Page 21 of Crude Heir

I blow out a breath, considering his question. “Yeah, I think you’re right,” I finally reply, defeated. “If you’re planning to leave, now’s the time. I don’t want anyone stuck here when the storm hits.”

Mike nods, relief taking over his expression. “Thanks, Derrick. I’ll pack up and head out. Stay safe, man.”

“You, too, Mike,” I say, watching him gather his things. I don’t have to worry much about it since my drive is just a few blocks across the highway.

I focus my attention back to the task at hand. My mind races with the potential consequences of keeping the systems running. I can’t afford to lose everything in a power surge or worse. It’s a risk I can’t take.

I turn back to my desk. Luckily, I’d already started the backup process due to the issue in Louisiana. Now I just need to do the shutdown, and the Oklahoma office can take over as primary.

“Oh,” Mike says from the door. “Do I talk to Nicole?”

I give him a hard stare, wondering what the hell he’s playing at. “I got it.”

“Okay.” He nods, pulling back from the doorway. “Thanks.”

I check the monitor to see who’s still logged on. Mostly, it’s people working at remote sites since most offices shut down early. But, of course, Nicole is still diligently carrying out her daily tasks. Which means, we have only one person on-site besides me.

“Working late again, Miss Fuentes?” With my pulse speeding up, I open up my phone and click the link to Nicole’s camera feed.

Nicole is sitting at her desk, her attention on the screen in front of her. She’s biting the full, bottom lip. Damn, that woman is a thorn in my side. Why can’t she be at home, fully dressed, doing something other than distracting me or giving me grief.

I send a quick message out to all users, notifying them of the impending shutdown. As the notifications ping back, I can almost hear the collective groans from the field. Hey, a whole minute to wrap up what they’re typing and save their files is more than what they’d get if the power went out. They’ll thank me later, even if they don’t realize it now.

I pick up my desk phone, dialing Nicole’s office number only to have the line cut out before I can finish.

Chapter 9

Nicole

Warning: Emergency Shut Down. The system will shut down in one minute. Save your work and log out to avoid data loss.

“Ugh, come on!” I groan in frustration, raking my hands through my hair. “I can’t catch a break.”Of course, this would happen now, just when I need a few more minutes to finish.

Granted, it’s well after normal business hours. If nobody was working late, it would be the perfect time for the IT department to do maintenance—but I’m here. And as far as they’re concerned, I’m on a deadline. And I was actually processing invoices up until half an hour ago.

Directly behind the ominous warning message, in an unobtrusive little box, is the progress bar, taking its sweet time to crawl forward.

I quietly curse the ancient system that’s dragging this out. I had to wait until everyone else left for the night to avoid questions about what I’m doing. The fewer possible witnesses, the better.

Saving document to Firefly. 97% complete.

Thunder rumbles outside, rattling my frayed nerves.

If I don’t get out of here soon, I might end up trapped here overnight by the storm. I’ve heard stories about people being stranded at the office by bad weather before. The thought makes my stomach knot with anxiety.

98% complete.

I managed to stop biting my fingernails ages ago. But if anything could drive me back to the habit, this agonizing wait would be the trigger. I settle for drumming my fingers on the mouse pad instead, the pace ramping up to match my heart rate.

98% complete.

It would stand to reason that a huge Excel file with over a million rows of raw data wouldn’t happen in an instant. But with freedom so close, these final minutes feel like a fiery eternity. After losing my research last night, I’m determined to keep a list I can check off instead of writing everything down. I need to do a deep dive, per line item, to see if I can find any irregularities.Come on, come on, come on.I start bouncing my leg, letting the sturdy heel tap against the floor, willing the machine to go faster, but the number hasn’t moved.

98% complete.

Before his heart attack, Keith Kelly, the CEO of Kelly Oil & Gas, had been spending way too much time in the office. He’d noticed me then began to swing by and check on me during the business day. He went so far as to get me an office, which hasn’t been well received by some of my co-workers. But, in his words, hardworking employees deserve recognition.

Right now, I don’t need recognition.Tonight, I need privacy.I glance at the door again.I need to take the report home with me.Somewhere I can arrange the data and dissect the secrets it contains before anyone else does.

---