Chapter 2 - THE CALL HE COULDN’T STOP
Margaret Sloan answered on the third ring.
She chaired the audit committee at Northstar Global Logistics, where Ryan served as senior vice president of strategic sales.
She was also the woman who had personally assured Calder Construction that Northstar’s Denver proposal had been prepared without access to confidential competitor data.
“Claire?” she said. “Are you already in Denver?”
“I’m on Flight 405.”
Ryan stood halfway out of his seat.
“Sit down, sir,” the flight attendant warned.
I kept my voice low.
“Margaret, freeze Ryan Morgan’s company access immediately.”
There was a pause.
“What happened?”
“His secretary has Calder’s sealed supplier matrix open on her laptop.”
Chloe slammed the screen shut.
I continued.
“They are sitting together in first class on the Denver flight. Ryan told me he was traveling to Portland.”
Margaret’s tone changed.
“Are you certain about the document?”
“I created it.”
Ryan reached toward my phone.
I lifted one hand.
“Touch me or this device, and I’ll ask the crew to restrain you.”
Several passengers were watching openly now.
The flight attendant stepped between us.
“Sir, return to your seat.”
Ryan obeyed, but his eyes never left me.
Margaret asked, “Can you photograph the screen?”
“Not without taking the laptop.”
“I heard that,” Chloe said.
I looked down at her.
“Good.”
Margaret spoke again.
“Do not confront them further. I’m contacting Northstar’s general counsel and corporate security. I’ll also notify the FBI liaison assigned to the procurement review.”
Ryan’s expression changed when he heard FBI.
“Claire, this is a misunderstanding.”
I ignored him.
Margaret continued.
“Calder should suspend all active negotiations with Northstar until we determine the scope of the breach.”
“I’m authorized to do that.”
“You understand what this could mean?”
The Denver contract represented nearly a quarter of Northstar’s projected domestic revenue for the following year.
Without it, Ryan’s promotion would disappear.
So would his bonus.
Possibly his job.
“Yes,” I said. “Suspend the contract.”
Margaret exhaled.
“I’ll preserve all emails, access logs, and corporate devices associated with Ryan and Ms. Bennett.”
Chloe turned toward Ryan.
“You said she couldn’t touch the deal.”
Ryan whispered, “Stop talking.”
That sentence told me almost as much as the laptop.
I ended the call.
The first-class cabin had become painfully quiet.
Ryan stared up at me.
“You just jeopardized thousands of jobs because you’re angry about our marriage.”
“No. You jeopardized those jobs when you stole confidential information.”
“I didn’t steal anything.”
“Then why did Chloe close the laptop?”
Chloe hugged the computer against her chest.
“It was sent to me.”
“By whom?”
She looked at Ryan.
He answered for her.
“Claire, go back to your seat.”
I laughed softly.
He was still trying to give me instructions.
“You lied about Portland. You introduced your secretary as your wife. She has a protected Calder document on her computer, and you think you’re still in charge of this conversation?”
His jaw tightened.
“This is a personal issue.”
“You made it corporate when you used my marriage as an access point.”
The flight attendant asked me to return to my assigned seat.
I thanked her and walked away.
Ryan called after me.
“We are not doing this in front of strangers.”
I turned in the aisle.
“You started doing this in front of strangers when you let her take my name.”
A man in the second row looked down to hide a smile.
I returned to row fourteen.
My hands began shaking only after I sat down.
For the next three hours, Ryan sent me message after message.
PLEASE LET ME EXPLAIN.
CHLOE AND I WERE GOING TO TELL YOU.
THE DOCUMENT ISN’T WHAT YOU THINK.
DO NOT SPEAK TO NORTHSTAR LEGAL WITHOUT ME.
The final message arrived thirty minutes before landing.
MY MOTHER IS CALLING YOU. ANSWER HER.
A second later, Elaine Morgan’s name appeared on my screen.
My mother-in-law had never called me during business hours unless there was a death, a holiday schedule, or a problem involving Ryan.
I declined the call.
She called again.
Then she sent a text.
Whatever you think you saw, do not destroy your husband’s future before speaking to the family.
The family.
Not me.
Not her daughter-in-law of nine years.
The family meant Ryan, his parents, and anyone willing to protect the Morgan name.
I turned off my phone.
When the captain announced our descent into Denver, Ryan leaned across the aisle toward Chloe.
“We stick to the same explanation.”
Chloe’s voice trembled.
“You said nobody knew about the files.”
Ryan looked toward me.
May you like
I was already watching him.
For the first time that morning, he understood the affair was not the most dangerous secret on the plane.
