled him in on her simple plan.
Emma snatched up a pastry and began snacking on it whilst she set up the board room. She flicked off her to-do list in her head and made sure each executive had their agenda, some water and could reach other refreshments easily without having to strain themselves.
These men were used to the easy life and according to Robin many had blown fuses at previous assistants for simply having their pastries out of reach. Emma had scoffed at him until she had seen the look on his face. A dead pan look from Robin told her just how serious the little things were for these people.
All of her running around for the meeting had a knot forming in her stomach...one that kept growing the more she thought of the differences in her and Killian's lives. Emma had always worked for every little thing she had and seeing these men be so obnoxious and lazy...it really ate at her. She was enjoying the luxuries that being in Killian's world afforded her but it couldn't last...she just wasn't cut out for it.
"Finished pandering to the demands?" Killian broke her thoughts as he sauntered into the room.
"You let them get away with it!" Emma blamed him.
Killian pouted and Emma wondered how the hell she had stopped herself from kissing those lips. They were like a drug that intoxicated her instantly...made her dizzy and forget herself and her mission.
"Now now Swan..." Killian walked towards the head of the table, plucking some grapes as he walked past.
"Not every man with money acts like a spoilt prat." His charming smile as he indicated to himself had her anger melting away.
Emma knew that he was right but it didn't stop her hackles raising.
"Calm down Swan." Killian gave a little laugh as he approached her.
"I can see the smoke fuming from here."
"I don't know what you are talking about." Emma denied, folding her arms.
"Have it your way." Killian walked up to the computer system and inserted a flash drive. The board room was decked out with state of the art information technology that allowed each person to use a data link share information, thoughts and suggestion. Emma had learnt that Killian liked to keep more sensitive information on flash drives as to keep them off the main database. He believed it to be more secure.
The boardroom slowly filled with the executives. Emma made sure to be on her most professional behaviour...smiling and greeting each by name.
Starkey, Turk, Murphy and Mullins took their places.
Killian began the meeting by quickly going through the agenda and asking if anybody had anything last minute to add.
"Sorry...Sorry I'm late." Neal bustled into the room and straight to the only empty seat at the table. Emma shot him a sympathetic look as he tried to get his head into the meeting and catch up on anything he may have missed.
"Emma...I have left behind some reports regarding the new ports in Europe. Could you fetch them please." Killian was giving her an excuse to leave and she knew that she wouldn't have much time before she was due back.
"Right away Mr Jones." His formal title slipped easily off her tongue and she swiftly left the room.
Emma slipped past her desk and picked up a few manila folders that she had made ready early. She would need some excuse to get into the target offices.
She'd only have time for 2 offices before she'd need to return. Emma was lucky that she had been friendly to all of the Corsair's staff and charming the secretaries at the offices should be easy. Emma was in and out of Starkey's office before she could blink. The spyware did not need her to logon...it just need to download onto the computer and then it would run in the background...slowly feeding information back to her tech agents.
The secretary at Turks office was a little harder to get passed but dropping Killian's name and important in the one sentence...it soon gave her access. Emma ducked back into the meeting delivered the "files" to Killian with a little nod.
It was a tough slog but Emma systematically worked her way through the executives she had left. She popped out of the board meeting for all kinds of little things...refreshments was the biggest time she could get away. Emma had roped Mary Margaret into helping her prepare afternoon tea, promising her new friend a favour.
She was just finishing up with the last office and heading back out into the hallway when she heard a rustle from her left. A quick look and she saw nothing.
The blow came from her right and hit her straight across the back of the head.
Not again.
TBC
