Page 61 of Left of the Slash
“I didn't misspeak,” I reply, quoting Mr. Epson. “I locked you out of your account, Mr. Saul, by hacking into East-World’s system and installing ransomware into your file, meaning I encrypted your data storage drives from right here, and made them inaccessible to you. Now, if I was a real asshole, which I should be for the way you’ve been so disrespectful and dismissive of Olivia, I could hold all of your shit ransom. I couldlock you out of everything until you pay me what I want, which is why it’s called ransomware. I could even erase everything if I wanted to, including all your records in payroll. In less than five minutes on a laptop, sitting right in front of you, I hacked into your system, and could make it like you never worked even here, Richard, and you’re the CFO. Now, tell me again how you can trust Palo Alto.”
Neither Richard nor Joel says anything. They just stare at me, as do Eden and Olivia, but I can feel Olivia’s eyes on me like heat from warm pavement.
“Obsidian was never weak,” I continue, going in for the final nail in the coffin. “It simply had a leach that was sucking our blood from the inside. That leach has been removed … and replaced by me. With my help, and Miss Lucero at the helm, Obsidian is going to be bigger and stronger than it even imagined it could be before, and I say that with all due respect to Diego Lucero and his legacy. But it’s a new day now. We’re going to grow exponentially, and we’re asking you to grow with us.” I take the laptop from Richard and quickly undo everything I did, then I close it and clasp my fingers together on top of it. “Or, you can stay in the past. The choice is yours. Grow with us, or die with them.”
I stare across the table and take great pleasure in watching Richard blink rapidly like a bug just flew into his eye. He looks over at Joel, who stares at me with raised brows before clearing his throat and standing up. Richard follows his lead as Joel turns his gaze toward Olivia.
“Olivia, I apologize if we got off on the wrong foot,” Joel says. “I certainly didn't mean to be disrespectful to you or your,” he glances at me, “brilliantcolleague. I came into this meeting intending to quickly send you on your way, but after what I just watched, I don't think I have any other choice now.”
Olivia gasps but tries to keep it quiet as she stands. Eden and I do the same as Joel reaches across the table with an open hand and his first genuine smile of the day.
“Okay, Olivia Lucero,” Joel says as the two of them shake hands. “We’re in. Where do we sign?”
THIRTY-SIX - Quinn
“What the hell was that?” Olivia barks the second we’re outside of the East-World Bank building. I knew she was uncharacteristically quiet on the elevator ride down, but I was hoping she was keeping her excitement bottled up. Clearly, I was wrong.
Olivia places a hand on my shoulder and pulls me back, spinning me around and forcing me to face her. We’re in a parking lot again, and I can't help but think about what we did the last time we had an argument in a parking lot. Something tells me things won't end up that good this time.
“What are you talking about?” I ask, trying to keep my feelings subdued. “I just saved Obsidian.”
“You hacked their system.”
I shrug. “So?”
Olivia’s face fills with rage that turns her cheeks red. “So? Are you out of your fucking mind, Quinn? What don't you understand about hacking being illegal? You can't do that? You could've gotten all of us arrested.”
I glance over at Eden, who is standing by Olivia’s car watching us with a painful look on her face. I wonder if she feels the same way Olivia does. I thought I had just done a good thing back there. Or am I unable to do anything good in Olivia’s eyes when it comes to this company?
Everything I've been feeling since the second Olivia walked out on me in the playhouse comes to a boil in my belly. I'm hurt, frustrated, confused, and pissed the fuck off by how I've been treated over the last few days. At some point, it becomes about what you deserve, and I don't fucking deserve this from anybody. Even though I have strong feelings for Olivia and I credit her for helping me accept myself, I won't take this from her either.
“But I didn't get us arrested,” I snip. “I did what I had to do to save Obsidian. You shot your shot and it didn't work. He turned you down, so I took fucking action and it got the job done. You should be thanking me, Olivia.”
“It is not your company to save,” she yells, and hear her voice echo down the street. “My father built Obsidian and he left it to me. Me! I was supposed to be the one to save it.”
“Goddamn, Olivia. You tried. You gave it your best shot and it didn't work, so I helped you. He didn't go for that bullshit about decreased prices because it didn't scare him enough. With a guy like that, you have to make them believe that they are already in danger—that everything they love, which is their money, power, and so-called supremacy, is already under threat. Even if it’s not true, you have to make them believe it, and people like him are the exact reason that the world is in the shit hole it’s in now, because they believe the lies being spewed about beingthreatened or something being stolen from them. You see the way he didn't care about the Palo Alto PII breach because it didn't affect him personally? It didn't matter how many others were hurt by it. He was safe and knew he never had to worry. So I made him believe that it could happen to him. I told you that I was ready for this pitch because I'd been studying Joel Epson, and I knew the kind of person he was, so I did what I had to do.”
“Oh my god,” she whispers, turning around in a full circle with her hands on her hips. “And what if it didn't work, Quinn? What if he would've called the cops?”
“He didn't.”
“Butwhat ifhe had?”
“Then it would've been worth it,” I bark, losing my cool. “I did it protect you and the company you love so fucking much. Even with you treating me like shit, I still cared enough about you to risk being thrown in jail to give you what you wanted. I don't regret it, so if you're looking for an apology you're not going to fucking get it. I did it to save you. You needed me in there and I stepped up, consequences be damned.”
“Needed? You think Ineedyou?” she says, her brow so furrowed I'm not sure it will ever recover. “You see? This is why I don't get serious with anybody. You fucking men always think someoneneedsyou, but I accomplished everything I have on my own. I don't need anybody. I'm not some damsel that needs a savior. You've clearly let this Dom shit go to your head.”
“Oh, is that what I've done? Now I've let all of it get to my head because I stopped your ship from sinking? I should've let every employee at Obsidian drown just so you could say that you were the only one who tried because it’s your dad’s company? I know that you're still dealing with issues about your father's death, and I get that, Olivia. But you can't let those issues make you like this. You think Diego would be upset that Joel Epson shot you down and somebody else had to assist you? He wouldn't. Hewould just be glad that his daughter tried her best and that the company ended up being saved by this deal that is bigger than his dreams could've imagined. He would've been proud of you. He would've been proud of all of us for making this happen.”
Tears begin to stream down Olivia’s face, and I know that her emotions are getting the best of her, so I do my best to be understanding. I'm enraged by how all of this has turned out, but I'm starting to understand that maybe this is bigger than me. Olivia was so good at pushing me to be myself and accepting who I really am, but I'm not sure she's able to do it for herself. I was able to resolve my issues with my dad’s incarceration, but it’s clear she's still struggling with her own daddy issues. I understand, so I choose to back off.
She wipes her face and steps closer to me, pointing her finger at my nose. “You don't know shit about my father. Don't even say his name.”
“Fine,” I say, nodding. “So you're going to stay mad about the deal you've been hoping for all this time?”
“I'm mad at you, not the deal,” she says. “You risked burning my father's company to the ground, but you got lucky. That stunt you pulled could've cost us everything my father built.”
I nod again, understanding that this moment may be our last. “Okay. Yeah, I did. I risked them saying no and calling the police. I risked getting blacklisted all across the east coast for hacking. I risked my career and my livelihood. I risked my fucking freedom. You're absolutely right, Olivia. But when it all boils down to it, I hope you realize that I risked all of that … for you.” I look over at Eden who is still frozen in place, and nod to her. “Congratulations on the deal,” I say to them both, then I turn my back to Olivia and get in my car.
