Chapter 2 - THE OFFER WITH TOO MANY CONDITIONS
Tessa returned to Hawthorne House at eleven.
Not because she wanted the job.
Because she wanted answers.
Miles met her near the staff entrance and led her into an empty conference room. A thick envelope waited on the table.
“Employment agreement,” he explained.
Tessa opened it.
The numbers were real.
The salary was enough to pay their overdue rent, replace Eli's medication without juggling credit cards, and possibly begin saving again.
That frightened her more than a low offer would have.
Someone had calculated exactly how badly she needed the money.
She read every page.
There was no exclusivity outside working hours. No requirement to socialize with guests. No confidentiality clause preventing her from reporting misconduct.
There was, however, a handwritten addition.
Ms. Vaughn may decline any assignment without penalty.
Tessa frowned.
“Who wrote this?”
“Mr. Mercer.”
She looked up.
“Why?”
Miles rubbed his forehead.
“I've stopped asking.”
The door opened.
Roman Mercer entered alone.
Tessa stood immediately.
He stopped several feet away.
“Ms. Vaughn.”
“Mr. Mercer.”
His gaze moved to the papers.
“You've read them?”
“Most of them.”
“Take them to a lawyer before signing.”
She blinked.
“That sounds like terrible advice for someone trying to hire me.”
“It's good advice for someone deciding whether to trust me.”
She crossed her arms.
“I don't trust you.”
“I know.”
“Then why am I here?”
Roman's expression changed.
“First, I owe you an apology.”
Tessa stared.
He continued without looking away.
“I touched you without permission. You were working, and I used my position to put you in a situation where refusing me could have cost you your job. I was wrong.”
She hadn't expected that.
It didn't erase what he'd done.
But he hadn't called it a misunderstanding.
“Why did you do it?” she asked.
Roman's jaw tightened.
“I was testing how you'd react.”
“That's disgusting.”
“Yes.”
She studied him.
“Do you always treat employees like experiments?”
“No. That doesn't make it acceptable.”
“Then don't do it again.”
“I won't.”
A silence settled between them.
Finally, Tessa said, “Now tell me about my father.”
Roman pulled out a chair but didn't sit.
“Thomas Vaughn worked as a compliance inspector for Northstar Freight.”
“I know.”
“Northstar operated several warehouses under contract to Mercer Urban.”
“And?”
“Six months ago, he reported irregularities in shipments moving through Pier Nine.”
Tessa's stomach tightened.
“What irregularities?”
“Missing cargo records. False inventory descriptions. Payments routed through companies that shouldn't have been involved.”
“Was he fired because of that?”
“I believe so.”
“By you?”
“No.”
“How convenient.”
Roman accepted the accusation without protest.
“Someone used my name to authorize his dismissal.”
“Who?”
“I'm trying to find out.”
Tessa looked toward the door.
“Then call the police.”
“I've provided records to an outside attorney. But some of the documents are missing.”
“Why tell me?”
“Because your father may have kept copies.”
She went cold.
Roman continued, “Someone accessed his old employee file yesterday. An hour later, your name appeared on a list of people being watched.”
Tessa stared.
“Watched by whom?”
“I don't know yet.”
She laughed bitterly.
“So your solution is to hire me?”
“My solution is to warn you. The job offer is separate. You can refuse it.”
“Nothing about this feels separate.”
Roman looked at her for a long moment.
Then he nodded.
“Fair.”
He placed a business card on the table.
“Call the attorney. Ask anything you want. You don't need to come back here.”
Tessa picked up the card.
NAOMI PRICE – ATTORNEY AT LAW.
She looked at Roman.
“And if I find evidence that your company hurt my father?”
“Give it to her.”
“Even if it destroys you?”
May you like
His pale eyes met hers.
“Especially then.”
