Page 16 of The Hacker
“I know a real good guide outfit to set it all up,” Tully said. “Now we have to decide if we should tell him ahead of time or keep it a secret until we get him on the plane.”
Leland didn’t remember agreeing to the idea, but it was growing on him. However, he knew how much he personally hated surprises. “We tell him ahead of time.”
Tully stared at the ceiling for a long moment before he shook his head. “Nope, we surprise him. We’ll tell Alice, though. She can keep a secret and she’ll organize whatever he needs to take without him having a clue.”
“If you’ve got all this figured out already why did you come in here and interrupt me?” Leland made his tone as dry as dust.
“I needed your valuable input.” Tully grinned and stood up just as Derek walked in.
“You look guilty,” Derek said, his gaze moving between his two partners. “Conspiring against me?”
“Just planning your bachelor party.” Tully clapped Derek on the shoulder. “How many strippers did we decide on, Leland?”
“Twenty-five, I believe,” Leland said.
“Thank God I don’t believe either one of you.” Derek sat in the chair Tully had vacated. “Leland, I hesitate to tell you this, but we just got the RFP from Fincher. The deadline’s a bear ... end of next week. Have you got time or should I tell them we’re not going to respond? It’s a nice piece of business but we can easily say no if you’re swamped.”
“Leland never says no nowadays.” Tully threw a warning frown at Derek. “So I’ll say no for him. He’s got a full plate and I just found out he’s also working on an SBI project.”
Leland cast his best look of disdain at Tully. “I can manage an RFP without any problem.” His plate was overflowing but he’d work more hours. If he was exhausted enough, he could sleep through the night. Otherwise he would lie awake in the dark, swamped by waves of grief and regret.
Derek gave him a searching look. “It’s a short deadline for such a complex RFP.”
Leland raised his eyebrows. “Have I ever missed a due date?”
“That doesn’t mean it’s okay to kill yourself doing it,” Tully said. “Let this one go, partner.”
“You’re determined to annoy me today,” Leland said.
“I’ll send you the RFP and you can decide after you read it.” Derek nodded toward the computer monitor. “Is the SBI project the one at the gym where Alice goes to work out with her friend Dawn? She told me the data traffic picked up again, only on cell phones.”
“Indeed it has. There’s something very strange going on in Cofferwood, New Jersey. Who’d have thought?” It was odd, but hearing Derek mention Dawn’s name gave Leland a little kick of pleasure, as though it had brought Dawn into the room with them.
“Well, it got you out of the office for a few hours this morning, so I’m in favor of it,” Derek said.
“Amen to that!” Tully exclaimed.
Leland refused to rise to their needling. “I believe I accompanied Derek to a client meeting for an entire half day last week.”
“Only because the client insisted on meeting our computer genius,” Derek said. “His IT guy wanted to touch you.” Derek glanced at Tully. “You should have heard the jargon flying between them.”
Tully chuckled before he headed out the door. “I gotta get to a meeting with a client myself.”
Derek locked his eyes on Leland before he said in a low, commanding voice, “No strippers. Swear it!”
Leland just smiled.
Dawn had checked her phone between every client, but no email from Leland showed up. She shoved her arms into her jacket with unnecessary force before she stalked into the lobby to head home.
Chad was propped against the front desk, flirting with Tiffany, the nineteen-year-old night receptionist. When he saw Dawn, he straightened and walked over to fall into step beside her. “You look like you’ve had a bad day. Let me buy you a drink to cheer you up.”
He snaked his arm around her shoulders, sending her nervous system into overload. She twisted out of his grasp to face him. “How many times do I have to say no to you before you get the message?”
Chad held up both hands, palms out. “Hey, just being friendly. A beer is all I had in mind.”
“Sorry, I’m just cranky.” Disappointment over Leland’s silence made her irritable and she’d overreacted. “Long day.” She waved her hand in apology and jerked open the door.
“Rain check,” Chad called out as the door swung closed behind her.
