Page 3 of Prey
Cain leans back in his chair and studies me.
"How do you know about the other incidents?"
Because I'm not just your secretary.
"I did my research," I say. "Thoroughly."
A long pause. Then Cain smiles.
"Good," he says. "That's what I pay you for."
He didn't pay me for that. He pays me to schedule meetings and answer phones. But I don't correct him.
"We'll counter at sixty," he says, turning back to his screen. "No equity. He's not stable enough for equity. Have the revised offer on my desk by tomorrow morning."
"Of course, sir."
I stand up, walk to the door, my hand is on the handle when his voice stops me.
"Grey."
I turn. He's looking at me over the top of his monitor. The light from the screen casts his face in shadows and sharp angles.
"You've been here, what, five months?"
"Almost five."
"And you're already my best employee." He says it like a fact. Like the weather. "Most people take a year to learn how I work. You figured it out in weeks."
Because I've been watching you, hundreds of photos, recordings, and a log of your habits all on my laptop.
"I pay attention," I say.
"I've noticed."
His voice dips on the last word.
"See you tomorrow, sir."
"Seven the Thomas meeting."
"I'll be here."
I step into the hallway and pull the door closed behind me. My hands are shaking not from fear, from something worse. Hope.
Chapter 4A
Rose
He doesn’t know I’m watching him.
None of them do.
The cameras were installed after the divorce, officially for "enhanced security" and "board oversight." That’s what the memo said. Motion sensors in the halls. Discreet lenses in the elevators. Keycard logs, firewall upgrades, a whole glossy presentation about how safe we all are now.
Safety is a good story, but control is a better one.
Cain thinks the system belongs to him. He signed the authorization forms, approved the budget, and nodded along while IT explained encryption protocols and data retention policies. He calls it protection, calls it necessary. He calls it mine when he wants to flatter me.
