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Nick grimaced. “I don’t know, but it’s possible.”
Her head hit the back of her high-backed executive chair. “We have the most important presentation of our lives in less than two weeks, and if someone steals our technology, it’s all for nothing.” If she sounded semi-hysterical, it was because she was.
“We’ll figure it out,” Don’s calm, soft voice assured her. She’d relied heavily on his steady leadership in the last several months. “Given the urgency and the implications, I’m sure Nick would be grateful for any outside help we could bring in to assess the damage and secure our systems.”
“I know the network better than anyone,” Nick argued. “Bringing in outsiders will only slow me down.”
Just when I thought that I was out, they pull me back in.Who’d have thought she’d sympathize with Michael Corleone?
Nathalie picked up the phone. “Angie, would you ask Mr. Montague to come back to my office, please?”
So much for finding an excuse to avoid bringing Ryder back into her life.
“Sure. Oh, remember you said I could leave a little early today?” Angie’s voice dropped to an enthusiastic whisper. “The new guy I’m dating has a British accent, too.”
Angie’s boyfriend was the least of Nathalie’s concerns, but she forced herself not to let the irritation show in her voice. “That’s fine. Please send Mr. Montague back, and we’ll see you tomorrow.”
Less than a minute later, a firm knock sounded on her door, and Ryder entered.
“Ryder Montague, meet Don Lambert, Williams’s Vice President, and Nick Moore, Director of Information Security.” After the men had shaken hands, she got to the point. “We’ve had a cyberattack on our network and need to find out what’s been accessed and how to keep it from happening again as quickly as possible.”
Ryder whipped out his phone, swiped the screen, and began tapping. “I can have Nathan Long, our director of corporate security, here first thing tomorrow morning. If anyone can find and fix your data breach, it’s him.”
Nick’s ruddy features pinched. “The last time I checked, computer security was my area of expertise.” His stiff body language telegraphed his feelings on what he viewed as an incursion into his territory.
Nathalie gave an inward sigh. Nick had been short-tempered since he finalized his divorce. Everyone in the office was walking on eggshells around him.
“And it still is,” Don cut in smoothly before Nathalie could get out the apology forming. He shifted his kindly brown eyes toward Nathalie. “This is a temporary measure.”
She shot the older man a grateful smile.
“It’s seventeen hundred. I need to get back to work,” Nick grumbled. “As of now, I’ve revoked everyone’s access to the network, and I’m taking the system offline until tomorrow morning.”
“Let’s keep the cyber-breach to ourselves for now.” Nathalie looked to Don for confirmation, and he nodded his agreement. “We’ll explain Dìleas’s presence and the need for new access credentials as part of a security audit of our facilities required by the Department of Defense. An inconvenience given our project deadline, but necessary.”
Nick left, still grumbling.
“You and I need to finish our earlier conversation.” Ryder, having finished up on his phone, stood on the other side of her desk, frowning down at her from his lofty height.
Her shoulders tightened at the subtle, unspokenI told you sothreaded through his words.
Don’s gaze bounced from Ryder to Nathalie. “Has something happened I don’t know about?”
The fatherly concern in his voice sent a wave of guilt through Nathalie. “For the past couple of weeks—since that article came out about our project for the NGAD fighter—I’ve had the feeling I was being followed. Then, when I got home from visiting Dad and Reese on Saturday, my alarm was off and my front door open.”
She held up her palms when Don’s expression grew alarmed. “To be fair, I’m not one hundred percent certain I was followed, or that anyone was in my home. Nothing was missing.”
“Which is why Lucas Caldwell recommended my agency,” Ryder cut into the conversation. “And I’m trying to convince Ms. Williams to allow me to conduct a threat assessment and see to her personal safety.”
Jerk.He’d just neatly boxed her into a corner.
“I think that’s a smart decision.” Don wasn’t helping. He leaned over the desk to pat her hand. “I’ll leave you to it.”
He addressed Ryder on his way out. “Have Angie page me when your colleague arrives tomorrow. I’ll run interference with Nick.”
The click of the door latching behind Don seemed overly loud. As did the silence that followed.
Ryder moved closer, but didn’t sit.