Page 23 of Lying Lainey

“Oh, if that’s what you want it to do, then I’m going to need a much bigger cup,” I muttered, making Halstead laugh, a sound I loved to hear from both my partners. This had me curious about what it sounded like when Elaine laughed. Maybe I was interested after all.

ten

Lainey

After the morning I’d had, I was happy things started to smooth out by lunchtime. Halstead made sure I took a lunch break and even handed me the company credit card.

“There is a fantastic deli just around the corner with amazing food. If you’re willing to pick up an order there for the meeting with New Wave, then I’ll happily buy you lunch,” he explained. “The order should be a dozen vegan pastries. Tabitha, the woman we’re meeting with today, loves them, and I always try to make sure we have them for her since she is a major client with us.”

“That’s not a problem,” I answered. “It will be nice to try a place so close by and stretch my legs.”

“Good afternoon, Elaine,” Kerian greeted as he entered Halstead’s office. “Are you joining us for lunch?”

“No, I’m actually on my way out to pick up an order at the deli,” I shared.

He gave Halstead a disapproving look. “What happened to… she’s my assistant and not wanting her to run your errands?”

“Hey, as a thank you for doing that, I’m also buying her lunch there,” he pointed out. “Sam had to deal with another situation for tonight’s meeting with Solarbyte. It would appear they’d like to do the meeting over dinner so it doesn’t draw attention from the press. Seems that their servers being hacked has been leaked. Now they don’t want to make a statement until they can say the best in the business has been hired to fix the problem.”

“Smart on their part if you think about it,” I commented.

Both men looked at me questioningly.

“How so?” Kerian inquired, cocking his head.

“Really? It’s not obvious to you?” I demanded, hands on my hips. “Solarbyte is one of the biggest companies that run multiplayer computer games online. They are used and played all over the world by millions. If one hacker can get into their systems to steal credit card information, then what’s to stop someone else from figuring it out? Just think if another person using the same weakness in the system hacked in and started holding user profiles up for ransom. Something along the lines of pay, or I’ll delete everything you’ve spent years building with a click of a button.”

“Huh…” Kerian grunted as he rubbed his chin. “A hundred percent something like that would work on people. I mean, I’d be willing to pay whatever it takes to make sure I don’t lose progress or rare items.”

“Exactly, so if Solarbyte came out saying, yes, we know there’s a problem, but we’re still working on a solution, it would be a disaster. One, because it tells hackers it’s still vulnerable, and second, it sends their users into a panicked frenzy. Stocks would fall, subscriptions would be canceled, rogue bootleg servers would appear, and all hell would break loose,” I shared, painting the picture for them. “So if I were you, I’d pick a restaurant you love and leave them the bill to pay. This isn’t a meeting for you to win them over, it’s them begging you to take them on as a client.”

Halstead grabbed the phone, hit a button, and waited a moment. “Sam, call The Forest House and tell them I need a reservation for six people…” he paused, listening to whatever Sam was saying, nodding along, “… yes, that works fine. Oh, and make sure you speak to Jean-Marc, and tell him it’s for a business meeting, not pleasure. No, I think the only person who will need a change of clothes is Ms. Collins.”

That had my brows shooting up. “I will?”

Halstead covered the bottom of the phone as he held my gaze. “You, madam, just earned your seat at the table with that analysis. I’m going to have someone else pick up the pastries, and a driver will be waiting at the front to take you home and grab a dress for dinner. Sam should be emailing you the rules for The Forest House so there won’t be any issues.”

My mouth fell open. “Wait, are we talking about The Forest House? The restaurant in the founder’s mansion?”

“Yes, now go. I need you back in time for the meeting with New Wave,” Halstead instructed, waving his hand in a shooing motion.

Spinning on my heel, I raced for the office door past a chuckling Kerian, who I had to struggle with the urge to stick my tongue out at. He could tease me all he wanted, but this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and I wasn’t going to risk being unable to go. Snatching up my purse, I hurried to the elevator, and once the doors were closed, I gave in and did a little happy dance.

It might seem silly to be so excited over this, but since I was a little girl, I’d been dreaming of a day I could eat at that restaurant. The mansion sat on a hill you could see from most of the downtown area. Anders Forest, the founder of Corzina, built his home there so he could always keep watch over the city he built. When he passed, it became a museum, and then about twenty or so years ago, the current living family decided to turn half of it into a restaurant. I’d seen pictures of it, and it was every woman’s fantasy with a stunning art deco atmosphere that just spoke to me.

Walking through the lobby, I calmly opened the door and spotted the car waiting for me. Thankfully, it wasn’t Wadsworth back to ruin the happy moment I was having. Slipping into the backseat, I gave the driver my address, and we were off. My phone vibrated with a notification that I’d gotten an email. It was from Sam listing out the rules for the dress code of The Forest House. Nothing about it surprised me since I knew their goal was to recreate the feel of the house back in its prime. Women had to wear formal dresses that went past their knees, dress straps needed to be two inches wide, and no prints, solid colors only. The men had it easy, stating it had to be a three-piece suit or tux in black, navy, or gray.

“Miss, I’ll wait right here for you to get what you need. I’ve also been instructed to take you anywhere else you might need to go as long as I get you back in an hour,” the driver explained as we pulled up to my building.

“Thank you, I shouldn’t be too long,” I said, offering him a smile before stepping out of the car.

Back in my apartment, I headed for the closet and pulled out the five formal dresses that were in there. I glanced at the cocktail dresses, but they would be too short for this dinner. It seems floor length was going to be the winner tonight. Instantly, I had to put two off to the side since they had patterns on them. My gaze settled on a stunning gold silk dress that was high in the front but backless with beautiful draping. Slipping out of my suit, I pulled the dress on and inspected it in the massive full-length mirror.

I’m not sure what it is, but there’s something about a killer dress that can make a woman feel like she’s capable of taking over the world. This was one of those dresses. My grin reflected back at me, radiating my excitement. It was an expression I hadn’t seen in a while and was nice to experience. I matched a pair of heels and jewelry to the outfit, impressing me with the skills of the person who’d done the shopping. They’d really thought of everything I could need, down to the simple black clutch.

Packing everything safely into a garment bag, I reached for pants to get dressed when I felt a twinge of pain in my gut. Frowning, I looked down, brushing my skin with my hand, making sure I didn’t have anything noticeable going on. Then I spotted the mark where I’d injected myself with the strange medicine was red and tender. Probing around the injection mark, I found the muscle was tender as well. Worry started to trickle through my veins as I searched for where I’d placed my phone. Snagging it off the kitchen counter, I hit the number for the ‘pharmacist’ and listened to it ring twice.

“UOS Pharmacy, is this an emergency?” the woman on the other end asked in a monotone voice.