"Yeah, a shitty black hat hacker at that. He or she left more breadcrumbs than Goldilocks." Chace chewed noisily on another glazed doughnut.
"That was Hansel and Gretel." Jasmine looked at the two over her tortoiseshell frames. "Two little badass kids, eating that poor woman's home."
"The witch gets it at the end," I piped up, looking from the email I've drafted to communicate the issue. She passed me a heart-melting smile. This woman . . .
"Chace, a woman would not be this careless." She waited a beat, and seriousness took her tone. "This behavior goes against the rules of being a hacker. You get in, look around, do what you want, and clean up your tracks. Is this person trying to throw us off?"
"It feels like they wanted us to know they were here. Our visitor did a poor job of covering up his tracks," Austin added for emphasis.
Kiss ass.
The three shared jokes and lively chatter. Then I saw it. Chace and Austin were flirting with Jasmine and likely imagining her in their beds. And as rumor had it, the two enjoyed women separately and together.
Jasmine said a few words, and the two laughed a little too loud and a bit too long for my taste, but there was nothing I could do about it. Our relationship wasn't public, so I couldn't jump and land on both of their heads. I couldn't beat on my chest and tell them she was mine. I had to sit there and watch the two pot-smoking, woman-sharing dipshits flirt with my girlfriend.
My girlfriend.
Seeing the three clustered together changed everything. I needed to shift from figuring out my life after the IPO to figuring out my life with Jasmine after the ER Wallace engagement. There was no way I was letting go of her.
"Did you guys find a solution?" I called over, putting an end to their love fest.
"Yes. We closed port number two-twenty-two and took a screenshot of the closed connection message on the console," Jasmine answered. "I suggested Austin and Chace get information from the IP address, then review all port settings. The last thing we want is to receive word that all the product links have changed to point to Pornhub videos."
What a great idea. She saved my ass. And for that, I’ll reward her with whatever she wants. I'd bury my face between her legs all night if she desired.
The next day, I received a meeting invitation from my boss, Jeff. There was one agenda item, discussion on yesterday's breach. Shortly before noon, I entered Jeff's corner office and took the seat facing his desk. I pulled out the notes from the violation, along with a report showing no malicious activities in the last twenty-four hours. There was a soft knock at the door before Nic slipped in and walked behind Jeff's desk. I thought she would push Jeff out of his chair. Instead, she stood next to him and leaned against the window.
"Garrett, Nic and I would like to discuss yesterday's activities. I know that you are preparing a root cause analysis, but we need to answer questions from the board and our investors."
I opened my mouth to answer, but Nic stepped away from the window and interrupted.
"Garrett, do you care to tell us how your team missed that we had a bad guy in our network?" she demanded impolitely.
"The tools we use are insufficient for the size and scope of our business. We're reliant on freeware."
"Why didn't you develop a proposal for additional software?" Nic raised an eyebrow.
"Hunter and I presented a business case back in early March. We received management and VP level approval, but it failed at the chief level."
"You should have pushed harder. I've noticed that you don't fight for what's important to you." Nic delivered the last statement as a verbal slap across my face. Shards of each word pierced and embedded into my flesh. Stunned, I blinked twice before I answered.
"Nic . . . for the past five months, you've denied all of my requests." I pushed a printout to Jeff. "Here's the bill of materials for the equipment and software needed to secure the network."
Jeff leaned back in his chair. He looked stressed and not at ease, which made me uncomfortable. Which meant I needed to keep my guard up. I winced and waited for the bomb to drop.
"Garrett, we've invited you here for a reason. We're gonna have to suspend you," he said. "Thirty days."
My head swam. Even as my mind groped for the words, I had to know. I needed a reason.
"Why?"
"Jeff, allow me to explain. Under your leadership, we've had two incidents in our network. We will bring in an external Incident Response Team to inspect what's going on. Once they've completed, if there's no wrongdoing on your part, we'll bring you back." Nic stepped away from the window. "Garrett, I considered firing you, but you are a valuable member of this team. I think the period away from the office will give you time to remember what's important. You'll return with renewed energy. We just want the old Garrett Hamilton back."
"Can I leave now?"
"Garrett, if you don't mind. I'd like to speak to you alone, in my office." Nic walked to the door.
"No. I am leaving." Grabbing my portfolio, I pushed away from Jeff's desk and stood.
"Jeff . . ." Nic leveled a knowing look at him. He nodded and exited his office, closing the door behind him. She crossed in front of me, blocking the exit.
"Nic, be honest for once. This is about Jasmine."
"Why would I care about you or Jasmine? This is about doing what's right. I could have tossed you on your ass, but I didn't. I think we can both admit that your mind's been elsewhere. In thirty days, the Wallace team and your distractions will no longer be an issue."
I sidestepped her and placed my hand on the doorknob. I stopped when she called over to me.
"Garrett, wait. I ask that you go home and think about if this is what you want."
I flung open the door and took a deep breath before storming out of the room. I'd spent eight years of my life working to cultivate a professional brand that exuded quality and creativity. For the first time in my career, I was not a star player. If given the opportunity, Nic would unceremoniously toss me out on my ass and throw me under the bus.
I hated that years of hard work hung in the balance of Nic's whims.
Fuck that. I would stand and do what was right.
Fuck Jeff.
And fuck Nic.
Jasmine
"Hey, babe, call when you get a chance."
I wrapped up a productive meeting with the enterprise applications department when I received the voicemail from Garrett. The sounds of the city provided a noisy backdrop, but his voice was anguished and raw. It was the voice where anger bubbled just beneath the surface.
The project war room was eerily quiet. The time was eleven forty-five, and we were fifteen minutes into lunch. There were several food containers on the kitchenette counters, but the room was empty. The analysts were likely taking a midday walk, enjoying the unusually cool summer day.
Hunter and Lilah appeared at the conference room door. The two shared the same strained expression.
"There you are." Lilah exhaled a breath of relief.
"What's going on? Where's everyone?" I asked.
Hunter and Lilah traded concerned looks. Hunter turned back to me.