The memory of the last time she’d felt anything even remotely close to this stole over her. She could still smell the pine-scented cleaner the janitor had just used on the floor outside Principal Parker’s office as she sat in that hard plastic chair, waiting for her fifth-grade math teacher, Mrs. Shoals, to arrive. Samiah had been summoned to the principal’s office after leaving her own desk and walking over to Damarias Lewis to offer aid. The girl had asked Mrs. Shoals for help with a math problem, but the teacher continued to explain the issue in the exact same way. Samiah had grown tired of their back-and-forth and decided to take matters into her own hands.

She’d learned two things that day: Teachers don’t like it when students show them up in class, unwittingly or otherwise. And her old grade school principal had a soft spot for those very same students.

Actually, she’d learned a third thing that day. She discovered that she didn’t like being called to the principal’s office. And that’s exactly how she felt right now.

Justin had given her a heads-up twenty minutes ago. He and Barrington wanted to meet with her to discuss what occurred this morning. The entire office was still stunned that a group of criminals had been working right under their noses. Longtime coworkers or not, there was a consensus that it was a good thing they were now behind bars.

But that was all beside the point as far as Samiah was concerned. What mattered is that she’d allowed her access card to be compromised. She had to answer for that.

Except she couldn’t answer for that. She had no idea when Daniel had taken her card. She was diligent when it came to securing it, the one who constantly reminded her fellow coworkers that their access card was more valuable than anything else they carried. How was she supposed to explain to her bosses that she’d been so careless with something so important?

The only reasonable explanation was that Daniel had taken it after they’d slept together, either while she showered or as she lay naked and vulnerable in her own bed. She hoped she was wrong, but the nausea in her gut told her she was spot on.

How could you?

She wanted to scream the words in his face. She’d been hurt by men in the past, but Daniel’s betrayal surpassed anything she’d ever experienced. And that was before she considered the detriment he’d likely caused to her career.