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And a tiny part of me thinks that perhaps if I do a good job and win over Domenic's trust…maybe I should tell him about our daughter. The adorable, dark-eyed little cutie who's the result of our passionate, all-night-long one-night stand.
But that's a bad idea for so many reasons I don't want to linger on. It's not something I should daydream about—especially not at work like I am now.
I frown as I keep scrolling through ones and zeroes, reading the computer code algorithms as someone else might read a book. There's something off here.
I pull up a similar record and scroll again, but I keep finding things that are off. Not "off" like someone is doing small hacks—I've found plenty of those—but more like…
A virus.
There's some kind of virus in The Golden Flame Casino's intricate, state-of-the-art security programs.
"Oh, shit. Come to mama," I whisper as I excitedly scroll through more data records to identify the pattern and track it down.
"What'd you say?" Vivian pipes up from her chair on the other end of the room as if I've broken her train of thought. "Something we need to look at?"
"Not yet," I say in a sing-song voice, fingers moving at lightning speeds now.
I created a sandbox system that mirrored the casino's programs a few days ago to give myself room to understand it better without affecting real-time data. I launch it and begin typing in my own programming to identify differences between how the clean system would run and how it's running right in front of me on the work computer, scrolling with numbers.
"What is all of this?"
Domenic Caputo's quiet voice behind me isn't enough to startle me from my excited search, even though I've carefully avoided him since he unwittingly saved my life days ago.
"It's a hunt."
"For?"
I flash him a smile. "You have a virus."
Vivian and a couple of the others in the room hear that and move to watch from behind me, just as Domenic is. One of them, named Tobias, scoffs loudly.
"You know how much training we've gone through to look for something like that? We'd know if there was a virus floating around the systems. We have so many antivirus systems in place that—"
"It stemmed from one of those systems."
He protests, but then I pull up two side-by-side examples of programming and carefully outline the places where the virus is oh-so-subtly altering things in the tiniest ways, so carefully it almost seems manual, but I can tell it's not.
The next hour is a flurry as people in the security room rush to look for themselves and begin hunting down the security threat, but I'm way ahead of them.
I find that virus, and I make it my bitch.
Everyone is there to see the careful tracking and repairs to programming I make as I erase the virus from the system. Finally, I relaunch things and am surprised to hear some of the security team whoop and cheer, clapping me on the shoulder or high-fiving me.
Even Vivian, who's always lukewarm to me at best, offers me a begrudging nod before returning to her own work.
I'm excited about my small breakthrough in the world of casino security, and I can't help hopping up from my chair to stretch and do a small victory dance simultaneously.
A low chuckle surprises me, and I'm even more surprised to see that it's from Domenic. He's watching me bent over, touching my toes to stretch my upper back with smoldering heat in his gaze.
I straighten and beam at him, too excited to stop my mouth from spouting off. "Well? I'm waiting."
He arches a dark brow, moving closer. "For?"
"A thank you. I want a big, dramatic, make-everyone-clap-for-me-again thank you from you to me for fixing that, Mr. Caputo. You should be celebrating for me."
His eyes flash, and then I almost gasp when he moves to place his lips against my ear, voice nearly a growl.
"Domenic. You call me Domenic and nothing else. And I'd much rather celebrate by bending you over again and fucking you untilyou'rethe one thankingme."
