Free Nemesis: Innocence Sold by Stefanie Ross Page A

finish this paperwork—if I don’t, the public prosecutor will kill me. Well, if the boss leaves her anything. Since we’ve gotten so close to each other, Sandra, we can address each other informally. I hope I’ll see you again.”
    Stephan’s expression was impenetrable. “Good instincts, Sandra. I’ll be in touch.”
    If that was supposed to be praise, the tone didn’t fit, and she could hardly have gotten kicked out in a more obvious fashion. She would have loved to have apologized to Lars and heard about his encounter with Dirk. But she’d spoiled her chance. She managed to smile at Katharina and then headed for the door with her head held high. She felt her colleagues looking at her back and sensed they would start talking about her as soon as she had closed the door behind her.
    She carefully looked around the hall. No one in sight. Good. She slammed the palm of her hand into the wall. How on earth could she have been so idiotic as to spoil a chance like this with such careless behavior? She wouldn’t accept nervousness and lack of sleep as excuses. She had no plan B, meaning she would have to return to her shitty superior.

CHAPTER 6
    Stephan was unenthused as he chewed on his steak despite the fact that there was nothing wrong with it. Normally he enjoyed his get-togethers with Dirk and Sven at the steak house, but his job was getting to him. He liked being the department head, but he could have done without the human resources aspect. He felt a trace of envy as he thought of Mark, whose team had been composed of the same people for years. This brought him to the next matter that was bothering him. Why hadn’t they heard anything from Daniel? They’d agreed he would call when he had made his decision. Stephan’s conviction that Daniel wouldn’t leave Mark’s team under any circumstances became more uncertain with each passing minute.
    As if that were not enough, there was Dirk’s tense expression. He could have used Dirk’s dry humor as a distraction.
    “What’s with you? You’ve taken care of the coordination issues, right? The way you’re massacring your steak, I’m afraid you’re going to come after me next,” Dirk said.
    Stephan forced a smile. “No. I’ve already said the encounter couldn’t have been predicted. Everything’s all right, and apart from the paperwork, the matter’s settled. However, you haven’t heard about the continuation yet.” Stephan put his fork and knife aside and told the entertaining story of Lars’s performance as a supposed felon and what went down when Sandra discovered him loose in the office.
    Sven praised Sandra with a smile. “I’d call that initiative, albeit pretty over-the-top.” He snatched a French fry from Dirk’s plate.
    “Hands off. I’m still eating those. Not bad. I’d have liked to have seen Lars’s face. How did the interview go?”
    “Good start, then it drifted off course. Lars and Kat worked on me subtly but obviously afterward—they’d like to have Sandra on the team. But I’m not convinced. No, most likely not.”
    “What do you mean? You’re talking in riddles.”
    “She has a good eye and a good feel for situations, but her heart wasn’t in it. I believe she just wants to get away from her current job and doesn’t care where she ends up. I don’t need people like that.”
    Sven eyed the French fries on Dirk’s plate and grinned when Dirk nodded, rolling his eyes. “Before you starve to death, partner . . .”
    “There’s a real danger of that. Britta thinks she’s going to start losing weight. You have no idea what ends up on the table at our place.”
    “Then go get your own groceries, or grab your son and flee to McDonald’s. Stop whining—this is the third time today you’ve told me about that. I’m interested in what’s up with Sandra. You’re not describing the woman I know. If she works for something, then she gives 100 percent, and she’s always wanted to come to the LKA. Sven? Preferably