“Aren’t you forgetting something?”
Barry racked his brain until he saw her look down at the ground where the toolbox sat.“Oh yeah, can’t fix the lights without that.”He chuckled and picked it up.“Have a good day, Miss.”He tipped his chin down to her.
“Annabelle Delaney.”
“Have a nice day, Annabelle.”
“Are you going to tell me your name?”she questioned before he could try to escape.
“Sean,” he lied.
“I hope I see you around, Sean.”Annabelle cocked her head to the side, looking up at him bashfully.The woman was definitely not subtle about her interest.
Barry didn’t say anything further, but he left with the toolbox and headed down to the fourth floor.Two men in white hazmat-looking suits with goggles held spray guns painting the walls.
The hallway was loud with the sound of a generator supplying power to operate their small lights and the spray guns.
Neither of them seemed to notice him when he walked in; they were focused on their work.Barry walked up to the closest one and tapped them on the shoulder.
The person jumped, not having heard him come in.“Boss said to get a break,” Barry yelled over the sound of the generator.
“Good, I need to get out of this thing.Sweating my balls off,” the man complained, turning off the spray gun and tapping the other guy on the arm.“Break time.”
“About time,” he grumbled, setting his gun down and discarding his suit.
Both men left without another word and headed down the elevator.Barry set his toolkit down and removed the hat before stepping into one of the suits and pulling the hood over his head before adding the goggles.He grabbed the spray gun and some masking tape, stuffing it into his pocket, then the bucket of paint before heading up to the eighth floor.
Chapter 7
It was dark and quiet up here.The only occupants were the two bodyguards at the end of the hall, standing in front of the window watching him.
Barry calmly walked down the hallway toward them.As soon as he reached Miles’s office, one of the guards stepped forward.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m painting Mr.Banks’ office.”He held up the spray gun as evidence.
The guard looked down at it then back into his eyes.“You’re supposed to be on the fourth floor.”
Damn, this guy was smarter than Barry had given him credit for.“I am, but we’re behind, so I volunteered to get a jump start on the other floors.I figured I’d get Mr.Banks’ office done first.”
Barry started to step forward, but the guard blocked him, placing a hand on his chest.“No one goes into Mr.Banks’ office without clearance from him.”
“Then ask him if I can start so I can do my job.”Barry sighed, trying to look exasperated.He figured no one would actually bother the boss, and as the boss, he’d want his office painted before anywhere else.
“He’s not to be disturbed.”The guard made himself a road block before Barry.
Barry wasn’t going to get into the office without brute force.Something he hoped to avoid because there were too many witnesses who had seen his face.
“Fine, can I do the other rooms?”
“Go ahead, but keep it down.”
“Sure thing.”Barry mock saluted him and entered the room next to Miles’s office.The door automatically shut behind him, leaving him alone in the vacant room.Light fixtures were missing in here too.The only light source was the large window overlooking the sea.Apparently, Miles didn’t want someone having a balcony next to him.
Barry looked around as he sprayed the walls so the guards didn’t become suspicious, until he found an air duct the size of a shoebox to the right of the window near the ceiling.
It was taller than his head, but he could still reach the screws that held it in the wall.He set the spray equipment down before tossing off his goggles and opened the suit to pull out his phone from his pocket.
