Ashley arrived holding her Starbucks carrier full of coffee, iPad, and purse, and Kate pulled her aside, knowing she had to speak quickly. “Tristan likes visiting microbreweries and watching horror films. He likes dogs more than cats, and loyalty is very important to him, especially when it comes to women.”
Ashley looked confused and more than a little wary. “How can you possibly know that? Oh my God, did you cyberstalk him?”
Kate felt a momentary twinge of guilt for her actions, but her heart was in the right place and she told herself it was for the greater good. “No, nothing like that. It’s all, you know, public knowledge if you’re good at reading between the lines. So here’s what we’re going to do. After Tristan swipes his badge and follows us in, I’m going to ask you if you’ve decided whether to go on the brewery tour of DC this weekend. You’re going to say you’d love to, but you don’t know anything about microbrews.”
“And then what?”
“Then we cross our fingers that Tristan takes the bait.”
They didn’t have to wait long.
“Here he comes,” Kate said. Watching from the corner of her eye as Tristan walked across the parking lot, Kate pretended to be engrossed in conversation with Ashley. Unlike Ian, she still had her box. Tristan eyed them, and Kate stifled a smile because she could tell by his expression that he was absolutely a willing and eager participant in this daily dance. He swiped his badge and held the door, and after they thanked him, he followed them inside. Kate deliberately slowed their pace.
“So are you going?” she asked in a slightly louder than normal voice.
“I don’t know anything about beer, especially microbrews.”
“That’s the point. The tour is supposed to be very informative.”
“I don’t mean to eavesdrop, but are you by chance talking about the DC Brew Tour?” Tristan asked.
Well done, Tristan.
“Oh,” Ashley said, looking over her shoulder as if she had no idea Tristan was there. “Yes. Are you familiar with it?”
“I’ve been on it three times. It’s awesome. You should totally go.”
“Really? How does it work?”
Kate very subtly nudged them out of the stream of traffic entering the building, looked at her watch, and tossed a breezy, “See you later” over her shoulder as she left Ashley and Tristan to their conversation and headed toward the elevator. My work here is done.
Ian was waiting in the conference room. “How did things go?”
“I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging, but I’m pretty good at this matchmaker stuff.”
“Just one of your many talents, sweetness.” He sighed. “We should have stopped for donuts. Okay, today is phase three, which means we’re going to be the opposite of running silent. We’re everywhere.”
“Are we trying to get caught?”
“Not exactly, because I still have to break into the server room at the end of the day. And if I’m unsuccessful, we’ll have to come back tomorrow so I can try again. But we’re going to push the envelope as far as we can. Common sense dictates that our behavior should spark suspicion among the employees of this company. Let’s see how much they’re paying attention.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“See if you can obtain the log-in credentials of five to ten employees on each floor. If they’re away from their desks, sit down at their computer and try to log in. If they’re at their desks, ask them for their user name and password. Keep track of how many people refuse or ask you why you want to know.”
“What will you be doing?”
“I’m going to start by crashing the IT department’s weekly meeting.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope. Just think how the CIO will feel when he hears about it. After that, I’m going to do the same thing you’re doing, although I’ll probably be a bit less subtle about it.”
“Nooooooooo,” she deadpanned.
“Hard to believe, huh?”
She grinned. “Not at all.”
He pulled out the neckline of her shirt, looked down it, and let out a low wolf whistle. “That should hold me for a while.”
“Plenty more where that came from later,” she said as he laughed and headed for the door.
Ian entered the conference room for the IT meeting and took a seat near the back. A few members of the department shot him curious looks; he met them with a cheery smile.
A man dressed in an identical uniform of polo shirt and khakis sat down next to him. “Hey.”
“How’s it going?” Ian said.
“Not bad. Do you know what we’re discussing today? I forgot my agenda.”
“I literally do not have a clue.” He could have found out if he’d wanted, but that seemed like unnecessary work, especially since he didn’t really care.
The IT manager, a man Ian recognized from the picture he’d downloaded from the Internet, hurried into the room. He scanned the attendees as if checking to see if everyone was there and hesitated for a moment when he spotted Ian. He should have asked what someone he didn’t recognize was doing there, but Ian had found that most people didn’t like asking questions in front of others for fear of looking like they didn’t know what was going on. The IT manager was no different, and he moved on and got started with the meeting.
Kate was sitting at an unattended cubicle playing online solitaire when she received a text from her brother. She’d cracked the employee’s computer password on her third attempt by using his last name—clearly visible on the nameplate—followed by his first name and the number 1. When would people learn?
Chad: I want to buy Kristin something really special for Christmas. Can you do some nosing around and get back to me?
Kate: I’m on it.
She placed her queen and sent a message to Kristin.
Kate: What gift item do you wish you had right now?
Kristin: Did Chad ask you for ideas?
Kate: You know how shopping paralyzes him. Tell me what you want and I’ll make sure you get it.
Kristin: Let me think about it and get back to you.
Kate became engrossed in her game and wondered how far she could get before the employee returned.
Ian: This meeting is incredibly boring. Sext me.
Kate: Remember when you walked in on me in the bathtub at my apartment in Minneapolis?
Ian: How could I forget? The image of your left nipple was burned into my brain that day. I’m picturing it right now.
Kate: I was absolutely about to touch my breasts.
Ian: I knew it! Tell me how it was going to go down.
Kate: I was going to pretend my hands were your hands. Then I was going to touch myself the way I imagined you would touch me.
Ian: Keep going. DO NOT STOP.
Kate: That’s as far as I got because then you walked in on me FOR REAL.
Ian: How very PG-13. I KNOW YOU CAN DO BETTER.
Kate: We’re in the conference room. It’s dark and empty and I’m stroking you through your khakis.
Ian: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Kate: We’re in the conference room, and I’ve been such a bad girl. You’re going to teach me a lesson.
Ian: I’m awake now.
Kate: We’re in the conference room, and you take off all my clothes and lay me down on the table. As you stroke me, you tell me I have to keep quiet or you’ll stop. I can’t stop making those little noises you like because it feels incredible, so you have to cover my mouth with your hand, which turns me on like you wouldn’t believe.
Kate felt warm and fidgeted in her chair as she hit Send. Two minutes later, her phone buzzed.
Ian: I’m waiting.
That was strange. He should have received it by now. She scanned her text log. Why was Chad’s name showing up? Her heart began to pound as she checked her last message and saw Chad’s name.
Kate: OMG!!! I accidentally sent that last text to my brother.
Ian: What did it say?
Kate: I’ll resend it. Hopefully to you and not any other member of my family this time.
Ian: Like Steve, your astronaut boyfriend/dad?
Kate: SHUT UP I WOULD DIE. And I’m trying to erase the dad/boyfriend thing from my memory, so please don’t mention it ever again.
She resent the text and he responded ten seconds later.
Ian: I predict it’s going to be very difficult for Chad to accept that his little sister has a freaky side. And it’s all I can do to keep myself from marching you right into that conference room and making this a reality. But I’m a professional who rarely mixes business with pleasure, so I will restrain myself.
Kate: That’s a first.
Ian: I know. It’s killing me.
Chad: Jesus! Pretty sure that wasn’t for me. Really wish I could unsee it.
Kristin: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Chad just forwarded the best text message EVER. *dying*
“Uh, this is my desk.” The employee sounded utterly dumbfounded to find Kate sitting in his chair.
Kate looked up from her phone. “Oh, hey. Sorry. I felt like playing solitaire and my desk is, you know, clear on another floor. You need to change your password because it only took me three tries to figure it out. Feel free to finish my game.”
She dashed off before he could ask any questions and took the stairs to the fourth floor. She’d brought a small notebook with her, and she made her way up and down the rows asking employees for their passwords. Each time, she gave them the same spiel: I’m working on a project with Legal. I need your user name and password. Most of them gave it to her without a single protest, but a few of them refused.
“Excellent,” she told them. “You shouldn’t give that information to anyone.”
She received another text from Ian.
Ian: The IT department is having something called food day tomorrow. They passed around a sign-up sheet. I said I’d bring cheese dip.
Kate: Of course you did.
Ian: If we have to come back tomorrow for another crack at the server room, can you please make some? I told everyone I was world famous for it. I can’t believe how excited they got.
Kate: You’re killing me.
Ian: Does that mean yes?
Kate: Yes, I will make you some cheese dip.
Ian: Best wife ever.
After the meeting, as his employees filed out the door, the IT manager walked up to Ian and said, “Excuse me. Who are you?”
Ian stuck out his hand and they shook. “Todd Smith. Help desk administrator.”
“Who hired you?”
“I had a phone interview and then HR asked me to come in for a face-to-face with one of the supervisors. I forget his name, but he was just in this meeting. I got the job offer two days later.” Watching the manager rack his brain as he tried to recollect any of this amused Ian immensely.
“Yeah, okay. Sorry. Didn’t know they’d already set a start date for you. Welcome aboard.”
“No problem. It’s great to be here. I can’t believe how much I’ve already learned.”
Kate and Ian ate lunch together in the cafeteria, and she smiled when she noticed Ashley and Tristan talking animatedly at a table for two.
Ian unwrapped his sandwich. “This afternoon we’ll be collecting more user names and passwords. I’d like to take a look at the copy rooms on each floor. The recycling and shredding bins should be located there and clearly marked, and I want to see if the employees are disposing of documents the way they should.”
“What if someone suspects what we’re doing?”
“If it looks like one of us has gotten cornered by someone who’s figured out what we’re really up to, the other can confirm it by casually asking, ‘How’s it going?’ If the answer is ‘Great,’ then there’s nothing to worry about. If the answer is, ‘Couldn’t be better,’ shit’s about to hit the fan and you should calmly—but very quickly—head for the door.”
“I can’t just leave you behind.”
“I’m not exactly bleeding out on a battlefield. Besides,” he said, taking a drink of his Coke, “I’m not going to get caught.”
“Neither am I,” she said, bouncing her leg as the adrenaline began to flow. She felt like a sprinter poised in the starting blocks, waiting for the gun to go off.
He laid his hand on her leg for just a moment. “Easy there, grasshopper.”
“I can’t. I feel like Spy Girl. Tell me again why you don’t like doing this?”
“Because it’s not remotely as fun when your wife’s not with you.”
In the first-floor copy room, Kate snapped several pictures of the sensitive documents an employee tossed into the trash instead of the shredder.
Ian sent an employee into a full-blown panic attack after sitting down at a computer, cracking the password on the first try, and, upon the young man’s sudden return, saying to him, “I’m not going to find any porn on this, am I?”
Between them, they collected the badges of seven employees who’d left them on their desks where anyone could swipe them, and Kate took photos of the proprietary information people left in full view on their monitors after they walked away without locking down their computers.
They were walking down the aisle of a long row of cubicles when Ian stopped at the desk of a female sales manager and sat down on the edge of it. “I’m Todd Smith from the help desk. Can I borrow your computer?”
She looked him up and down. “Sure,” she said, getting up with no questions asked.
“You should really say no,” Kate said, leaning against the wall of the manager’s cubicle.
“He’s from the help desk,” she said, barely glancing at Kate and acting as if her concern was totally unnecessary.
Ian sat down in her chair, held her gaze for a slightly inappropriate amount of time, and asked for her user name and password.
“Don’t give it to him,” Kate said.
“Who are you?” the manager asked in a completely different tone, one that definitely wasn’t as nice.
“Jeannine. From Legal. Urging you to use caution.”
“It’s okay,” Ian purred. “I’m not going to steal all your secrets.”
The manager giggled. “Of course not.” She gave him the information and settled on the edge of the desk, running her fingers through her hair and smiling as Ian typed in the commands to access her confidential files and send them to his laptop in the conference room. When he’d taken everything he wanted, he stood and pulled the chair out for her.
She appeared to be in some kind of trance when she sat down, and he pushed her chair back in as if they were in a restaurant getting ready to have dinner together. “Come back if you need anything else. I’ll be here until six.”
“Thanks. I might do that.”
Kate pulled him into an empty hallway near the break room. “Wait a minute. I can’t use my boobs to get what I want, but you can bend people to your will with your stunning good looks and charm?”
He feigned innocence. “Did I do that?”
“You glamoured her like some kind of hacker-vampire.”
“Being a hacker-vampire would be so cool.”
She laughed. “Bite me, Todd.”
“I can make that happen when we get home, Jeannine.”
They split up, and Kate made another round of the third and fourth floors. She was strolling down the aisle where the customer service reps sat when an employee whose name plate read Connor popped out of his cube and startled her.
“Hey, uh, Jeannine?”
“How do you know my name?”
“Todd told me. He’s looking for you. He described what you were wearing and said to keep my eyes open for a hot blonde with long legs. Those were his words, not mine. I don’t think we’re supposed to say things like that.”
“Which one is Todd again?”
“Uh, that really tall guy. His hair’s a little long. Not sure what his job title is, but he fixed my computer and it’s working much better now.”
“I bet,�
�� she said.
“There he is,” Connor said pointing over her shoulder.
Kate turned around.
“How’s it going?” Ian asked pointedly.
Wait. Was she supposed to say great or couldn’t be better? She had no reason to believe Connor suspected either one of them. “Great.”
Ian nodded. “Excellent.”
Connor’s eyes narrowed as he scrutinized Ian. “Where did you say you came from again?”
Okay, maybe he suspected them a little bit.
“Consulting firm.”
He turned toward Kate. “And you?”
“Temp agency.”
“Do you have desks?”
“Yes, but I don’t like to sit for too long,” Kate said.
“Me neither,” Ian said.
“Feel like taking a walk?” Kate asked.
“Let’s,” Ian said.
Kate looked over her shoulder as they moved into the aisle. “See you later, Connor.”
At four thirty, Ian wanted to attempt entering the server room. He’d said the employees would be less vigilant at the end of the day, and hopefully some of them had already left.
“Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to station you near the desk of the guy whose job it is to keep an eye on the server room. You’ll be able to see me walk toward the door. I want you to distract him so I have time to fish my wire under the door and trigger the heat sensor. Engage him in friendly conversation until you see me come back out. Then meet me in the conference room.”
“I’m ready.”
“Hey, Todd,” someone yelled as they were walking toward the server room.
“Shit,” Ian muttered.
They turned around.
“Connor said I could probably find you down here. Do you think you can help me for a minute? My computer’s doing something weird.”
“Sure. As he turned to follow the guy, he nonchalantly handed Kate the folder. “Give it a whirl, sweetness. No pressure. If you can’t get in, we’ll come back tomorrow.” Kate took the folder, clasped it tightly to her chest, and kept walking.
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