Peter looked up to see the computer had located the password. He tilted his head in puzzlement when he saw it was Anne, his mother’s name. Thinking the coincidence was strange, he leaned over and pulled out the thumb-drive before rebooting the computer. He resumed examining the paper.
There appeared to be a small list of casinos. All but the bottom two had been scribbled out. Next to each loss was a handwritten comment in pencil saying open, paid, or settled. The word open had obviously been erased and replaced with paid or settled with dates added. Some of the larger losses had been settled rather than paid, many within the last few days. One $15,000 debt was today’s date. With the amounts being so large, Peter was sure Chris was using a credit line at the hotel casinos. He wondered what “settled” meant? Did he do something to pay off those debts? SID would need to do a little research.
The computer had booted and was requesting the password. He shuddered as he typed in Anne, wondering if the name was in any way associated with his mother. Bingo, the password worked. He went back to searching through the personal file while the computer finished booting. Nothing more caught his attention in the folder.
He put the paperwork back and put the file in the exact slot as he found it, then closed the drawer and locked it. He began to do a broad search on the computer, looking for anything suspicious.
Peter’s whole body jolted to attention when a faint sound echoed down the hallway. He turned his head slightly to position his ear toward the cracked doorway. A terrifying revelation hit him that the soft sound was footsteps, which were increasing in intensity. He quickly put the computer in hibernation mode before looking for a place to hide. His only choice was under the large wooden desk. He quickly grabbed his notepad, phone and pick set case before moving out the chair and quietly squeezing down into the dark, cramped space. Steps were fast approaching as he leaned over and pulled the chair slowly in as far as it would go.
His heart stopped when the steps entered the office. Shit. He hoped it was the cleaning lady, possibly coming to retrieve the vacuum. It soon became obvious that the approaching sounds were not from a maid’s soft shoes, but something hard-soled with a heel, possibly cowboy boots, which were Chris’s favorite. The footfalls stopped for a moment in the middle of the room. Peter’s brain went into overdrive trying to come up with a story why he was there. How the hell could he explain hiding under a desk? He couldn’t. Chris would instantly assume he was still with SID and his cover would be blown.
His body went rigid when Chris called out. “Hello?”
The boot sounds resumed and the resonance increased, making it clear the man was walking toward the desk. Peter’s face tightened as he looked down to see a shadow appear through the tiny slit between the floor and the bottom of the front desk panel hiding him. The noise stopped at its closest. Chris’s legs were inches from him on the other side of the thin wooden panel. He didn’t budge. Didn’t even breathe.
“There you are, baby.” Chills ran down Peter’s body as the Rolex wristband slid on the wooden desk just above his head. “I would hate to lose you after what I had to do to get you.”
The jewelry rattled a little before he heard a click; he assumed Chris had put on the watch. Peter let out a deep breath when the man turned and walked back toward the door. His relief was shortlived when Chris’s boots stopped. They seemed to spin on the wooden floor before their thuds indicated the man was returning to his desk. Damn it. Why is he coming back? Does he suspect someone’s here? Was something out of place on the desk? Peter once again held his breath as the footsteps swelled in volume. This time they came around the desk. His pulse shot up when the chair started to move out. He was screwed.
A few intense seconds passed as his heart beat in his throat. Peter could see Chris’s legs from under the desk, but for some reason they didn’t move. After what seemed like an eternity, the extreme silence was broken. “Damn it, she didn’t clean my chair.”
Peter moved only his eyeballs to peer down at the chair’s fabric seat just inches away, and saw a large stain.
“I need to find her and make sure she cleans this.”
Peter relaxed slightly as the chair started coming back into the small space. He squeezed in his legs as tight as he could, allowing the chair to enter without touching him.
He dropped his head and exhaled when the boots moved off toward the door. Chris exited, calling out for the cleaning lady as he marched down the hallway. Peter quickly pushed out the chair. He took the computer out of hibernation mode before shutting it down completely, disappointed he was unable to search the hard drive. Before tip-toeing toward the doorway, he did a swift onceover of the area to double-check everything was as he’d found it.
Chris was deep in the stairwell, still calling out. Peter peeked outside—all clear. He peeled off his gloves as he hustled in the opposite direction from the stairwell. He had to get back to his office before Chris came by there looking for the cleaning lady. His boss would certainly know he was still in the building with the evidence left on his desk and question where he was.
Peter came to the last long stretch toward his office and stopped behind a large pillar. He had to pass through a wide, open area filled with a bunch of employee cubicles. Two main aisles ran parallel through the area. He saw Chris’s head bobbing down one of the aisles as he walked toward the hallway that led to Peter’s office. Once he exited the aisle, it would be too late for Peter to beat him.
Being over six foot, Peter towered over the cubicle walls. To ensure Chris didn’t see him, he bent down and awkwardly raced down the long carpeted stretch, feeling like a duck waddling along. Fortunately, the aisle he was in was closer to his office. When he reached the end of his passageway, he peeked across the room through a crack between two cubicle walls to see Chris was about ten feet from reaching his exit. Peter quickly slipped off his shoes to silence his steps before bolting across the wooden hallway floor, sprinting straight into his office. He raced through his room and practically flew into his chair, tossing his shoes under his desk.
Chris called out. “Hello, anyone here?”
A set of stereo ear plugs lay on his desk. Peter shoved them into his ears before burying his head in the Iris manual. He wiped the sweat off his forehead before taking a huge gulp of oxygen to slow down his speeding heart. With the earphones not connected to anything, he could hear Chris advancing to his office. Soon the man was at his doorway. “Hey, Peter, how come you’re not answering me?”
Peter kept studying, pretending not to hear the man. Chris started to walk in and this time yelled. “Hey, Peter!”
Peter looked up and plastered a surprised look on his face. He took the ear plugs out and innocently answered, “Oh! Hi, Chris.”
“You didn’t hear me calling?”
Peter was struggling not to pant as he spoke. “Sorry, I was listening to music. What are you doing here?”
Chris approached the desk. “I had to pick up something in my office. Have you seen the cleaning lady?”