himself. His phone is going off. He checks it and then looks at me.
“Don’t go anywhere. I need to take this and we need to finish this conversation,” he says as he walks back to the boardroom and shuts the door.
There goes my awesome mood. None of this is making sense. Tears fall freely from my eyes. At least I still have my “date” tonight, the one thing where I don’t have to worry about phone calls, emails, or looming contracts.
I lay my head on my desk and close my eyes, waiting for Aedan to come back and finish this discussion…
***
Aedan
“What do you have for me, Craig?”
“Sir, that email had a similar virus attached to it, but the photo wouldn’t come off the server as easily because it was in Ms. McCoy’s school email. I am working with the school’s IT department to get all the information on it that I can. I hope to know something within the next twelve to twenty-four hours.”
“How did it get pass our firewalls?” I ask, trying to control my temper.
“It’s like they know everything about our security. And I mean everything,” Craig deadpans.
I almost can’t believe what he’s telling me. “Well, it looks like we need to put in some new measures that only the three of us knows about. McCoy is going to be pissed.”
“And you don’t sound too happy yourself,” Craig says.
“That’s putting it mildly. Keep me in the know with any new developments,” I say, then I hit the end button.
Whoever this fucker is knows all of the security protocols we have in place in IT. The bypass of the protocols occurred with the first sent email. As she told me about the emails and the phone call, my heart broke for her. I wanted to pull her into a hug and never let her go. I wanted to tell her everything will be okay and that I will protect her.
Now we have another email that has somehow gotten around all of the new implementations from over the weekend. How in the hell is that possible? Our IT people are some of the best in the entire fucking world. This shit isn’t kid’s play.
Now that I know that someone has skirted the newest set of protocols, it has to be somebody inside the company who is terrorizing Jesse. But who? After I became the head of security, I handpicked each one of the security team members. Turnover is very low, so we build a strong relationship with everyone.
I take a deep breath as I get ready to open the door and finish the conversation with Jesse. I open the door and walk down the hallway. I see her at her desk with her head down. Her cheeks are stained with tears, her eyes closed. She hasn’t looked this at peace in a while; nothing is bothering her in her sleep. I promised McCoy, and myself, I would do whatever I could to make sure she was never hurt again, and I will keep my promise.
I walk over to her and gently touch her shoulder.
Chapter
nineteen
Jesse
I feel a warm hand on my shoulder. The warmth from the touch sends a shiver down my spine.
“Jesse. Jesse?” I hear Aedan say as he gently rubs my shoulder.
“I’m sorry. I must have dozed off for a minute. Stress makes me so sleepy,” I say. Embarrassed, my face heats up.
“It’s okay. Do you want to have lunch with me so we can talk about what happened this morning and about anything else that you think might correspond with the emails and phone call?” he asks with a concerned look.
“I…yes, um…that would be nice. Thank you,” I say. He stands back and removes his hand from my shoulder, and I instantly want to grab his hand to regain that warmth. I grab my purse, stand up, and push in my office chair.
I turn around to face Aedan. He extends his arm and says, “After you.”
“Thank you,” I say with a quietness in my voice.
“You’re welcome.” He hands me his handkerchief as we stand next to each other, waiting on the elevator. “You have mascara under your eyes.”
“Oh, I’m a mess. Thank you.” I start
“Don’t go anywhere. I need to take this and we need to finish this conversation,” he says as he walks back to the boardroom and shuts the door.
There goes my awesome mood. None of this is making sense. Tears fall freely from my eyes. At least I still have my “date” tonight, the one thing where I don’t have to worry about phone calls, emails, or looming contracts.
I lay my head on my desk and close my eyes, waiting for Aedan to come back and finish this discussion…
***
Aedan
“What do you have for me, Craig?”
“Sir, that email had a similar virus attached to it, but the photo wouldn’t come off the server as easily because it was in Ms. McCoy’s school email. I am working with the school’s IT department to get all the information on it that I can. I hope to know something within the next twelve to twenty-four hours.”
“How did it get pass our firewalls?” I ask, trying to control my temper.
“It’s like they know everything about our security. And I mean everything,” Craig deadpans.
I almost can’t believe what he’s telling me. “Well, it looks like we need to put in some new measures that only the three of us knows about. McCoy is going to be pissed.”
“And you don’t sound too happy yourself,” Craig says.
“That’s putting it mildly. Keep me in the know with any new developments,” I say, then I hit the end button.
Whoever this fucker is knows all of the security protocols we have in place in IT. The bypass of the protocols occurred with the first sent email. As she told me about the emails and the phone call, my heart broke for her. I wanted to pull her into a hug and never let her go. I wanted to tell her everything will be okay and that I will protect her.
Now we have another email that has somehow gotten around all of the new implementations from over the weekend. How in the hell is that possible? Our IT people are some of the best in the entire fucking world. This shit isn’t kid’s play.
Now that I know that someone has skirted the newest set of protocols, it has to be somebody inside the company who is terrorizing Jesse. But who? After I became the head of security, I handpicked each one of the security team members. Turnover is very low, so we build a strong relationship with everyone.
I take a deep breath as I get ready to open the door and finish the conversation with Jesse. I open the door and walk down the hallway. I see her at her desk with her head down. Her cheeks are stained with tears, her eyes closed. She hasn’t looked this at peace in a while; nothing is bothering her in her sleep. I promised McCoy, and myself, I would do whatever I could to make sure she was never hurt again, and I will keep my promise.
I walk over to her and gently touch her shoulder.
Chapter
nineteen
Jesse
I feel a warm hand on my shoulder. The warmth from the touch sends a shiver down my spine.
“Jesse. Jesse?” I hear Aedan say as he gently rubs my shoulder.
“I’m sorry. I must have dozed off for a minute. Stress makes me so sleepy,” I say. Embarrassed, my face heats up.
“It’s okay. Do you want to have lunch with me so we can talk about what happened this morning and about anything else that you think might correspond with the emails and phone call?” he asks with a concerned look.
“I…yes, um…that would be nice. Thank you,” I say. He stands back and removes his hand from my shoulder, and I instantly want to grab his hand to regain that warmth. I grab my purse, stand up, and push in my office chair.
I turn around to face Aedan. He extends his arm and says, “After you.”
“Thank you,” I say with a quietness in my voice.
“You’re welcome.” He hands me his handkerchief as we stand next to each other, waiting on the elevator. “You have mascara under your eyes.”
“Oh, I’m a mess. Thank you.” I start
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