Page 82 of Sexting My Best Friend's Brothers
“Well, stop,” I say, tears welling in my eyes. “Just stop. I can’t handle the charm right now. I can’t handle the nice guy act. I need to work. I need to finish this campaign so I can keep my apartment and not end up on the street.”
“You wouldn’t end up on the street,” Owen says fiercely. “I would never let that happen.”
“I can’t rely on you,” I say. “That’s the problem. I relied on you guys, and look where that got me.”
I push past him.
“Tess,” he says, grabbing my wrist.
His grip is warm. Familiar.
“He’s lying,” Owen says, his voice low and urgent. “He’s telling you he doesn’t care. He’s telling you to be professional. But he’s lying. He’s terrified.”
“I don’t care,” I say, pulling my arm free. “Let him be terrified. I’m just done.”
I walk out of the break room.
I walk past Asher’s desk. It’s empty.
I walk to my desk, sit down, and turn on my monitor.
I open the “Be Seen” campaign folder.
You aren’t broken. You’re just buffering.
I stare at the slogan.
I’m not buffering. I’m broken.
But I’m going to fix myself. And I’m going to do it by being the best damn strategist this company will ever see. I’m going to make Mosaic a success. I’m going to make them rich.
And then, the second my contract clears, I’m going to leave them all behind.
The week passes in a blur of caffeine and cold silence.
I work. I eat lunch at my desk (salad, which I finish out of spite). I avoid the break room. Ethan stays in his office. Owen stays in the creative pit. Asher is a ghost.
On Wednesday afternoon, a notification pops up on my screen.
Asher: Check your drawer.
I frown. I look around the bullpen. No sign of him.
I open the top drawer of my desk.
There is a small silver flash drive. And a sticky note.
The hacker logs. I thought you should know.
I plug the drive into my computer. A folder opens.
It’s a system audit log. Timestamp: Saturday Morning, 01:15 AM.
It’s a command history from the central security server. I read the lines, my heart stuttering.
USER: E_BRANSON ACTION: ACCESS_CAMERA (CEO_OFFICE) STATUS: RECORDING FOUND COMMAND: PURGE_ALL_DATA CONFIRMATION: OVERRIDE_SAFETY_PROTOCOLS STATUS: DELETED PERMANENTLY
I stare at the screen.
