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CHAPTER FIVE
What does forensic mean?
M ADISON BROUGHT Aspen to work with her the morning following the funeral. The dog must have spent most of his life in a cage. She refused to lock him up inside the house all day long. There wasn’t any yard where she was staying. When she bought her own place, it would need to have an outdoor area for Aspen.
She wasn’t exactly sure when she’d decided to keep the retriever, but it had been in the back of her mind since she’d seen her closest friend’s dead body. The dog meant a lot to Erin or she wouldn’t have taken him home. There was nothing she could do for Erin now. It was too late for that, but she could help the dog. She was positive that’s what Erin would have wanted.
“You, like, got a dog,” Jade said the second Madison walked through the door. The receptionist’s black hair was now a suspicious shade of red and gelled heavenward. “How cool is that?”
“His name is Aspen.” She looked around but didn’t see Aiden or Chloe in their cubicles. “He’ll be coming to work with me until I find a place with a yard.”
“I’m sorry about your friend,” Jade said as she gave Aspen a pat. “Like, what a terrible thing to happen.”
“The worst, believe me. The worst.” She let her eyes roam over the small cube farm for a moment. It had been days since she’d been in the office. “What did I miss?”
Jade didn’t have an official title. No one but Aiden and Madison were called anything but associates. This had been the cornerstone of their “anticorporate” philosophy, but as part of the divorce settlement, Aiden and Madison became copresidents. Since Jade’s desk was up front, she was the receptionist by default to the few visitors. Her main function was to assist Aiden and Madison. Jade’s Goth appearance might be off-putting, but she was sharp. Madison knew Jade had been on top of everything while Madison was away.
“Not much happened,” Jade replied. “I put all the messages on your desk. Aiden may have, like, checked your e-mail for you.”
“Why would he do that?”
Jade shrugged and her expression curdled. “I guess he was trying to help. How cool is that?”
“Help with what?” she asked, trying to conceal her anger but hearing its undertone in her voice anyway. Once, they’d flitted in and out of each other’s cubicles, checked each other’s e-mails and written responses for each other. Those days were over. They no longer visited each other’s cubes unless it was absolutely necessary.
“Aiden must have thought you were, like, so busy with the funeral.”
But he couldn’t be bothered to come to the funeral. Madison doubted Aiden was trying to help. What had he been up to? She realized this was Jade’s way of letting her know without being a snitch. She smiled at Jade while silently
CHAPTER FIVE
What does forensic mean?
M ADISON BROUGHT Aspen to work with her the morning following the funeral. The dog must have spent most of his life in a cage. She refused to lock him up inside the house all day long. There wasn’t any yard where she was staying. When she bought her own place, it would need to have an outdoor area for Aspen.
She wasn’t exactly sure when she’d decided to keep the retriever, but it had been in the back of her mind since she’d seen her closest friend’s dead body. The dog meant a lot to Erin or she wouldn’t have taken him home. There was nothing she could do for Erin now. It was too late for that, but she could help the dog. She was positive that’s what Erin would have wanted.
“You, like, got a dog,” Jade said the second Madison walked through the door. The receptionist’s black hair was now a suspicious shade of red and gelled heavenward. “How cool is that?”
“His name is Aspen.” She looked around but didn’t see Aiden or Chloe in their cubicles. “He’ll be coming to work with me until I find a place with a yard.”
“I’m sorry about your friend,” Jade said as she gave Aspen a pat. “Like, what a terrible thing to happen.”
“The worst, believe me. The worst.” She let her eyes roam over the small cube farm for a moment. It had been days since she’d been in the office. “What did I miss?”
Jade didn’t have an official title. No one but Aiden and Madison were called anything but associates. This had been the cornerstone of their “anticorporate” philosophy, but as part of the divorce settlement, Aiden and Madison became copresidents. Since Jade’s desk was up front, she was the receptionist by default to the few visitors. Her main function was to assist Aiden and Madison. Jade’s Goth appearance might be off-putting, but she was sharp. Madison knew Jade had been on top of everything while Madison was away.
“Not much happened,” Jade replied. “I put all the messages on your desk. Aiden may have, like, checked your e-mail for you.”
“Why would he do that?”
Jade shrugged and her expression curdled. “I guess he was trying to help. How cool is that?”
“Help with what?” she asked, trying to conceal her anger but hearing its undertone in her voice anyway. Once, they’d flitted in and out of each other’s cubicles, checked each other’s e-mails and written responses for each other. Those days were over. They no longer visited each other’s cubes unless it was absolutely necessary.
“Aiden must have thought you were, like, so busy with the funeral.”
But he couldn’t be bothered to come to the funeral. Madison doubted Aiden was trying to help. What had he been up to? She realized this was Jade’s way of letting her know without being a snitch. She smiled at Jade while silently
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