AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I laughed, incredulous at that narrative, something that had become almost an excuse among American companies, a way to explain away rank incompetence and general bumbling. More than one CEO had used it to stop a free-falling stock price, or to keep investors engaged after missing a quarterly sales forecast. Blame the Russians and nothing bad would happen.
“I can’t believe he tried to sell me that,” I added. “He knows it’s total bullshit.”
“He thinks making you paranoid will be to his advantage.” Eartha looked away and shifted her weight on the chair.
“I’m sorry. I know I’ve placed you in an awkward position over the last few days, asking you to do something far outside your job description, but I hope you understand it was extremely important.”
She met my gaze again and nodded.
“You’ve always been loyal. That matters.”
“Thank you, sir. I try to do my best.”
“So, what else have you found?”
She took a deep breath as if steeling herself for what she had to say next. “The investigation team from OPI Cyber confirms it was him. He’s the one who accessed the closed-circuit system at your house. He tried to cloak it, but they were able to verify he’s the one who logged on.” She lifted a few of the top pages of the legal pad and read from her notes. “They have a full report they want to send over with all the evidence.”
“How sure are they?”
She spread a hand. “One hundred percent.”
I kept my expression unreadable, even though it was hard to hear this news. It was one thing to suspect something and quite another to have it confirmed by an outside agency. “Excellent.”
“They also said if you need them to testify for any legal proceedings...they’re willing to make themselves available.”
My stomach twisted, the ball of anger I’d held for the last few days turning into sadness. This had been nothing but a betrayal, and I wasn’t sure why he’d done it—no matter how much I turned it over in my mind, I didn’t understand why someone so close to me would have planned something like this. What did they hope to achieve? Why did they want to inflict so much pain? And most of all, why now?
But those questions were for a conversation with someone else, not Eartha.
I motioned for her to hand over the paperwork, and when she did, I placed it on the desk in front of me without looking at it. Then I switched back into controlled CEO mode. “Thank you for your hard work. I appreciate it.”
“My pleasure, sir.” She rose from the seat and I knew she sensed from my tone of voice the meeting was over.
“Please call him when you get back to your desk and let him know I want to see him right away.”
She bowed her head in a small nod and then backed away from me. When I was alone again, I skimmed the small stack Eartha gave me. Yes, she was right. There was irrefutable evidence of this betrayal, and it was all laid out before me in clear black-and-white. I had cause to fire him, and more than that, pursue legal charges if I wanted. This was the biggest breach in the history of Sparks Innovation, and it would probably serve as a big chapter in the history of my company. This was damaging.
And it came from him.
Him, of all people.Him. The jerkoff. Someone I trusted, someone I cared about, someone I’d let into my inner circle. And here he was, exposed, no better than a cockroach I needed to stamp out before he could do any other damage. I slammed my fist on the desk. Goddamn it. What I hated, apart from the betrayal, was that I’d lost Rebecca as a result. She wasn’t willing to consider if we could salvage a relationship from this. That made me angry. I missed her. I hadn’t known her long, but somehow, she’d found her way into my heart. I missed the fire between us, the intelligent and witty banter, her perspective on the world.Her.
Eartha buzzed in on the desk phone and I put it to my ear after the first ring. “He’s on his way to your office now.”
“Good,” I said, though it wasn’t good at all. “Send him right in when he arrives.” I paused. “And Eartha, could you have security come to my office soon after?”
“Of course.”
I hung up the phone and took one more moment to gather my wits.If there is one thing I truly hate, it’s betrayal.
