Page 51 of Death Wish

“A few. I’m knocking the assignments down in the order assigned.”

Joy laughed. “You’re going to finish before lunch again, aren’t you?”

“Probably. Was everything okay last night?”

Her friend’s cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink. “I was fine. Mateo checked on me several times throughout the rest of his shift.”

Simone smiled. “You like him.”

“Maybe.”

“I’m glad. He seems like a nice guy. By the way, Jesse ran a background check on him overnight. He’s clean.”

Joy stared. “He did? Why?”

“We want you to be safe, Joy. He showed up out of nowhere and was instantly attracted to you. While he’s smart to be interested in you, we wanted to be sure he wasn’t a gold digger or something.”

Simone’s friend rolled her eyes. “Well, if he is, he’s out of luck. I’m not independently wealthy. He’s a good man doing his best to keep people under his care safe.” She sighed. “I really like him, Simone. We’re going on a date tonight. He’s off duty.”

“Good for you. I hope things work out.” She hugged Joy. “Jesse checked your station this morning. You had a lot of listening devices and a couple of mini cameras hidden in your area. He said for you to be careful today.”

Joy gasped and pulled back. “Are you serious?”

“I saw them myself. Just watch yourself, okay?”

“Why would they do that to me? I’ve been here over two years.”

“Might result from associating with me. Someone is doing the same to me. Jesse has cleared out several bugs and cameras from my area yesterday and today. I also found evidence of someone trying to hack into my computer.”

Joy scowled. “I’ll check my computer as well. This is unbelievable. I don’t get it. If they don’t trust me, why don’t they fire me?”

“Don’t know.”

“I’d better get started. You’re already miles ahead of me this morning.”

“Lunch at the same time?”

“You bet. See you later.” Joy disappeared into her cubicle.

Simone returned to her tasks, and the morning flew by with only a small hitch in her pace. One assignment was a little tricky. She untangled the mess and finished the last of the tasks as Joy came around the cubicle wall.

“Ready for lunch?”

“You bet. Breakfast was several hours ago.” Simone stretched and sent Jesse a text. “Ready. Let’s find out what’s on the menu.”

Joy checked her phone and smiled.

Simone nudged her. “Something from Mateo?”

Her friend nodded. “He said he’s looking forward to tonight.” She looked up, dismay in her eyes. “What am I going to wear? I don’t know if I have anything appropriate.”

“Where are you going?”

“He didn’t tell me, and I don’t want to ask.”

“Go middle of the road, clothes you can dress up or down. You know, business casual.”

“Perfect. I can work with that.”

---