Casey looked down at her own camera and pretended she wasfiddling with some settings. Hopefully, Sean had gotten the shot she’d been toodistracted to focus on. She knew she was romanticizing the scene before her.They were a real couple who likely had their issues just like everyone else.But today the complications in Casey’s life felt enormous in comparison. Shetouched her fingertips to her lips. She had kissed Jacqueline countless timesin so many ways in her life. And that, she told herself, was why even now, aday later, she could still feel the pressure of Jacqueline’s lips against hers.Her body didn’t need much urging to recall the imprint of years spent withJacqueline.
She hadn’t stopped the kiss right away. And, honestly, she hadn’treally wanted to stop it when she did. The guilt of that lapse weighed heavilyin her chest. They’d gotten caught up in a moment, lost themselves to thecharge of emotions. It wasn’t as if it had never happened before. But not sinceshe’d been seeing Nina. If not for Nina, Casey could have chalked the kiss upto a momentary indiscretion. She would need to avoid being alone withJacqueline until she had her reactions under control, but they could get pastit.
But now, she grappled with whether she needed to confess. Ninawould be hurt. Was it worth assuaging her own guilt, given that she and Ninahad experienced their own tensions lately? Nina already resented the time shespent with the Knight family, and telling her about this kiss would only makethings worse. She didn’t think she would come clean, and that worried her. Ifshe could bury this transgression, what did that say about her future withNina?
*
“Jacqueline Knight.” Jacqueline answered her cell phone withoutlooking at the display. She’d been fielding calls all day from employees withquestions about the new insurance plans. She didn’t mind explaining the variouscomponents, even when the calls came from employees in centers where she’dalready conducted education.
Owen’s baritone vibrated through the phone. “I’m looking overyour report from Knoxville, but I don’t see the P&C letter. Would you emailthat to me?”
Jacqueline opened her file on the Lena Blackstone investigationand scanned through the documents. “Owen, can I call you right back?” Shewaited only long enough for him to acknowledge her before she disconnected.
She hadn’t included the privileged and confidential letter in heremail to Owen because she didn’t have one. More specifically, she hadn’tobtained one. Usually, when she received a complaint, she first emailed thelegal department so they could draft a P&C letter and open a case on it.The document, sent by a company attorney, contained a bunch of legalese thatdeclared any work-product generated from that point forward in the course ofthe investigation to be confidential due to the attorney-client relationship.In the case of future litigation, the fact that they’d opened an investigationwould be discoverable by the other side, but the company could not be compelledto turn over any paperwork, emails, interviews, or anything else associatedwith the investigation.
Lena Blackstone had called her while she was in Atlanta. She rememberedthinking that she needed to notify legal, then putting it off to go meet Marti.Somewhere in the middle of her failed liaison with Marti and the disagreementwith Casey, she’d completely forgotten to send that email.
“Shit.” She picked up her office phone, and dialed Owen’s number.She didn’t see any point in delaying the inevitable. When he answered sheblurted out her admission. “I didn’t get a P&C letter. It was a completeoversight on my part and I don’t have an explanation—not a good one, anyway.”
He sighed. “Jacqueline—”
“I screwed up. Do you want me to call legal?” She copied bothOwen and the legal department on her final report and was actually surprisedshe hadn’t received a call from someone over there first.
“I’ll take care of it. They’ll probably want to talk to youlater.”
“Sure.”
“This could be a big deal, Jacqueline. This case was unfounded,but if it hadn’t been—if a lawsuit was filed, we’d have to hand everything overto the plaintiff.”
“I know.” She cut off the rest of her response—I’m not an idiot—because,clearly, she was. He was within his right to talk to her like an unseasonedintern, since she’d acted like one.
“I’ll call you back after I’ve talked to legal.”
She hung up and dropped her head onto her desk, not evenbothering to cushion the blow with her arm. If this was the shape of herMonday, the rest of the week could only get better. She couldn’t even fix hermistake. Since she’d already completed the investigation, she’d gain nothingfrom getting the letter now. Only the work done after the dated letter wasprotected.
As screwups went, this one shouldn’t cost the company in the longrun. But Owen didn’t like mistakes. She didn’t either, even more so since she’dmade this one because she’d been distracted by her personal life. Legalwouldn’t recommend more than a stern lecture, but she’d just have to wait andsee how Owen weighed the situation.
Chapter Twelve
“How did I let you talk me into this,” Kendra said for thefourth time in the two blocks since they’d left the house.
“You’re a good friend.” Jacqueline glanced at Kendra. For someonewho professed to hate exercise, she’d thrown together a well-coordinatedoutfit. Her neon-pink T-shirt matched the stripe down each leg of hercapri-length spandex pants. She even had pink laces and a brand insignia on hercross-trainers.
“I’m so damn out of shape.” With Kendra’s long legs, she had noproblem keeping up with Jacqueline’s pace.
“I needed this. It’s been a hell of a week,” Jacqueline said.
“What happened?”
Without going into too much detail, she filled Kendra in on herscrewup at work. She’d heard back from Owen within two days. He’d made it clearthat a critical letter in her file could keep her from moving up in the companyand that he’d done her a favor by not taking her disciplinary action to thatlevel. He didn’t want to waste all of the time he’d spent grooming her
