Her: Do you know what this is?

Liam: A bid proposal

Yeah, no shit. She’d helped Baines and Liam set up the company. She knew how the bidding process worked.

She debated not going into details but decided that wasn’t an option. She’d kept enough secrets from Liam. He deserved to know about this.

Her: Could you skim it? I found it hidden behind a photo in Baines’s house.

Liam: When?

Her: After he died.

The three dots sat there on the phone screen, taunting her. Either Liam was typing out a long explanation or thinking or . . . who knew? The longer the wait, the more her stomach rolled and churned. She was about to tell him to forget it when his return text appeared.

Liam: He shouldn’t have this

That sounded dire. Now they were getting somewhere.

Her: Why?

Liam: It’s from the company we’re bidding against for a big job

Her: So . . . ?

Liam: It’s confidential and now that I know the outline of the other bid, I can adjust ours to be a better, winning bid

Baines, what did you do?

Her: How did he get the top-secret document?

Liam: Excellent question

Her: Who’s the other bidder? Who are you going up against for this big job?

The wait for a reply chipped away at her patience. The sun had gone down, and she sat in a mostly dark house with only the light from the laptop and her phone for guidance. She didn’t get creeped out very easily, but her nerves sparked to life, and a cold shiver had her rubbing the back of her neck to ease it.

Liam: You know them from law school

Her: ??

Liam: Wilcad, the note at the bottom. That’s the name of the company. It’s a combination of Will and Cade—the names of Earl and Loretta Swain’s sons. She was one of your professors, right? Her husband Earl’s company, Wilcad, is the other bidder. This is his confidential bid proposal.

Chapter Thirty-Two
Jessa

Numb. Jessa couldn’t feel anything. She sat in her dark condo and listened to the thump of her heartbeat as it echoed in her ears. She’d rolled through two crying jags, screaming in the silent room about how unfair all of this was, and now she waited.

She’d texted Tim and asked him to come home. After days of working outrageous hours, she needed him here. They had to talk this through. He insisted he’d gotten behind from his business trip, but she suspected the truth pointed more to him hiding from her than billable hours.

Now was his chance to say I told you so. She’d give him one shot, then she needed his focus. A stifling mix of frustration and disappointment kept her from seeing a way to emerge out of this unscathed.