Winds of Fire, стр. 35

“Except for Becca, I really do like it here. I was thinking about getting a group of us in the finance department together to talk to Mr. Longman about her and how she's sabotaging not only me, but most of us in the finance department.”

“Do you think he will listen?”

“I don't know. Maybe as a group it will give us more credibility. If Becca had her way, only men would work in the company.” She frowned. “I can't figure out the connection between Mr. Longman and Becca. It makes no sense. She should have been fired a long time ago.”

“It sounds from where I'm sitting there may be a romantic involvement between them.” Frankie waited for Haley's reaction to her comment.

Haley threw her head back and began laughing so loudly that Frankie thought the woman would choke as her eyes teared up and her face reddened. Frankie glanced over at Johanna and saw the puzzled look not only on her face, but also the face of the woman who was seated directly across from her as Haley's laughter filled the room.

“I'm sorry,” Haley said between bouts of laughter. “If you saw her, you'd know why I'm laughing. When I started working here a couple of years ago, you should have seen how she acted every time Mr. Longman came into the office. I think she imagined a romantic affair with him.”

“And now?”

“She's bitter. Maybe she let him know her feelings. If she did, I'm sure he rebuked her. Sometimes I can hear them arguing through her closed office door. It gets so loud that everyone in the office can hear them. All of us in the department thought for sure she'd be fired, but no. She's getting nastier by the day and Mr. Longman lets her stay. It doesn't make sense.”

“How does Mr. Longman treat you?”

Her brows knitted together. “Respectfully...now.”

“Meaning?”

She fiddled with her purse strap for a few seconds. “Well, when I first began working here he was a little over-friendly, if you know what I mean. I think that pissed Becca off and made me an instant target for her.”

“Oh? Is it because of Becca's infatuation with him?”

She lifted her shoulders slightly. “Probably. I'm not saying I wouldn't have been interested if he wasn't married, but he is. His advances turned me off. I may be called many things, but I will never get involved with a married man.”

“How did you thwart his advances?”

“I came right out and told him exactly how I felt. I didn't hold back. The only reason I think I wasn't terminated was because I believe he was afraid I'd file a complaint. He made up some lame excuse that he hadn't meant anything and was sorry if I interpreted it the wrong way.”

“How does he treat you now?”

“He's polite, but goes out of his way to have very little contact with me. He's very guarded around me.”

“Do you know if he's made any improper advances to any other women in the company?”

“No clue. If someone is having a fling with him, I'm sure they'd be very tight-lipped about it. And then, some of the women wouldn't care that he's married.” She bit her bottom lip. “The sad thing is his wife is one of the sweetest women I have ever met.” She paused. “She used to visit here regularly, but I haven't seen her in a while.”

“Did Mrs. Longman ever personally visit Becca Manning's office?”

“Once or twice, but they were very short visits. She just popped her head in and said hello.”

“Did Becca ever have any visitors who weren't employees here that you know of?”

Haley was thoughtful for a minute. “I remember, about six months after I began working here, a young attractive blonde showed up one day. I remember because she stopped at my desk, which is the one closest to Becca's office, and asked if Becca was in. I notified Becca, and when she came out of her office and saw the woman, she looked like she'd seen a ghost. She quickly ushered the woman into her office. Come to think of it, Becca's arguments with Mr. Longman didn't begin until after that woman arrived on the scene. She's been back several times since, but for the life of me I have no idea why.”

“Do you think she was looking for employment? Possibly Mr. Longman set up an appointment for her. And if what you said about Becca's feelings toward him, possibly she was trying to thwart another attractive woman from catching his attention.”

“I don't think so. She would have told me she was here for an appointment. I definitely know Becca wasn't thrilled seeing her. And why would she return several times in the last year and a half?” She looked pointedly at Frankie. “This doesn't sound like an interview about how wonderful it is to work here. What really gives?”

Frankie pursed her lips. “I'm sorry that I've gotten off track. It's just that your account of Becca Manning's personal feelings toward Mr. Longman is so intriguing that I got caught up in it. Again, I apologize. I'll get the questioning back on track. Don't worry, though, because nothing you said will be in the article.”

Haley grinned. “That's okay. For my portion of your article you can say how much I love it here and how wonderful everyone is...yada yada.” She leaned forward. “Deal?”

Frankie returned her smile. “Deal.”

“I have to admit that it does feel liberating getting all of this off my chest. But getting back to the blonde, I've always thought she had something on Becca and that's why she kept returning.”

“Has she been here recently?”

“Maybe a month ago or so. She had a baby with her this time, so she obviously has a significant other somewhere.”

Frankie's heart began to pound. Could this be the connection Johanna and she were looking for? She had to keep her cool. She grew pensive as she looked at Haley. “Maybe she's a relative,