Accident Prone - 419 The Anderson siblings

‘How brazen of Kylie to come here and accuse me of something she is doing to me’, Sabrina thought.

Sabrina is aware that Max is protective of her and she suspected that Max saw one too many lies that Kylie came up with against the FD Studio, and Max decided to act on his own. Knowing her brother, that is a possibility.

Sabrina’s thoughts were interrupted when the first interview candidate arrived. He was two minutes late and he apologized.

They took turns talking to the candidates. Sabrina would be the first one to explain the type of work and what they expect from the employee who fills that position. Nicole and Madison were next to assess him as a coworker and if they could get along (because he would work with them), and Delphine spoke to them about the administrative process and benefits of joining the FD Studios. During this time, Charlie stepped up to handle clients who entered the store and Angela helped Charlie while observing the hiring process with awe. It’s not that she didn’t see interviewing before, but she admired how Sabrina, Madison, Nicole, Charlie, and Delphine collaborated like a well-oiled machine.

When the last candidate left, the team of the FD Studio gathered to exchange feedback and narrow down choices.

Delphine was left with the last step, to contact selected candidates and do the paperwork.

Sabrina checked the time and saw that it’s almost noon. She decided to go to the Alpha group HQ and tell Max that Kylie stopped by and also to clarify a few things because she had a strong feeling that Max did something to trigger Kylie.

It’s not that Sabrina cared about what Max did to upset Kylie, but she was curious to find out what that something was.

…

~ Seattle, the Alpha group HQ ~

Sabrina found Max in his office with Liz and Hunter and she noticed that their expressions are not good.

“Is this a bad time?”, Sabrina asked.

Max shook his head, indicating that it’s not. He gestured toward the table that was filled with food. “Care to join us for lunch?”

Sabrina accepted the offer, seeing that there is plenty of food. Hunter and Mia are gluttons and when one of them is present for a meal, there are always extras, and Sabrina is not shy to decline.

“Why the long faces?”, Sabrina asked when she started munching on the food.

Sabrina understood their dilemma. “If you confront an innocent person, at best you will hurt their feelings, and at worst, they will leave the company and maybe spread what they know on purpose.”

Max confirmed. “All our employees signed non-disclosure agreements, so whoever is doing this is violating the contract and can be fired. But at the same time, we can’t go and accuse people randomly. We need to be smart about this, but most of them are working closely with each other in one aspect or another and it’s impossible to give information about a deal to only one without sounding suspicious.”

Sabrina nodded in understanding and then she got an idea. “Don’t give them information about the deal but give them a hint that you are onto them.”

“Explain, please…”, Max demanded.

“If I am the mole and I suspect you are onto me, I would go into a panic and either try to cover up my tracks or leave while I can. But you can’t be open about this, so get a chance to talk to each of your suspects individually and drop a hint that they did something, and you want to see them one-on-one later to discuss this serious topic. It’s not much, but the ones with guilty consciousness will overthink it and give in to their anxiousness. Watch their behavior and you will find your mole.”

“Do you have an idea how to drop the hints?”, Hunter asked.

Sabrina’s eyes flashed with mischief and she started laying down various options while Hunter and Max asked for clarifications.

Liz munched her food and observed silently the Anderson siblings while thinking how amazing they are. She always admired them. Sabrina, Max, and Hunter have their strengths and are impressive on their own, but this was the first time for Liz to see them work together and support each other.

Liz concluded that Hunter is the simple one, who likes to tackle challenges cleanly (mostly with his fists). Max uses his mind, and he is good at manipulating people while staying within the borders he defined himself. Sabrina is the one who thinks outside the box, the creative one. And when the three Anderson siblings work together, they seem to be invincible.

They spoke through lunch and Liz didn’t think that it was boring.

In the end, Max and Hunter showed Sabrina the employee files of the main suspects. Irene’s was among them. They asked Sabrina to help them decide which strategy will work best, considering who their victims (aka suspects) are.

Sabrina waved her hand, indicating that she does not want to do that.

“Don’t drop the bomb at all of them, because if some are collaborating, they might tip off one another and find strength in numbers. Go at it one by one, and I am sure that you have your ideas on who might be behind this. Start with that person. Remember that the goal is to make them feel isolated. So, after you drop the hint that something is off, have a meeting with others, while excluding that one. That will help fire up their paranoia, and from that point on, you should watch their behavior closely.”

“Can you pick one?”, Max asked while gesturing at the files spread on his desk.

Sabrina shook her head. “What is the point of me picking one blindly? Get Liz to pick. She knows about this issue more than I do.”

Liz was happy that she gets to contribute. Of course, she went for Irene’s file first. Not because she thinks that Irene is a mole, but because she dislikes the woman. Or maybe it was the woman’s intuition.

Max didn’t want to pick Irene because he avoided Irene like plague (even if it’s just a file), and Hunter didn’t want to pick Irene out of fear that it might bring suspicion that there is something between Max and Irene. The last time there was such suspicion, Max and Liz nearly broke up and Max ended up in a car crash. But now that Liz picked Irene, it was a fair game.

They agreed that Foxy will be in charge of dropping ‘hints’ to Irene, and she will notify Irene that Max wants a meeting to discuss something important in private. Hunter’s part will be to ensure that Irene hears there is an important meeting she is not invited to. Max said that he will get Ian to track Irene electronically, and he will get a few of his people to follow Irene around the building, and once she leaves the company. With that, they came up with a plan.

Max was happy with this. “We will start tomorrow.” Hunter agreed and went to talk to Foxy so that she also knows about the plan.

Max turned to Sabrina. “Did you come here only for lunch and to discuss the mole in the Alpha group, or was there another reason?”

This reminded Sabrina about the incident at the FD Studio from that morning. With food and chat about catching traitors, Sabrina forgot about Kylie.

“I had an unexpected visitor…”, Sabrina told Max and Liz about Kylie’s visit and ended with a question directed at Max: “Do you know what Kylie was talking about?”

Max didn’t hide what he did. “I asked Q for a favor. Nothing big, only to emphasize discretely a few things about Kylie and her work. It seems that it caught on.”

Sabrina was glad that Max helped her. “Did he do it out of the goodness of his heart, or did you pay him?”

“We exchanged favors.”, Max responded. “Don’t worry about it. As long as Kylie is off your back, Q did his part well.”

“She won’t recuperate from this.”, Sabrina said.

Max smiled. “Of course, she won’t. When negative rumors hit your business, the only way to bounce back is to prove them wrong, and we all know that she built her business on your back. Now that you are gone, she has no way out. If you ask me, we should have done this ages ago. Do you feel sorry for her?”

“I don’t have feelings to spare for her.”, Sabrina admitted. “Thanks for helping out, Max.”

Max waved his hand, indicating that it’s not important. “That is what brothers are for.”

Sabrina’s chin trembled and she hugged Max. After a few sniffles, Sabrina spoke: “I hate these pregnancy hormones, they are making me emotional.”

Max patted Sabrina’s back gently. “It’s OK. Brothers are available for emotional releases also.”

Max glanced at Liz who returned his gaze with a smile, and he wondered if she will be emotional when she carries his child. Probably. And he will give her all the hugs she needs to make it better.

—

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