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“Over here is our main server room.” Richardson swipes his ID card to grant us access. Inside, towering racks of servers blink with a symphony of multicolored lights, their fans whirring. The room is colder than the rest of the office, a necessary precaution to keep the equipment from overheating. At least one thing they excel at.

“Maintaining these servers is one of our top priorities. They store all the company’s critical data.”

“Backup protocols?” I scan the room.

“Weekly offsite backups, along with daily onsite backups. We’ve invested heavily in redundancy to minimize the risk of data loss.”

“Perfect. Let’s make that daily and hourly in the future.”

He nods, and we return to his office.

“Can I be blunt?” I ask.

“Sure.”

“Your security is full of holes. I breached your systems without breaking a sweat.”

Richardson’s face pales, his eyes widening as he processes my words. “W-what? How?”

“Your firewalls aren’t strong enough, for starters. And your password protocols need an overhaul. Mrs. Sanderson, in marketing, is very prone to cute cat pictures. There needs to be more education.”

Shock and indignation flash across Richardson’s face before morphing into apprehension. He clears his throat. “Yes, well… I’m afraid budget constraints have limited us.”

I wave a hand. “Regardless, improvements need to be made. I think Richard will approve when I talk to him. We’ll start with the most critical vulnerabilities before expanding to a full overhaul.”

“Of course. We’ll provide whatever you need.”

This is almost too easy.

“Why don’t I give you access to our systems so you can begin assessing what needs improvement?”

“That would be excellent,” I say.

Richardson types on his computer and hands me a keycard and sticky note with login details.

“Thank you. I’ll be in the server room.”

“Let me know if there’s anything else you need.”

“Will do.” I walk back to the server room. Taking out my laptop, I set to work and dig deeper over the next few days. Their security protocols were easy to break into, so I implemented some precautions to keep everyone out—except for me, of course.

While working, I always leave a camera feed of Mary in a little window at the top right corner. I don’t know when I started this, but it calms me. She calms me.

There’s no question that she’s busy working on spreadsheets or reports. Now and then, she pauses, tapping a pen against her lips in thought before resuming her rapid-fire typing. I knowfrom months of observation that this is her ‘in the tunnel’ mode.

I miss the lunch date we had. She looked beautiful, as usual, with those big blue eyes and that genuine smile. Her laughter rang clear and bright. But what caught me was how she told me the story about the restaurant and her family. She let me in.

Not only that, but she noticed me in college. I thought I was the only one. So, why is she so hesitant to go to dinner with me? Does she prefer someone who fits her parents’ expectations, or is it because I’m not posh enough for her?

I loosen my tie. It’s fucking killing me, and I only wore it to impress her father. If it were my choice, I would have stepped in here with my hoodie and cargos. But Elijah was right. Dress to impress.

Is it me she finds unappealing? I grit my teeth.

Not possible, considering the way she reacted to my touch.

My fingers pause mid-type. A boyfriend? She flat-out lied to me, and to top it, she used that bastard’s name. He is everything I hate rolled into one neat package. How could she prefer him over me? I am him. Even if it was just one night.

Why does she try so hard to resist me when all I want to do is get closer?

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