Between The Sheets

April could well imagine. Professionalism was the end-all and be-all of Wilhemina’s world. She was a woman who’d forged a corporate career for herself during a time when executive management positions were filled by men through the good-old-boys’ network.

Wilhemina had chosen career over marriage and made no apologies, which meant that at holidays she showed up at John’s house to commune with family. This also meant that she and April were kindred spirits because April had attached herself to the Mooney family, too.

“Why did Wilhemina send this?” she asked. “What’s up?”

“This post isn’t the only one to come across the Luxurious Bedding Company’s computer network.” Reaching across his desk for the copy of the e-mail post, John held it up between them. “It’s one of over six dozen.”

“Oh my.” An image of the proposed glory hole sprang to mind and April shook her head to clear it. “All to Wilhemina?”

“No, she’s only one of the recipients. Someone is stalking employees at corporate headquarters with similar posts on a variety of, er, diverse topics. They’re showing up in the different departments—executive management, operations, sales, human resources, even the warehouse.”

“Suggestive e-mails popping up during business hours.” She gave a short laugh. “I’ll bet that makes for an interesting day on the job.”

“No joke. Wilhemina said the place has been bedlam. And the timing couldn’t be worse. She’s preparing to launch the Sensuous Collection. It’s a high-profile launch and a risky time for the company. These posts are distracting the employees from their work. ‘Sex on the brain’ is the way she described it.”

April would just bet. Whether a person was offended or titillated by the idea of what two employees might do with a stall wall and a cleverly positioned hole between them, one thing was clear—that person would be thinking about sex.

And thinking about sex was exactly what April didn’t want to do. She couldn’t afford a case of sex on the brain right now. No way. No how.

“The Sensuous Collection?” She urged John to get on with his point so she could figure out why he was telling all this to her. “Didn’t Wilhemina tell me at Christmas that the reason she accepted this presidency was to get the company back on its feet after they crashed with the Cuddly, Cozy Winter Collection?”

Let your nights be about more than sleep, she’d recited the jingle to April over eggnog. Get cuddly and cozy with our Cuddly, Cozy Winter Collection.

A seemingly clever marketing campaign for a collection of sheet sets that should have translated into public recognition, huge sales and a solid bottom line. However this particular marketing campaign had proven so cuddly and cozy that consumers complained the advertisements had gone too far to promote the sensuality of their product. Morality groups had protested and the backlash against the Luxurious Bedding Company had resulted in the company’s reorganization. Not to mention earning a defining nickname for the mattresses, bedding and sheet sets.

The Lusturious Bedding Company.

April remembered John telling Wilhemina she was crazy to take on a company in the throes of consumer condemnation. The board had thrown out the former president for getting them into such a mess. But Wilhemina had waxed poetic about the challenges and argued that she had a blowout strategy to turn the disapproval rating around by capitalizing on their new image.

“Is the Sensuous Collection Wilhemina’s blowout strategy?”

John nodded. “It’s a line of luxury bedding that will compete with the European manufacturers, who apparently dominate the market. She’s hooked up with a high-ticket marketing consultant to help capitalize on their lusturious image.”

“Is someone unhappy with the plan? Is that why they’re stalking the employees with these sorts of posts?”

“The posts are being generated in-house at corporate headquarters.”

“Oh.” A disgruntled employee then. “Where do you fit in? Can’t security track down the stalker with the network administrator’s help? Shouldn’t be that difficult.”

“Apparently that’s not the case.” He set the e-mail post back on the desk and lifted his black gaze. “The posts are originating from computers all over headquarters, forwarding files to everyone in the address book.”

She whistled. “That must generate a ton of traffic. I don’t imagine it’s feasible for the administrator to monitor all the posts.”

“It’s not. Wilhemina tried curtailing network activity in various departments to give the administrator a chance to track the problem posts, but every time activity slows down, the stalker stops sending the raunchy posts completely.”

“So our suspect is operating on the same premise as a computer worm or a virus. Very clever, really.” Good, bad or otherwise, April appreciated resourcefulness when she saw it. “What files get forwarded?”

“Mainly information dealing with the Sensuous Collection, which has raised the issue about whether these posts are meant to obstruct the collection’s launch.”

“You’re talking about corporate espionage?”

“It’s a concern. Selling details about the Sensuous Collection could translate into big bucks if a rival manufacturer introduces a competing product line before the Luxurious Bedding Company launches. Wilhemina has turned the problem over to in-house security to conduct an internal investigation.”

“Has she asked you for advice on the investigation?”

John tapped his fingers on the desktop and met her gaze thoughtfully before answering. “The investigation is pretty clear-cut. The only thing they can do is eliminate their employees one by one. This isn’t a mom-and-pop organization. While it’s not Fortune 500, the Luxurious Bedding Company is large with the opportunity for spectacular growth if this collection takes off like the projections indicate.”

Which still wasn’t explaining why John was holding on to that post. April must have looked confused because he said, “Wilhemina’s got a rogue element—a high-ticket independent marketing consultant. Rex Holt’s his name.”

“Never heard of him.” And she’d prefer to keep it that way. She didn’t need to be thinking about any man on a list of suspects who had the potential to get his jollies from stalking an entire company with the kind of posts she’d just read.

Not at this particular time in her life, at any rate. “If he’s independent can’t she just replace him? She’d eliminate one suspect from the equation.”

“He’s not a suspect.”

“No?”

“Wilhemina has worked with him a number of times before when she was running Duval Foods International. She doesn’t think he has anything to do with the posts or corporate espionage. She’s so sure that she’s betting her career on it.”

That was saying something. “Yow.”

“Yow is right,” John agreed. “She’s got a mess on her hands. The board of directors is understandably edgy after being burned with the Cuddly, Cozy Winter Collection and they’re pushing to opt out of their big bucks contract with this guy. Wilhemina says it’s way too close to the launch to bring in another independent consultant and she needs Rex Holt to pull off this launch. Apparently he’s big potatoes.”

“If she’s so convinced her big spud isn’t guilty, what’s worrying the board?”

“Aside from the fact that Holt is the only one besides Wilhemina who has free run of the company at every level from operational to executive management, he also has means and opportunity. He consulted for a competitor a few years back. Wilhemina believes his past experience in the industry is working to their benefit but the board thinks it means loyalty to a rival manufacturer. Given the fact that he’s out-of-house, I see their point. The guy’s positioned to do a lot of damage.”

“Do you think Wilhemina’s made a mistake?”

“I’ve been married to her sister for thirty-five years. Trust me, that one doesn’t miss a trick.” He shook his head decidedly. “But even so, I’ve been looking into this guy’s history the past few days and Holt’s MO doesn’t jive by a long shot. He’s got references up the wazoo and he’s considered one of the top marketing consultants nationwide. Big-name corporations are lined up for his services.”

“Then she wants you to find out who’s sending these posts?”

“No.”

“No?”

“Wilhemina has decided to buck the board on this but she’s up against a time limit. Holt will be moving his base of operations out of corporate headquarters to conduct marketing studies around the country. She needs to cover her ass—and his, too—while he’s out on the road. This is where we come in.”

We. That one word and the way John leveled a steely gaze her way shot April’s internal alarm system into the red zone. “But you just said her in-house security is investigating and they’ve exhausted the computer angle.”

“I’m pulling you off the computer.”

April knew what was coming next and launched into evasive maneuvers to avoid yet another lecture about how twenty-five-year-old women should be out living life, rather than viewing it through a flat-screen computer monitor.

“I’m an investigative researcher, remember? I’m supposed to work behind a computer.”

“You’re an investigator. You call yourself a researcher, but I don’t have researchers on my payroll. Only investigators.”