Page 33

“Ms. Williams?” Angie squeaked.
Nathalie cranked her head around Nathan to see her receptionist clutching a white envelope between her maroon-tipped fingers.
Angie’s eyes were bouncing back and forth between Nathan and Ryder like she was at a Chippendale show. “Nick left this for you.” She waved the envelope at Nathalie. “And Ravi said to tell you when you arrived he was in the lab, waiting.”
Ravi must be wondering where she was. They had one week left to make sure their software design worked as promised.
Nathalie took the envelope from Angie and tore open the flap with her thumb. Her new log-in user ID and password. “Please let Don and Nick know the gentlemen from Dìleas are here to conduct a security audit.”
That was what they had agreed to tell the rest of Williams’s employees. Don would have to run interference between Nick and Ryder’s colleague. She had work to do.
Turning to Ryder, she threw back her shoulders and donned her corporate executive persona. “You can work from my office. I’ll be spending the day in the computer lab, which is access controlled.”As in, you can’t come in. “Don can assist you and Nathan with whatever you need.”
“The employee list, Nathalie,” Ryder said in a low tone, “and the location of this evening’s event.”
Her lips thinned at the reminder he was prying into the private lives of her employees. In an equally quiet tone, she responded, “The restaurant’s name is Fable Grille and Wine Bar.”
She raised her voice. “Angie, Mr. Montague will need a complete list of our employees.” Without waiting for a response, she hurried down the corridor toward her lab.
Don had just stepped out of his office and was heading toward her.
“Make sure Nick plays nice with the guys from Dìleas,” she told him before dialing the combination on the electromagnetic lock that controlled access to the computer lab. She stepped inside and breathed an audible sigh of relief.
“Rough morning already?” Ravi Chaudhary sat at one of the computer workstations, his short black hair glinting in the overhead lights of the windowless room. Large screen monitors lined the walls, making it look like a scaled-down version of a military command center. A hint of shadow already darkened Ravi’s cheeks, a sign she wasn’t the only one working long hours. “Nick gave me new login credentials this morning.”
“Morning, Ravi. And yeah, thanks to that reporter outing our project, we have to conduct a security audit. DoD requirement.” The lie weighed heavily on her shoulders. She peered at the half-empty coffeepot in the corner and the shadows under Ravi’s eyes. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Lot on my mind.” He smiled wearily. “Not the least of which is this project. Do you have the section of code you removed yesterday?”
Nathalie sat at her workstation and logged in. “I know you think it’s strange, but my father was paranoid about this project and recommended I always remove a section that would be the hardest to reverse engineer if someone stole the design.”
Yesterday’s incursion into their network was a wake-up call that maybe her dad was right. Their other projects over the years hadn’t invited the same level of scrutiny as this one. Their existing information security procedures had been sufficient and complied with DoD regulations.
Not anymore, apparently. As president, the responsibility fell squarely on her shoulders now.
She opened the source code file. “Let’s get to work.”
“Whose ass do I need to kiss around here to get my facility assessment done?”
Ryder swallowed a grin. Leave it to Nathan to get right to the point as bluntly as possible.
“Nick Moore,” he answered. “I’ll introduce you. He’s former military—US Air Force. Try to find some common ground because he’s not pleased at the encroachment on his territory.”
“Hmmpf. Air Force? More like Chair Force.”
Ryder fought another spurt of amusement. “Let’s not lead with that, mate.”
Don Lambert emerged from the corridor Nathalie had just disappeared down. He led them to Nick’s office and made the introductions. “Nick, this is Nathan Long. He runs the corporate security division of Dìleas.”
Nathan stuck out his hand. Nick rose from behind his desk and shook it. The two men sized each other up like they were about to enter the ring.
Nick would be on the losing end of that skirmish. Nathan had him by seven inches and around fifty pounds of muscle.
“I’m here to help.” Nathan broke the silent standoff with a conciliatory shrug. “Hacking is a specialty of mine, and I can tell you, no matter how good your cybersecurity is, someone always finds a way around it.”
After a moment of tense silence, Nick’s posture relented. He brushed his hand over his buzz cut. “Yeah, I’m stumped trying to figure out how this guy got into our system.” He gave Nathan a sheepish look. “I could use the assist.”
“Great.” Don rubbed his hands together briskly. “I’ll be in my office if you find anything.” He disappeared out the door.