Chapter 26

Westly’s executive assistant, Pamela, met him at the security desk. Not a second behind her was Terri Brooks, the first shift security manager. She looked at the security guard manning the desk. “This is Grant McLeod. The big Boss called and said to give him unrestricted access to everything, so I need an all access VIP visitors badge until we have time to make him a personalized one later today.

The security guard inserted a green smart card into the programming slot of the security computer and a few seconds later pulled it out and put it on a lanyard and handed it to Grant. “There you go, sir. Enjoy your visit.”

Terri laughed. “He isn’t visiting, but there is an emergency that will delay getting him a permanent badge until later today. He’s the CEO of G.L. Creations. His company is moving up to the offices on the fourth floor. His Lawyer, Rebecca Long, office manager, Tiffany Anderson, his CFO, Mia Vasilios, will be in later. Send them up to the security office when they get here so I can get their badges made.”

Grant said. “The police will probably be here at some point as well. We had some problems at our temporary offices this morning.”

Terri frowned. “I hadn’t heard that. What kind of problems?”

“Nothing much. Someone just blew the building up, that’s all.”

All three people from Westly’s team exclaimed together. “WHAT???”

“I’ve made a few enemies, and they were trying to get back at me by destroying what they thought was the home of one of my girlfriends and her mother. They didn’t know they’d recently moved in with me and we were going to use their house as our offices temporarily. They threatened to blow up my home as well, but so far that hasn’t happened.”

Terri became all business. She looked at the security guard at the desk. “Be extra vigilant on checking credentials today. No one gets in that doesn’t have an appointment or without someone personally vouching for them. If someone vouches for someone, they need to come collect them in person to make sure they are who they’re claiming to be. Consider this a security upgrade to orange from green.”

The guard nodded. “Yes, Ma’am.”

“There will be a representative from Palisade Protection Services coming to meet with my lawyer at some point today as well. They’ll be in and out as they assess my family’s, company’s, and personal security needs. As well as the detective, there will be a member of the CSI tech team that will look for me. I hope to be in my office within the hour.”

“Yes, sir, I’ll make sure they are sent right up.”

With that, Grant, Pamala and Terri headed for the VIP elevator. Terri, still in security mode, probed for more information. “Mister McLeod. I didn’t ask in front of the guard but why in the world would someone bomb your temporary offices?”

Grant sighed. “You’ve no doubt seen the news coverage about the young man that uncovered the sex scandal at the high school?”

Both Pamala and Terri nodded. “Well, you’re looking at him. I’m the guy who uncovered the unofficial policy of forcing the cheerleaders to sexually service the football program. What the news hasn’t said is that more than just the team and coaches are involved. Some very nasty people are also involved, and it goes beyond just the cheerleaders. Just before the bomb went off, we received a threatening phone call demanding that two of those I’m protecting be returned to their abusers or we’d lose our homes. When the two ladies refused, they set off the one bomb to convince us. I don’t know why they didn’t follow through with bombing my house, too. Maybe the police will figure it out.”

“Thank you. That helps me know better what to look for in keeping you, your workers and ours safe.”

Not a problem. I really need to get my servers back online, as I’m upsetting my users and losing money every second I’m offline.”

Pamala nodded. “We were going to take you to your offices first, but instead, let’s take you straight to Willow Wheaton on the third floor. That’s where our IT department and server farm is located. If you want, I’ll have HR send you a couple of office workers from our secretarial pool to help out today. A receptionist and secretary.”

“Not sure I’ll need a secretary yet, but someone to greet people would be wonderful.”

Pamala smiled. “There’s plenty for a secretary to do, Grant. She can help your office manager get furniture for the offices. There isn’t a lot there. I know that the phones are there, but they aren’t hooked up. The secretary could help with that. She could help your staff get settled into their spaces while the receptionist greets people and directs them where they need to go. Both could help with getting food and drinks for your people and the boss did tell me to give you anything you need.”

Grant nodded. “Thank you, Pamela. I can see why Westly is upset you’re going to retire soon. You, my dear, are a real go-getter.”

The silver-haired lady blushed and smacked Grant’s arm. “You’re a real flirt, aren’t you, Mr. McLeod? My efficiency and knowledge come from being in the executive assistant role for so long. I’ll have Tara ready to handle it before I go, and she’ll be just as good as I am.”

“Maybe I should have Tiffany shadow you for a while as well. She’s going to be my executive assistant.”

The older EA laughed. “There isn’t anything I could teach Tiffany Anderson. I can assure you that she is more efficient than anyone you could hire, including me. That girl is an organizational and utilization expert already. Honestly, she could teach a Master Class for EA’s and even I’d probably learn tricks I haven’t thought of yet. My advice to you is to give her free rein over your personal staff and G.L. Creations will have the most efficient staff of any company that I know, and that includes Anderson Advertising.”

They stood outside the Elevator and Terri pointed at a slot in the wall where normally buttons would be.

“As you can see, this is the executive elevator. Only those with all access badges can use it. If you slide your security badge in the slot, it will call the elevator to whichever floor you are on if it isn’t already in use. There aren’t many people with the security level to use it. Me, Pamela, Mister Anderson, Cecilia, The head of IT and HR and now you. Tara and Tiffany will have access. Our CFO has access, but he’s retiring at the end of this month.”

While she was explaining, Grant slid his badge in the slot and a green light lit up around the badge and soon the doors opened. He removed his card, and they climbed into the elevator. Again, there was the slot, only this time it was above the buttons for each floor. “Once you get the elevator, you slip you card in the interior slot and select the floor you want to go to.”

Grant put his card in the slot and hit the number 3. He pulled his card out and the elevator started to climb. Pamala put her badge in the slot and hit the four buttons. “You and Terri go see Willow and get your servers back online. I’m going to go and open your office and wait for HR to send up two people from the office workers’ pool. Once they know what to do I’ll leave them your keys. Oh except this one.” She took a key of the ring. That’s to the corner office suite in your new space. In the past, it has been the main office for the head of the company. I’ll give the rest to Tiffany when she gets here or have one of the office workers give them to her.”

Just then, the doors opened on the third floor. “Thank you again Pamela. I really appreciate all the help you and Westly have given me.”

“You’re welcome. Just get those apps up and let me and your staff worry about everything else.”

Grant followed Terri off the elevator and onto the IT floor. Grant stopped and looked around. The main worker area was as busy as a beehive, the cubicles all concentrically laid out with a huge one right in the center. If the IT staff were worker bees, then the woman seated in that middle cubicle was definitely the Queen Bee herself. It was surrounded by computer monitors and looked like a cocoon, with the most awesome and comfortable computer chair which the woman herself was sitting in. She looked up when one of the workers pointed at Terri and Grant. She turned and saw them and took off her headset, exited her computer cocoon, and headed right for them. “Ms. Brooks, to what do we owe the honor of your visit to the lower decks?”

Grant couldn’t help but chuckle; he wondered if she knew that there was an animated Star Trek streaming show by that name. Then he noticed what she and all the techs were wearing and figured she did. Their work uniforms looked just like engineers’ uniforms from the next generation tv show. Her security badge was clipped to the uniform where the starfleet insignia badge had been on the show.

Terri looked at Grant. “Wil, this is Grant McLeod, the boss said, to have you help him get his servers hooked up and running in the server room. Then we need someone to help him install ethernet cables through the ceiling to the offices on the next floor. He and his company. G.L. Creations are moving in today.”

The woman’s eyes got big as she turned her attention to him. “You’re Grant McLeod? I thought you’d be bigger. From the way my sister talks, you should be ten feet tall, built like John Cena, and built proof. Is your superman suit and cape under those clothes, hero boy?”

Grant couldn’t help but smile at the honey brown haired vision of geek loveliness in front of him. “Well, I am Grant McLeod, but no super suit or cape. Besides, capes are dangerous, no self-respecting hero would wear one. Who is your little sister and why is she talking about me like I’m some kind of superhero? I’m nobody special, just a guy trying to get his servers back online.”

The woman laughed. “Nobody special, not fracking likely! My little sister is Rowen Wheaton. She’s one of the JV cheerleaders at your high school. You know the school where you kicked two football dicks assess and exposed the sexual slavery the Varsity Cheerleaders were victims of? My sister and her crew are calling you the Hero of the Hallowed Halls.”

“Wait, you’re Will Wheaton? I thought Rowan had a brother named Will, not a sister. She talks about you and how you have a whole geek squad at your beck and call.”

Willow laughed. “Well, she isn’t completely wrong, just a touch dramatic. However, if you think I’m a brother, we might need to get you to an optometrist for a comprehensive eye exam. Of course, if the other rumor she mentioned is true, you’re probably too exhausted to have an eye exam.” Then she gave him the once over and winked. “According to my sister and her friends, Grant here is a big man on campus.” She pointedly shifted her eyes to his crotch and lingered before looking up at Terri. “A VERY BIG man on campus and off, if you get my meaning.”

Grant blushed, and Terri looked and then laughed. “Well, you said your sister was dramatic.”

Grant felt the stirring in his boxer-briefs and shifted the saddlebags off his shoulder and put them in front of his pants. “I hate to stop this conversation ... Okay, I really don’t. I want to stop it, but I’m losing money here. Can we get my servers online and do the embarrassing the high school geek thing later?”

Terri Brooks looked at him and frowned. “That’s the second time you talked about losing lots of money. What exactly is on your server that you think is losing all this money for you? This isn’t something that’s gonna get my boss or our company in legal trouble, is it?”

Grant wanted to get upset, but then realized that in a few days, this woman would be one of the people in charge of protecting his company. She was trying to do her job and protect her boss. “Ms. Brooks, I promise you nothing on my servers will get Anderson Advertising in any kind of legal trouble. I create computer and phone apps. I’m willing to bet you a month’s pay that you have at least one or more of my apps in the top ten you yourself use daily.”

“I’m not big on technology, so you’d probably lose that bet. First off, I only have two apps on my phone that aren’t work related. ClickTalk that I used to talk to my family and this little fidget buster game called The Brain Drain. It’s based on those old wooden golf tee puzzles and helps me keep my mind and fingers occupied when I’m bored.”

Grant smiled. “Which puzzle do you think is the hardest in Brain Drain? Did you get the newest update with the old ring race puzzles yet? I’m always curious about how people like the new content after I publish them.”

Terri’s mouth dropped open. “You’re the creator of The Brain Drain app?”

“Yes, and you owe me a month’s wages.” Grant winked at her. “G. L. Creations is the owner of both The Brain Drain and ClickTalk. We also produce Jewel Busters, but it is less popular. That’s why it’s important to get my servers operating again. I suspect people are getting upset about ClickTalk being offline.”

That’s when Willow spoke up. “So that’s why ClickTalk is down. It’s on the server blades in your bags there?”

Grant nodded. “Yes.”

Terri, still shocked, turned to Willow. “I’ll let you two get to work on hooking them up. I’ve got to get back to security. I’m expecting two new employees and all of G.L. Creations staff to be heading to get security badges made. Grant, when you are back online, don’t forget to come down to security and get your permanent security badge made.”

Grant held out his hand and shook the security managers. “Thanks for your help, Ms. Brooks. I’ll be down just as soon as I can.”

Not even waiting, Willow directed him to the glass enclosed environmentally controlled cool room where Anderson Advertising’s server farm was. She placed her badge against a chip reader and the door opened with a hiss of escaping cold air. “How many blades do you have?”

Just four right now. It’s an older server network. I’ve got newer blades coming that I’ll put an updated version of ClickTalk and my other apps on when they arrive and swap them out but that will be something I do early in the morning when traffic is less and give the users advanced notice before doing it.”

“Smart as well as handsome and heroic. Shame you’re younger than me. I think you’d make the perfect geek girl’s lover if those rumors are right.”

Grant blushed. “Age is just a number, Willow. However, you’ll need to talk to my fiancées’ and girlfriends if you want to become part of our playtime.”

Grant barely kept from laughing at the look on the woman’s face. “Fiancée and girlfriends, as in more than one? Jesus, how do you have time to build apps?”

Grant shrugged. “They all have to sleep sometime. I get by on less than they do. Plus, they all know that this is how I plan to provide for our family, so if I need it they give me time to work. Even if that means they have to climb under the computer desk to play some.”

“Frack Me! For once, maybe Rowan isn’t being overly dramatic.”

As they were talking, Grant pulled blades out of the bag and Willow attached them to ethernet cables and secured them to the racks.

*****

About half an hour later, they were inside Willow’s computer cocoon, running diagnostics on ClickTalk and Grant’s other apps. After looking over his code, Willow realized this guy was a programming genius. Just looking at the tight and error free code was making her panties wet. She also couldn’t get the fact that he’d mentioned several women he was engaged to and two that he considered girlfriends. Even if the rumors were true and he was blessed with a big fat photon torpedo, how often could a girl expect to get it loaded in her torpedo tube? Those had to be some seriously horny girls. She knew she shouldn’t ask but couldn’t stop herself. “So now that we’ve got you up and running, I just have to ask. You said fiancées and girlfriends as in more than one. Just how many girls are you fucking, anyway?”

Grant stopped and turned in the ergonomic reclining computer chair she’d pulled into her cubicle for him and looked her in the eye. “Do you really want me to answer that?”

This time, it was Willow who blushed. Then she looked at the growing bulge in his pants. JESUS CHRIST it was halfway down to his knee. “Yeah, I think I do.”

“All right then, let’s go upstairs and check on my ethernet cable install and I’ll introduce you to most of them. Plus, I’m not supposed to talk about them here at Anderson because a few people would be offended by my family’s lifestyle. That’s what we call ourselves a family.”

Willow looked at him and laughingly said, “What? Why all the secrecy? Are you fucking your mother and sister?”

When Grant didn’t laugh with her, she froze. “Holy shit, you are!”

“I told you I can’t talk about it anywhere that’s run by Anderson. If you really want to know, come with me up to the floor my offices occupy. I made a promise to Westly Anderson to keep this quiet here at his company. While he personally has no problem with my lifestyle, some of Anderson’s more conservative workers will.”

She stood. “Let’s go, Studly Do Right, I think you’re full of shit.

Grant took her to the Executive Elevator, and she looked surprised. “Grant you have to have a special badge to use these elevators. Mine won’t call it.”

He smiled at her. “Mine does.” He put the card in the slot, and it turned green. Just a few moments later, the doors opened. They got in and he put his card in the slot and hit the number four button. He pulled his card after the number lit up and the doors closed. Willow turned to him. “Now tell me what is so controversial about your relationships that you aren’t supposed to talk about them here at work.”

Grant shook his head. “Not until we are in my office. I’m a man of my word. I have great respect for Westly Anderson, and I won’t do anything to jeopardize our friendship.”

She looked confused. “But we’re in the executive elevator. No one can see or hear us.”

Grant looked up in the elevator’s corner and pointed. “Yes, they can. You’re the second highest manager in the IT department. From what I saw, you’re a brilliant code reader, which means you are probably a brilliant code writer and probably an excellent hacker too. So, you should know Big Brother is always watching.”

“Oh, I didn’t think about security.”

“Most people don’t, and that’s what I’m hoping for when it comes to keeping my family safe. That the assholes won’t think about security, and we’ll be able to catch the bastards in the act and end this fight. But I promise you, Willow, that once we get someplace, I know we won’t be overheard. Then I’ll answer any questions you have about me, my company, my family, and my lifestyle. Westly’s gonna kill me for this. I also have a question for you, but not until after you know everything.”

Willow frowned. “Why would Mister Anderson be upset with you for asking me a question?”

“Well, I know if I was the boss and offered my daughter’s fiancée an entire floor in my building and he tried to poach my best IT expert from me, it would upset me.”

Her frown transformed into a huge smile. “You want me to come to work for you?”

“That will depend on our other conversation. Once you know everything, you might not want to work for me or even know me at all.”

She was about to answer when the doors opened, and they found themselves in a bustling office space. “Hello, welcome to G.L. Creations. Can I help you find who you’re looking for?” The guy sitting at the desk was full of energy and friendliness. “Sure, can you tell me if Tiffany Anderson, Becky Long or Mia Vasilios have arrived yet?”