It’s my project.
Elysium has my project.
A smile spreads across my face, so wide it almost hurts.
“Amelia?” Oliver asks, concerned. But I can’t stop the giddiness bubbling up inside me.
“Fuck, she’s losing it,” Misha murmurs, earning an elbow in the ribs from Oliver. He winces but keeps his eyes on me.
“This is a good thing.” I laugh.Can’t they see it?“With Elysium having my work, we can get access, and I can prove it’s mine.”
The guys exchange glances, the skepticism clear in their eyes.
Grey looks at me, raising an eyebrow. “How?”
“Do you think you’re the only one concerned about the safety of your work?” I can’t help but feel a bit smug. My heart pounds as I explain, my words tumbling out in a rush of enthusiasm. “I embedded a signature pattern within the core computation.” I watch as understanding dawns on their faces, their skepticism melting away into something that looks a lot like pity.
“That’s good, Bug, but I don’t know if that’s going to help. The person who stole the work wouldn’t just put it out or sell it to Elysium with your marker still in there,” Misha speaks up, his brow furrowed. “They’re normally easy to erase if you know what you’re looking for, and I’m sure they did look for any copyright markers.”
Do they think I’m a noob?
“It’s not a usual marker and not visible as such. It’s a Fibonacci sequence, and if you press‘Ctrl-Shift-A-S,’mycopyright will appear on the screen,” I explain, hoping this hidden gem will be our ace in the hole.
They look at me, stunned, before Grey’s face lights up with pride. He lets out a triumphant laugh before pulling me in for a hard kiss. His stubble scrapes against my skin, but it’s a welcome sensation. I feel a swell of pride when he murmurs against my lips, “You’re a fucking genius.”
I must have done something right if Grey Donovan thinks I did good.
I pull back, looking into his eyes. “And that’s not the only thing that would prove it’s mine. We just need to find a way to access it, get it back, or show the CEO.” My mind is already mapping out the steps we need to take.
“We can’t just run to them if we have nothing in our hands. We would sound implausible. Who knows who sold it to them with what story? We don’t even know where they store it or who is working on it. This isn’t something we can just do. The stakes are too high,” Oliver points out, seeming frustrated.
He’s right.
This isn’t going to be easy.
But giving up isn’t an option.
Without hesitation, Grey takes off his messenger bag, pulls out his laptop, and sits down on Hendricks’ desk. “On it,” he says, his fingers already flying over the keys.
His concentration is intense, brows knitted together as he starts to hack into the company’s system. I watch him work, a mixture of awe and anxiety churning in my stomach.
Should I really let him do this for me?
“I thought we agreed on no crimes,” Misha says, his expression tinged with concern that mirrors mine.
“I only promised not to hack into the government,” Grey retorts, not looking up from his screen.
I’m sorry, what?
“Why would you want to hack into the government?” I ask, stunned.
What the hell are they doing when I’m not around?
They exchange glances before Oliver explains, “We need to figure out where Hendricks is.” There’s a hint of hesitation in his words as if he’s not sure how I’ll react.
“Okay, I get that he was your primary suspect,” I say, and I really do, even though I don’t like it. “But if Hendricks is gone, it can’t be him.”
Please, don’t let it be him.
