"I think Fitz might be the sketchy one." I switched the phone over to my other ear and walked out to the balcony, "Or maybe Hunt-- probably Fitz." I said. "Hunt asked me to keep an eye on him, for other reasons, but, he obviously suspects him too."
My Father sighed on the other end of the phone, "What else?"
"I noticed that Fitz locks his office, but Hunt doesn't," I said.
"Alot of people lock their offices, Julianne."
Leaning my elbow onto the railing, I rested my chin onto my hand and stared out across the city. It was more magnificent than during the day. The taxis whizzed through the streets and honked at each other while the buildings with the neon lights lit up the dark sky.
My Father impatiently coughed, "Julianne?"
"Oh, right," I pepped up, "Uh, yeah like I was saying, it's not only the door locking situation he has going on! He has personal guards in the lobby with metal detectors, a private elevator and cameras set up in the hallway on the fiftieth floor."
When he paused to consider what I had said, I pranced back into the apartment and threw myself onto the bed. Sure, the New York night life was the coolest thing to ever grace my eyes, but sitting and working all day, by a window, that was 140m from the ground, made the novelty of it all wear off quickly. Not even Fitz and his godly jaw could distract me from my sudden... fear? of heights.
"Julianne, are you listening to me?!"
No, I'm fantasizing about my boss, "Yes," I lied.
"If this is going to work then you have to focus," He dragged the word out as if I was too stupid to understand him, "I need this to work!"
"Okay, okay!" I surrendered, "Tell me what to do next and I'll do it."
He blew a breath into the speaker, "You have to go into Hunt's office; given that it is the only one available to you."
"Then what?" I masked my fear with a peppy tone.
"Dig," He stated simply, "Dig through his files, his drawers... even his computer if you can. We'll provide you with a hacking chip as soon as possible, but for now, do what you can and don't get caught."
The line went dead and the fear kicked in. I thought I'd have at least a week to settle in and act normal around my bosses before I started snooping among their stuff, and frankly, I didn't know what I was even looking for. But that was my Father's fault. He'd only lightly briefed me on the situation with Fitz and Hunt before flinging me onto a plane and expecting me to strike gold on day one.
Pulling my thoughts together, I locked them away somewhere in the back of my mind and tucked myself into bed. If I had any chance of getting a decent night sleep, I had to have a mind clear of all work related bullshit.
Before shutting my eyes, I glanced over at the framed picture on my bedside cabinet. I was going to find them, no matter what the cost.
-
I awoke the next day, considerably more nervous than I was twenty four hours ago. Thanks to my Father, and inability to take things easy, I was going to sneak into Nick Hunt's office and rummage through his drawers and cabinets... without getting caught. How? I didn't know, but sitting at my desk that morning, all I could do was wonder how I was going to pull it off.
"Miss Jones," Hunt burst through the door and I quickly shifted my eyes to the computer screen, pretending to be busy. "I have to run! Last minute conference on the floor below and it completely slipped my mind until now," He glanced down at his Rolex, his eyes widening, "If Sam shows up, tell him to come and find me."
I breathed a sigh of relief and watched him run out into the hallway. While the door closed, I managed to catch a glimpse of him hopping around on one foot, trying to pull on his shoe. If there was one way to lift my spirits- before risking my job, my Father's job and possibly my life- that was definitely it.
Pulling my chair into the desk, I fumbled around with the keys and opened the stream to the security cameras. Hunt was gone and Fitz was nowhere in sight. Well, of course he wasn't, it was 9:35am and from what Hunt had told me, he rarely appeared at work when he was supposed to.
Double checking the screen once more, I slid out of the leather chair and inched towards the door that would lead me into Hunt's office. I stopped at the entrance and took a short breather. Good thing I had opted for a pleated skirt and blouse-- instead of the hideous pant suit that Lace had begged me to wear via our Skype chat that morning-- or I would have sweated through it already.
"He deserves this, he's a dirty criminal." I reminded myself.
I cracked open the door and slipped inside. The small-ish, square, room was floored with fancy black, polished, tiles and the walls coated in a dusky paint; it was like something from a spy movie with all the sleek surfaces and slim-line computers. I was officially intimidated.
But I had no time to bask in fear if I wanted to find something today, so I flicked through the stack of papers that were piled high on the desk, my heart pounding against my chest as I did so. Although dainty, my fingers may aswell have been sausages because no matter how hard I tried to control them and focus on finding what I needed, my hands simply refused to cooperate with my brain.
Leaning forward, I rested my palms on the edge of the mahogany surface and bowed my head, taking a deep breath. One file; it was all I needed to get another step closer to finding them.
As I stepped back and regained my composure, the office door swung open and in walked the last person I wanted to see, "And what might you be doing in here?" Fitz said and cocked his head to the side, awaiting an explanation.
As if my heart wasn't already doing overtime, I just had to be caught in the one place I shouldn't be.
My eyes scanned the room, looking for something, anything, that would give me a reason to be present in territory that was strictly off limits. I couldn't exactly fess up to snooping around and risk getting fired.
Just as I began to lose hope, I spotted something on the desk, "My pen broke," I said with a false sense of disappointment in my voice. Side stepping, I grabbed it and waved it in the air, "I had to come get another so that I could finish filling out that paperwork you gave me last night."
His jaw locked, "I suggest you remove yourself from this office before Nick comes back, sees you and fires your ass."
I waited until he strode back down the hallway, in his ridiculously tight trousers, before skimming through the stack once more. I found nothing but invoices and uncashed cheques from clients. My only other option was to access the computer and attempt to locate what I needed, but with possible suspicion being raised, I wasn't taking the chance- not today.
It was safe to say that tension was at an all time high from then on. Fitz just had to get up and come to work at a reasonable time on the one day I needed him to be lazy. And though I wish it had been, it wasn't the worst thing to happen during my nine hour shift. Fitz had requested that I met him in his office at the end of the day and all I could think about was the possibility of getting fired.
My Father would kill me and I would hate myself for fucking up the one opportunity I had to find what I'd been looking for since I was thirteen.
But I had no time to sulk and worry about what would happen, because it was already 4:57pm. Winging it was my only option, if Fitz decided to re-enquire as to why I was snooping.
"Mr. Fitzgerald?" I knocked on his door, at exactly 5pm, and took a step back. It took a while for him to respond- almost like he knew that with every second that ticked by, I grew more anxious- but he eventually gave me the go ahead to come inside.
As usual, he sat at his desk with a hard expression, "Julianne-" He stopped and looked up at me, "it's alright if I call you Julianne, right?"
I weakly nodded.
"I couldn't help but notice how quickly you've grasped your role here at Global Export," I didn't know if he was being sarcastic or not, so I kept my mouth shut, "And for that reason, I've decided to give you a little... homework."
Was this a company or an elementary school? "Homework?" I asked.
"Yes," He unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt and rolled the sleeves up to his elbow, "Every year, we hold a gala and invite our investors, friends, associates, even our competition. It's more of a social event but I'd like it if you attended."
I studied his face, his perfect, clean-shaven face, for any sign that said he was fucking with me, but he was dead serious. His shiny, copper eyes remained fixated on my own and, before I could respond, he reached into the drawer of his desk and pulled out a file. It looked just like the one I'd read on him- how ironic.
I glanced down at it, "What's that?"
"It contains the name of every guest, including a general profile of them," He licked his finger and began to flick through the pages, "Study it, memorize it. That is, if you're up to the job?"
Between the seductive finger lick and the way he teased me, and my ability to do my job correctly, I wanted nothing more than to-
"Julianne?" He said with that same coy smirk as before, "Would that be a yes... or a no?"
A file that had the name and information of every guest at his gala; one of which could be the dodgy dealer my Father and his company were looking for? Jackpot.
"It would be my pleasure."