“Upstairs,” Magnes says. “My office. Now. Please.”
“Right.” I know what happens next. This is the end of me at Cryptech.
Mr. Loch leads the way down the hall.
“I really think he’s been a better, more rounded person the past couple months,” Magnes says quietly as the elevator pings up upward.
“Who?” I shift on my feet.
“I haven’t seen him this happy in years. I think you’ve had a positive effect on him and I hope he brings out the best in you too.”
“I’m not sure I know what you mean?” I choose to play dumb. Does Mr. Loch know that I’m dating Sacha?
The elevator pings to a stop. The doors open.
“After you, please, Ms. Thorn.” Mr. Loch gestures one large arm toward the door.
My heart thrums in my chest. How could he know? Sacha wouldn’t tell him. This must be about the virus.
“This way,” Mr. Loch leads us through a floor filled with cubicles, past his assistant’s alcove and into his large office.
It’s similar in layout to Sacha’s with a wall of windows, and one of shelves, but Magnes’s furniture is more modern, with a glass topped metal desk and sleek leather chairs. The room darkening curtains are drawn and a large fish tank is embeddedin one wall, casting an eerie blue glow across the dim room. In the shadows of one corner is the telltale glow of Mr. Pleasant’s red eyes.
“Take a seat, Bailey.” The long necked plesiosaur cranes his head to look at the door, “the lights are dimmed so that Mr. Pleasant could join us for this meeting. If that’s okay with you?”
I swallow hard. “Is something wrong, sirs?”
Mr. Loch sighs like he’s in pain.
“Please, sit.”
I wring my fingers in front of my skirt, and glance at the chair in front of his desk and then back to Magnes.
“It was an accident you know? I didn’t mean for it to happen?”
“An accident?” Magnes asks.
“Obviously I wouldn’t have clicked on the link if I’d realized. It was a busy morning, and the email said it was just a video meeting.”
Pleasant makes a strange tittering noise in the corner. “She means the virus.”
“Ms. Thorn. That isn’t why you are here,” Mr. Loch says.
“It isn’t?” I ask.
“When we were clearing the virus from our network, one of our IT associates found a concerning item in your email,” Mr. Loch says. “Do you know what we found?”
Now I sit down.
Chris. Chris, from IT, who I did not go on a date with, who doesn’t like me, and I should have punched that night at the sushi restaurant. Chris overheard my conversation with Tatiana. Chris went through my files. Chris took it to HR.
“Ms. Thorn, can you describe your relationship with Mr. Kwatch?”
“I’d rather not,” I squeak out.
“We know about the contract,” Mr. Pleasant says, and it feels like my stomach drops from my body. “The one that you signed for Sacha.”
The panic in my chest squeezes tight. Fuck. I am totally fucked.
