Deidre greeted Coop with a cool nod, her previous warmth gone, and moved toward her desk, as if she wanted a barrier between them. “You didn’t tell me Cooper was coming, Piper. You led me to believe we’d only be meeting with you.”

“Is that what you thought? My mistake.”

Coop positioned himself between the door and an oil painting of Deidre’s father. Crossing his arms over his chest, he rested one shoulder against the wall, letting Piper take the lead. She wanted so badly to do this for him, to lay it out at his feet like a Super Bowl trophy. She handed the laptop over to Noah. “I think this belongs to you. It’s the oddest thing. Somebody left it on my doorstep last night. And don’t worry. I backed it up.”

Noah’s lower lip thinned as the corners of his mouth contracted, but he couldn’t directly accuse her of stealing without casting suspicion on himself.

Deidre steepled her fingers on the desktop. “What’s this about, Piper?”

“It’s about your right-hand man here. He’s a criminal. I’m guessing you didn’t know that?”

Noah turned vicious. “Get out of here.”

Deidre’s bewildered expression looked strange on the face of a woman accustomed to being in control. Piper confronted Noah. “Does the name Ellen Englley ring a bell?”

Noah stalked toward Deidre’s desk. “I’m calling security.”

“You know her better as Rochelle Mauvais,” Piper said. “It’s a great hooker name.”

The color drained from his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Deidre had come to her feet, her hands braced on the desktop.

“Ellen is Noah’s longtime... girlfriend,” Piper explained. “She’s also the woman who accused Coop of rape. Interesting, right?”

Coop straightened from his position against the wall.

Noah leaned over and hit the intercom on Deidre’s desk. “Get security up here!”

“Ellen told me all about it,” Piper said.

Deidre looked dazed. “Noah, is this true?”

“No! Of course, it’s not true.”

“She’s with the police right now,” Piper said. “Along with a copy of your computer’s hard drive.”

Noah bolted for the door. But Coop was too quick for him. He threw a block that sent Noah staggering backward. Before he could fall, Coop grabbed him and shoved him down on the office couch. “Let’s hear what Piper has to say.”

Piper had a lot to say. “Noah paid Ms.Englley ten thousand dollars to accuse Coop of rape. Noah wanted to destroy him. Get him out of your life. He even used a drone to spy on him.” Noah slumped forward on the couch, his head in his hands. Deidre stood frozen as Piper went on. “The police are going to find that hard drive very interesting. You really should empty your e-mail trash folder, although dumping the cockroaches at the club is small potatoes compared to the rest.”