Page 15 of Arrivals & Assets

She took a step back and turned toward the elevator.

“I’ll walk you down,” I said.

She smiled. “Thanks.”

We were quiet on the way down. She paused and glanced at the reception desk that she’d occupied for the past two years, then we continued to the door.

I hugged her again. “I hope you find a new job soon. Shout at me on social media if you need a reference.”

“Thanks.” She paused as she stepped back. “You should move into the fancy office. You’re the highest person on the ladder here, after all.”

I snorted. “I’m the only person on the ladder now.”

“Another reason to have the fancy office while you can.”

I chuckled. “I’ll think about it.”

We stood there, staring at each other in the way people do when they know they’ll probably never see each other again.

“I’m gonna go,” she finally said.

“Ok.”

I held the door as she picked up a small box with her remaining personal items and watched as she walked down the street. Then she turned the corner to the city-owned parking garage and disappeared from view.

I sighed as the door closed, made sure it had auto-locked, then headed toward the vault.

Three guys from the IT department were securing the last of the important equipment.

“Hey,” I said.

One of them turned and gave me a tight smile as he wandered over. He motioned to a tiny, cheap thing on the floor.

“So we’re almost done,” he said. “Your connection got cut a few minutes ago when I yanked out the big router. But I didn’t want to leave you without internet, so I pulled out this thing from my spare parts. The password is on the back. It’s not going to be great, but it’ll probably be better than a hotspot on your phone. You might have to restart it every once in a while cause it’s old and fussy.”

“Will I get a signal with it in here?”

He laughed. “It’s connected to your wireless access points. It’ll work. Not great. But it’ll work.”

“I guess that’ll have to do. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

I glanced at my watch. “The broker will be here for a walkthrough in about thirty minutes. Will you guys be done by then, or should I show the vault last?”

“We should be done, but everything with critical information is off and disconnected. We’re just packing it up. There’s no risk in bringing them in if we’re still here. The only equipment left is the security system, and that needs to stay. The building has to have twenty-four-seven outside security monitoring until the lease changes hands.”

“Really?”

“Yep. Something about how it’s cheaper to keep monitoring than to certify that the vault is secure and wasn’t compromised. But that’s good for you. A lone omega in an empty office? It’s good to have outside eyes.”

Part of me bristled, while I knew he was right.

“Do you need me for anything?” I asked.

“Nope, we’re good.”

“Ok. I guess I’m going to do my own walkthrough while I wait.”