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“It’s not your fault, Ellen. I would have told the team as well. Going forward, though, we may need to limit knowledge of glitches to just you and me.”
“Understood. Who do you want to work on resolving this?”
“Just Dave and me for now. I need you to continue spearheading the rest of the team and keep everybody on track.”
“Alright. I’ll let Dave know. Thanks for coming in so quickly, Val.”
Dave is the exact opposite of Ellen; he’s a hyper person who likes to stay busy. He has sandy-colored hair and wears glasses. He’s thin, pale, and not athletic at all. I’ve always thought he would only need a pocket protector on his shirt to look like the stereotypical computer nerd that he is.
Dave and I discuss the glitch, and we work diligently on the problem for the rest of the day but make little progress in locating the root cause. We finally call it quits a little before five o’clock, as I need to report to my uncle.
When I get to Uncle Victor’s office, his secretary (who he doesn’t call his administrative assistant because he’s old-fashioned) guides me inside.
“Valentina, has the problem with the software been resolved?”
“Not yet, Uncle Victor, but I’m positive we’ll find the root cause soon. We only just discovered the issue this morning.”
“This could delay things. You have quite a few resources working on this project when they could assist with our new gaming software. We need to make our deadline and could use the extra programmers working on something we know will be successful instead of gambling on new technology. There are too many unknowns with this type of new software.”
“Uncle Victor, we’ve already been over this. My project and the resources were already approved. This isn’t even a temporary setback. It’s just a glitch that we need to resolve. It happens in every software launch.”
My uncle frowns, his lips thin as he steeples his fingers in front of him. “Valentina, as you pointed out, the resources for this project have already been approved, at least for now. You better hope that this is not a setback; it could completely derail the launch of this software. I hope you know what you’re doing. You wouldn’t want a project that you recommended to be labeled as a failure.”
I stiffen at my uncle’s harsh words, “Of course, Uncle Victor. Is there anything else?”
“How is your marriage coming along? Have you heard from your lawyer?”
“It’s fine, Uncle Victor. Thank you for asking. As for my lawyer, I was advised of your dispute. My lawyer assured me it would only delay my getting the stock shares.”
“We’ll have to wait and see, Valentina. Won’t we?”
I’m practically shaking with my emotions as I leave his office.
I need to find out who on my team has been leaking information to my uncle. They are not only betraying me; they are betraying the entire team, and their actions could sabotage the entire project.
Thirteen
Chase
It’s the weekend, and I don’t have to work tonight. My brother Carson finally agreed to meet me and our uncle at the Wild Riders club tonight. I forgot to let Val know as I’ve been working nights, so I shoot her a last-minute text as I leave the offices of Knight Security.
I glance down at Val’s answering text. “I’ll try to look like I belong in a biker club. Where can I buy biker babe outfits?” With a couple of cute emojis.
I smile in anticipation. I wonder how she thinks a biker babe would dress?
After I get home and take a hot shower, I get dressed in jeans and a blue T-shirt and throw on my Harley leather jacket. I pull on some black biker boots and then check the time.
Val said she would get ready in her apartment. She’s supposed to meet me here in the next fifteen minutes. I saw her car outside when I pulled up, so she should be here soon. That should get us to the club right on time.
I hear the door open and I turn to greet Val.
“Holy shit, you look hot!”
She’s dressed in black jeans and a black leather vest with a fringe down the front. She looks like a vision, and my body instantly hardens.
“I like your reaction!”
I take her in my arms and kiss her soundly. When I finally let her go, her dark bedroom eyes have that dreamy look she gets.
