by Elle Casey
I’m rinsing the coffee mugs in the sink when May stands.
“Are you leaving?” I ask.
“Yes. Ozzie has something he needs me to do right away.”
How convenient. “Are you going to finish telling me about Toni before you go?”
“Maybe another time.” She throws her purse strap over her shoulder and shoves her phone inside the bag. “You’re going to be at the warehouse today at eleven-thirty, right?”
“Yes. I’m going to finish typing up a report about what I found this morning, get dressed, and drive over.”
May gives me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Great. I’ll see you then. Thanks for the muffins.” She grabs another one off the plate on the counter and heads down the hallway toward the front door. “I’m going to give one to Ozzie. Don’t be surprised if he asks you for the recipe!”
I shake my head as I walk over to the hallway and watch my sister go out the front door. I can almost imagine myself doing something as inane as exchanging a recipe with that giant hulk of a man—the man she fell in love with after meeting him one time. Our lives are totally crazy right now, but for the first time ever I’m starting to like crazy.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
I should probably be more responsible and finish typing up my report for the team first, but I’m anxious. All this talk about Dev and a potential relationship with him has made me realize how badly I need to get out into the world and stop pretending like I’m eighty-five years old and done with dating. I’m only thirty-two. I still have a lot of life to live. I still have a lot of sex to have. And if it’s not going to be with Dev, it needs to be with someone else. I can’t count on the fact that my sister’s vibes about him and me are right.
After I’m sure my sister has gone, I go into my home office and start up my computer. I’m still in my sweatsuit, sporting a pretty righteous case of bedhead, but it doesn’t matter. My future date will never see me looking like this. If the stories that I’ve read online are true, I’ll probably pick the worst guy in the whole town to go out on a first date with, and I’ll have a really funny story to tell my friends later.
I go to the dating website and stare at the home screen. I’m still logged on from when Dev and I were on there together. What should I do now? Should I start a new search, or should I use the one I already conducted when I was looking for Dev?
Since I can’t decide, I decide to fill in my own profile. That takes me all of ten minutes, and then I’m stuck back at the beginning again. How do I find a date?
My search results to find Dev are still there: a list of almost thirty names with one-liners from their ads. I try to imagine what my potential date might look like, and what he’d like to do in his free time, but the only thing that comes to mind is a man who looks like Dev and enjoys his hobbies too. I should just go ahead and admit I’m more than a little infatuated with him.
I click on the search results to refresh them. There are twenty-nine names now. “Oh, what the hell. Might as well start with these guys and see where it gets me.”
I scan through the offerings and find myself narrowing them down to the same three that I had chosen before. I know the one that says he’s still looking for his favorite person is Dev, so obviously I avoid that one. How desperate would that be, to purposely pick him and then pretend like I forgot? Ugh, how embarrassing.
Instead, I click on the one that says Take my hand and we’ll wander off together somewhere. When I click the Read More link and absorb his more detailed profile, I am struck once again by how much he reminds me of Dev. New Orleans is a pretty big place, though, so I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that there’s more than one guy who meets my criteria and seems similar to another. Rather than second-guess what I’m doing, I go ahead and click the Send Message button and type out a quick note.
Saw your message on the site here. Would you like to meet for a drink? The message is automatically signed with my username: nola4evr.
I pause only a few moments before clicking the Send button. I have nothing to lose, right? Maybe just a little bit of my pride, but I don’t have a whole hell of a lot of that left over. Apparently I don’t need much of it to survive.
I sit there for a little while wondering what I should do next, and then catch a whiff of my stink-breath. “Whoa.” My next step becomes very clear. Time to get ready for work. A little thrill runs through me as I realize that I actually have a job to go to. Not bad for a girl who was laid off on Monday.
Just as I’m about to log off the website, I hear a beep, and a little window pops up. Inside the little window is a heart that looks like it’s beating. My pulse jumps when I realize that someone has responded to my message. I read the response as my anxiety builds.
Sounds great! Where?
I respond without thinking.
Not sure exactly where you live, but how about Harry’s Harborside Tavern?
I’m not sure what to do next. What is the protocol for a first date generated on a website? Do I thank him? Do I ask him what he’s going to wear? I feel like a complete dweeb.
Saturday? 7 PM? he asks.
That’s fine, I say back, assuming my sister will babysit for me when she hears I have a real, live date.
Perfect. See you then. I’ll be the guy in the blue shirt.
Should I say something about what I’ll be wearing? I have no idea what that’ll be yet. Will that make me seem flaky? Oh well. I might as well stick with honesty as my best policy at this point. In the event I do hit the lottery and pick a great guy right off the bat, I don’t want him to fall for somebody I’m not. I’m not one of those cool girls who always knows what to say at exactly the right time. I’m better off keeping it short and sweet.
Ok. See you then.
Satisfied that I have now fulfilled the terms of my deal with Dev, I head upstairs to my bathroom to undo the mess that last night’s attempted sleeping had on my hair and face. With enough makeup, I might be able to hide the ravages suffered by this worried mom.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
I shouldn’t be nervous. I know these people I’m about to have a meeting with, at least a little bit. I worked overnight with Lucky. Hell, I’m going out to dinner with Dev tonight after cruising a dating site with him. But I’m sitting here in the parking lot, palms sweating, with my cute little briefcase next to me and my laptop all packed up and ready to go.
What if my report is too amateurish? What if I haven’t given them enough detail? What if I’ve given them too much detail? There’s no way for me to know if I’ve put this thing together correctly, because I’ve never done anything like it in my entire life. Sure, I’ve attended plenty of meetings with some pretty high-ranking executives present, but I was always having conversations with people who speak the same language as I do.
I worry about being too technical with these non-geek coworkers, but also about not being technical enough. I don’t want them to think I’ve oversimplified my report just so they can understand it. My goal is to strike the right balance between completely geeking out and dumbing it down.
A vehicle pulls up next to me and the main door to the warehouse begins to open, telling me whoever is in the car has a remote. The driver’s-side window of the dark SUV opens and Toni is there. She nods at me first and then at the door. I’m not sure what she means, though. Is this a cool-girl greeting? Does she want me to get out of my car? Is she daring me to drive in first? I don’t want to look completely stupid and guess the wrong thing.
She rolls her eyes at my lack of action and gestures for me to roll down my window.
Once my window is down, her words come in loud and clear. “You should follow me in. Park inside.”
“How come?” Being in there behind a locked door I don’t know the combination to will make it much harder for me to leave when I’m ready. They’re probably going to want to discuss my report after I’ve gone, and it will be a hassle for someone to come and enter the code to let me out.
“Because,�
�� she says, annoyed, “we like to stay incognito here. Parking outside tells people who’s here.”
“Oh. Okay.” I have nothing left to say to her about that, but the specter of that risk has risen again, niggling at my conscience. Am I doing the right thing by being here? By thinking about working with them on a more permanent basis?
I don’t have time to figure it out right now. Toni has pulled in and is expecting me to follow her. As I drive forward and find myself drawn into the darkness of the warehouse, I realize that we’re not the first ones here; there are several cars parked inside, including May’s and Dev’s. As I park and shut off my engine, I hear barking. Sahara and Felix are bounding down the stairs to greet us.
I don’t know what it is about that silly little canine couple, but they instantly calm me down. I don’t need to worry about where I’m parking or what that means right now. I can get my puppy cuddles on, give the team my report, and then go to the mall. That’s my kind of Friday. No need to freak out.
May comes down the stairs after the dogs at a more sedate pace, meaning she doesn’t fall into a pile of legs and fur at the bottom of the staircase, unlike the pups. Felix goes ballistic, trying to untangle himself from his girlfriend. Sahara stands there looking dazed as he bounces around her ankles, barking like he’s being shocked by a Taser or something.
“You made it!” my sister exclaims.
“Is he okay?” I ask, gesturing at Felix.
“Oh, he’s fine. He hates it when Sahara bowls him over. He’s scolding her right now.”
Hilarious. Is that what I look like when I yell at the kids? I shut my car door and walk around to the passenger side so I can grab my things. “I made it on time. It’s a miracle.”
She looks inside the car. “Is Sammy okay?”
“Yes, for now. I still have to find him a permanent spot somewhere, but he’s fine for today.” I make a mental note to place a few phone calls after I leave here.
“Hey, Toni,” May says to her coworker.
“Hello. Everything good?”
“Yep, couldn’t be better. Excited to hear what Jenny has to say about what she and Lucky found.”
Toni apparently has nothing to say to that. She climbs the stairs in front of us, not looking back.
She’s a tough nut to crack, but if my sister is to be believed, worrying about whether she likes me is a wasted effort. The only thing I can hope for, probably, is mutual respect. Hopefully after she sees my report, we’ll be halfway there.
May lowers her voice to keep our conversation private as we look up the stairs. “Are you nervous?”
“Do bears poop in the woods?”
“Yes. Because bears are busy being farmers—haven’t you heard?”
“What?”
May is grinning up at me as I ascend the stairs sideways. “You know, how they plant acorns and seed stuff with their butts?”
I roll my eyes. “Oh, ha, ha.” I lean down and whisper at her with as much threat in my voice as possible. “Don’t you dare tell anybody about my Animal Planet obsession.”
“I can be bribed.”
“Want to come to the mall with me? I have a gift certificate to spend.” I wiggle my eyebrows at her.
“Animal Planet? Who watches that dumb show? Not my sister.” She grins. “I’m there. Lunch hour?”
I nod. We’re at the top of the stairs now, and Toni is pressing in the code that will give us entry to the sword room. She pushes the door in hard enough to let it swing open for all of us, but she doesn’t bother holding it.
In any other circumstance I might consider this person rude, but being forewarned by May makes me a more charitable person today. Plus, I can’t afford to make any of these people into bad guys in my mind. What if they offer me a job? What will I say? Will I chicken out because I’m worried there’s a mean girl in our midst? I hope I’m not that person, so easily frightened away.
The dogs run past me, almost knocking me over in their enthusiasm to get back into the meeting area. “Damn,” I shout, trying to catch myself before I fall, grabbing the door handle for all I’m worth. My briefcase swings around and whacks me in the stomach. “Holy hell, someone’s in a hurry.” I stand there in a hunched-over position catching my breath, praying no one saw me. When I look up, I notice Toni looking at me strangely. Great.
“Somebody needs to train those dogs,” May says grumpily.
I bug my eyes out at her. “Yeah, somebody needs to.”
“Oh look! Swords!” May says. Clearly this is a distraction designed to keep me off the dog-training subject, but I go ahead and look at the swords anyway. They are impressive, even though I’ve already seen them a couple times. And Dev owns them. What I wouldn’t give to watch him swinging one of those around . . .
Voices from the other room stop me from commenting or going any further on that train of thought. May’s silliness had helped me to relax a little, but now that I hear the men, I’m back to being nervous again. Will I ever feel comfortable here?
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
May gives me a gentle shove on the back. “Hurry up. I don’t want to be late.”
I walk in and nod at Lucky from across the room. He gestures at the empty seat next to him. There’s also an extra seat next to Dev, whose back is to us, but I’m not brave enough to take that one. I head over to the other side of the table to sit next to my partner in crime, fellow computer-cloner Lucky. As I take my seat, Dev looks up at me and smiles, his warm gaze soothing my nerves in an instant.
Ozzie speaks and all the voices quiet down to listen. “Looks like everybody’s here now, so we can get started.”
I surreptitiously check my watch, making sure I’m not late. I’m relieved to see that it’s exactly eleven-thirty.
“I’d like to begin with Blue Marine.” Ozzie looks at Lucky and me.
Thankfully, Lucky takes the lead. “As you all know, Jenny and I headed over to Blue Marine Wednesday night and cloned all their computers and got access to their server. I’ve analyzed some of the data that we found, but I’m pretty sure Jenny has more detail for you.” He swivels his chair to face mine.
I try to sound normal when I respond, but I have to clear my throat twice to get my voice to work properly, my first two attempts at speaking sounding more frog than human.
“Yes, so, as Lucky said, we did some work on Wednesday night. We had a schematic of the office and the various computer systems that were in place, and cloned everything. I spent quite a bit of time on the cloned systems to see what I could find, and there was one station in particular that caught my attention.”
I reach into my file folder and pull out the report that I typed up, embarrassed that I only have three copies. I hand one to Lucky and the other to Ozzie, using the third one as a reference for myself. “I’m sorry I didn’t make copies for everyone.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Thibault says. “Just give us the highlights. We can look over a more detailed report later if we need to.”
Thank God for Thibault. He has a special knack for making me feel more relaxed. I can’t even look at Dev right now, though; I’ll probably forget how to speak English if I see that dimple.
“Okay. So, like I said, there was one station that caught my attention. I detailed it in the first paragraph there.” I glance at Ozzie and Lucky, verifying that they’re looking very intently at what I wrote for them in the report. So far I don’t see any funny expressions, so I think I’m good with the first paragraph. Yay for me.
“The employee who works at this spot is named Anita.”
Lucky looks up at that moment with a sharp hiss of breath.
Thibault is shaking his head. “Tsk tsk,” he says, leading me to believe this is a very bad sign. Did I do something wrong?
Ozzie ends the mystery for me. “Anita? Isn’t that the wife of one of the owners?”
Thibault answers. “Yes. I believe she is. Right, Lucky?”
Lucky is nodding. “That’s my understanding.” He looks at m
e. “Keep going.”
I nod before picking up again. “Okay . . . where was I . . . ?” I use my finger to find my place and then flip to the back of the report to remind myself what’s there. I take a couple of moments to decide how technical I want to be with them. I don’t want to shortchange my work, like May said, but I also don’t want to act like I’m showing off. It’s easy for me to geek out and for people to get the wrong impression.
I stare at the paper as I continue. “Right. Okay. So, you can take a look at the more detailed screenshots that I provided at the end, and the more technical details, but in essence she had hidden some files using special software with a pretty heavy-duty encryption tool on her local drive, and in these files and via some other sources online, I found documentation that seems to suggest that she has created several entities, which I verified through the Department of State do exist. Each of them shows her as the sole owner. I cross-referenced this with the payments that Lucky tagged in the system as suspicious, and they’re all linked. Every one. She’s been paying herself for services that appear as if they were rendered but were more than likely not rendered at all or were rendered for significantly less money than she paid herself.”
I pause, giving them a few seconds to absorb the information, before continuing. “She did try to hide her identity, and she might have gotten away with it, but . . . she didn’t.”
“I don’t get it,” says Toni. “What do you mean by that?”
“What I mean is, she probably had help. Either she or someone she knows is a pretty sophisticated computer user, and there was some degree of legal work done too to hide the various entities and the ownership of them. The info I needed to find was not available as a matter of public record. But I found it. She just got unlucky, I guess. Most people would have missed it or wouldn’t have been able to access it.” Yes, I am a computer badass, and I’m not afraid to admit it. Frank should have never let me go.
“Did you hack into someone’s computer?” Toni asks, as if she doesn’t believe it.