Chapter 2 THE PROPOSITION

"The press is having a field day with this, Mr. Cross." Emma rushed through the door of his office, holding a tablet in her shaking hands. "Three more outlets picked up the story in the last hour." "I don't pay you to state the obvious, Miss Carter." The steel of Mr Cross's voice pierced the atmosphere. "Give me solutions, not problems." "We must make a declaration. Before the story begins, get ahead of it. "Not." "Then what's your brilliant plan?" Emma raised her voice abruptly. "Hide in your office while Vanessa systematically destroys everything?" His eyes flashed and his head sprang up. "You're treading dangerous ground." "No, you are the one who fails to see how serious this situation is. Additionally, my reputation is being tarnished. "Your reputation?" Dangerously, he stood slowly. "You've spent two weeks here. I've been building this business for fifteen years. "And Vanessa's about to tear it down in fifteen minutes unless we act." "You don't know what you're talking about." "Don't I?" Emma shoved her tablet in his face. "An emergency meeting has already been scheduled by three board members. The stock has experienced a twelve percent decline. as well as your former fiancée. "Who told you that?" There was a lethal silence in his words. "Everyone in the office is conversing. The scorned woman is seeking retribution. Tell me, Mr. Cross: am I unique, or did you force all of your assistants to look into her? He slammed the desk with his hand. "You have no idea what you're dealing with." "Then teach me! Since Rome is burning and all I see right now is a coward hiding behind his desk!" Miss Carter, be careful. Very cautious. Or what? Will you fire me? Proceed. At least then I'll be able to prevent this story from-" "From what?" With a predatory grace, he walked around the desk. "How did you have access to restricted files before Vanessa revealed it? How did you investigate things that didn't interest you? "I followed your instructions and dug! Don't act as though this wasn't your original idea. He took hold of her arm and drew her in. "You're looking for the truth? Alright. Vanessa was more than simply a bookkeeper. She sold trade secrets. Killed individuals. Emma's gaze expanded. "What?" "Project Phoenix was more than just a financial endeavor. It was experimental weaponry technology. The plans were sold to the highest bidder by Vanessa. "Why didn't you report her?" "Because she has evidence that I was aware." I allowed that to occur because I-" Abruptly, he let her go. "Because I was blind." The tension was broken by the buzzing of his phone. "Speaking of the devil..." He took a quick look at the screen. "Put it on speaker," Emma insisted. He hesitated for a second, then obeyed. "Damian darling." Vanessa's voice was poison dripping with honey. "How's your new pet project?" "What do you want?" "Oh, right to the point? No time for small talk?" A chuckle. "All right. What's mine is what I want. The business. The seat on the board. Everything you said you would do before you changed your mind." "You're delusional." "Am I? When the board sees evidence of your involvement in Phoenix, let them know. I know you're there, Miss Carter. What is it like to be his most recent pawn?" The line died. Emma said, "She's bluffing," without hesitation. "Vanessa never bluffs." Cross combed his hair with his hand. "Verify the secure server. "Now." Emma ran her fingers across her tablet. "Sir... there's a problem." "What kind of problem?" "Everything is gone. Everything has been erased, including the backups and all the files. "That isn't feasible. "Those servers are." "Mr. Cross?" Over the intercom, his secretary's voice cracked. "Your brother Alexander is here." "Not now." "He claims it has to do with Vanessa. as well as Project Phoenix. Emma and Damian looked at each other across the tense room. "Send him in." With a deadly purpose in place of his customary easy smile, Alexander Cross marched in. "We have a situation." "You think?" Damian lost his temper. "Worse than you know." Emma was given a flash drive by Alexander. Vanessa took more than simply the files. She changed them. Developed a paper trail that led directly to the two of you." "Us two?" Emma's voice broke. "I wasn't even here when-" "Half the documents have your signature," Alexander interrupted. "Backdated, but very convincing." Mittering, "She's trying to force our hand," Damian said. "No," Emma abruptly responded. "She's trying to force us together." The two men looked at her. "Think about it," she added. "Mr. Cross, she could have just set you up. She chained me to this instead. "Why?" "Because now we can't turn on each other," Damian understood. "We either sink together..." "Or swim together." Emma looked up at him. "So what's it going to be?" Before he could respond, all of the office phones began to buzz at once. Alerts for emergencies. Alerts for news. Email alerts. Alexander said, "She's released everything," when he gazed at his screen. "No." Damian reached for his iPad. "This is something worse." "CROSS ENTERPRISES CEO LINKED TO INTERNATIONAL ARMS DEALING - Former Fiancée Named as Key Witness" was the headline that Emma glanced at over his shoulder. "Mr. Cross?" Emma's tone faltered. "What do we do?" With something lethal burning in his eyes, he turned to face her. "Do you trust me?" "What?" "Miss Carter, a straightforward inquiry. Do You Have Faith in Me? She took a deep breath. "No." A little smile appeared on his face. "All right. Because what I'm about to propose will either save us or both of us." "Or?" she said in a whisper. "Or it's going to destroy everything you think you know about right and wrong." His voice lowered to a perilous whisper as he took a step closer. "Tell me, Miss Carter, how far are you willing to go to bring down a woman like Vanessa?" "That depends." "On?" "On whether you're finally going to tell me the truth about Project Phoenix." He looked into her eyes for a long time. "The truth could get you killed." "And lies already have me marked as your accomplice." She raised her chin. "So start talking." "Not here." A button on his desk was pressed. "Clear my schedule for the next twenty-four hours." "Sir?" The voice of his secretary crackled back. "What about Sarah? Miss Carter and I are managing the PR crisis, in case anyone is curious. "Where are we going?" As he reached for his coat, Emma inquired. "Somewhere Vanessa can't reach us." He extended his hand. "Last chance to walk away." Emma gazed at his extended hand, aware that her next action would alter the course of events. "Miss Carter?" His voice grew a little softer. "Are you in, or are you out?" Alexander silently shut the door behind them, leaving them to face their unavoidable decision. Phase two of Vanessa Thompson's plan came together flawlessly, and she grinned somewhere in the metropolis. Because none of them-not even Alexander, Emma, or Damian-knew that Project Phoenix had nothing to do with weapons. Retaliation had always been at the center. A Proposition "The press is having a field day with this, Mr. Cross." Emma rushed through the door of his office, holding a tablet in her shaking hands. "Three more outlets picked up the story in the last hour." "I don't pay you to state the obvious, Miss Carter." The steel of Mr Cross's voice pierced the atmosphere. "Give me solutions, not problems." "We must make a declaration. Before the story begins, get ahead of it. "Not." "Then what's your brilliant plan?" Emma raised her voice abruptly. "Hide in your office while Vanessa systematically destroys everything?" His eyes flashed and his head sprang up. "You're treading dangerous ground." "No, you are the one who fails to see how serious this situation is. Additionally, my reputation is being tarnished. "Your reputation?" Dangerously, he stood slowly. "You've spent two weeks here. I've been building this business for fifteen years. "And Vanessa's about to tear it down in fifteen minutes unless we act." "You don't know what you're talking about." "Don't I?" Emma shoved her tablet in his face. "An emergency meeting has already been scheduled by three board members. The stock has experienced a twelve percent decline. as well as your former fiancée. "Who told you that?" There was a lethal silence in his words. "Everyone in the office is conversing. The scorned woman is seeking retribution. Tell me, Mr. Cross: am I unique, or did you force all of your assistants to look into her? He slammed the desk with his hand. "You have no idea what you're dealing with." "Then teach me! Since Rome is burning and all I see right now is a coward hiding behind his desk!" Miss Carter, be careful. Very cautious. Or what? Will you fire me? Proceed. At least then I'll be able to prevent this story from-" "From what?" With a predatory grace, he walked around the desk. "How did you have access to restricted files before Vanessa revealed it? How did you investigate things that didn't interest you? "I followed your instructions and dug! Don't act as though this wasn't your original idea. He took hold of her arm and drew her in. "You're looking for the truth? Alright. Vanessa was more than simply a bookkeeper. She sold trade secrets. Killed individuals. Emma's gaze expanded. "What?" "Project Phoenix was more than just a financial endeavor. It was experimental weaponry technology. The plans were sold to the highest bidder by Vanessa. "Why didn't you report her?" "Because she has evidence that I was aware." I allowed that to occur because I-" Abruptly, he let her go. "Because I was blind." The tension was broken by the buzzing of his phone. "Speaking of the devil..." He took a quick look at the screen. "Put it on speaker," Emma insisted. He hesitated for a second, then obeyed. "Damian darling." Vanessa's voice was poison dripping with honey. "How's your new pet project?" "What do you want?" "Oh, right to the point? No time for small talk?" A chuckle. "All right. What's mine is what I want. The business. The seat on the board. Everything you said you would do before you changed your mind." "You're delusional." "Am I? When the board sees evidence of your involvement in Phoenix, let them know. I know you're there, Miss Carter. What is it like to be his most recent pawn?" The line died. Emma said, "She's bluffing," without hesitation. "Vanessa never bluffs." Cross combed his hair with his hand. "Verify the secure server. "Now." Emma ran her fingers across her tablet. "Sir... there's a problem." "What kind of problem?" "Everything is gone. Everything has been erased, including the backups and all the files. "That isn't feasible. "Those servers are." "Mr. Cross?" Over the intercom, his secretary's voice cracked. "Your brother Alexander is here." "Not now." "He claims it has to do with Vanessa. as well as Project Phoenix. Emma and Damian looked at each other across the tense room. "Send him in." With a deadly purpose in place of his customary easy smile, Alexander Cross marched in. "We have a situation." "You think?" Damian lost his temper. "Worse than you know." Emma was given a flash drive by Alexander. Vanessa took more than simply the files. She changed them. Developed a paper trail that led directly to the two of you." "Us two?" Emma's voice broke. "I wasn't even here when-" "Half the documents have your signature," Alexander interrupted. "Backdated, but very convincing." Mittering, "She's trying to force our hand," Damian said. "No," Emma abruptly responded. "She's trying to force us together." The two men looked at her. "Think about it," she added. "Mr. Cross, she could have just set you up. She chained me to this instead. "Why?" "Because now we can't turn on each other," Damian understood. "We either sink together..." "Or swim together." Emma looked up at him. "So what's it going to be?" Before he could respond, all of the office phones began to buzz at once. Alerts for emergencies. Alerts for news. Email alerts. Alexander said, "She's released everything," when he gazed at his screen. "No." Damian reached for his iPad. "This is something worse." "CROSS ENTERPRISES CEO LINKED TO INTERNATIONAL ARMS DEALING - Former Fiancée Named as Key Witness" was the headline that Emma glanced at over his shoulder. "Mr. Cross?" Emma's tone faltered. "What do we do?" With something lethal burning in his eyes, he turned to face her. "Do you trust me?" "What?" "Miss Carter, a straightforward inquiry. Do You Have Faith in Me? She took a deep breath. "No." A little smile appeared on his face. "All right. Because what I'm about to propose will either save us or both of us." "Or?" she said in a whisper. "Or it's going to destroy everything you think you know about right and wrong." His voice lowered to a perilous whisper as he took a step closer. "Tell me, Miss Carter, how far are you willing to go to bring down a woman like Vanessa?" "That depends." "On?" "On whether you're finally going to tell me the truth about Project Phoenix." He looked into her eyes for a long time. "The truth could get you killed." "And lies already have me marked as your accomplice." She raised her chin. "So start talking." "Not here." A button on his desk was pressed. "Clear my schedule for the next twenty-four hours." "Sir?" The voice of his secretary crackled back. "What about Sarah? Miss Carter and I are managing the PR crisis, in case anyone is curious. "Where are we going?" As he reached for his coat, Emma inquired. "Somewhere Vanessa can't reach us." He extended his hand. "Last chance to walk away." Emma gazed at his extended hand, aware that her next action would alter the course of events. "Miss Carter?" His voice grew a little softer. "Are you in, or are you out?" Alexander silently shut the door behind them, leaving them to face their unavoidable decision. Phase two of Vanessa Thompson's plan came together flawlessly, and she grinned somewhere in the metropolis. Because none of them-not even Alexander, Emma, or Damian-knew that Project Phoenix had nothing to do with weapons. Retaliation had always been at the center.