Free The Savvy Sistahs by Brenda Jackson Page A

employment record a while back that Perry Hall was in his late forties, married for over fifteen years with two teenage boys. He was active in a number of athletic organizations that his sons were involved in and was a die-hard Orlando Magic fan. He was also active in his church and was vice president of the PTA at the school his sons attended. He had been employed at the St. Laurent during the five years that Lorenzo had run things and for a good ten years before that under the former owners, the Rawlins Group. He had been promoted to security manager after the former security manager left to go work for a Disney hotel a few years ago. Hall had been one of Lorenzo’s right-hand men, but for some reason after meeting him she’d felt he would do right by her and hadn’t seen a reason not to keep him on. So far he had proven to be a highly skilled and competent individual who knew his job and kept her abreast of things she needed to know.
    She’d never had a reason to suspect him of anything…until now. She then quickly reminded herself that a person was innocent until proven guilty.
    Brandy straightened her spine and entered her office. “Mr. Hall, what are you doing here?”
    He turned around, quickly putting the rose back down on her desk. “Ms. Bennett, sorry, I didn’t hear you enter.”
    She nodded as she placed her briefcase in a chair. “I see you like that rose, Mr. Hall.”
    He smiled sheepishly. “Yes, I couldn’t help but admire it. My wife has a fetish for roses and this one is rather unique. The petals look so soft and the color is so deep it seemed more burgundy than red.”
    Brandy nodded. He had yet to answer her question. “What are you doing here, Mr. Hall?”
    He raised a brow after hearing the bluntness of her question. “We had a meeting this morning. I arrived a few minutes ago and thought I’d wait for you here.”
    “Inside my office?”
    He lifted a bushy brow. “Yes, is that a problem? Mr. Ballentine always preferred that we come directly to his office instead of waiting in the lobby area where his secretary worked unless his office door was closed.”
    Brandy tilted her head back and looked at him. “And wasn’t my office door closed when you arrived?”
    Perry Hall shook his head. “It was closed but unlocked.”
    Brandy frowned. “I don’t see how that’s possible when I locked it myself before leaving yesterday.”
    Perry shrugged. “The maintenance crew may have inadvertently left it open after cleaning around in here last night.”
    She nodded. “I would appreciate if you made sure that my door is closed and locked each night, and that one specific individual is responsible for the tidying up in here. I prefer to know who’s coming in and going out of here.”
    Perry nodded. “That can easily be arranged.” He then frowned. “Is there some sort of problem you’d like to tell me about?”
    Until I find out who sent that note I can’t fully trust anyone
.Brandy shook her head. “No, there’s nothing I need to discuss with you. There are times I’ll have confidential papers in my office and I prefer if my door is kept locked.”
    Perry nodded again. “All right. Now would you like to discuss that issue that came up yesterday about the housekeeper we had to let go because she was caught stealing?”
    Brandy sighed. He had made her aware of the incident yesterday. A missing ring from one of the guest rooms had been found in the woman’s locker. “And she admitted to taking it?”
    “Yes, after she was questioned further.”
    Brandy rubbed her temple, feeling a headache coming on. This was the second person she’d had to terminate for thievery since taking over the management of the hotel. But she had made it clear from the beginning that dishonesty would not be tolerated. “All right then, is there anything else we need to discuss?”
    “No, that about covers it.”
    Brandy took the chair behind her desk. “On your way out, if you notice that Donna has arrived,