Executive Sweet (A Sample)

"I hope you don't expect me to do a snake dance for you."

"Girl, you can keep your silly snake dance. I'm not interested." He flipped his wrist at Kay and pursed his lips. Yes, gay. Kay smirked. "So what are they saying about me?"

"They say you're good, that you suckered Jason Mack. Nobody can figure out who you are or where you came from." Raymond looked around to be sure nobody was listening, then leaned closer and lowered his voice. "But I know. I'm probably the only person at this company who knows. Well, apart from Doris and Mr. Avery, that is."

Kay couldn't tell if Raymond was friend or foe. He sounded sympathetic, but the things he was saying scared her. She gave him a half smile. "Okay, I'll bite. Where did I come from?"

Raymond sat down and wheeled his chair over to face Kay and Doris. "Let me tell you a story. A few days ago I saw a suspicious form go by. Apparently someone changed their name but didn't give a reason on the form."

Doris blushed and looked down.

Raymond sat up straight and pushed his chest forward, clearly proud of himself. "I believe the woman's name was Kay something-or-another. She got added to our system and then instantly had her last name changed." Raymond rolled his chair over to Doris's computer and typed a bit. "Here it is. Kay Samson is now Kay Gershon. And look at this! We're still making out paychecks to your former name, which is even more suspicious." He stroked his mustache and looked at Kay. "Now I'm thinking that the snake dancer here wants to hide behind a fake name, right?"

Kay gasped. This is huge trouble. If any random person at the company could figure it out, then she wasn't safe playing the game. Doris and Kay sat silently with their mouths open.

"Oh come on, throw me a bone here. Do I have to put all of the pieces together myself? At least tell me if I'm getting warm."

Doris cleared her throat and gave Kay a shrug. "Very warm, Raymond. You have to keep this one secret." She gave him a sideways glance. "How did you even notice that form?"

"Oh, I have my methods. I keep a number of back-door scripts in the computer systems to tell me what's really going on. But don't worry, Doris. I love a good mystery and I'm good with secrets." He pointed to the computer screen. "Mind if I clean this one up a bit?"