Cassy's Awakening Ch. 01

I actually got a fair bit done, considering how rattled I still was. I didn't want to think about what I'd done earlier, and from time to time, when I found my mind beginning to wander, I'd give myself a physical pinch to keep my mind on my job.

True to my instruction, Stacy had held the world outside at bay, and my phone and door remained undisturbed for the rest of the day.

When my phone finally rang, it was almost six fifteen.

"Ms. Riley," Stacy's voice piped up, "I just wanted to let you know that Ms. Scott has left for the day."

"OK, thank you, Stacy," I said, looking at the clock again to confirm the time.

It was late. Normally, everyone was out by about five.

"No problem, Ms. Riley!" Stacy said enthusiastically, "I made sure to keep note of her until she'd left, so I could let you know. She was the last one on the floor to leave."

I furrowed my brow.

"Actually, I'm still here," I corrected her, annoyance in my voice.

"Oh, of course Ms. Riley," Stacy said, clearly worried she'd messed up again, "I just meant -- I mean, I put off plans so that I could stay late and let you know-"

"I get it, Stacy," I sighed, "What do you want, a pat on the head for doing your job? Now sign out for the night, I'll tell security to lock up when I'm finished."

"But... Ms. Riley," Stacy said, "Don't you need me to stay and-"

"Stacy, are you really going to talk back to me again?" I said with obvious irritation.

"No ma'am!" Stacy said, and through the intercom I could hear her gathering her things in a hurry. "I'll see you tomorrow, ma-"

I hung up the phone.

I waited at my desk for a few minutes, to give the vapid girl time to make her leave.

When I finally stood up, my heart was racing.

I made my way out of my Office, checking to see if everyone had indeed departed.

It was quiet, and I was alone.

I walked down the empty hall, nervously making my way towards Jane's office.

Today, I'd woken up thinking I could manage Jane with a firm hand, and stiff upper lip. But obviously, I'd been very wrong. So I'd have to up the effort... and go with a more nuclear option.

Jane had bragged about blackmailing the Board of Directors on several occasions now. I wasn't sure if she was telling the truth, but I needed to find out.

I slid my small, laminated key card into her office door, hearing the latch unlock in response.

Unbeknownst to most, I had a universal key card for this floor. In fact, it was one of many things I had that gave me an edge.

I pushed into Jane's office, looking around to make sure it, too, was empty.

Satisfied I was still alone, I crossed the room to her computer, and fired it up.

If she'd been blackmailing the senior executive staff, she might have left evidence on her computer.

A password prompt popped up.

I looked around the room, considering the action I was about to take.

I sighed. There was no choice. Jane had to be brought down.

To be frank, she was beating me at every turn... and if things continued this way, it could become a disaster.

I pressed a series of keys on the computer. Not a password, but a command prompt.

Immediately, the password screen cleared, and a complex set of menus appeared in its place.

This was another one of my dirty little secrets : back-door access into the company's computer network.

I'd paid -- well, bribed -- one of the systems guys to set it up for me, about a year ago. He'd happily obliged, giving me access to almost any terminal in the company by programming a secretive system into the -

Actually, I didn't know how it all worked. But I knew how to use it.

I knew that it gave me an unparalleled ability to access emails, programs, encrypted data and even deleted files from any machine.

I keyed in some more commands, watching the menus come and go as I flipped through Jane's personal files.

I skimmed her emails, outgoing and in, and searched for evidence on her hard drive for anything that might be construed as blackmail.

There was nothing.

I worked away for a good ten minutes, furiously searching for a shred of improper contact, information or wrong doings... but there was nothing.

Dammit! I slammed my fist down on the desk.

Had she been lying?! Or was there simply something hidden somewhere else?! Surely she was smart enough not to keep any evidence around the office, but I'd be hoping there might be something that I could use to keep her in check.

I hadn't even hoped to find a smoking gun. Just... anything I could use to hang over HER head, and regain some precious control over her!

I sighed. She was clean -- at least as far as this computer was concerned.

At the worst, the only thing I could see was that she was an exceptionally lazy worker. Her files were disorganized, her emails poorly written, her -

"Arrgh!" I grunted in frustration, throwing my hands up.

Once again, it felt like she was winning.

I sat in at her desk, annoyed, not sure what to do.

I was about to give up and leave... when I had an idea.

I held my breath for a moment, pondering the idea that had just popped into my head.

Was it worth it, I wondered?

I pictured Jane's smug face. I pictured her condescending tone... and her irritating smirk.

I pictured her naked ass.

Yes, I decided. It was worth it.

I began to type at her keyboard.

If I couldn't find evidence of wrongdoing on Jane's computer, I would create some.

Using my backdoor access, I'd be able to fabricate any sort of nefarious thing I desired. I typed away, working silently for the next fifteen minutes.

It didn't take long before I had things set up. Her emails, her history, her transaction reports... I edited them all, so that when all was said and done, it would look like Jane had been embezzling money from the company.

It wasn't fool proof, but it was pretty damn air tight. My backdoor program was able to retrace her bank log in information, and I'd even gone so far as to create a traceable trail between her accounts and a secret company fund.

This wouldn't just get her fired, I thought, steeling myself with angry resolve. It would get her locked behind bars.

I was nearly done, finishing the final touches of my master plan, when I heard a the lock to Jane's office click shut.

I looked up, and my face went white.

"Hey, Cassy," Jane said, leaning against the closed door to her office, smirking at me, "Funny finding you here, in my office, so late..."

I didn't know what to do. I was petrified. I was caught, completely red handed.

"I was just... uh," I fumbled for an excuse, "I wanted to check over some reports-"

"Save it, Blondie," Jane said, her smirk growing wider, into a devilish, evil grin, "I know exactly what you were doing... and I think it's time you and I have a serious talk."