We discuss the issue for a few more minutes before everyone shuffles out, Jaxon’s team moving him back to the VIP area for a meet-and-greet. I wonder what he’ll say to Izzy about her chant choice. If I weren’t terrified I’m going to get fired, I might find it funny my sister likely just started an international trend.
But I can’t shake the nagging feeling that’s been tugging at the back of my mind since the moment the cameras first failed. This wasn’t just random, and it wasn’t equipment failure. It had to be someone inside. Someone who knew exactly what they were doing.
Suddenly, everything starts to feel much more sinister. Thisisn’tjust a glitch. This is intentional sabotage of me.
And who has the most to gain from my failure…? Mitchell Security.
Chapter twenty-eight
Carter
“Didyouseeherface?” Trent asks, slapping his hand down on the table between us the next morning. “I almost came in my pants. I’ve wanted to see Kelsey Harper have that look of confusion on her face for so long.”
It’s taking every ounce of self-control I have not to break his stupid nose because, as much as I want to, I don’t need another incident like in high school. And sure, maybe I should’ve mentioned I was dating Kelsey when Trent, with Julie and her friends in tow, showed up unexpectedly again, but honestly, it didn’t seem like his business. It also seemed like Kelsey wouldn’t want him to know.
I shake my head, letting the disgust show on my face. “You’re a dick.”
“I know you’ve always been on Team Kelsey Harper, but come on, man, you have to admit how great this is for us.”
I clear my throat. “I may be more on Team Kelsey now.”
Trent looks at me, and instead of the anger I expected to see in his eyes, I see glee.
“No fucking way! You’re banging Kelsey Harper?”
I take a deep breath, glad the little restaurant around the corner from the hotel is empty except for us. How did I end up working for this grade-A prick? And why the fuck does he say her last name every time he refers to her? Is that how I sounded growing up?
“We’re dating.”
He scoffs. “Sure. Does she know that?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you two don’t seem like you’re dating. So it seems like maybe it’s all in your head.”
“We’re just being professional. You should try it sometime.”
“Oh, a little bit of heat from baby brother.” Trent laughs.
“Don’t call me that,” I say, my voice low.
There is something about Trent’s face that gives me pause. Trent’s always been an asshole, but he’s never been overtly evil, but there’s something about him that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
“Anyway, tell me your plan for winning this contract. You do have a plan, right?” Trent demands, leaning his elbows on the table between us. “Because if we don’t get it, we likely won’t get the other contracts I’ve been working on, and I won’t have any option but to start making cuts. And you’re my most expensive employee.”
I force myself to take a deep breath, reminding myself that killing him wouldn’t help me. Then I’d just be working for his wife—or more likely, she’d sell the company off in pieces for the money, and I’d be outof a job. And now that I know about Kelsey’s history, there’s no way I could ask her to hire me.
“I think we’re well positioned to win. Our team has been outstanding; no issues on our watch. Honestly, I think this most recent outage hurt us—”
“What do you mean?” Trent cuts in before I can finish my thought.
“Well, with the earpieces, that felt like it was likely a mistake that happened at a bad time. This thing? With the video feeds looping and then cutting off only for her team? That feels like sabotage.”
“Or she’s terrible at her job. I don’t know why people keep skipping over that as an option. Her team’s job is cybersecurity, and she can’t even keep people from breaking into her own systems? Seems like a skill issue to me.”
I rub my hands over my face, combating the headache that always seems to pop up when I’m around Trent. “Regardless, it doesn’t change the fact that Jaxon and his team aren’t idiots. And now it looks like someone is trying to make Kelsey look bad. And I can only assume they think it was us.”
Trent’s eyes go dark, and I’m forced to really consider if Trent could be behind this. He’s never been the type to play that dirty before, but it is within the realm of possibility. Except he doesn’t have the tech skills to pull something like this off. Not him, and not any of the guys on our team.
