Page 4 of In Case You Didn't Know

I trusted him. And now I know better. But the events of the past year still leave a bitter taste in my mouth. Bringing my attention back to the man next to me, I give him a short nod.

User and Entity Behavior Analytics is a cybersecurity solution that combines analytics and machine learning to analyze behavior and identify potential threats within systems in real time. We’ve taken it a step further and made it applicable to human movements.

A place like this is where it could work perfectly. Alert the security team to potential bad actors before they even do anything wrong. It can allow this control room to put the right people in the right place before they’re needed.

Most of all, it can protect those who are the most vulnerable.

I look down at the laptop in front of me. The continuous script that I uploaded is running and analyzing. One name keeps coming up.

“Room five.” I nod at the screen. “There’s a guy there worth keeping an eye on. Code name Panther.”

This place only uses code names within their servers. If an investigation was needed, they could track back and find real names, but if you work in this control room or on the floor, you don’t have that level of access.

Despite my wishing I wasn’t here, I’m pretty impressed by the set up. From a purely professional point of view, of course. If I ever wanted to go to a club to have sex – which I don’t in case you were wondering – this place would probably be it. It’s exclusive, anonymous, and full of beautiful people. Like the ones coming up on the screen.

There’s a huge bed at the center of the fifth room, which is lit by red lights, giving it an edgy vibe. And on the bed, there’s a group of naked people. Three guys, one woman. None of them are Panther though.

According to the analytics, he’s in the room. “Zoom in by the door,” I tell them.

They do, and there he is, his eyes narrow, focused. But not on the bed. He’s staring at a woman across the room, like he’s trying to decide if he wants to make his move. She’s standing by the wall, though all I can see is the back of her head. She’s wearing a tight dress, accentuating every curve. Her legs are long, her arms bare, and her hair is dark, the lighting making it look almost red, as it hangs in a glossy curtain down her back.

“Do you have another camera in there?” I ask, leaning forward.

“On it,” the man monitoring the cameras says.

“Should I call security?” the owner asks me. “I don’t want to spook anybody.”

“Just ask them to wait outside the door,” I say.

He murmurs into his radio as the camera operator changes the view, giving me a full, face-on view of the woman Panther is so fixated on.

She’s beautiful. High cheekbones, wide eyes, and lips that are slightly parted as she watches the sex going on in the bed in front of her. Her chest rises as she inhales and exhales rapidly. Like she can’t take her eyes off the scene playing out.

But her eyes aren’t what makes my mouth drop open. Nor is the way she looks so stupidly innocent and attractive in that dress. It’s the fact that I recognize her.

I know exactly who she fucking is.

Francie Salinger. My baby sister’s best friend. What the hell is she doing here?

FRANCIE

I’m debating whether I can leave the room without anybody noticing. What’s the etiquette? Do I say thank you as I leave? Do I say nothing? Nobody prepares you for how to be polite in a club like this.

It’s actually been hugely educational. In a sexy kind of way. When I first found out I had to write a group scene before Alice gave me the contract, I’d tried watching porn – another one of Charlie’s helpful suggestions. But there’d been nothing sensual about any of the videos I watched. It was all wham, bam, thank you for pretending to orgasm, ma’am.

But this room is different. There are four people on the bed, one woman and three men. And they’re worshipping her. It’s actually breathtaking, the way they’re so intent on her pleasure. All of them are beautiful. From the moment they walked in – the woman wearing a gorgeous gold silk dress, the men wearing suits and ties that made them look like they’d just come in froma day commanding their businesses – a feeling of sensuality took over the room.

It was in the way they touched her, kissed her, slowly undressed her while making sure she was the center of their attention. For men who looked so powerful, they were determined to serve her.

I’ve seen enough now. I know I can describe a scene like this without feeling like I’m writing an instruction manual – fit part A into part B, twist part C…

But just as I turn to leave my eyes clash with a man standing in the corner, his face partially shadowed, the rest of it glowing red from the overhead lights. He looks almost devilish, and it sends a shiver down my spine.

He doesn’t smile. Doesn’t move. Just keeps staring at me. It’s unnerving.

Okay. I’m going to go.Without saying thank you.Maybe I’ll just mouth it. My mom brought me up to be polite, after all. But before I can reach for the switch that unlocks the room from the inside, the door flies open, making everybody in the room stop what they’re doing.

Including the poor foursome on the bed.