10 The USB Drive
The job Smith wanted us to finish is not done yet. I trot to my office and try to avoid Smith's assistant.
"Oh, my God," I shout and jump back, seeing Smith sitting in my chair. "What the hell, Smith? I had a heart attack." He looks surprised by my tone. I shake my head. "What is it?"
"I want the job you were supposed to finish by today," he says.
I breathe deeply, imagining the ways our conversation would go. Gulping hard, I put my bag on my desk. "It's not finished yet."
He rises from my chair and walks toward me. "What do you mean, it's not finished yet?"
"We have a bit of a problem with the recorded sounds. It's—"
"Are you saying you didn't do the job I specifically wanted you to finish by today?"
I blink a few times and say nothing.
"Is that why I made you the manager? So that you could be just like Sebastian?" His voice gets louder, and I remain silent because he's too mad. "I made a mistake by choosing you. You proved that to me. You have thirty minutes to get it done. Or you're as dead as Sebastian to this company."
He leaves, and I sit in my chair, holding my head between my hands.
A knock on the door brings me back to earth from the worry world. "Yes?" I say.
Peter, the new guy, I mean the old new guy, enters. "Ms. Collins, may I?" he says.
I gesture for him. "Of course." He sits in a chair close to my desk. I wait for him to talk, but he doesn't. "Is there anything I can help you with?" I ask.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" He asks.
I clear my throat. "Uh?"
"I'm here to work. You don't have to do everything by yourself. Tell me how I can help you."
"Okay. Well... We're close to finishing it. But I have a problem with the sounds. There's something I can't fix in this."
"Can I see it?"
"Sure," I say.
Peter takes my iPad and leaves. I follow him and see him working on his PC. Surprisingly, he knows what he's doing. I feel bad for judging him without knowing what he is capable of.
"Hey," I say, smiling, and he turns to me. "Let's finish it together." I turn to my crew. "Everyone, gather here!" I shout, and they all approach us. "Peter knows how to fix the problem we had with the voice."
"Really?" Sara asks.
"Yes," I say. "Now, do whatever Peter asks you. We need to finish it ASAP!"
After forty minutes, I bring my external hard to Smith's office and give it to him. His boyfriend is standing there like the grim reaper clawing at my heart.
"You're ten minutes late," Smith says with a scowl.
I breathe deeply. "It was a hard job. But it's finished now."
"Yeah. Now! Look at the time! I wanted it ten minutes ago!" he says. I close my eyes to prevent myself from snapping. "Actually, forty minutes ago!"
"I'm sorry."
"Sorry doesn't do my job! Sebastian was sorry too!"
"Really? Sebastian?"
"Yes! Remember him? That unworthy manager!"
"Why don't you do it yourself?"
"Pardon me?"
"If you expect so high of me, then you're that good."
"I'm not an animator!"
"Exactly!" My words are firm, and he freezes. "Sebastian was a walking penis, hitting on everything with a hole in it. He never did what I'm doing now. So, don't ever compare us again!"
Maybe I went a little too far. I stand here with a heart pumping insanely. Smith is sitting in his chair, looking chill. Oh, God.
"Leave," he says in a low tone.
I gulp and stay where I am. "Am I fired?" I ask lowly.
"Just leave, for God's sake," he says.
I exit his office and enter the restroom to wash my face with cold water and cool off my nerves. Today is really something.
"Mia," a voice startles me as I splash water on my face.
"Jesus fucking—!"
I turn around and hold on to the sink. Jess is looking at me, standing in the middle of the restroom.
"What the hell are you doing in the girls' room?!" I ask.
"We need to talk. Please."
"If anything happens to me—"
"You think I'm gonna hurt you? I want to talk."
"What needs to be talked about in a girls' restroom?"
"Nobody's here except us. I locked the door."
"That makes you creepier."
"Focus, Mia. Please."
"Okay! Talk."
"About the favor."
"I already told you. I can't do it if you don't tell me what's inside that thing."
"I'll tell you. But don't interrupt. Just listen." I nod, and he continues. "Smith needed something to have all his necessary information on it. I gave him a portable flash stick everywhere. It has all his passwords, data, and everything. Only he has access to it physically. But I gave myself virtual access as well."
"Jess!"
"I said don't interrupt! A few days ago, I noticed someone else looking through the data, and I need to know who it is."
"You, sicko!"
"Shh! Speak lower."
"You did this too?" I say, lowering my voice and slapping his arm. He backs away from me, wincing. "Why the hell would you give yourself access to such a thing?" I say in a sharp whisper.
"Because I need to know things about him!"
"What happened to the sweet guy I knew?!"
He raises an eyebrow. "I was never sweet. I need information in case he wants to screw me over someday."
"He doesn't want to screw you over!"
"Everyone screws a tech guy over someday."
"Why do you need the flash drive now? Someone else is just as nosy as your dumb ass. Why do you care?"
"I work at other companies too! If someone realizes there's a breach inside Whoosh's security, I'll lose all my jobs! I can imagine the singers who will sue me for their leaked songs. My reputation cannot go down like this."
"Can't you check the hacker's identity or location?"
"Not virtually. I denied that access to myself like an idiot. Whoever it is, he's physically using the flash stick on other devices. It's not the same IP as Smith's laptop."
"Why would I believe what you say is true? What if you want the flash drive cause it has information, and there's no third person here?"
"Look at me. I'm standing in a girls' room. You think I would lie like this?"
"Yes."
"Mia! Come on! You believe that?"
"Yes! Because you're a sneaky liar now who spies on people."
"Are you in or not?"
"What will you do when you get it?"
"I'll try to find the spy."
"And?"
"And we'll warn Smith about it."
"What if he uses it on his other devices?"
"I asked him the other day. To make sure it's not him. He said he only uses his laptop."
"And why don't you get it yourself?"
"I can't enter Smith's office without drawing attention. But you go there every day."
"Okay, fine. I'll get it for you."
"Really?"
"Yes. I owe you, so..."
"Okay... I'll be waiting for you. I have Smith's schedule. I know every entering and exiting time. He leaves at three every Tuesday to get lunch with Williams. That's the right time."
"Tuesday? Tomorrow?"
"Yes. Now I'll leave. You wait for at least ten minutes and then get out. Okay?"
"Why are we so secretive about it?"
"The person using it could be anyone."
He leaves, and I wait ten minutes to exit.
It's Tuesday now. I can't breathe since anxiety has taken over my body. It's an ordinary day at the office, and the clock shows two forty-five. Smith will leave a quarter of an hour later. I'm standing in the hallway, watching his office.
"Mia," someone calls me, and I turn around. It's Emily.
I smile, trying to look less suspicious. "Yes?"
"Nina's here about the new project."
"Right now?"
"Yes."
"Can't we just—?"
"Hey!" Nina, one of our clients, says, approaching us.
"Hey, Nina!" I say, and we hug each other briefly.
"It's been so long! Let's go to your office. I'll take a coffee, Emily!"
She walks to my room. Before I follow her, I look over my shoulder and see Smith leaving with James by his side. I need to end the meeting with Nina pretty quickly.
'How long does his lunch take?' I text Jess.
'Almost half an hour. Are you in?' Jess texts back.
'I'll get in soon.'
We talk about the project with Nina. It seems she is here to hang out and not to set a plan for the project. I keep looking at my watch while she keeps talking. It's three twenty-five now. There are only five minutes left before Smith returns from his lunch break.
Miguel comes into my office. "Nina!" He says, and Nina gets on her feet.
"Miguel!" she greets him.
"Cómo estás, chica?"
"Muy bien! Even better now!"
They kiss each other on the cheek, and I see this as an opportunity to flee the room.
"I need to make a phone call. Miguel, please stay with Nina, would you?" I say.
"It's my pleasure," he responds.
I get out of my room and trot to Smith's. Everyone is busy with their jobs. They won't care if I get into the office. Taking a deep breath, I walk toward the room with the calmest steps I can take. After getting in, I close the door behind me. Oh, my God. My heart! I run toward Smith's desk and look for his laptop. There's a locked drawer. I get my bobby pin off my hair and open the lock. The laptop! Finally. But the flash drive's not connected to it! I look everywhere. Every drawer. Every closet. My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I jump.
'They're coming!' Jess has texted.
I put the laptop inside the drawer. After cleaning everywhere, I rush outside the office. Smith's at the entering door of the company with his boyfriend, James, by his side. I wipe my forehead and run toward Jess's department.
I spot Jess in his seat. "It wasn't—" I say, approaching him. He moves his finger in front of his mouth to silence me.
He wraps his arm around mine. "Let's have a coffee outside," he says, pulling me with himself.
We get into a cafe and sit at a table. "It wasn't there," I say.
Jess clenches his jaw. "Fuck it."
"His laptop was there, but the flash drive wasn't. He doesn't carry the laptop with him. So, he needs other devices to use the flash drive."
"I don't know. If it's not the case and someone else uses it, we're doomed. I couldn't find anything on the camera footage either."
"There's a camera at his office?!"
"Yes."
I let out a scared sound. Jess shushes me. "Nothing will happen!" he says.
"You let me get into his office knowing there's a camera!" I say as fear grows inside me.
"Shh!!! I had them turned off! No one will see it!"
"You used me! That's why you didn't do it! You wanted me to go down when they saw the camera footage!"
"Can you hear me? The cameras were off!"
"If I lose my job because of you—"
"You won't! Jesus, calm down!"
I get on my feet and leave without saying a word. How could I believe a man who didn't even mention a camera? It was a huge mistake. Once again, I feel used and betrayed by Jess. I'm to blame—
"Whoa—" a voice says after we stumble to each other. It's James Williams, Smith's lover. "Look where you're going," he says, looking down at the things he has dropped on the floor.
He kneels to gather his belongings, and I do the same to help him. I grab the papers from the floor and tidy them. Then I put them in the binder I find on the floor. Something metallic sparks beneath the binder and catches my attention. It's a flash stick. I grab it and look at it as the strange shape of it confuses me. There's no brand name on it. My eyes widen. This flash stick could be the one Jess was talking about.
"Are you gonna give that back to me?" James says, and I zone out of my unanswered questions and look at him.
"What?" I ask.
"That," he says, pointing his eyes at the flash drive.
I gulp and stretch my hand in front of him. "Here," I say as I hand him the binder and the flash drive.
After collecting everything, he gets back on his feet and walks away. I stare at him and wonder how I didn't see this coming.