Page 14 of Only the Devil

“I don’t think so. He doesn’t wear a wedding band and she does. But I guess it’s possible. He doesn’t have to wear a band.” I give it some thought. “They don’t act like a couple at work, so I don’t think so.”

We’re halfway across the street, and I’m about to state the obvious, that just because they both parked in the company parking garage doesn’t mean they’re together, when Jake says, “Well, two somebodies are getting it on in your office.”

“What?” Now this is the juice that makes office life interesting.

I’ve always worked remotely, so any ARGUS gossip is basically prehistoric by the time it reaches me. All the juice is long gone.

“Who?” I ask when he fails to dish.

“How the hell should I know? I couldn’t see faces, only the backs of two men and one flapping shirttail.”

“Ohhh…” I wonder who I’ve come into contact with that’s doing the wild thing. “Wait? Where? How’d you see? In an office?” I practically squeak.

“Second floor.”

“Ah. That makes sense. The floor’s empty.”

“Empty floor’s a security nightmare,” Jake mutters. “Perfect for meetings you don’t want recorded. Or activities you don’t want witnesses to. No one’s on the floor?”

“No one. I asked about it. Was told that they had a pretty big layoff in January.”

“Did they have some troubles around then?” He holds the door for me to enter, but I hesitate.

“They did. One of their funds went under, the one Reed was in.” There’s a doorman behind the entry, and I wait, one foot on the sidewalk, one in the lobby. “Do you want to go for a walk? I’m not ready to re-enter AC.”

“Sure.” Jake gestures to the doorman. “Want to drop off your backpack and jacket with Larry? We’ll pick it up on the way up.”

Larry clearly hears him as he smiles and taps the counter. “You can leave it right here if you’ll be right back. Or I can store it behind the desk. I’ll be here until five.”

“Oh, we’ll be back before then. Thanks, Larry. I’m Daisy.”

“Nice to meet you, Daisy. You two have a delightful walk. Gorgeous day.”

Outside, I glance up at the Sterling facade, a sheen of black against the harsh glare of the sun.

“How do you see inside?” I ask Jake.

“Depends on the angle of the sun. Most of the day, I don’t have an issue. It’s right about now and for about the next hour that the angle of the sun seriously impacts visibility.”

We take a few steps down and I can’t stop taking in the mirror-like facade against the blue backdrop. It is a beautiful day. There’s an energy, a zest that comes with early dismissal, something I never felt before because this summer Friday concept doesn’t penetrate upstart culture.

And then another thought comes. I was going to go into the office on Saturday. But there’s no need to wait. No one will hang out in an office on a day like today.

The sun lightly burns my skin, the sensation welcome after being trapped indoors, and I tilt my head back, soaking it in.

“What does Sterling want you to make happen?”

“Oh, an algorithm that predicts fluctuations in cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin.”

“Doesn’t that already exist?”

“Yes and no. A lot of the tools exist to predict changes in the stock market. But crypto is like the Wild West since technically anyone can create a cryptocurrency. So predicting what’s going to be the next big thing, or what’s going to go up and down, would be worth a fortune. If I could create such a program, I’d be the billionaire sitting in an executive suite. But, with the right information and direction, I can create a system to provide a likelihood assessment. What Phillip wants me to build is provocative; I just don’t know if it’s realistically possible,” I explain as we walk.

“You gonna do it?”

I shrug, kicking at a lone rock sitting atop the concrete. “Yeah, I’ll play around with it. It’ll give me a chance to better understand how he’s structuring the funds. What he’s doing to get his promised returns. And I want to buy time to meet more of the employees. Especially the sales staff. Learn more about who they are targeting. If I find the right one… They’re a talkative bunch.” Weirdly outgoing. “So I’m optimistic.”

“You’re jonesed about the project, aren’t you?”