Chapter 13: Pursuing Two Leads

The foursome returned to their respective cities and spent all day Thursday catching up on the backlog of tasks that had accumulated in their absence. Even with working until almost midnight, Dennis and Sarah’s scramble continued Friday morning when they returned to the office. Just before lunch Sarah pulled out her phone and sent a text to Joseph.

“Hey, free for lunch? I’m almost back to normal after traveling and can get away for a little bit.”

Almost immediately she got a text response.

“Hell, yeah. Can you be free all afternoon? I’m thinking we meet at Ellen’s for a soup and salad lunch, then go next door to the hotel. :)”

Sarah laughed to herself as she typed.

“Yes, that sounds good. Get a room. See you at 1:00 at Ellen’s.”

Sarah found Dennis at his desk and told him she was going to be out of the office all afternoon. She could see the unsaid question in his eyes and confirmed his suspicions.

“Yes, I am going to meet with Joseph. For work. Well, for our work investigation. We’re having lunch together and I am going to get more information about his VP, Guy Smart.”

If Dennis had any further suspicions he kept his mouth shut. He told Sarah what was on his list for the afternoon.

“Wrap that up and get out of here. It’s been a long week. Enjoy a long weekend.”

He nodded. “You’ll call or text if you get any leads? It feels like something may break open well before Monday.”

Sarah promised. She also said she hoped he was wrong and everyone could enjoy the weekend without having to play junior detectives.

Sarah used her phone to get a car through a ride-share service. Moments later she was seated in the back of a late-model Kia being driven by a teenage girl.

“You work there?” the young lady asked as she looked at the building Sarah exited.

Sarah made eye contact with the driver in the rear view mirror.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.” She did not offer that she was the president of the company.

“That is so cool,” said the girl. I’m a sophomore at Northwestern. I want to apply for a internship. Some day I’d like to be a hotel manager.”

Sarah smiled. “It sounds like you have a plan. And ambition.”

“Yes, ma’am. Driving is good for paying bills while in school, but I don’t want to do this forever.”

When she pulled into a open spot in front of Ellen’s, Sarah pulled a twenty dollar bill and a business card from her purse. She handed both over to the driver before exiting the car.

“Ma’am,” the driver said. “You’ve already tipped me on the app.”

“I know,” said Sarah with a smile, “but you deserve it.”

She turned to go into the restaurant when she heard the young lady gasp.

“Ms. Ooverest, thank you!” she heard as approached the front door being held open by a waiter.

Joseph was already seated. In the middle of the table was an open bottle of wine. Two empty glasses were in front of their chairs. When the waiter seated Sarah, he took the bottle and poured a serving into each glass.

They clinked glasses with one another and said, “Cheers.”

The next forty-five minutes were spent chatting causally about anything and nothing. Joseph paid the bill and offered Sarah his elbow as he escorted her from the restaurant.

They strolled arm-in-arm into a side door of the hotel, then up the nearby elevator to their floor. In the elevator, Joseph leaned down and kissed Sarah deeply. He caressed her breast as their tongues engaged in a duel. When the elevator dinged and the doors swung open Sarah moaned deeply.

“It’s been a while, huh?” asked Joseph with a sly grin.

They quickly ran down the hall to the their room. Joseph swiped the key card and held the door for Sarah. Once inside she turned and leaned against the wall. Joseph stepped to her and resumed their kiss. He unbuttoned her slacks and slid his hand down her panties.

“Oh, damn, you didn’t?” he panted.

“Surprise,” Sarah said lustily. She pulled away from the wall and tore off her shirt and bra, kicked her high-heels aside, and dropped her pants and panties. She jumped onto the bed and lay on her back with her legs spread wide.

Joseph could only stare. Sarah had shaved all of her public hair.

“Get over here and enjoy your surprise,” she said.

Joseph wasted no time. He shucked out of his clothing and was soon naked. He fell onto the bed and buried his face in Sarah’s crotch. The instant his tongue touched her pussy lips she snapped her legs on his ears and moaned loudly. Joseph let her orgasm subside, then continued to lick and finger her to another climax before licking his way up her body until they were kissing.

She helped guide his rock-hard member into her soaked tunnel. He slid in easily and held himself without moving for a few moments. He felt her muscles milking him without movement. Suddenly, he pulled away, then started pounding in and out of Sarah’s pussy. She yelped in both surprise and passion and soon exploded in her third orgasm as Joseph held her tight and emptied his load.

They stayed on the bed, entwined in each other’s bodies, for quite some time. Eventually, Joseph got up to use the bathroom. Sarah followed. They showered together and returned to the bed for another round. By five they were temporarily sated and holding each other.

Sarah was stoking Joseph’s chest when she said, “You know, this afternoon isn’t just a booty call. I really did need to talk with you.”

Joseph’s head snapped to his left and he looked Sarah in the eyes.

“What’s wrong? Why didn’t you lead with that over lunch?”

Sarah chuckled. “Because I was so horny, and wet, that I wanted to drop by pants and show you your surprise at the restaurant. If I got started on work, we may have talked for hours, and I didn’t have that much time before I needed to be fucked.”

Joseph laughed back. “Mission accomplished. What is the real work question?”

“Well, you saw the news from William, right? His secretary?”

“Yeah, horrible timing. I can’t imagine losing someone who has been with me for so many years.”

Sarah propped a pillow behind her and rolled onto her back.

“Why don’t you get us some drinks?”

Joseph raided the mini-bottles of alcohol and returned with two drinks, with extra bottles on the nightstand. Sarah drained her drink in one gulp and held out her glass.

“Well, it wasn’t just his secretary. It was a double whammy, but William couldn’t put the whole story in his email.”

Sarah spent the next two hours giving Joseph a high-level summary of what she had learned and been involved with the past few weeks. She concluded by saying that Leonard had given them two leads. One was a person of interest in Hotels. Leonard’s whereabouts were being kept secret until William could track the lead.

“Huh?” asked Joseph confused.

“Yeah, it made sense after we talked. He and Jimmy can move more freely in the hotels without being noticed. They are in Vegas.”

“OK, yeah, I guess so,” said Joseph somewhat mollified. “And the second lead?”

Sarah took a deep breath. “There is a good chance that one of your VPs is involved.”

“What! Who? What happened? How do you know?”

Joseph spat rapid-fire questions at Sarah. She waved her empty glass at Joseph.

William and Jimmy traveled to Las Vegas on Friday. They rationalized that if one of the actors in the coup against Argonne was to leave something at the dead drop it would most likely be on the weekend when they could say they were traveling for a long getaway weekend.

Jimmy booked them rooms at The Five Peaks. At William’s suggestion he booked the Deluxe Premium room package that was one step below the executive room options. It seemed like it would be less likely they would be recognized if they were not checking into the best rooms in the hotel. Even so, William wore blue jeans, a shirt emblazoned with silver, dark sunglasses, and a cowboy hat. He looked like anything but a typical CEO.