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Jim stopped her. “This is not your decision, Alexandra. The four of us discussed it yesterday and decided this would be our approach. It’s up to David to decide whether or not to accept what we’re offering.” He stared at David.
“Of course. I just thought…” David said. “Your wife seemed….”
“Carrie is the one who suggested Alexandra come. Alexandra has done a lot more interviews than Carrie.”
“You have?” David asked, frowning at his cousin.
“Of course I have, David. That’s a big part of a cop’s job, talking to people, either as victims or criminals.”
“Oh, yeah. Well, that’s fine. I didn’t mean to make a fuss. It just took me by surprise.”
“So you’re satisfied?” Jim asked.
“Yes, of course. We thought you could work in the conference room next door, unless you need separate rooms?”
“No, we’re going to work together. We’ll look over the files and then start pulling people in to interview.”
“Okay, sure. And I’ll take you both to lunch.”
“It would be better if you ordered in food for the three of us and anyone else you trust so we can discuss any questions we have.”
“Oh, right. Yeah, Pete Dansky. We’ll bring in lunch.”
“Great. Then we’ll see you in three hours,” Jim said with a smile and moved to the door, Alexandra following.
EARLIER, JIM AND ALEXANDRA had discussed how they would handle the interviews. Jim had suggested they take turns being the lead, and Alexandra had said she felt comfortable with that. Once they were in the conference room, they each took two files and read them.
“Anything in either of yours?” Jim asked.
“No, they look fairly straightforward.”
“Okay, let’s interview these four, one after the other. You be the lead on your files and I’ll be the lead on mine.”
The four interviews were completed in only half an hour. Jim and Alexandra put those files aside and moved on to another four. When they had questions about something in a file, they called Carrie. She found the information online and reported back.
By noon, they had cleared twenty-four employees. When the last interview ended, David and another man came into the room, loaded down with packages of food.
“How’d the morning go?” David asked.
“So far, so good,” Jim said. “You have some great people working for you.”
“We only have a couple of questions,” Alexandra said. “One person had actually worked for the company who made the duplicate bid. She hadn’t listed it on her previous employments. Her name is Judith Green.”
Both men stared at Alexandra.
“She did?” David asked. “And she told you that?”
“Alex noticed the time gap in her list of previous employers. Apparently, whoever interviewed her didn’t ask the right questions.”
“Maybe whoever it was was distracted by a pretty face,” Alexandra challenged, staring at her cousin.
“It wasn’t me!” David declared.
“It was me,” the other man said. “I remember because I did notice the time gap in her résumé. I asked her and she said her mother had been sick and she took time off work to nurse her back to health.”
Alex made some notes on her pad. “We’ll check that out, Mr.—” She broke off since she hadn’t been introduced to him.
“Oh, sorry,” David said. “This is my right-hand man and best friend, Pete Dansky.”
“Hello. I’m Alexandra Buford, and this is Jim Barlow.”
Pete shook both their hands, but his gaze returned to Alexandra. “You have the same last name as David?”
“Yes, he’s my cousin.”
“That’s right. He said his cousin worked for your company, but I thought—”
“Give them a chance to eat their lunch, Pete,” David said hurriedly.
“Right. We brought in some cheeseburgers and fries.” Pete began pulling out neatly wrapped packages. Soon they were all eating.
Jim asked, after taking a bite of his hamburger, “What does Miss Green do for the company?”
“She tests our new programs to be sure they work.”
Jim exchanged a look with Alex. “I think we should get Carrie to do a check on her mother and that illness she had. She can do it while we continue our interviews.” He pulled out a cell phone and hit a button, then proceeded to tell Carrie the details.
When he disconnected, he said, “My wife will check it out and let us know as soon as she can. Will can go out and get her some food. We’re expecting our first child, and I trust him to take good care of her.”
“Congratulations, Jim,” David said in a stilted manner, drawing a curious look from Pete. Then he returned to business. “So what’s the other question?” he asked. “Alex said you had a couple….”
Alexandra took over. “There was a man who had been fired by you and then rehired. About five years ago. He didn’t seem to have an adequate explanation for that.” She stared at David.
“Oh. That was Bill Bardwell. Yeah, he’s okay. I fired him because he fell asleep at work several times. Then his wife came to see me. They’d had a baby and then she got sick, and he was taking care of her and the baby all night long. I apologized to him and rehired him.”
Jim nodded and said, “The only decent thing to do.” He took another bite of his cheeseburger and chewed.
“You and Alex seem to work well together,” David said, watching Jim.
“Yes, we do,” Alex said instantly, as if challenging him to prove differently.
“I just wondered…I mean, Alex is very….”
Jim grinned. “So’s my wife. And she’d kill me if she thought I was hitting on Alex instead of doing my job. Your cousin is safe with me, David.”
“That’s a strange thing to accuse the man of,” Pete protested.
“I just like to make sure,” David snapped. He turned bright red and stood up suddenly. “Right. I’ll be in my office if you have any other questions.”
There was a stunned silence in the conference room after David’s abrupt departure. Finally Pete rose to his feet. “I don’t know why David’s acting the way he is. It’s not like him. He’s a good man.”
“I know he is, Pete, but thanks for saying that.” Jim smiled at him.
“You say that like you’ve known him a long time.”
Jim picked up a French fry, studying it, as he said, “I knew him when he was a lot younger.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.”
“It doesn’t matter. I know he’s concerned about Alex. He’s just trying to protect her.”
“I’ve told him I know what I’m doing,” Alexandra said. “He doesn’t want to believe it.”
“Give him time, Alex. He seems to be dealing with a lot right now,” Jim said. He stood and gathered up the remains of their lunch and threw it in the trash can. Then he offered his hand to Pete. “Thanks for bringing us lunch and eating with us. We’ll let you know as soon as we’ve figured it out.”
“David and I will be waiting to hear from you,” Pete said.
He left the conference room. Only minutes later, Jim’s cell phone rang. It was Carrie.
Chapter Three
Carrie said that she’d talked with Judith Green’s mother. She’d pretended to be a health insurance salesperson and Mrs. Green hadn’t been interested in purchasing any. She’d said she’d never been sick a day in her life.
When Carrie had asked about any children, whether they might need health insurance, Mrs. Green had explained that her daughter worked for Carey & Co., and they had excellent insurance.
Carey & Co. was David’s competitor.
“Well, that was a slam dunk,” Jim said with a smile. “We’d better call her back, and call David and Pete in, too.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Alex said as she stood. “We’ve finished faster than I thought we would.”
She stopped by the secretary’s desk and asked for Judith Green to be called. Then she walked to David’s office door. It was open and she stuck her head in. “David? We think we’ve found the leak. Do you and Pete want to sit in on the interview?”
“Already? You bet.” He got up and followed Alex out, asking his secretary to call Pete to join them. The four of them were together before Judith arrived.
When the young woman came into the room and saw the four people sitting at the table, she paused and then took a chair. “You asked to see me again? Is there something I didn’t tell you?”
Alexandra smiled. “Judith, Pete said you told him you hadn’t worked the six months prior to taking this job because your mother was very sick.”
“Yes, that’s right,” she agreed at once. “I didn’t mention it this morning because I didn’t realize it mattered.”
“Normally, it wouldn’t, but we’ve spoken to your mother and she denies ever being sick a day in her life.”
“You spoke— She doesn’t like to admit to being sick.” Judith seemed a little more unsure of herself.
“She also said her daughter had excellent insurance with her employer.”
“Yes, that’s true. Our company has great insurance.” She smiled at David.
“She said your employer was Carey & Co,” Alex said.
Judith jumped to her feet. “No! No, she…made a mistake.”
David spoke for the first time. “Judith, we’ll give you the opportunity to resign at once, or we’ll fire you and sue you for industrial espionage. Your choice.”
DAVID WAS VERY PLEASED with the job Alex and Jim had done. He offered to take them to dinner to celebrate the successful conclusion.
“I can’t,” Alex said hurriedly. “I already have plans.”
David wasn’t sure he believed her. Then he turned to Jim. “How about you and Carrie join me and Pete for dinner?”
“Thanks, David, but we’ll all be dining together on Monday of next week. Why don’t we celebrate then?”
“Okay, that’ll be fine. I do need to find someone else to replace Judith right away, I have to admit. We’re under a deadline.”
“Why not ask Susan?” Alex suggested. “She’s taken courses in computers.”
“No, I don’t—” David began.
“Who’s Susan?” Jim asked.
“My youngest sister,” David replied.
“Relatives you trust can be good employees,” Jim said.
Pete said, “I met her, but I didn’t know she had any interest in computers.”
“Yeah, well, my mother doesn’t encourage her because she thinks it’s not feminine to do computer work.”
Alex cast Jim a wry look.
Pete said, “That’s crazy. What’s she doing for a job?”
“She’s a salesclerk at a dress store,” Alex said, “and she told me she doesn’t like the work.”
“Okay, okay, I’ll call her,” David agreed. “I’d better call Mom, too. Hopefully, she’ll understand.”
“Tell your mom the company needs Susan. That should help,” Alex suggested.
“Yeah,” David agreed. “Why don’t you come with me to tell her about the job, Alex.”
“I told you I had plans for the evening.”
“Neil again, I suppose?” David asked unhappily.
“Yes,” Alex replied. David didn’t seem happy with her choice for a companion, but then he’d never been happy with the men she dated.
Jim said, “Thanks for the work, David, and I hope Susan takes the job, but we’ve got to get back to the office. I’ll call you about next Monday night later in the week.”
