Sleeping with the Boss (Anderson Brothers, #1)(3)
“We could lose millions because of the spy,” Michael continued. “We have to stop the loss immediately. I can’t believe I let this happen.”
“This is not your fault,” Will said. “The company is trading in rare and priceless antiquities, jewelry, and art. It was bound to happen at some point.”
“I should have seen it coming. Prevented it somehow.” Michael leaned back in his huge leather office chair and closed his eyes. “We’ve lost several important deals. If this continues, it will shut us down. And the timing is terrible. I leave for the airport for Greece in three hours.”
That explained the fire under Mikey’s ass. Will relaxed a little. “How long will you be gone?”
“Nine days. A private archaeological team found some unusual pottery. I’m hoping to acquire some of it on behalf of a museum in California. Hopefully, I’ll beat the phantom dealer to it this time.”
Well, that explained the suitcase in the corner. “Why don’t you fill me in on what you know, since you’re on a tight schedule.”
“The broker is an outsider, but he has an operative inside our company. Every deal we’ve lost has been an existing client who contacted us first, then decided to sell to a higher bidder or bypass a scheduled auction, selling instead to an anonymous buyer.”
“That happens all the time.”
“No. They are all well-established Anderson Auctions clients. When I do a follow-up visit, they all have the same story. A woman in her twenties, calling herself Florence Smith, visited them with a proposal from a private collector, represented as a male. She’s been described as blond, brunette, and redheaded. They jump to the conclusion that the woman is working in conjunction with us somehow, though the buyer is presented as outside Anderson Auctions. That’s pretty much all I know.”
“That’s not much. We have quite a few employees. A female narrows it, but not enough. It could be a male employee’s cohort. What else do you know?”
“Not much.”
“I have the file in my office,” Chance said, striding to the door. “I have an appraisal to review and certify by noon and two new contracts to fire out, but I’ll have my secretary bring it up to you, Will. Want to meet up for lunch?”
“Sure.”
“Great. We can discuss the file and catch up on what you’ve been up to.”
Feeling sorry for himself, that’s what he’d been up to. And twisted as it was, he was charged up a bit by the security breach at his family’s business. He enjoyed running the security for Anderson Enterprises’ holdings, but sometimes it seemed too routine. Tracking down the company spy was the most exciting thing to come his way in a while—well, that and the blonde in the pink thong with the ripped skirt. Now, there was an interrogation he wouldn’t mind…maybe it could include a thorough body search. His own body came to life at the image. Shit, where did that come from? He hadn’t had thoughts like that in ages.
Michael cleared his throat. “You okay? You have an odd look on your face.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. So, you want me to find out who she is and fire her.”
His brother shook his head. “I really want the bigger fish. I need you to get hard evidence she’s the spy and figure out who she’s working with.”
Now it was really getting interesting. He loved this kind of shit. Too bad it was Michael’s pet auction business, and not one of the other Anderson endeavors being affected—all the more reason to find the spy quickly. He ran a hand over his short hair. “I’ll need the company personnel files.”
“You’ll have to talk to Beverly.”
“Dear old Beverly Higgins. How is she?”
“Mean as hell.”
Will laughed. “ Some things never change. How is the spy accessing the accounts?”
“I have no idea, but they’re all recent deals coming in with established clients. Nothing intercepted has been under contract, so no laws have been broken. She’s very smart.”
“Are you logging the client information or the object descriptions online somewhere?”
“The only people other than me with access to the items considered for auction are Chance, editorial, and Mildred, of course. None of the financial data or private client information is accessible to anyone but Chance and me.”
Will returned to his chair and tapped his fingers on the desk. There was no way Mildred was tipping anyone off. She’d been with the company from the time their dad began it and was completely loyal. Michael and Chance were the only ones with access to client info, which meant it had to be the material distributed to editorial regarding the auction items themselves.
Will slid off his tie and shoved it in his front pocket. “I need access to your office while you’re gone. I also need the files on all deals that have been intercepted by the anonymous dealer and a full description given by the clients of the woman.” He ignored Michael’s scowl as he unbuttoned the top button of his shirt. Formal had never been his thing. “Oh, and I want access to all personnel files.”
Michael smiled. “Yeah, well, you’ll have to fist-fight Mrs. Higgins for those.”
He was glad to see his brother’s mood lift. “Good thing I’m trained in hand-to-hand combat. Besides, Beverly could never say no to me. Just let her know I need them so she can’t say the top boss man didn’t authorize it.”