AS YOU MELT THIS HEART OF STONE

SUNSHINE

" Sunshine, on my shoulders
Makes me happy.
Sunshine, in my eyes
Can make me cry.
Sunshine, on the water
Looks so lovely.
Sunshine, almost always
Makes me high...." - John Denver
--------------------------

"Here is the file you wanted to see, sir."

The very professional voice of my new secretary broke the chain of my thoughts.

"Leave it on the desk."

"Anything else sir?"

"No. You may leave for the day."

"Alright sir. Goodnight."

I nodded in acknowledgement and dove to the work at hand -

The search for the thief and the USB.

The file in front of me was a highly restricted and top secret file. Only me, Leonard and Romeo had the full knowledge of it.
Inside that file, were information which Romeo's team gathered about all my rival companies and enemies in personal life - about their moves and actions in last few months.

But the problem was, almost all of them were crude businessmen and more or less each of them had to move into shady regions. So it was difficult to determine from all of their suspicious moves, which was actually linked to the theft.

Leonard and Romeo entered my office after all the employees left.

"Any progress, Romeo? "

"No sir...."

*************
I was sitting in my living room. It was well past midnight. But as usual, sleep was evading me, again.

I was deep in thought, the restricted file open on my lap.

Romeo's words came to my mind-

(Flashback)

"You have something else in your mind, Romeo? "

He hesitated a bit before replying, "It is actually.... I don't know, it may not have any connection at all...but..."

I was growing impatient, "Be out with it."

"It is your new secretary, sir. Don't you find some of her behaviours a bit strange? "

I arched my eyebrows in question.

"Well. She comes everyday really early even if she doesn't need to. That I can ignore thinking that she is really dedicated to her work. But re-entering the office everyday after everyone leaves is not something I find normal. In any other works she doesn't seem clumsy type. So why does she everyday forget her things at office?"

(End flashback)

Was his suspicion valid? Was my new secretary the missing link to the thief and the USB?

He had logic. Although she had started working for me for only four days, I had never seen her being clumsy or forgetful in anything. She seemed to be very composed and professional type of person.

"Unlike the previous one? " quipped my inner voice

As usual, I ignored him totally.

Well, where were we? Yes, the secretary. Why did she come back everyday after office hour? Was she searching for the flash drive, the one to break the codes in the stolen USB?

My eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

But she surely was not the main culprit, neither was the thief. They were all playing puppets and all the threads were in the expert hands of someone far more important, someone whose stakes were high in this game, someone ruthless who could give the order to hurt an innocent woman to get what he or she wanted.