My attempts at acting normal are more subdued than usual. It’s hard to think of anything other than the thumb drive and encrypted files sitting between my feet. I want to dig into them right now.
I play the flirt between Sunny and Kyle, putting on my over-the-top persona, insinuating things that are far beyond where they are if only to send the awkward vibes my way and make their own shared looks and gentle grazing of knuckles look much more manageable.
It’s a gift. I swear.
After a few comments, Kyle steers Sunny into nerdy territory, and I quickly zone out again. Brain circling back to my investigation.
My problem now is finding a way to get into the files I’ve just found.
I am not tech savvy enough for this. Shit, I’m lucky I knew the right person to help me get them to begin with.
Would Sunny help me out? I bet if I asked, she would. Could she though? Would her loyalty turn back to the firm? End in her tattling?
Something in my gut says that she’d tell me no before she went and said anything to our bosses.
I meet her gaze, and the ever-in-love twinkle in her eyes is infectious. I crinkle my nose at her and enjoy the way she giggles at Kyle.
What was so important that my dad would encrypt files and bury them in the system at the firm? Why was I able to find them and no one else has?
Surely, Oliver knows that system forward and backward and upside down. Or did he already know about these and couldn’t crack them? Did they not lead him anywhere?
Wait a minute. No. They’re going to lead somewhere.
So did this get past Oliver’s radar? New codes are being created all the time to do the impossible.
What would happen if I asked Oliver about them? If anyone could crack them and fast, it would be him.
Would he help me? Or would he be like Grant and Trent and tell me to stay out of things for my own good?
Or does he already know what’s here? Am I just being naive about doing this on my own?
Fuck, I hate the anxiety that comes when I keep failing to uncover anything new about my dad. About what happened to him. It can be the complete mystery everyone keeps telling me it is.
The information is out there. It has to be.
I need it to be in these files or I’m going to tear something up. The energy is already bubbling inside me.
Sunny covers my hand with hers. Lunch is over. Kyle is already through the door when I jerk back to reality.
“You okay?” my new friend asks. I like the way she asks that. No presumptions. Nothing but concern.
“Yeah. But…what are you doing after work today?” I lower my voice. “And do you have an unregistered computer?”
Sunny’s eyes twinkle in a far less innocent way than they did a moment ago. “Nothing important, and I can get my hands on one.”
Her brows shoot up in excitement. Glee.
I nod, and she claps her hands.
The girl is not covert. At least not face-to-face. I can read her every thought when she’s not tapped into her computer.
Biting my grin, I gather my purse and stand. “Excellent. Wait for me after work, and you can come with me to my house.”
“Ooo, the manor. I’ve finally snagged an invite.” Sunny wiggles beside me before we march to the elevator.
I laugh, my mood shifting as we return to our tiny cubicles. I pass Mile’s desk and give him my best smile.
That riles him up. He straightens his back and narrows his eyes at me. When I pass, I catch him smoothing his hair back in place.