Until It's You by C.B. Salem Page A

anybody, including me.”
    “Can you tell if he is actually in danger?"
    She pressed her lips together. “I certainly can't rule it out.”
    "Did he say what he wants? Who's after him? Anything?"
    She shook her head. "He said he made the protocol because he had a leak. Needed to figure out who it was. Something about Atlas Pharm, too."
    Brantley shifted. "Atlas?"
    "They may have stolen some research. Something big."
    Brantley eyed her for several seconds. "I see."
    He stood up from his desk and put his jacket back on. She stood up as well and followed him to the door.
    “Well, it’s good that you’re making progress," he said gruffly. He opened the door. "More than I expected, honestly. Keep me apprised of any updates as soon as you can."
    Kristina gave him her professional smile. “Of course. Can I ask where you are off to?”
    There was a slight hitch, not quite freezing but not totally natural either. He composed himself quickly. “You can," he said airily. "But it’s a private matter. Get my comm ID from Stephanie and keep me posted of anything at all.”
    “Of course.”
    He stood aside for her to go first, then locked it behind him and stepped out.
    “As I said, keep me apprised of updates, Ms. Andersen. I’ll be available via comm.”
    “Will do,” Kristina said.
    With a last look, Brantley walked off, straight past his secretary's desk with nothing more than a wave. Kristina pulled out her comm and pretended to be on it as she lagged behind. As soon as he was out of sight, she finally allowed herself to ease up to the secretary's desk, hopeful she could chance a peak at a hard copy of his calendar. But there was no such thing.
    “Can I help you?” the secretary asked.
    This must be Stephanie. Unless she was very much mistaken, Stephanie was the only person in the building who knew where Brantley was going.
    Kristina wrung her hands, weighing several stories. “There’s nothing...going on, with Mr. Brantley, is there? A sick relative or something? He looked like he was about to have an unpleasant visit with someone.”
    The secretary shook her head. “Not that I know of."
    “Do you know where he's going?"
    “Mr. Brantley doesn’t like me discussing his schedule.”
    “Atlas Pharm?” Kristina tried.
    It was a blind shot, but when Stephanie’s mouth dropped open Kristina knew she'd hit. The secretary composed herself quickly. “As I said, Mr. Brantley does not like me discussing his schedule. What makes you ask about Atlas?”
    Kristina shrugged. “Seems like he’s losing faith in Tatum pretty quickly with all this disappearance stuff going on if he's already chasing Fordelli.”
    Stephanie's icy mask fell into an irritated glower. "I didn't say he was. What makes you guess he might?"
    "Things I've heard. You know I'm investigating this situation with Tatum and his company, right?"
    "I do."
    "So you know why I'm asking. Is he meeting with Atlas? If not then I'm not really interested. But I probably don't have to remind you that Tatum makes up over half our billings. So this is kind of important."
    Stephanie met Kristina's eyes, staring daggers. Kristina's heart pounded as she kept her face blank. She was close to something here.
    Finally, Stephanie looked away. "I don't know," she said, her voice strained.
    Kristina swallowed a lump. That was unexpected. "What do you mean?"
    "He's been having meetings off the calendar," Stephanie said, her jaw relaxing only slightly. "I don't know why he doesn't trust me, and I haven't asked. But sometimes he just leaves."
    "Is that normal?"
    "Not until recently. I've been with him for five years!"
    Kristina nodded in a way she hoped was comforting. "How long is 'recently?'"
    "I don't know exactly."
    "Like two months?" Kristina tried.
    Stephanie shrugged, the muscles in her face still taut. "Something like that. Maybe a little less."
    Kristina nodded, doing her best to hide her excitement. That lined up pretty close to the protocol's creation. Maybe Dunn wasn't