I glanced over her proposal, surprised that she'd actually come up with something this sophisticated. It wasn’t that I thought Emmaline wasn't intelligent, but there was a reason I had her in beta testing rather than development. Still, her proposal was decent and there was definite potential there.
“Go ahead and run with it once you're finished with your beta testing reports.” I put the proposal into a folder and wrote her name on it. When she didn't make a move to leave, I looked up. “Is there anything else?”
“Oh, no, sorry.” She smiled at me. “Thank you.”
I gave her a nod and waited until she left before turning my attention back to the screen. I'd done a lot of the work on this particular program, writing and re-writing code until I knew it like the back of my hand. The people who'd had their hands on it last should've only been doing a basic touch-up, but there was an entirely new section I hadn't seen before.
I checked the log-in sheets against the time the code had been written and it was Ned's name that popped up again. My gut said it wasn't him, but I had to be sure and the best way to do that was to just ask. Ned was the kind of guy who couldn't lie. His ears would turn red and he wasn’t able to maintain eye contact.
I picked up the phone and dialed the extension. He answered almost immediately. “Ned, it's Rylan. Could you come to my office?”
While I waited, I studied the code more carefully. I knew Ned's work. I'd been seeing it almost from day one. Every programmer had their own unique style, though to a lay-person, there'd seem to be no difference. Whoever had done this hadn't been subtle. Aside from being one of my best programmers, Ned was smart. If he'd really written this code, he would've made it much harder for me to find.
“Rylan,” Ned said as he stepped off of the elevator. “Is something wrong?”
“Have a seat.” I gestured to one of the chairs on the other side of my desk. “I have a couple questions I need you to answer, but I can't tell you why.”
Ned looked confused, but not guilty, which I took to be a positive sign. “All right.”
“Where were you last Tuesday night?” I went with the first time I'd seen his name more than average.
I watched Ned access his mental calendar, then look back at me with certainty on his face. “I was here for a while. I stayed late that night.” His forehead wrinkled in concentration. “I was having a problem with my log-ins. Truman and I stayed until about six-thirty. Then I went to a talent show at my niece's high school.”
“Did Truman leave with you?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I was in a hurry. The show started at seven and I didn't want to be late. He said he'd finish up for me.”
“And Thursday night?”
His eyes stared at the wall in thought, then zoned in and returned to mine. “Home,” he said. “I left work on time, went straight home and stayed there.”
I knew he was divorced and didn't have any kids, so I doubted anyone had seen him. Knowing Ned, he'd probably spent the night reading.
“Is everything all right?” His concern was evident in his voice, but it seemed totally focused on me and not on himself. Either Ned had vastly improved his acting skills or he had nothing to do with my little programming problem. I was inclined to believe the latter.
“Nothing you need to worry about,” I said with a smile. “Go ahead back to your work.”
He nodded. I could tell he was still confused about what was going on, but he didn't press matters. Yet another reason why I genuinely liked Ned. I waited until he left and turned back to the program on my screen.
I was glad I'd decided to check things completely this time. On a lot of programs over the last year, I'd trusted my employees and just given things a once over. That was how the stupid obscene easter egg had gotten into that game. With a security system I planned to sell to the Justice Department, however, I'd felt it necessary to go over every line myself before running a trial.
I'd been prepared to install the system on my own server to see how it worked and to use as an example to the Justice Department. If a company wasn't willing to use its own products, something was wrong. It was a good thing I hadn't done that first.
I scowled at the code someone had put into my program. A backdoor. And I wasn't naïve enough to think this was some innocent little prank to allow someone to mess around with the sprinkler system or something silly like that. No, this was the kind of backdoor people wrote to allow unfettered access to a company's systems. It would've been bad enough to allow someone access to Archer Enterprises. I didn't even want to think what would've happened if I'd sold the program to the government without catching the problem. Records wiped or altered. Cases thrown out. Criminals going free.
Ned, I knew, was innocent, but I had a suspect now. I'd originally thought Truman had simply missed Ned's messed up log-ins, but now the picture was growing clear.
Ned had said he'd had trouble with his log-ins and that Truman had helped him with its recovery. While Truman might've had access to certain information about the other employees, no one had access to all the log-in information except me. Truman could reset things, but he couldn't steal the encrypted information. If he'd done something to mess up Ned's log-in, then offered to 'help' reset things, he could've easily learned Ned's passwords and other security questions during that time period. That would explain why he hadn't said anything about the overtime put in on the program.
I was half-tempted to just call the cops and have Truman arrested, but while I was nearly certain he was responsible, I didn’t have one hundred percent proof. There was also always the possibility of extenuating circumstances. Despite what had happened with Lara, I always wanted to give people the benefit of the doubt, see the best in them. Or, honestly, maybe it was because of what had happened. She hadn't, after all, intended to hurt me. There had just been extenuating circumstances. Lara hadn't made me cynical about women or people in general, just about love. In fact, the two of us were friends again.
I made my decision and picked up the phone. “I'm having a problem with the security software I just installed. I need you to come to my office.”
Less than fifteen minutes later, Truman was standing on the other side of my desk, his fingers nervously twitching against his leg. His eyes shifted back and forth, never landing on one particular spot for long. If I hadn't already thought him guilty, his behavior definitely would've made me suspicious.
“Were you here late with Ned Baker last Tuesday night?” I didn't want to dance around the topic, but I also didn't want to come right out and accuse an employee of illegal activity. I figured if I kept it vague, he might think that his misdirect with Ned had worked.
Truman shrugged. “Maybe. I'd have to check my time card.”
“What about Thursday?” I asked, leaning back in my chair and trying to appear casual.
“I wasn't here with him,” he said slowly. “But I saw him here when I was leaving.”
“And what time was that?”
“Seven or eight,” he said. “I was going for a beer with my brother. I can give you the number if you want.”
I stood. Truman wasn't a little guy, but I still had a couple inches on him, not to mention that a lot of his bulk was fat while I was muscle. I walked around the desk, unobtrusively pushing the intercom button. I'd made a call while I was waiting for Truman to come up.
“Did someone specific approach you, Truman, or did you come up with this idea all by yourself?” I stood a few inches away, looking down at him. “Because, you see, I don't think you're smart enough to have done this alone. You had to have had help. Tell me who it is and maybe things will go easier for you.”
Truman stood up and moved closer to me. A smile crossed his face. “You think you're so smart,” Truman sneered, surprising me with his contempt. “Looking down at all of us. No one can get one over on you.” His smile grew bigger as he continued. “Well, you’re not as smart as you think. Installing the security software was your biggest mistake. Before coming up here, I called my contact who’s paying me good to use the little backdoor I created. Every code you own, every game, app and software from Archer’s Enterprise has now been compromised and is in the hands of one your competitors. You’ll be ruined.”
I shook my head. “But I didn't install it, Truman. I just told you that I did.”
In an instant Truman’s smile vanished. His face turned pink, then red and he clenched his hands into fists.
“You really don't want to do anything else stupid,” I warned him.
He growled and swung. I side-stepped easily and cracked him right in the jaw just as the elevator opened and a pair of cops stepped into my office. Truman staggered back, right into their waiting arms.
“He’s all yours. Get him out of my sight,” I said.
“Yes, Sir.” The youngest of the officers nodded at me and then read Truman his rights as he cuffed him.
Once my office was empty again, I sank down in my seat. I'd have to address the company at some point to stifle the rumors I knew would be flying with gossip as juicy as this. But first, I needed a couple minutes. Not only because my hand was starting to hurt and I was still pissed off, but because I needed to figure out how much to tell them and what I planned to do next.
I had two part-time security techs, but they mostly worked weekends to keep an eye on anyone working overtime. I needed to replace Truman and fast. The thing was, he hadn't been that easy to find in the first place. It would take time to advertise, accept applications, review resumés, conduct interviews, narrow down a pool of candidates, do background checks, hire someone and then see if they were as good in real life as they were on paper.
I picked up the phone. I hadn't needed to hire anyone new since Curt had left and he'd been the one to handle all those things before. Maybe he'd have a name for me. If he didn't, I supposed I'd just have to deal with it.
Chapter 7
Curt did indeed have a name. Jenna Lang. And she wasn't just a name, he informed me. Apparently, she had her own company and glowing recommendations from a professor Curt and I had taken classes from in college.
“Why would someone with their own company want to leave it to come work as a security tech here?” I asked.
“I'm thinking you might want her to be more than a security tech,” Curt said. “You've been doing this by yourself for a year and a half. You need someone who can take on more of the responsibility. Someone you can trust and who'll do a good job.”
“You want me to hire some stranger to be my partner instead of replacing Truman?”
I could almost hear him rolling his eyes at me. “No, dumbass. I want you to hire her for the security position, but give her some extra responsibilities until you can see that she's as good as I'm saying. See where things go from there.”
“I can't afford to take the time to train someone,” I said. “I'd be taking a serious risk hiring her without knowing what she can do.”
“It doesn't matter who you hire,” Curt said. “You're going to have to wait to see how they handle things either way. It's not like you can just bring someone in when something goes wrong and hope they know what they're doing.”
An idea popped into my head. It was a little crazy and would mean lying to people, but it might actually work. I didn't tell Curt though. I wasn't sure he'd approve.
I chatted with Curt a few minutes more, then turned my attention to the job ahead. I figured I might as well start with Curt's recommendation, so I pulled up her site on my computer.
Well-designed. No frills. Also no picture of her, which I thought was interesting, if not a bit strange. When Archer Enterprises had gone public, Curt had insisted my picture be on the website. When I'd asked why, he'd bluntly stated that I was better looking. Did the lack of a picture mean that Jenna didn't have anyone working for her attractive enough to be featured on the site? Not that it was important, but it did say something about her personality if she worried about things like that.
I began to read through the site. There was practically nothing personal about Ms. Lang other than the fact that she was a CSU graduate like me. I didn't remember a Jenna Lang in any of my computer classes, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. I checked the company address first and that's when things started to fall into place. It was an apartment building known for housing non-traditional and recently graduated students. She worked out of her home, which meant she probably had only one or two people working with her, if any. And she was probably young, hence the lack of picture. I'd had to fight to prove myself and I knew it'd be even harder for a woman, as unfair as I thought it was.
Was that why Curt had mentioned her, I wondered. Since I'd technically started Archer Enterprises out of my dorm room freshman year, did he think I'd be more likely to hire someone who reminded me of myself?
While I doubted I'd be inclined to such a thing, I had to admit that I was intrigued. I'd do a background check a bit later, but at the moment, I wanted to put a face to the name.
I started to get up, then remembered that everyone on the floors below were probably trying to figure out what was going on with Truman. I had to admit that I was a bit surprised that no one had come up to ask. Relieved, but surprised.
I quickly typed out an email to the whole company. I kept it simple, saying that Truman had been arrested for work-related crimes and that he was no longer employed here. I assured them all that no one had been in danger and that things were to progress as normal. I supposed it sounded a bit terse, but I wasn't exactly in an eloquent mood at the moment.
I hit send, waited a couple minutes to make sure that everyone had time to get their email alerts and then headed straight down to the lobby. I waited until I was outside and heading for my car before I called Christophe to let him know I was out of the building for a while. I could hear people buzzing in the background and got the impression that my email was making the rounds. To his credit, Christophe didn't ask any questions, but rather acknowledged what I'd said and ended the conversation.