Free A Christmas Proposal: A Hidden Threat Short Story by Sherri Hayes Page A

extension. 
    It took over an hour, but in the end, they had a game plan. They moved up the shipment time and changed the route slightly. Unfortunately, the starting and ending points had to be the same, which made major route changes difficult, so it was decided Jason would be personally escorting this delivery. 
    They were just finishing when there was a knock at the door. “Come in.” 
    Jason gave his brother a nod and walked to the door as it opened. Matthew and Jason’s assistant, Mariana, passed Jason as she entered Matthew’s office. “Sorry to bother you, Matthew, but Brad called asking if you wanted to take a look at last night’s security tapes before he archives them.” 
    Matthew pushed himself up from the desk. He’d completely forgotten about the tapes. “Yes, I do. Please call him back and let him know I’m on my way.” Mariana nodded and closed the door again. Looking down at his desk, he realized he hadn’t even turned his computer on yet. This was not going to be a good day. Resigned, he grabbed his radio and went downstairs. 

    Cali looked down at the clock on her computer. It was almost five. She wasn’t even close to finishing for the day. The pile of paperwork on her desk had managed to grow bigger since she’d started.  Her morning had consisted of two meetings back-to-back, one with marketing, and one with human resources. Alvin Stanton was a big believer in communication, so he met with all of his department heads and managers once a week to touch base and address any problems they were having. It was a great idea but time consuming. 
    When the second meeting ended, it was time for lunch. The problem was, she didn’t have time for lunch. Luckily, Lisa was used to Alvin having the same problem and had ordered some food in for her. At this rate, Cali was going to have to ask Jessie to start making her a sack lunch every day. 
    Cali worked through the noon hour and the rest of the afternoon. A few client calls broke up the monotony of the rest of her day that consisted of paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork. What happened to becoming a paperless society? Hunched over the latest sheet of numbers, she looked up when her computer beeped, alerting her to a new e-mail. 
    Pressing her fingers to her temples, she sighed before moving her mouse to click on the message. Nothing happened. She clicked again but with the same result. What in the world? Turning her full attention to the computer now, she made sure her mouse was still working and tried again. Nothing. 
    She hated to do it, but she needed help. Pressing the intercom button, she said, “Lisa?”
    “Yes, Cali?”
    “I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m having some trouble opening an e-mail, and I’m not sure why.”
    “Who’s it from?”
    Good question. Cali moved the mouse to the left to reveal the name. Matthew Andersen. She closed her eyes. She’d gone almost the entire day without thinking about him. Wonderful! Cali thought sarcastically. 
    “Cali?” Lisa asked when met with Cali’s silence.
    “Sorry. It’s from Matthew Andersen.” 
    “Ah,” Lisa said as if all the pieces were making sense. “You have to enter your password. It’s a private message.”
    “A private message?” Cali asked skeptically. 
      “It’s a message ‘for your eyes only.’ Sometimes they send new security procedures that way so they can keep track of who has received them.”
    “Oh,” Cali said. 
    When Cali continued to sit in silence, she continued, “If you click on the little lock icon in the right hand corner, a box will pop up for you to enter the password.”
    “But what’s the password?”
    Lisa laughed. “I can’t help you there. Matthew was very insistent that no one share their password with anyone else, not even their assistants.”
    “Okay. Thanks,” Cali said, clicking off the intercom. With a sigh, she opened up a line and dialed the extension of the one person she really hadn’t wanted to talk to