And I will be damned if I let him take what doesn’t belong to him.
I pack a pair of socks and shoes before latching my Stone Timeworks watch, the dark shades of grey and black glinting in the light with an almost diamond sheen. I sling my backpack over my shoulder and make my way downstairs and make my daily breakfast smoothie. The digital clock on the wall reads 4:30, and I let out a heavy breath as I grab my laptop and slip it into my backpack, and head for the car. I told Oliver I’d be by at six, to collect him, but for what I want to do, I am going to need a little bit of time to myself before I see my darling assistant.
The drive to Oliver’s is quiet. Almost eerily quiet. At this hour, there aren’t many people on the road, and for that I’m thankful. Most of the commuters and businessmen and women are waking up, just getting ready to start their day. I pull into the apartment complex parking lot and shut my car off. It takes only a few seconds for me to get my laptop up and running and logged into Ghost. A few commands later, I’m into the system.
“Alright, Computer Program, you want to play. Let’s fucking play.”
I bring up Ghost Mode on my phone—another private project that no one knows about for obvious reasons. I close my laptop and hide it underneath my seat, grabbing the backpack and exiting the car.
I pull my hood over my head, keeping my head down as I saunter through the shadows. It’s been a long time since I’ve had to utilizethisskillset. Cultivating my persona as Mr. Pierce took decades, and it wasn’t onlybecause I knew pretending to be a straight playboy would make me more palatable to the corporate puppeteers. It was because I knew I could domoreas Mr. Pierce, CEO of Veil, than I could have ever done asM4st3r_Gl1tch.And I’d been right. I buriedM4st3r_Gl1tchand out of those ashes, came the man responsible for the Veil. I always found it somewhat ironic, that the very thing that made me a billionaire and gave me my new identity was a glitch. But just because Iderezzedmy former self, doesn’t mean I have forgotten who I was or how I got here.
I carefully slip through the quiet alleys until I find the spot I need. Building A. The closest building to the server. I keep myself out of frame and pull up my phone, swiping until I find the switch I want. With one click, the camera goes off. All of them.
I set to work quickly. The tech isn’t brand new, but it’s not outdated, either. I’ve got a fifteen-minute window to swap out the cameras and outfit them with my upgrade—a chip modified with a very unauthorized Veil upgrade and Ghost backdoor. It’s a risk to put Ghost out there like this, but chances are the staff at Zulu won’t notice the upgrade unless they take the cameras apart. For the most part, it’ll operate as they always have, but Veil will increase the detection capability. Ghost will ensure no one notices anything’s been tampered with. My hands move quickly as I unscrew the mount and prop open the bottom, quickly inserting the chip and getting it screwed back on. After the last chip, I make my way to Oliver’s porch. I check Ghost to make sure the cameras are still off, which they are, and then I carefully grab a small battery-sized disk, which I’d applied adhesive to last night, against the base of the porch lantern. I take a few steps back, making sure it’s inconspicuous enough to the naked eye.
I check my watch. Five minutes left until the cameras come back on.
I sling my backpack over my shoulder and carefully sneak back to the car. When I get there, I don’t turn it on. Instead, I grab my laptop and open up Ghost and wait. When the cameras come on,I see everything. Including Oliver’s door. I settle my laptop on the passenger seat as I pull out my clothes and carefully undress myself and change. When it’s 5:40, I am just straightening my shirt, my shadowed disguise hidden in the bottom of my backpack. I get out of the car and toss it in the trunk.
5:43.
I run a hand through my hair, taming it from my hoodie.
I carefully walk towards Oliver’s porch, glancing up at the lantern with a smirk. And then I knock on the door.
Chapter Twenty
Sloane
“Mr. Pierce, you’re… early.”
His blonde hair is still wet, falling in his eyes. I refrain from reaching out and touching him. Not until I have him alone.
“Are you ready for me?” I ask.
Oliver licks his lips. “I just… need to grab my jacket.”
“I’ll wait.”
Oliver nods as he closes the door, but it bumps against the ledge and props open just a sliver. I shift my body just slightly, enough I can peek inside. I can’t see much, but I don’t need to.
All I see is a clean, open-space and Oliver stretching his long, lithe arms through the sleeves of a jacket that is far too short for him.
When he comes out and closes the door, he looks a bit flustered.
“You don’t have to keep picking me up, you know," he says.
I turn and head to the car, Oliver on my heels.
“I know," I say. “But perhaps I like your company.”
And being in your presence means I can protect you from wicked ex-boyfriends who like to take things that don’t belong to them.
I can almostfeelOliver rolling his eyes, and I can’t help but smirk.
When we get to the car, I open his door and don’t miss the smile on his face.
For a moment, I don’t turn the car on. I pull out my phone, casually acting as if I am checking my email or my messages, but what I am really doing is activating my car’s Veil. The windows tint, but he doesn’t notice. A faint click whirs, turning the car on. To the average person, I’m sure it only looks like I’m starting my car. I lean over just a hair, into Oliver’s space. His gaze flashes to my mouth, and for a moment I think he’s going to recant, to backtrack on what happened yesterday. But he doesn’t.
