Finding Tasha

Chapter 8 Working Late

Had she realized that Jase had been preparing since Chas' death to return to Jackson Crossing and work at Sanderson it may not have been so difficult to ask for his help. He had surprised her lately, reminding her of the gentle strength he showed her early in their friendship. However, he still unnerved her. He was too intense, too confident, and way too difficult to figure out what he was thinking. She wasn't even sure when he would arrive at the office. He told her when she left his home the day before that he would arrive today but that was all. She didn't have the confidence to clarify when. She was going to have to find a backbone to stand up to him if their partnership was to work.

When Natasha walked into Chas's office the day she returned, she realized she had been using it for six months. In her mind it was still her late husband's office. She definitely had not settled in, his ostentatious heavy cherry wood furniture still overwhelmed the space and he had Tiffany style lamps! She could barely see. Those pretentious lamps would have to go.

Distracted by her musings about lighting it took her a moment to notice that she was not alone. As she turned to hang her coat she caught Angela riffling through the files in the cabinet in the dim room.

"What are you doing?" Angela jumped at her voice then Tasha watched as the woman's face registered shock, guilt then became a study in contempt.

"I was just finding a file." Natasha was unnerved by Angela's intrusion and thought back to when she left the office before her trip to Shadow Falls. She was sure she had locked the cabinet.

"Angela," Tasha stood with her hand out, "give me the file."

Angela stood for a couple seconds banging the file folder into her other hand. She huffed once then handed the file over, storming toward the door. "How can I do my job if I can't have the information I need?"

Tasha didn't respond to her parting comment, and open the file on a contractor's bid for the Valley houses. She worked in accounting. Bids were not something she needed to see, and certainly not from a locked cabinet.

"What was she doing with a bid," she said to herself. Her stomach tightened with apprehension and a certain amount of satisfaction.

"What was that?" Jase stood in the doorway, leaning against the door gesturing over his shoulder with a thumb. He had obviously arrived before her this morning. She shook off the feeling of being truant.

"Do you mean the spa commercial with the blue power suit and inch and half nails? Her name is Angela."

"I know who she is, I'm just wondering why she stormed out."

"She's was pilfering my file cabinet for information on bids," she waved the file folder.

"Was the cabinet locked?"

"It was two nights ago. It wasn't this morning." She looked around her office, feeling uncertain. "Jase," she explained, "I've never liked her." Was that ever an understatement! "I had asked Chas to fire her years ago but he didn't. He sent her to accounting." She looked at the file, "Why would she need the bids?"

"I can think of a couple of reasons, neither of them have really good answers. My suggestion is get her out the door before she does any more damage." He shrugged off the door jam and walked into the room. "She shouldn't have been in the cabinet. Your history has nothing to do with that."

Angela came back a moment later bristling. "How am I going to get anything done if you keep getting in the way!" she demanded without preamble.

Natasha didn't hesitate. "I've been in the way a lot lately, haven't I Angela? Tell you what though I'll step out of the way right now. Starting with inviting you to find work in someone else's company. You've become a bit of a security issue at a critical time and you need to vacate your office now."