“You’re fired.”

I refused to flinch at those two words. Oh, the irony. I’d lied on my application, I’d hacked Aiden’s emails, I’d been digging through the confidential files, and now I was being fired for something I hadn’t even done. I was almost tempted to laugh, but I wasn’t giving an inch.

Gage wanted a reaction. He wouldn’t get one from me.

He stepped fully out of the doorway, closing the door behind him. To the assistant I’d spoken with, he said, “Call security.”

She picked up the phone and quietly summoned two security officers to the executive floor.

“Nothing to say?” he pushed.

I kept my mouth shut. I hadn’t done anything wrong, but it was useless to defend myself. Life had taught me that begging for mercy just made you look guilty. Hadn’t I been about to quit ten times that day already? Now the decision had been made for me.

I had no interest in standing outside Gage’s office under his angry stare. “I’ll go back to my desk and get my things together.”

“You’re just fucking ice-cold aren’t you?” Gage stepped closer, trying to intimidate me.

He could try. But he was right, I was ice-cold and there was nothing he could say that would shake me. I turned to walk away. His hand shot out and closed around my wrist, fingers biting into my skin. “You’re not going anywhere without a security escort.”

“Fine,” I conceded. “Let go of me.”

The door behind Gage opened and Aiden stepped through, closing it behind him. His eyes landed on Gage’s fingers wrapped around my wrist.

“What the fuck?”

Between gritted teeth, Gage said, “She changed the numbers in the contract.”

Aiden’s dark eyes flashed to me.

I shook my head. “I did not. I opened the files only to print them. I changed nothing. I did exactly what you asked me to do, and no more. I don’t know what happened, but it wasn’t me.”

Aiden studied my face, staring into my eyes, taking in the resolute set of my chin. Looking at his cousin, he said “Let go of her goddamn wrist. Now.”

Reluctantly, Gage loosened his fingers. I had the urge to snatch my wrist back, but I wouldn’t show that much weakness. Slowly, I let my arm fall to my side.

“Did anyone have access to the documents after you opened them on your terminal?” Aiden asked slowly.

Understanding hit me in a thunderbolt. I knew the others hated me, but messing with company contracts? That was a huge escalation from stapler stealing and switching salt for sugar.

“When I went to get the contracts off the copier, it was dead. We had a breaker flip and I had to call maintenance. I called from the copy room and waited there. I was away from my terminal for close to ten minutes.”

“And were the files open while you were gone?” Gage asked, grudgingly.

“Yes,” I admitted, feeling like an idiot. It had never occurred to me that the other four would go that far, but it should have. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think—”

“Look at me,” Aiden demanded. My eyes rose to his before I could think about refusing his order. “Swear you had nothing to do with this.”

In a clear, steady voice, I said, “I swear I did absolutely nothing to sabotage your deal or this contract.”

Looking past us, Aiden spoke to Gage’s lead assistant. “Can you access the copier by my office?”

She nodded, careful not to look in my direction. “Yes, sir.”

“I’ll send you these contracts,” Gage said brusquely. “Mark where we need signatures and bring them in as soon as you have them.”

“Yes, sir,” she agreed.

Aiden hadn’t taken his eyes off of me. Two security officers exited the elevators and walked toward us, eyeing me carefully. Were they expecting me to run? Aiden let out an irritated growl.

“I don’t have time for this today, Violet. I don’t know what your game is, but I’m tired of playing it.”

“I’ll clean out my desk,” I said quietly.

It was for the best. Maybe the others had tried to sabotage me, but I was taking it as a sign from the universe. My ill-conceived plan to save my brother’s company was dead in the water. I should get out of here while I still could.

“Go back to your desk and stay there. I don’t want you to leave that seat until you talk to me.”

“I fired her,” Gage said. Aiden shot him a glare.

“She’s unfired. She’s my assistant, not yours. You don’t get to fire her.” To me, he said, “If you leave before I’m ready to boot you out, I will hunt you down and drag you back. Do you understand me?”

It took everything I had not to crumple under the force of his anger. I kept my chin up and my voice level when I said, “I understand.”

Aiden gestured for the two security officers to come closer. To the first, he said, “Escort Ms. Hartwell back to her desk and remain on the floor. No one from the executive team leaves until cleared. No one.”

The officer nodded briskly and took a step to place himself behind me. “Yes, sir.”

To the other, Aiden said, “Check the cameras on the outer office. I want to know if anyone approached Ms. Hartwell’s terminal while she was in the copy room. Pull the keystrokes.”

“Yes sir. I’ll check into it immediately.”

Aiden nodded at him in agreement and he turned to leave. Looking between myself and Gage, Aiden shook his head. “We don’t have time to deal with this mess until these contracts are signed. After that…”

He trailed off. Just as well. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what came after. I still thought getting fired sounded pretty good.

Pulling my dignity around me in a shield, I nodded once and turned on my heel, keeping pace with my security escort. Just before we reached my desk I asked, “Am I allowed to get a cup of coffee?”

With a hint of a smile, the security officer said, “We’ll both get one. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long afternoon.”

I picked up my mug from my desk and looked up to see Marisela and Thomas gawking at my escort. I ignored them both but didn’t miss Marisela’s smirk and Thomas’s smug smile as they watched us disappear into the copy room.

I wasn’t really surprised. Gage had confronted me so aggressively, it’d taken me a minute to catch up, but there wasn’t any doubt who was responsible. Peter didn’t have the balls to mess with one of Aiden’s contracts. Henry was too loyal. But Marisela was both cocky and petty. My money was on her. Thomas would have egged her on, but I was betting he wouldn’t risk his job just to get back at me.

I made myself an extra strong latte—I’d finally figured out the coffee machine—and parked myself at my desk. Fortunately for all of us, I didn’t have anything left on my list from Aiden, and I spent the rest of the day on my normal duties: Answering emails, the phone, and other busywork no one else wanted to do.

At one o’clock the security officer standing guard over the five of us took lunch orders. They weren’t kidding around about not letting us leave. By the middle of the afternoon, Marisela was starting to look a little uneasy. I was only worried that the contract negotiations would extend into the evening.

I wanted to go home, pour a nice glass of wine, and hit the couch. I only had a week and a half until Chase came home, and I’d have to share the TV. I had to catch up on my shows before then. I reminded myself that I could always get my own place, but since I was about to become unemployed, again, it seemed more practical to keep imposing on Chase’s hospitality.

Someday I’d pay him back for everything he’d done for me. Someday.

At six o’clock, Marisela tried to leave. The security officer who’d been watching us politely stopped her. When she blustered at him, he ignored her. She went back to her desk and sulked.

Just before seven Aiden and Gage strode in, flanked by two more security officers. They headed straight for Marisela. She did her best to look innocent, but she couldn’t quite pull it off. Aiden stood before her desk, looking down at her with a mixture of pity and disgust.

“I’m going to assume it was a spur of the moment idea. If you’d taken the time to think it through, you would have remembered the cameras and the keystroke tracking software. Sloppy. I’m disappointed on a number of levels, Marisela. You had promise, but you let yourself get emotional and you made a stupid mistake. You also endangered a key negotiation. The company comes first. Always. Clearly, you’re fired. I don’t recommend using me as a reference.”

Marisela started to babble, an angry, tearful mix of accusations against me and claims of injustice. Security closed in, impervious to her entreaties. Aiden turned to leave, stopping by my desk on his way out.

“I meant what I said. You don’t walk away until I send you away. Got it?”

“Yes, sir,” I said.

No one moved until Marisela, her security escort, Aiden, and Gage had all left. Thomas, Peter, and Henry gathered their things and scurried out without a word. Hard to say how much of a role they’d played in altering the contract and trying to get me fired, but I had a feeling their stupid pranks would stop.

I didn’t really care. I had much bigger problems than salt in the sugar bowl.

Up until now, I’d always thought leaving was my prerogative.

I had no doubt Aiden meant what he said. If I walked away before he was ready to let me go, he’d find me. So far, he’d kept me close despite knowing I couldn’t be trusted.

Now, when he had the perfect excuse to get rid of me, he demanded I stay. My plan to save Chase’s company had fallen apart. Instead of catching Aiden Winters, he’d caught me. Until he decided to let me go, I was trapped.