glance at the calendar on his desk. “I’m free any time after two.”
“If possible, I’d prefer that we meet after the office closes. I want this to be a very private meeting between you, your brothers and me.”
He noted that she hadn’t included anyone from his executive team. “Caden flew out today for New York. He has a couple of concerts that had been scheduled and were too costly to get out of. However, Dalton should be free.”
“Great!”
“When Melissa returns from lunch, I’ll have her check with him to make sure that he—”
“I’d rather you didn’t. In fact, I prefer you not mention this meeting to anyone.”
He lifted a brow. “Okay, let’s say around six? That way we can be sure everyone will have left by then.”
She nodded. “I’ll see you at six. And if you don’t mind, we’ll meet in my office.”
“All right.” She then left.
He wondered just what was in her report.
* * *
Shana sat at her desk and felt her heart beating hard in her chest as both Jace and Dalton read the reports she had presented to them. This was her initial report, and once they discussed everything, she would know how to proceed from here.
She wasn’t surprised that it was Jace who finished reading first. After all, he was an attorney and was used to the legalese when it came to reviewing case studies. He glanced up from the papers and his gaze snagged hers. Immediately, she felt every hormone in her body sizzle from the intensity of his stare.
Forcing her gaze back down to the papers on her desk, she drew in a slow breath while thinking that she didn’t need this. Especially not now. They had a lot of work to do, and going over this report was just the start of it. But Jace’s presence wasn’t making it easy. His presence was taking over everything and dominating the office space, and making her very much aware of him...even with his brother in the room.
“Shit, you mean to tell us that there’s a traitor in the company?”
She lifted her gaze and glanced over at Dalton. From his outburst, one would think he was more upset with what he’d read than Jace was. That could only mean one thing. Jace already had his suspicions.
“Looks that way, doesn’t it?” Jace said easily and calmly, without displaying any strong emotions.
Dalton picked up on it, stared over at his brother and quickly reached the same conclusion that Shana had. “Damn it, Jace, you knew!”
“Not for certain,” Jace said smoothly, switching his gaze from Shana to Dalton. “But I had a hunch.”
“And you didn’t tell us?” Dalton roared, offended.
“Only because, like I said, all I had was a hunch. Besides, I figured if my suspicions were right, it would come out in Shana’s report.”
“When did you pick up on something?” Shana asked.
Jace then shifted his gaze back to her. “My grandfather has a private file stored on his computer. He shared the password with me several years ago...in case I ever needed to get into it. It was a file where he mainly documented his thoughts or ideas. One of his most recent notations, one made a week or so before his death, indicated he suspected someone within the company of divulging trade secrets and felt that was the reason we weren’t topping certain bids.”
He paused a moment and then said, “And then after reading how one of our major competitors always seemed to underbid us, I began to think Granddad’s suspicions had some merit.”
Shana nodded. “I agree. That was the first red flag that made me take notice and start digging more,” Shana said. “I have my team investigating this and we must alert the FBI.”
“The FBI?” Dalton asked, surprised. “Why would you bring them in?”
Shana glanced over at Dalton. “Mainly because the theft or misappropriation of trade secrets is a federal offense. Not to mention the kind of contract this company pulls in, primarily from the government. For a few years, Granger Aeronautics was the number one producer of aircraft parts and motors, and now they’ve lost their edge to a competitor who’s only been around a few years. If the reason they lost that edge is because someone was giving the other company...let’s say bid information, then that’s a problem.”
Dalton leaned forward in his chair. “Do you have any idea who could be behind it?” he asked, and his voice was edged with anger.
“No, and we could be looking at more than one person,” Shana