CHAPTER EIGHT; Finding secrets

Laurent took a few deep breaths as he drove away from the hospital, attempting to regain his composure after that moment. Rose's unexpected advance in the car had caught him off guard, though it wasn't like he was any better. If he'd had one ounce less of self-control, he'd have taken her there at the hospital, an audience be damned.

He could still feel the ghost of her soft lips, taste the urgency of her kisses on his tongue. The scent of her arousal had hung thick in the air, and it was all Laurent could do not to pull her into his lap and take her right then and there.

Gritting his teeth, he willed away the growing tightness in his pants, his knuckles turning white on the steering wheel. Getting intimate now would have been a big mistake - one that could jeopardize everything he'd been working toward.

No, he needed to stay focused, to keep his eyes firmly fixed on his ultimate goal of destroying the Blackwell legacy from within. Rose's vulnerability in the wake of her father's health crisis was a potent weapon to wield, but only if used at the right moment.

As Laurent pulled into the parking garage at Blackwell Industries, he forced himself to push aside the lingering haze of desire. If Rose was correct about her father's condition stemming from some external stress, there had to be a deeper issue buried within the company's operations - something even Wendell felt compelled to conceal.

Uncovering that potential weakness could give Laurent the leverage he needed to take complete control. All he required was a little careful searching of Wendell's files and computer records. With Rose's trust, he had nearly unlimited access; he just needed to tread carefully.

The building's eerie quiet only heightened Laurent's sense of purpose as he made his way up to the executive offices, Rose following close behind. He could sense her apprehension, her reluctance at having to do this at all, too bad, baby girl needed to grow up.

"Are you sure about this?" Rose asked in a small voice at the door of her father's office. "Searching through his private files just feels...wrong, somehow."

He sighed inwardly, impatient at the thought of having to convince her again. She'd been the one to come up with this idea for Chrissakes.

But instead of expressing that, he turned to face her, his expression a careful blend of understanding and reassurance. "I know this isn't easy, Rose. But if there are problems here that contributed to your father's condition, don't you want to find them? To have something to fight for when he recovers?"

She wavered for a moment, chewing her lip anxiously before giving a slow nod. "You're right. I just...I hate feeling like I'm betraying his trust."

Stepping closer, Laurent placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You're doing this for him, to help preserve his legacy. I'll be right here beside you - we can figure this out together."

Rose managed a faint smile at that, nodding and finally bringing out a key from her purse. He rubbed her shoulders while she opened the door and motioned her in. When he'd given her a few seconds to get herself ready, he followed her.

"So where do we start?" Rose asked and shivered.

He knew she wasn't cold. The room was practically boiling, but anticipation made him ignore her physical reaction.

"Let's just look anywhere. If something really was wrong here, I doubt we'll find it on the table"

She got the hint and nodded. Together, they began meticulously combing through Wendell's files and records, searching for any irregularities or potential problems. For a while, they worked in focused silence, the only sounds the rustle of papers and the occasional quiet murmur.

Despite his carefully concealed intentions, Laurent couldn't help but be impressed by Rose's diligence and keen eye for detail. She pored over each document and spreadsheet with the same dedicated focus he had witnessed in the boardroom, her brow furrowed in concentration.

For a few fleeting moments, Laurent almost felt a pang of regret for what he had set in motion. Rose was so earnest, so determined to do right by her father's life work. Part of him couldn't help but admire that resilient spirit, even as his own agenda remained firmly fixed on her ultimate downfall.

The hours ticked by, and still their search through the tangle of Wendell's systems and records yielded no obvious signs of trouble that could explain his precarious health situation.

Eventually, Rose sighed and pushed away the stack of files she had been reviewing, pinching the bridge of her nose in a gesture of fatigue and frustration.

"I don't understand," she murmured, her voice laced with the first threads of despair. "There's nothing here that seems remotely problematic. No financial irregularities, no legal exposures...nothing that should have caused this kind of crisis."

Laurent watched her carefully, seeing the telltale signs of her formidable control beginning to fray at the edges. Slowly, he rose from behind Wendell's desk and circled around to where she sat, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"Perhaps we're simply looking in the wrong places," he said gently. "Or maybe...maybe there's nothing to find here at all, related to your father's condition."

Rose looked up at him sharply, her eyes bright with unshed tears of frustration. "But that doesn't make any sense! You agreed that I could be right. You also thought this had to be connected to the company somehow."

Squeezing her shoulder in a reassuring gesture, Laurent shook his head. "I know, and I could be wrong, or not. As you know, if it was a secret, we won't really find it lying out here, you know? The important thing right now is not running yourself into the ground searching for answers that may not exist." He paused, keeping his tone measured and sincere. "Why don't you call it a night, Rose? Get some rest, and we can revisit this in the morning with fresh eyes."

She opened her mouth to protest, but Laurent gently cut her off. "You're exhausted, and you need to take care of yourself right now. Your father needs you to be strong."

For a long moment, Rose simply stared at him, an array of conflicting emotions playing across her features. Finally, she seemed to deflate with a weary sigh. "You're right...you're right, I can't keep going like this. Not when he needs me."

Offering her a warm smile, Laurent helped Rose to her feet. "That's my girl. Now, let me drive you home and -"

"No," she interrupted firmly, some of her characteristic determination reasserting itself. "I'm not going home, not yet. I need to get back to the hospital, to be with my father." Her gaze softened as she met his eyes. "But thank you, Laurent. For being here with me through all of this. I don't know what I'd do without your support right now."

He hugged her back. "No problem at all, Rose, no problem. But you need to promise me that you'll get some rest, Okay?"

She nodded against his back, and he released her and looked at her. "This is just a clog in the wheel, my dear. I hope you know that. In the next few weeks, you'll be back to forgetting that any of this ever happened"

She sniffled and smiled at him through teary eyes, "Thank you. I believe that"

He nodded back. "Alright, then, let's go. I'll drive you back to the hospital"

"I can take a cab. I've bothered you enough already"

"Nonsense" he waved, motioning her to the door. "When will you learn that it's not a bother? If it was any other situation right now, I'd still want to be around you"

She bit her lips. "Are you saying that…?"

Shit. He hurried to do damage control. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. This is an horrendous time. Look at me, piling my emotions on you at this moment"

"But?"

"Later, Okay, babe. Let's talk about it later"

She eventually nodded again, but throughout the walk back to the car, she kept turning back to gaze at him. It took effort not to cringe, but to meet her eyes with a small smile, but he did it. They were both quiet as he drove her back to the hospital, but before she got down from the car at the hospital, she placed a soft hand on his thigh and pecked him on the cheek.

"Thank you, Laurent"

He caught her hand. "Rest, Okay? I'll come pick you up tomorrow morning." She nodded again, and finally left him alone in the car.

As soon as she'd entered the double door, he put his head in his hand. God, this was a mess. Yes, he wanted her to adore him, but telling a lady you had feelings for her, in his meager experience, was telling her that she could count on him for everything. Which wasn't really a bad thing, but a small part of him wanted a fight. If he was going to ruin her life, he wanted her to feel like she'd at least made him work for it. Oh well, he'd figure it out some other time. He still had a task to finish that night.

He turned the ignition on again, and drove back in the direction of the office. When Rose hadn't been looking, he'd been able to palm a bunch of keys he'd found in the drawers. He'd bet at least one of them could open the door.

The building was eerily quiet as Laurent made his way up to the executive suites, footsteps echoing in the vacant corridors. He gripped the keys tightly in his hand as he approached the heavy oak door of Wendell Blackwell's private office. His heart pounded with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation as he began methodically testing each key in the lock. With each unsuccessful attempt, a growing sense of unease crept up his spine. What if the right key wasn't here? What if he was risking everything for nothing? He gritted his teeth, refusing to be deterred.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the last key slid into the lock with a soft click. Laurent paused for a moment, steeling his nerves, before turning the handle and slipping quietly inside. For some reason, without Rose with him, he felt really uncomfortable.

The office was cloaked in shadows, the only illumination seeping in from the dim hallway beyond. Laurent's gaze swept the room, cataloging every detail as his senses remained on high alert. He couldn't afford to be caught - not when he was so close.

Slowly, he looked around the office. Something had to be in this office, he was sure of it. He and Rose had focused on the drawers and places that had a key lock. He needed to take a different approach now. If he had something incriminating in his life, he wouldn't put it on paper, and even if he had to, he'd try to leave it in an open place to be ironic.

He eyed a shelf of what looked like old documents. Dust was gathered on the shelf, but a careful look revealed what looked like faded fingerprints. Jackpot. At random, he selected folder after folder.

For the next few hours, Laurent pored over every file, spreadsheet and communication log, his sharp eyes scanning for any irregularities. The company's financial statements were a maze of holding companies and offshore accounts, likely to minimize taxes, but nothing that seemed overtly problematic on the surface.

It wasn't until he accessed Wendell's encrypted personal terminal on the system with a string of numbers written on a squeezed sheet of paper that Laurent's efforts finally paid off. Buried deep in the activity logs was a series of communications from an anonymous source, along with file transfers of sensitive data and personal information on Wendell himself.

Laurent's pulse quickened as he studied the coded messages. It seemed someone had been threatening to leak damaging information about Wendell's past - information potent enough to potentially trigger government investigations and sanctions that could cripple Blackwell Industries.

A satisfied smile tugged at Laurent's lips as he copied the files onto an encrypted drive. So this was the source of Wendell's stress...some long-buried secret threatening to undermine his carefully cultivated empire. How deliciously ironic.

As he slipped the drive back into his pocket, a faint sound from the hallway outside made Laurent freeze, his muscles tensing. Had someone heard him? Was someone else in the company? Quickly, he ducked back behind the desk, his heart pounding in his ears as he strained to listen for any sign of approaching footsteps.

The seconds ticked by in agonizing silence, and finally, Laurent allowed himself to exhale. He had to be more careful - one slip-up could cost him everything. Casting one last lingering look at the damning evidence in his possession, he steeled his nerves and slipped out of the office, melting back into the shadows. The endgame was in sight, and he couldn't afford any mistakes now.