“I can’t think of a time I haven’t,” I said. “Like I said, he doesn’t abuse the privilege.”

“This could mean nothing,” Leif said, “but it stood out to me. Seems like a red flag.”

“Yeah, it does.”

Terrence. Really? I paid him handsomely, but like most others in the world, if he saw dollar signs elsewhere…

“Also,” Leif continued, “remember that your father was still head of the company at that time, so if he asked Terrence to do something—”

“He trumped me.” I nodded. “Yeah. You’re right. Something about that stinks. Did you ask Terrence about what his calendar indicated?”

“I didn’t, because he appeared to pull up his calendar when I talked to him. So he would have seen that he wasn’t in, and he would have said so.”

“So one would think.”

“Yeah. Red flag.”

“All right. What’s Terrence’s calendar say now?”

“As I suspected, it no longer shows a personal day that day.”

“Did you screenshot the original, showing the personal day?”

Leif smiled. “Of course I did.”

“All right. It’s possible that he meant to take a personal day and then decided not to but forgot to delete the entry in his calendar.”

“It’s possible,” Leif agreed.

“Still…”

“How long has Terrence been working for you?”

“A few years. I hired him—”

I stopped with an abruptness that surprised me.

I did hire Terrence. He had impeccable qualifications and his references gave him glowing reviews. He fit right in and even started a bromance with my father’s assistant, Jarrod, who now worked for Rock.

But…I hadn’t found him myself.

Oh, God.

I remembered clearly now.

My father had brought his resume to me.

Sure, I’d been looking for a new executive assistant, as my former one had moved to Hawaii after her husband got transferred. Him handing me a resume hadn’t seemed odd.

Until now.

Still, it could all mean nothing.

“Anything else?” I asked Leif.

“That’s all I’ve got for now. It’s small, but it could be significant.”

“Yeah, it could be.” I twisted my lips as my mind raced. “Thanks, Leif. Keep looking.”

“Will do, boss.”

“And stop calling me boss.”

He laughed as he stood. “Okay, commander.”

Still a SEAL to his core.

Leif was a good guy. Someone I’d brought in myself. I’d thought I trusted him, but I realized something important after our conversation.

I could no longer trust anyone but myself.

33

Zee

St. Andrew’s was a beautiful old building of gray stone. I almost felt like I was visiting an ancient cathedral in Europe. Not that I’d ever gone to Europe, but situated in the heart of the city, the church made me feel like time was flowing backward. Funny, I hadn’t noticed any of this when I was a kid and my mother brought me here. It was just church.