Page 25 of Slap Shot (Charm City Chill #3)

H eather

Heather settled at her desk with her usual coffee, expecting the kind of quiet recovery day that typically followed a major crisis resolution.

Her mind kept drifting to last night, Oliver's hands cupping her face, the way his voice had roughened when he'd said he loved her, the flutter in her chest when she'd admitted she loved him back.

I love you too.

The words had felt so natural in the moment, but now, in the harsh fluorescent light of her office, reality was setting in.

How exactly were they supposed to navigate this?

HR had already warned her about workplace relationships.

If Ivy Hodges discovered they were together, not just working together, but actually together, Heather's job would disappear faster than a puck drop.

She pulled up her monitoring systems, running a routine security sweep while her thoughts churned.

Maybe they could keep it quiet for a while, figure out their options.

Maybe Oliver could request a transfer to another team, though that seemed unlikely in the middle of the season.

Maybe she could find another position, though leaving now would look like she was running from the Kai situation.

Her screen flashed an alert that yanked her back to the present. Someone was trying to access restricted files, and the attempts were being blocked by security protocols.

Heather frowned at the access logs. The failed login attempts belonged to Travis Dane, but he was trying to get into Coach Vicky's confidential personnel files, medical records, performance evaluations, private correspondence with the ownership group.

None of which fell under his administrative purview.

She watched the timestamps scroll past. Travis had been at this for over an hour, systematically probing different access points like someone trying to find an unlocked door.

The pattern was telling. These weren't random attempts or accidental clicks. Travis was deliberately hunting for information he wasn't authorized to access, using increasingly sophisticated methods to bypass security barriers.

With Kai's constant external attacks no longer masking him, she could see a disturbing trail, like footprints in fresh snow that had been hidden by a blizzard.

The irony hit her like a slap. She'd spent months watching for external threats, people like her ex David who exploited her trust. But Travis had been right here all along, hiding behind institutional legitimacy and professional courtesy.

Her trauma had created the perfect blind spot: she'd been so focused on preventing another David that she'd missed the enemy already inside the walls.

All those times she'd trusted Travis because he was "safe," because he was established, because he represented everything David wasn't. Her hypervigilance about outsiders had made her naive about insiders.

The very thing she'd thought would protect her had made her vulnerable in a completely different way.

Heather pulled up Travis's complete access history, looking for patterns.

What she found made her stomach drop. For months, Travis had been pushing the boundaries of his administrative privileges, accessing files that were technically available to him but completely outside his job responsibilities.

Player medical records the day before private health information leaked to the media. Contract negotiations hours before salary details appeared on sports blogs. Coach Vicky's private emails downloaded.

Instead of waiting for legitimate access opportunities, Travis was actively trying to break into restricted systems. But he wasn’t as skilled as Kai.

Travis was panicking, Heather realized. Without Kai providing cover, he's exposed.

Her screen flashed red as new alerts flooded her dashboard. The son of a bitch just locked her out. Complete administrative override on her monitoring access. That was a big no-no.

Heather sat staring at her locked-out systems. The smart play would be to escalate to Jack, file formal complaints about Travis's security violations, follow proper channels even if it took weeks to resolve.

But she didn’t want to rock the boat. Not yet. Not when Jack had been so happy about Kai’s arrest and her part in it. Oliver had decided he wouldn’t mention that he had been there too and as far as she knew only the police were aware that he had been involved in the capture.

She needed to get into his office. Into his computer. See what Travis was up to. It was a terrible idea. Breaking into a colleague's office could destroy her career. But sitting there helpless while Travis covered his tracks felt worse.

The executive floor was quiet this afternoon, most senior staff in meetings or off-site appointments.

Heather's hands shook as she walked the hallway, trying to project confidence she didn't feel.

This wasn't some spy movie. She was about to commit a crime based on gut instinct and circumstantial evidence.

Travis's office door was closed but not locked. She slipped inside, pulse hammering as she approached his desktop computer.

The login screen prompted for credentials she didn't have. But Travis had made a mistake. He wrote his log in information on the corner of his blotter. Amateur.

The screen unlocked, revealing a desktop cluttered with encrypted folders and communication apps she didn't recognize.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway outside.

Heather froze, listening to voices approaching. Travis's laugh, followed by Jack's more serious tone. They were heading this way.

She grabbed a USB drive from her bag, jamming it into Travis's computer and initiating a rapid data extraction. Financial records, communication logs, encrypted files, everything downloading as fast as the system could process.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway outside, getting closer.

Heather's pulse spiked. The USB was only halfway through the download. She needed more time.

The footsteps stopped right outside Travis's door. She could hear voices. Travis was talking to someone about a meeting starting soon.

The download bar crept forward: 78%... 82%...

The door handle turned.

Heather dove under Travis's desk, her heart hammering so hard she was sure Travis would hear it. This was insane. She was a cybersecurity professional hiding under a desk like some amateur criminal. But the USB drive was still downloading, and she'd come too far to stop now.

If he saw it or her, she wouldn’t have to worry about Ivy in HR anymore.

"Just need to grab my jacket," Travis said, his voice much closer now.

Through the gap under the desk, she could see his shoes moving across the office toward the coat closet. The USB drive was hidden from this angle, but barely.

85%... 89%...

His shoes moved back toward the door, then stopped. Heather held her breath as Travis paused, probably checking something on his phone.

92%... 96%...

"Travis, you coming?" a voice called from the hallway.

"Yeah, just a second," Travis replied, still standing in his office.

99%... Complete.

The download finished with a soft chime that made Heather's heart stop. But Travis was already moving toward the door, apparently focused on whatever was on his phone screen.

His shoes disappeared into the hallway. Heather waited, counting heartbeats, then carefully extracted the USB drive and crawled out from under the desk.

She moved toward the door and peered out. Travis stood in the hallway, still frowning at his phone, blocking her path to the elevator.

Heather pressed herself against the doorframe, trapped. If she stepped into the hallway, he'd see her immediately. But she couldn't stay here. Travis might come back any second.

Footsteps approached from the opposite direction. Phoebe appeared around the corner in her full penguin costume, carrying a stack of promotional flyers. The mascot spotted Heather hiding against Travis's doorframe and seemed to understand the situation immediately.

Without hesitation, Phoebe picked up her pace, apparently struggling with the oversized costume and armload of materials.

"Travis!" Phoebe called out cheerfully, her voice muffled by the penguin head. "Perfect timing!"

Travis looked up from his phone just as Phoebe collided with him, sending flyers exploding in all directions. The impact knocked Travis off balance, and he stumbled backward, his phone clattering to the floor.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry!" Phoebe's voice carried exaggerated distress as she flailed around in the costume, sending flyers all over the place. "The costume makes everything so hard to see! Are you hurt? Is your phone broken?"

Travis scrambled to collect his phone while Phoebe continued her enthusiastic but clumsy attempts to gather the scattered promotional materials. She bumped into him when he was bending down, and he crashed to the floor.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so clumsy. Let me help you up.” Phoebe blocked his line of sight to the hallway.

"It's fine," Travis said, frustration clear in his voice. "Really, I can handle—"

"No, no, I insist! Team spirit, right?”

She owed Phoebe huge. Heather slipped out of Travis's office on unsteady legs, adrenaline making her movements jerky and uncontrolled. She'd just committed corporate espionage based on a hunch. If she was wrong about Travis, her career would be over. If she was right, it might be over anyway.