The Mogul and the Muscle - Claire Kingsley Page 0,23
her. But Noelle Olson, our Chief Operating Officer, isn’t exactly a fan.”
“Was she here when Cameron took over?”
“Yeah, and she wanted the job. I wouldn’t say she’s openly hostile, but she pushes back a lot. If anyone’s going to argue or try to stop Cameron from doing something, it’s usually Noelle.”
Interesting. An internal rivalry pointed to a potential suspect. “What about competitors?”
“There are quite a few companies in our space, especially because we have both military contracts and a large commercial division. But our biggest competitor in terms of where Cameron is taking the company is probably Reese Howard Aviation.”
I made a note to look into Reese Howard. See if there were any personal connections to Cameron. “Have there been any issues with corporate espionage? Anything shady going on there?”
“Not that I’m aware of. And why would someone trying to steal trade secrets attack Cameron? Trying to get her phone or something?”
“It’s possible. What about Cameron’s ex? What’s the story there?”
Her eyebrows drew together. “Aldrich Leighton? Why?”
“He’s on my list.”
She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “Wait, do you think Aldrich had something to do with it?”
“I just have to look at all possibilities.”
Brandy glanced at Cameron’s office. The door was open, but she seemed absorbed in whatever she was doing. “He’s in finance—wealthy in his own right, but not at Cameron’s level. They dated for almost three years, I think. It ended about six months ago. It’s none of my business, but it was a long overdue breakup.”
“Why?”
Brandy looked at Cameron’s open door again.
“I’m not asking you to gossip about your boss,” I said. “I need to know what’s been going on in her life. Who might have motive to target her.”
“She seemed happy with him at first. I actually thought they might get married. But as time went on, he started being kind of crappy to her. He expected her to change her schedule to fit his, or take impromptu vacations no matter what she had going on here. I don’t think he respected the fact that she runs this company. Which was odd, because you’d think a peer would understand. He runs a company, too, so wouldn’t he get that she can’t just clear her calendar for two weeks on a Sunday night and jet off to the Bahamas with him?”
“Who ended it?” A personal, but not inappropriate, question. I needed to know. The dynamic of their breakup was important information.
But I also wanted to know if it had been her.
Hell, I wanted it to have been her.
“She did, but it was amicable.”
I stifled a small grin of satisfaction. Good for her. “So you don’t think Aldrich would have a reason to come after her.”
“It seems far-fetched. But honestly, the idea of anyone coming after Cameron is. Most people like her.”
I nodded. “What’s the deal with the punk who came in here yesterday? Bobby.”
She rolled her eyes. “Bobby Spencer. Milton Spencer is his father; he founded the company. Bobby’s annoying but basically harmless. He’s never worked here, and he doesn’t have any actual power, but he likes to come in here and waste people’s time and bother Cameron.”
“He sounds like a pain in the ass.”
“That’s an understatement.”
“What about his father? Retired?”
“Yep, he retired when Cameron took over. He’s pretty old and now he spends most of his time on his yacht. I haven’t actually seen him in about two years.”
Something about Bobby Spencer bothered me, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Maybe it was Cameron’s obvious dislike of him.
“Did Bobby have any objections to Cameron taking over?”
“Not that I’ve heard. He actually comes to the office a lot more now than he did when his father was in charge.”
I wrote down a few more notes.
“Do you really think Cameron’s in danger?” she asked.
“Maybe. Hiring me might turn out to be overkill and nothing else happens to her. Really, that’s the hope. I don’t mind being put out of a job; it’s better for her. But if she is, I’ll take care of it.”
She smiled. “Good. Sorry if I was harsh with you.”
“You weren’t. Thanks for the sandwich. And the information. It helps me do my job.”
“Sure. Did the calendar syncing work?”
I tapped my phone. “All set. And full disclosure, I put a tracking app on her phone. And yes, she knows it’s there.”
“Smart. Well, let me know if you need anything else.”
“Will do. Glad to be on Team Cameron.”
Her wide smile made a little ding go off in my head, like a signal on a