Chapter 38

By 6 pm, the office was a ghost town, just as I had hoped. Maria and Mike walked in from the direction of the elevators, both of them giggling and slightly disheveled.

Looked like they were on again, I thought with a shudder. I grabbed a memory stick from my desk drawer and walked over to them.

“We have to hurry,” I told Mike as I led him and Maria to Peter’s old office. “Logan always returns at precisely 6:30 from his evening run.”

I turned to look at Mike to make sure he understood. His face turned a light shade of green.

“Cool,” he said. “No pressure at all. This is great.”

“You’ve got this baby,” Maria kissed him on the cheek. She whispered something in his ear and they both giggled.

“Alright, enough of that,” I pushed open the door to Peter’s office.

We walked in. I started to turn the light on but thought it would be best to leave it off. Mike walked behind the desk and powered the computer up.

“I’m trying to find a fake email and a surveillance video,” I explained. “I think if you can just figure out the pass…”

“I’m in,” Mike said.

My mouth dropped. “Woah, Mike! That’s incredible!”

He started laughing. “I’m just kidding. I’ve always wanted to say that. Nah, this thing is still booting up, it’s ancient. But once it is on I can get in quickly, there’s a password we have that bypasses locked computers. You’d be amazed how often people get locked out because they’ve forgotten their login.”

Maria leaned in close to me and whispered, “Look at him. Cute and smart and funny.”

“Yeah,” I said dryly. “He’s a real hoot.”

Mike clicked the mouse and typed on the keyboard. “Okay, now I’m in for real.”

He stepped away from the computer. Peter had a few folders on the desktop. I looked at the screen, unsure of where to start. Mike was watching my closely.

“Do you need help, or…?” He started.

“Just…give me a second.” I opened each of the folders one at a time, quickly scanning the contents of each.

“Because you said we’re on a tight deadline and you’re looking a little ‘deer in the headlights,’” he said nervously.

I ignored him and clicked on the last, unnamed folder. It only contained two documents: the fake email and the video. I smiled.

“I’m in!” I said. I popped the memory stick into the computer to transfer the files over.

“Does that mean…” he started.

“I found what I’m looking for, thank you,” I said. I looked at my watch. 6:20. “You guys should go, I don’t want Logan to catch you here.”

“You sure you’ll be okay?” Maria said.

“Yeah, this should be done soon, I’ll be alright,” I smiled. “Thanks Mike.”

“Thank you, this was kind of a rush,” he smiled. “You’d be surprised how boring working in IT can be. The day just drones on and on and…”

“We’re going,” Maria said, pushing Mike towards the door. “Text me later, Haze.”

They left and closed the door behind them. I watched the computer screen. The video was only 78% uploaded.

“Come onnnn,” I groaned.

I heard muffled voices from outside the door and turned. To my horror, Logan was standing out in the office area close to my desk, and he was talking to Maria and Mike. Mike looked like he was about to throw up. I watched Maria gesture towards my desk.

I ducked down behind Peter’s desk. I positioned myself so I could still see the screen. It was only 6:23, why was he back early?? I peeked from behind the desk. Maria and Mike were walking away, looking relieved. Logan was walking into his office.

I glanced back up at the screen. 98%. This was excruciating.

I kept my eyes glued to the screen and as soon as it hit 100%, I hit the ‘eject media’ button and yanked the memory stick out of the computer.

Before I could plan my next move, the light in the office came on. I froze in place.

“Hazel?” Logan’s voice came from above me.

I shoved the memory stick in my sweater pocket and slowly stood. I looked at the desk and grabbed a random pen. “Ah, here’s the pen I loaned Peter but never got back.” I shook my head. “It’s hard to let go of a good pen, you know?”

Logan frowned at me. “Doing more dirty work for Peter?” He asked.

“Logan, please, if you would just give me five minutes I could explain everything…” I pleaded.

“I have a date to get to,” he said. “I’ll draw up your termination papers in the morning. I suggest you start packing up your things tonight.”

---

“Two for Logan?” The hostess called out.

Logan gently placed his hand in the small of Natalie’s back as they followed the hostess to their table. He pulled out her seat for her, then took his across the table.

“So, tell me, how was your day at the studio?” Logan smiled at her.

Natalie began describing her day, but Logan was having trouble paying attention. He couldn’t stop thinking about Hazel. He thought she was different from all the others. This betrayal…he thought he was used to it by now, but this one hurt him deeply. He didn’t want to admit to himself why that was so.

“Logan?” Natalie said, snapping him out of his thoughts. The waitress had arrived and was looking at him expectantly.

“Oh, um…” he glanced down at the menu. “Honey, would you like some wine?”

She laughed. “I already ordered the most expensive bottle they have for us. Do you want any appetizers?”

He was a little taken aback. She ordered the most expensive wine? Without talking about it first? “No, I’m good. But please, order whatever you would like.”

“Just the wine for now,” Natalie smiled at the waitress. “Now, where was I?”

“Uh…” Logan hadn’t heard a single word Natalie had said.

“Oh, yes! So then the director came over and…” Natalie jumped right back into describing her day. Logan let out a small sigh of relief.

The waitress returned moments later with a bottle of Pinot Noir. She poured each of them a glass and set the bottle on the table.

“Are you ready to order?” She asked.

“Mm, yes,” Natalie said, picking up her menu. “I’ll have the lobster. Can I upgrade the side to asparagus?”

“Absolutely. That is a $5 upcharge, is that alright?” the waitress smiled.

“Oh, yeah, no problem,” Natalie said. Logan was stunned.

“And for the gentleman?” The waitress asked.

“I will do the same,” Logan said, mostly because he hadn’t looked at the menu, but also because he was taken aback at how casually Natalie was ordering the most expensive things possible. It wasn’t about the money, she could have what she wanted. But he was beginning to wonder about her intent.

Natalie reached her hand across the table and wiggled her fingers at Logan. He smiled and took her hand in his.

“Oh! I have something for you,” he said. “It’s in the car, I’ll be right back.”

Logan returned to the table moments later with a black gift bag in his hand. He gave it to Natalie. She eagerly pushed the tissue paper aside and pulled out a brown leather purse. She grabbed the price tag and smiled approvingly when she saw the brand and price.

“Oh, Logan, this is incredible!” She squealed.

He smiled at her. “I’m so glad you like it.”

“Do you know what would go great with this purse? There’s a pair of dark purple Madeline heels that I saw the other day. I am just dying for a pair of those. I haven’t tried them on, but…” she began to drone on about the shoes.

Logan frowned again. He wanted to please his wife, of course, but…was she just using him for his money like everyone else?

He shook his head. If this was going to work, he needed to not feed into those fears. “How about I take you to look at those shoes after dinner?”