Page 69 of She Likes It, Hey Micah
“At the lodge.” It’s not a question. “It was probably caused by the storm, right?”
“Yes, but the nearby ski resort says this is a common issue and happens without fail, even with smaller storms. Everyone who gets power from this company pays extra fees for weather protection, but clearly there’s no protection happening.”
Kale hums, and it sounds like he’s typing something. “That does sound a bit sketchy. Let’s see what I can dig up.”
“Are you hacking into their database?”
“Again with thehacking. I’m trying to better the world, Fischer. Protect the innocent.”
“So you’re hacking their database.”
He lets out a heavy sigh. “Fine. Yes. But only because I like you.”
Grant and his arguing get loud enough that Kale starts laughing.
“That sounds fun,” he says. “Have you ever thought about setting up an appointment for Grant to get his aura cleansed?”
“I don’t know what that means, Kale.”
“Well, do you know what scam means? Because your little power company is intentionally cutting off power during inclement weather.”
I nearly drop my phone. “What? How did you figure that out so quickly?”
“It’s probably better if you don’t ask. I’m going to send this to my team and see what they can do with it. Bye now.”
He hangs up, leaving me flabbergasted. Who in the world is that man?
As I return to my chair, Grant looks like he’s about ready to throw the speaker across the room, which means it’s time for me to step in.
“Question,” I say, even though the power guy is in the middle of a sentence. “Are you purposefully turning off the power so you can charge your customers a premium during the winter?”
The line goes silent, and then the call ends.
Hopefully Kale can actually do something to fix this problem, though I have no idea what this has to do with cyber security.
Grant gapes at me. “What was that?”
“I had my roommate look into the company, and he found evidence of scamming.” I shrug.
“You have a roommate?”
How does he not know this? Frowning, I squirm under his suddenly intense gaze. “Yeah. I haven’t been able to afford my own place since Miranda…”
Grant clasps his hands together on the table, suddenly calm. It’s as if this revelation about me completely distracted him from whatever woes he’s been dealing with. “You don’t really talk about what she did. Has she gone to trial yet?”
I shake my head. “It’s too big a case to jump into it. Could be another year before she’s officially convicted.”
“Are you worried?”
“About what?”
“Fischer.” He so rarely uses my actual name that I’m surprised to hear it now. “What if she tries to pin things on you?”
I’ve thought about it, and she did try in the beginning. But even though there’s a reason she was indicted instead of me, who knows what her lawyers might cook up? We worked together long enough that there will always be a chance I take some of the blame for what happened.
“I already gave up everything I had to try to fix her mistake,” I mutter. “And it’s not like I could lose much else.”
“You could go to prison.”
