Page 18 of Left of the Slash
I swing my body back over to the computer and begin typing, signing into my new company account as the cybersecurity executive as quickly as I can, and clicking my mouse all over the place. My fingers have lightning in them as I click and press keys, rummaging through as many options as I can find, hoping that my theory is correct. When I hit an area that requires executive clearance from Olivia, I use my laptop to run a brute force attack, trying every possible combination of letters, numbers, and special characters until the correct password is found. It’s highly illegal, and I'm sure Olivia would be pissed about me hacking her account, but I ignore the part of me that cares about that and do what I have to do to get in. Once I'm in her account, I find exactly what I'm looking for. When I see it, I freeze, my heart turning into a block of ice and the blood in veins going completely still as I stare at the monitor and the list of information displayed on it.
“Honestly Q, if you need to go take a shit, I suggest you do it, because you're starting to worry me with these pained facialexpressions,” Rob jokes, but when I turn my monitor toward him so that he can view the screen, his smile vanishes as his eyes widen. “What the hell? I know that doesn't say what I think it says. Is that Olivia’s name at the top? Are you in her account, man?”
“Yeah, but don't focus on that,” I say, my smile growing as wide as my desk. “This is a list of every administrator account that has accessed the security protocols for Obsidian in the last two weeks. You can see that the list has the same name on it for the most part, because Olivia was the only person checking to see if everything was up to standard at the start of her work day, which is why every entry has the same timestamp. But yesterday has two names.”
“Olivia Lucero in the morning,” Rob says, reading the screen with eyes as big as paper plates.
“And Jon Reid at eleven thirty at night,” I say, finishing for him. “Jon lowered the threat analysis at his command station at eleven thirty. The breach and subsequent transactions happened from an unknown location in the middle of the night, via an untraceable IP address. The time of the transaction is listed on page one of Annette’s financial report.” I lift Annette’s paperwork and hold it up for Rob to see. “What time does it say the transfer happened?”
“Eleven-forty-seven at night,” he answers.
I laugh, then point to the monitor. “And what time does it say the threat analysis program was raised by Jon Reid’s administrator account?”
Rob covers his mouth and speaks through his fingers in astonishment. “Midnight.”
With a satisfied exhale, I drop the papers and straighten out my monitor, my mission finally accomplished, illegality be damned. “Right. He lowered the threat analysis at eleven-thirty, hacked the system with its weakened security, transferred half amillion dollars to an offshore account at eleven-forty-seven, then raised the threat analysis again to avoid setting off any alerts at midnight and covering his tracks.”
Rob sits back in his chair with his mouth agape, shaking his head in disbelief. “I can't fucking believe what I'm hearing. Jon is trying to bring down Obsidian?”
“Yeah, but it’s bigger than just Obsidian,” I say.
“What do you mean?”
“He wanted to be CEO and he's pissed that he didn't get the job,” I reply. “So he isn't just trying to take down Obsidian. He’s trying to take down Olivia.”
TWELVE - Quinn
“Good morning, Quinn,” Eden says when I walk through the double doors of the executive wing. She's wearing a white top that looks great against the contrast of her red hair, and her brows go up when she sees how quick I'm stepping.
“What’s up, Eden,” I reply, strolling into my office briefly to grab my laptop before coming back out. Even with the top two buttons of my white button-up undone, the heat of the moment has me on the verge of sweating. “Is Olivia in?”
Eden smirks the same way she did when she caught me staring at Olivia in the conference room yesterday, and I wonder what is going through her mind when she does it. It’s such a sneaky look that it brews suspicion in my gut, but it’s something I’ll have to get to later. Today has bigger things on its agenda.
“Yes she is,” she replies. “Go right on in.”
“Thanks.”
I step past Eden and stick my head in Olivia’s office, and I'm nearly knocked on my ass by how stunning she looks in a vintage blazer mini dress the color of red velvet cake. Her hair is curly, with tight coils hanging down to her chest, and her makeup is immaculate, per usual. The sight of her makes my mouth water.
“Fuck,” I whisper to myself when I reach her threshold, because I've been telling myself all morning that Obsidian is the focus, not Olivia. Unless Jon, Stephen, and Nick step out of line again—which they probably will, considering what I'm about to unleash—I have to stay locked into the breach and the news I found out last night. But how am I supposed to focus on the task at hand when I want to speed walk across the room and press her against the wall with my hand around her throat? I don't even know where the thought comes from. It reminds me so much of when Linda and I were dating, except it’s stronger now. Something about Olivia wakes up my darkest urges, and I have to battle my own demons back just to talk to her.
“Good morning,” I say, getting her attention. She turns to look at me and I hyperfixate on what I’m here to do. “I have some new information on the operating account breach. We need to have an impromptu meeting with everyone in the conference room.”
Olivia looks surprised. “Right now?”
“Yes. Right now.”
When she sees the seriousness in my gaze, Olivia mirrors me and stands up. “Oh. Yeah, of course, Quinn. Is everything okay?”
I nod at Olivia and walk away without hinting at what I have in store for this meeting, because I want her to be surprised when I drop this bomb right in the middle of the conference room table.
In just a few minutes, everyone from the executive wing is seated in the conference room and waiting for me to enter. My heart races with adrenaline, but I message Rob one last time before letting out a breath and stepping into what I know is about to become a warzone. That’s fine. This is a war I'm readyfor. All eyes land on me as I walk in and move to the front of the room to hook up my laptop to a cord that will display my monitor on the big screen for everyone to see. This is it. No going back now, and I wouldn't even if I could.
“Good morning,” I say to everyone.
I scan the room and see the confused faces of Jon, Stephen, Nick, Eden, and Olivia staring back at me. The three boys glare at me like KKK members from their seats because of how things ended yesterday, and it makes my fire burn hotter. I threatened all of them and Olivia didn't do anything about it. So, it all went unresolved, the thickness of it still lingering in the air above us this morning. But I'm unmoved by angry faces. In fact, I'm motivated by them. If they’re angry now, just wait until I give them a reason to be.
I know that what I'm to do is a huge deal, and I know that what I did to get this information is illegal. The illegality of it will be what the people in this room latch onto. As soon as I lay out the details, antennas will go up and they'll know I broke a sacred law of our business. Accessing Olivia’s administrative file will piss her off and give her and Jon grounds to terminate me and press charges if they so choose. So, with all of that in mind, I know I have to lay all of this out as perfectly as possible. I have to be concise and to the point, minimizing how much time they have to let their anger rise up their throats. Jon will be the first to go that route, so it’s him I have to get ahead of. I'm about to risk my career in order to save my career. How ironic.
