Page 43 of Beautifully Scarred Omega

“Sophie.” Max closes his laptop and folds his hands on the desk. “Thank you for being prompt. We’d like an update on your progress and your plan going forward.”

She sits up straighter, the nervous new employee gone entirely, replaced by the sharp, focused woman from that first meeting.

“I’ve already passed on the personnel files to Sentinel,” she says. “They’re running background checks on everyone with access to sensitive areas. I should hear back today or tomorrow.”

“You’ll let us know as soon as you have results,” Max says. It’s not a question.

“Yes,” she says, her voice flat and professional. “I will.”

“And in the meantime?” Ethan leans forward, his gray eyes intent behind his glasses.

“The most crucial thing right now is to do a sweep for bugs or listening devices.” Sophie’s gaze moves between the three of us, assessing. “If someone has eyes or ears inside this building, everything we do is compromised. I need to check every room and every surface that could conceal a transmitter.”

“How long will that take?” Max asks.

“A couple of nights, at least. I’ll start tonight.”

“The security cameras,” Ethan says slowly. “If you’re sweeping the building at night, Nathan’s team will see you on the monitors.”

“They can’t know about this,” Sophie agrees. “Which means you’ll need to disable the cameras during my sweeps. System maintenance, software updates, whatever excuse works. The fewer people who know what I’m actually doing here, the better.”

Max and Ethan exchange a glance.

“We’ll handle Nathan,” Max says finally. He turns back to Sophie. “In the meantime, we’re putting you on rotation through the different departments. Marketing first, then research, clinical, IT. The idea is that you’re shadowing different teams to get a better understanding of the business before you start your official role as our assistant.”

“The perfect cover to get close to everyone.” Sophie nods.

“Exactly.” Max leans back in his chair. “For today, you’ll continue working with Celine. She’s been here longer than most, knows everyone, hears everything. If there’s gossip to be had, she’ll have it.”

“Perfect.” Sophie closes her notebook and tucks it back into her bag. “Anything else?”

“Just one thing.” Max’s green eyes fix on her face. “I want at least one of us present during the sweeps. If you find something, I want to know about it immediately.” He pauses. “No one moves through this building at night unsupervised. Not even you.”

For a second, Sophie’s eyes blaze, a flash of annoyance at being told what she can’t do. Then it’s gone, wiped clean before I can be sure I saw it.

“Fine,” she says. “We’ll start tonight. Eight o’clock, back entrance. Don’t be late.”

She rises from her chair without waiting for a response, smoothing her skirt with quick, efficient movements.

“Ms. Dysart,” Max says, and she pauses at the door. “Welcome to Synthera.”

Her smile is brief and doesn’t reach her eyes. “Thank you, Mr. Cavill.”

Then she’s gone, leaving nothing but the faint ghost of that clean, forgettable scent and the uncomfortable heat still pooling in my gut.

Ethan turns to look at me, one eyebrow raised.

“You alright, Finn? You’ve barely said a word.”

“Fine.” I push off from the back of the couch, shoving my hands in my pockets. “Just thinking.”

“About what?”

About dark eyes and red lips and a kiss that meant nothing.

“About how long this investigation is going to take,” I say instead. “And whether Friday can come any faster.”

Max says nothing, but the look he gives me speaks volumes. Ethan just shakes his head, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth.