“Sprague did not have a good relationship with his adultdaughter, Nyla Witherspoon. In her own weird way I think she was jealous of those of us who worked in the Witherspoon offices—especially me.”
“Why you in particular?”
“It’s . . . complicated.”
Julius felt as if he had just fallen off the dock into the cold, dark waters of the lake.
“You were having an affair with Witherspoon?” he asked without inflection.
“Good grief, no.” Grace sounded astonished, not offended. “What in the world would make you think that?”
“Gosh, I dunno. Not like there’s any history of bosses sleeping with the women on their office staff.”
“Are you speaking from personal experience?” she asked. This time there was an edge on the words.
The lady had claws. Julius smiled, oddly satisfied. Good to know she hadn’t been sleeping with Witherspoon. Good to know she could draw blood if you pushed her too far.
“No,” he said. “A long time ago I was warned not to get personally involved with the people who work for me.
That way madness lies.
”
Grace startled him with a burble of laughter. “Oh, wow, you get your affirmations from Shakespeare. Not sure the Witherspoon Way affirmations can compete.”
“It’s a strict policy, not an affirmation, and I didn’t get it from Shakespeare. I got it from my next-door neighbor.”
“Harley Montoya? What does he know about the dangers of office relationships? I thought he was devoted to his fishing and his garden. He and my neighbor, Agnes, have been rivals in the annual Cloud Lake Garden Club competition ever since he moved to town.”
“Harley wasn’t always retired.”
“Of course not,” Grace said. “Sometimes I forget that he was a successful businessman before he moved here.”
“The quote about the dangers of getting involved with employees isn’t an affirmation, just a realistic assessment of the potential risks. I don’t do affirmations. I have a couple of rules instead.”
“Really?” She sounded intrigued. “What are they?”
“Rule Number Two is
Everyone has a hidden agenda
.”
“I’ll bet that’s a hard rule to live by.”
“Actually, it’s pretty damn useful. You can’t be successful in my world unless you know what is really motivating your clients, your competition and the people who work for you. When it comes to closing the deal, you need to know everyone’s real agenda.”
“I thought money was at the top of the list for people in your world.”
“Everyone involved will certainly tell you that,” he said. “People like to think they base their high-stakes business decisions on rational financial logic. But that’s not true. They make decisions based on emotion, every damn time. Afterward they can always find the logic and reason they need to back up the decisions.”
“And you take advantage of that insight to make lots of money, is that what you’re telling me?”
“I don’t always win but I usually know when to cut my losses.” Time to change the subject. “You said you think Nyla Witherspoon might have been jealous of you and the other members of Witherspoon’s staff. Are your colleagues receiving those emails?”
“I asked Millicent and Kristy that question. Neither of them has received the emails but they agreed that Nyla is the most likely culprit.”
“Did you get anything from Witherspoon’s estate?”
“Heavens no,” Grace said. “No one on the staff was in Sprague’s will. He paid us all very well but he left his entire estate to Nyla.”
“And now a large chunk of it has gone missing.”
“It’s news to me but if you and Devlin know that, then it’s safe to say that Nyla is also aware of the embezzlement by now. But I started getting the emails immediately after Sprague was murdered—before anyone realized that someone had been stealing from the Witherspoon Way accounts.”
“If she started emailing you because she wanted to take out some of her anger and jealousy on
“Why you in particular?”
“It’s . . . complicated.”
Julius felt as if he had just fallen off the dock into the cold, dark waters of the lake.
“You were having an affair with Witherspoon?” he asked without inflection.
“Good grief, no.” Grace sounded astonished, not offended. “What in the world would make you think that?”
“Gosh, I dunno. Not like there’s any history of bosses sleeping with the women on their office staff.”
“Are you speaking from personal experience?” she asked. This time there was an edge on the words.
The lady had claws. Julius smiled, oddly satisfied. Good to know she hadn’t been sleeping with Witherspoon. Good to know she could draw blood if you pushed her too far.
“No,” he said. “A long time ago I was warned not to get personally involved with the people who work for me.
That way madness lies.
”
Grace startled him with a burble of laughter. “Oh, wow, you get your affirmations from Shakespeare. Not sure the Witherspoon Way affirmations can compete.”
“It’s a strict policy, not an affirmation, and I didn’t get it from Shakespeare. I got it from my next-door neighbor.”
“Harley Montoya? What does he know about the dangers of office relationships? I thought he was devoted to his fishing and his garden. He and my neighbor, Agnes, have been rivals in the annual Cloud Lake Garden Club competition ever since he moved to town.”
“Harley wasn’t always retired.”
“Of course not,” Grace said. “Sometimes I forget that he was a successful businessman before he moved here.”
“The quote about the dangers of getting involved with employees isn’t an affirmation, just a realistic assessment of the potential risks. I don’t do affirmations. I have a couple of rules instead.”
“Really?” She sounded intrigued. “What are they?”
“Rule Number Two is
Everyone has a hidden agenda
.”
“I’ll bet that’s a hard rule to live by.”
“Actually, it’s pretty damn useful. You can’t be successful in my world unless you know what is really motivating your clients, your competition and the people who work for you. When it comes to closing the deal, you need to know everyone’s real agenda.”
“I thought money was at the top of the list for people in your world.”
“Everyone involved will certainly tell you that,” he said. “People like to think they base their high-stakes business decisions on rational financial logic. But that’s not true. They make decisions based on emotion, every damn time. Afterward they can always find the logic and reason they need to back up the decisions.”
“And you take advantage of that insight to make lots of money, is that what you’re telling me?”
“I don’t always win but I usually know when to cut my losses.” Time to change the subject. “You said you think Nyla Witherspoon might have been jealous of you and the other members of Witherspoon’s staff. Are your colleagues receiving those emails?”
“I asked Millicent and Kristy that question. Neither of them has received the emails but they agreed that Nyla is the most likely culprit.”
“Did you get anything from Witherspoon’s estate?”
“Heavens no,” Grace said. “No one on the staff was in Sprague’s will. He paid us all very well but he left his entire estate to Nyla.”
“And now a large chunk of it has gone missing.”
“It’s news to me but if you and Devlin know that, then it’s safe to say that Nyla is also aware of the embezzlement by now. But I started getting the emails immediately after Sprague was murdered—before anyone realized that someone had been stealing from the Witherspoon Way accounts.”
“If she started emailing you because she wanted to take out some of her anger and jealousy on
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