Forced Love

"Fix it! Find out who the hell did this," she grumbled.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Has anything been damaged, lost, or stolen?"

"We're checking now."

"Keep me informed," she said ending the call.

She turned to Jeff as he put down his phone.

"That was Leon. Everything is fully restored. Nothing lost or damaged."

Lori chuckled. "IT just shit their britches."

Lori's desk phone buzzed, she put the receiver to her ear.

"Thanks, Miriam. Send her in," she said, then put the phone back in its holder.

Jeff was sitting with his back to her office door working on his laptop. He heard the door behind him but continued what he was doing.

"Hi, Mom," Lori said.

Jeff turned quickly and looked behind him. His mother saw him, smiled, then moved in his direction with her arms out to him.

"Oh my god! Jeff? Is it really you?" his mother asked, excitedly.

Jeff stood and moved his chair between them to keep her away.

"Mrs. Combs," he said seriously.

"Jeff...Jeff, I can't believe my son is finally home," she said smiling.

"Mrs. Combs, your son is dead. You and your husband killed him twenty years ago."

Jeff closed his laptop and picked it up. Then without another word left the office, giving his mother a wide berth.

"Jeff...," Lori called, as he walked out the door.

He ignored her and continued his exodus. He walked past Miriam, saying nothing as he did. Leaving the executive offices, he walked to the stairs and headed down.

*****

"That didn't go well," Lori told her mother.

"Why did he behave like that?" Ellen asked.

"You really don't know?"

"No. It was his father's doing."

Miriam opened the office door. "Your father is on his way up."

Lori nodded then turned to her mother. "If you ever hope to see Jeff again, I suggest you not mention him being here."

"Oh, Lori, your father will be happy to see Jeff," her mother replied.

"Listen to me, mother! If dad finds out Jeff was here, he's going to go into one of his tirades. We need Jeff's help. Keep your mouth shut!"

Ellen nodded.

As Jeff stepped out of the stairwell on the first floor, he heard his father's voice. He glanced right and saw him walking toward the elevator. Jeff stepped back into the stairwell and stood there for a moment before looking out again. When the elevator door closed, Jeff walked out the front door of the building and walked away.

Arthur Combs III walked into his daughter's office.

"I got a call telling me that the entire company shut down a few minutes ago. What the hell was that all about?" he demanded.

"And good morning to you too. Sit down, quit shouting, and I'll tell you," Lori replied, being fully in control.

He sat in the chair his son had recently vacated and assumed his holier than thou posture. His wife stepped up and stood behind him.

"I recently discovered that our computer system, among other things, had a major vulnerability. Last week I met with some experts in the security field and asked them to look into it. This morning, just to demonstrate that vulnerability, they accessed our system and shut it down."

"Why would you give that kind of access to someone?"

"Dad, I didn't give them any access. They accessed our system on their own and simply shut it down. We were warned a half-hour before and told when and for how long it would happen. Our IT department got the warning too and were powerless to stop it. Everything was restored three minutes later."

"So, our IT people fixed it?"

"No, dad. They were locked out too."

"Then how in the hell did you get running again?"

"The security company gave us back control. It was a demonstration of how vulnerable we are. IT has been trying to figure out how they did it. As of ten minutes ago they're still clueless."

"How much access does this company have to our computers, exactly?" he asked.

"Everything. They could have even turned off the electricity in the building if they wanted to."

"So, they must be somewhere in the building."

"Dad, they shut down our entire system. Not just here. They shut down everything we own that has a computer connection."

"What company pulled off this stunt?"

"We're negotiating with them to fix our vulnerability. They're insisting on anonymity until negotiations are finished."

"I hope to hell you checked them out first."

"Of course, I did. They're probably the best there is."

"Lori, I want a name," he insisted.

"Dad, you don't run Combs anymore. I'm not giving it to you."

"You listen here...you little shit. I'm Arthur Combs III and your father. Don't forget your place," he barked.

Lori stood; red faced. "I know exactly who you are. I'm the CEO of Combs. One more threat and I'll have security remove you from the building. Do I make myself clear?"

Her father's face was a shade or two darker red than she'd ever seen it. They stared at each other for a moment, not speaking. He stood and stormed out of the office with his wife in tow.

Lori grabbed her personal cell phone and called Leon in Tampa.

"Hi Lori," he said.

"Leon, I need your help. Can you access incoming calls here in Indy from a specific number?"

"Easily. What do you need?"

She gave him her father's cell number. "I need to know if calls come in or go out to that number. I need to know who they talk to, when, and if possible, what they discussed."

"Do you need the conversation recorded?"

"You can do that?"

"Right from my laptop. The recording couldn't be used in court."

"I don't need it for that."

"I'm on it. How should I get you the information?"

"Text it to my personal number?"

"When do you want it?"

"As soon as it happens."

"There's a call coming in now. It's to Jack Harmon. Hold on a second," Leon told her, as he listened to the conversation. "I'm recording now. The caller is someone named Arthur. From the sound of it, Harmon is where he gets inside information. He's wanting info on the new security company. Arthur promised him five grand to find out. Lori, you've got an enemy and a mole."

"That's what I suspected. Send me what you get and keep monitoring. There may be more than one."

"Want me to send this info to Jeff too?" Leon asked.

"Please. He's not here right now, but he needs to know. Thanks, Leon."

"No problem."

Lori ended the call and summoned Miriam to her office.

"Yes?"

"What do you know about Jack Harmon?"

"He's an old timer who worked pretty closely with your dad. I'm not sure what he does now, but he's still with us. Isn't there a file on him in your father's file cabinet?"

"Beats me," Lori replied, as she walked to her father's private files.

She spent several minutes and returned with the file. After going through it quickly she looked up at Miriam.

"According to this he's got top level access. I want that changed immediately to only what he needs to do his current job. I also want my father's access reduced to entry level. Find out what Harmon's job is. If we can retire him, do it immediately. If not, transfer him to Timbuktu."

Miriam chuckled. "We don't have an office in Timbuktu."

"No time like the present to open one. I don't care where he goes. I want him out of here. My dad is using Harmon to get information. If dad has other contacts here, I need to know."

"Is your father trying to pull strings?"

"Oh yeah, but it's not gonna work."

"I didn't expect it would."

"Did Jeff say where he was going when he left?" Lori asked.

"No. He walked directly out the door."

"Did he look upset?"

"No clue, he was moving way too fast to tell."

"He's pissed then."

"Anything else?"

"What's on my calendar for this afternoon?"

"Nothing that can't be easily rescheduled."

"Good. I'll see you in the morning."

Lori stood and grabbed her purse. She and Miriam left her office. Once in the hallway, she called her brother.

"Yeah?"

"Where are you?"

"O'Malley's drinking a beer," Jeff replied.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Depends. Are you coming alone?"

"All alone," she replied.

"Then come ahead," he said, ending the call.

Lori walked into O'Malley's and joined her brother.

"I screwed up, huh?"

"You might say that," he replied.

"Sorry, I wasn't thinking."

"Sis, I don't want to even be around them. I'm dead, remember?"

"It won't happen again. I'll have security notify us both anytime either of them is in the building."

"Okay. Did you get the texts from Leon?" he asked.

"I haven't checked. Texts meaning more than one?"

"Yeah, he said you know about Harmon. There was a second one. Do you know Troy Benson?"

"Never heard of him."

"Mr. Combs called him right after Harmon. Basically, the same conversation but he only offered Benson a grand."

Lori called Miriam. "Find out who Troy Benson is. He needs to go to Timbuktu with Harmon."

Jeff could hear Miriam's laughter as Lori put away her phone.

Lori and Jeff chatted as they drank their beers. She soon got a text from Miriam.

'Harmon is retiring as of tomorrow. All access has been cancelled. Benson is in marketing. Has more access than he's supposed too. Three recent sexual harassment complaints. All three justified. Waiting on final disposition from HR. M'

'Fire him immediately!' Lori replied.

'Will do. M'

"That was Miriam. Both moles are gone. This is like a James Bond movie," Lori said.

"Welcome to the world of corporate security."

"Jeff, how long will it take to make Combs secure?"

"Once I discovered your weaknesses, I had my team start working on it. The software fix is already done. It takes about four hours to install. Your server will be down during the fix. Everyone will need new badges in order to access the updated system. In a company your size that takes about two days and needs to be done before the fix. Cindy sent Miriam the info on what you need to order. Once you get the equipment for the IDs and pass those out, we're good to go. By the way. You might want to have Leon monitor Mrs. Combs phone too. The mister might have her snooping."

"I'll call him in a little while. What else do we need to do?"

"Install more cameras and beef up your security department. You basically have three doormen who couldn't stop a third-grade class. You also need to upgrade some of your company laptops. You can wipe the old ones and give them to schools or youth centers. They love them, and it's a tax write off."

"What's all this going to cost?" she asked.

"Probably 50K for the video stuff. 20K for the IDs. Computer costs depend on how many you need and what kind of deal you can get. Miriam also has specs on minimum requirements for the computers.

"And how much for J-D Security Systems?"

"I'm not charging you anything. I don't need or want your money," he replied.

"Is that because it's dad's company?"

"It's not Mr. Combs company anymore. If it was, I'd charge ten times the going rate. I just don't feel the need to charge you. Buy me dinner sometime," he said.

"Done. Will my IT people need training?"

"Your IT people won't even know the fix took place except for your server downtime. Let Cindy know when you'll have the IDs done. We'll get the ball rolling. Right now, I need to go empty my bladder."

While he was away, Lori sent Leon a text with her mother's number and asked him to monitor it for calls to the office. He assured her that he would.

Jeff returned to the table just as Lori's work cell rang. She looked at the caller ID and showed it to her brother.

"You should hear this. I suspect you'll get a kick out of it," she told him.

"I doubt it but go ahead."

She answered it and put it on speaker.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" their father barked.

"What do you mean?"

"Why can't I log on past the email?"

"What exactly do you need?"

"I founded this goddam company. I have every right to see how it's running."

"It's running just fine."

"Not if your fucking software is screwed up," he argued.

"You had that software installed. Not me. I'm having it fixed. I made the deal with the experts who can fix it."

"What's the name of the company?"

"Why would you need to know that, dad? What difference would it make?"

"I have a right to know!"

"We have a company policy based on need to know. What need do you have?"

"Lori, I put you in as CEO. I can take you out," he threatened.

Jeff vigorously shook his head and signaled her to end the call.

"Dad, I've got to go. I'll get back with you in a little bit."

She ended the call before he could respond and looked at Jeff.

"What's up? That was an idle threat," she said.

As Jeff was opening his laptop, he began. "Arthur Combs III serves himself. I wouldn't put it past him to pull some shit to try and discredit or ruin you, trying to force you to step down. He doesn't give a shit about anyone but himself. Look at this," he said, turning the laptop in her direction.

She began reading and scrolling through pages. Her eyes seemed to get wider as she read.

"Are these real?" she asked.

"Very real.

"Dad's on the take from people and companies all over the world. Where did you get this information?"

"When we were working on the patch for your system, one of Leon's team found it. Actually, what he found was some very damaging e-mails. Leon followed through on it and got this from Arthur's company laptop. You haven't gotten to it yet, but there's a spreadsheet in there naming donors, how much they gave him, what they wanted from him, and the name and account number of the bank the money went to."

"I'm not seeing anything in the last several months," she said.

"When Leon showed me this, I told him to leave it alone. It hasn't been updated."

"So, there's probably even more?"

"Probably," he replied.

"This is criminal. Why didn't you turn him in?"

"I didn't know if you were involved."

"I'm not. I had no knowledge of any of this. Can you update this?"

"If we do it before the patch. I won't have any access after that."

"Ask Leon to update it please?" Her personal phone rang. "Speaking of the devil. Hi Leon, Jeff and I were just talking about you."

"That can't be good. I need tell you something, but I don't want Jeff to hear. Can you do that?"

"I can."

"That second number you gave me, I assume that's your mother, right?"

"Right."

"She's meeting someone, Walt Bedford, for their weekly rendezvous, as she called it, in room 212 at the Comfort Inn on south County Line Road at 1:00."

"Are you implying what it sounds like?"

"There was no doubt what their conversation was about."

"Leon, thanks."

"You're welcome."

"You remember the files you got from Arthur's laptop?" Lori asked.

"Yes."

"Can you get an update on them?"

"I can have it in fifteen minutes."

"While you're looking, can you look into Bedford's computer?"

"I'm on it. I'll send everything to this number."

"Thanks. Gotta run," she said, then immediately called Miriam.

"Hi. I thought you were taking the afternoon off."

"I am. Interested in an out of the office afternoon assignment?"

"Oh, God yes. The phones have been crazy."

"I need you to drive to the Comfort Inn on south County Line Road. Park as close to room 212 as you can without being seen. Two people are supposed to meet there at one. You should get there early probably. I need photos of them going in and again coming out. I need to see faces."

"I can do that. In some of those places there's a gap in the curtains. You want pictures from inside if I can get them?"

"Oh, yeah. Hey, how do you know about the curtains in cheap motels?"

"From my college days. I'll tell you about it sometime."

"I'm not sure I want to hear it," Lori said chuckling. "Gotta run."

"Don't forget to call Arthur. Don't say anything about what I showed you. Keep that as your trump card, for now," Jeff warned his sister.

She nodded, then used her work cell to call her father on speaker.

"Don't you ever hang up on me again!"

"Where were we? Oh, yes. You were threatening me. Go on," she said smiling at Jeff.

"I can pull the CEO position right out from under you."

"You don't think that the company being twice as profitable now than it was when I took over would matter? Or that all the underhanded crap you were pulling has been eliminated might sway them? You have entry level access to Combs. I fired both Harmon and Benson today. I'm pretty sure it's you who doesn't know who you're fucking with, not me. Goodbye."

Lori started laughing the moment she ended the call. Jeff was laughing with her.

"You're good. Mind if I ask a few questions?"

"Not at all."

"Anyone I know having the affair?"

"Let's say it's someone you used to know."

"Enough said. Next question. When were you planning on telling me?" Jeff asked smiling.

"About what?" she asked.

"You and Miriam."

"I was going to tell you later today. How did you figure it out? We work hard at covering our tracks."

"The limo last night was the first clue. Her lipstick was fine. It was your shade on her lip that needed the fixing. Rather than fixing it herself, you fixed it. Not typical of a boss employee interaction. At dinner, you were more like a married couple than most married couples."

"Is that why you walked home? Were you upset?"

"Yes and no. Yes, that's why I left. I didn't know if Miriam knew about us, and I didn't want you to be in an awkward situation. No, I wasn't upset. Finding someone you love is a beautiful thing. I'm thrilled you have someone. I can't believe you've been able to keep it hidden since college."

"It's been...how do you know that?" his sister asked.

"Miriam and I got to know each other pretty well this morning before you arrived. She told me you had been upfront and honest about your visit with me from the beginning, and that it was her that pushed you to come. She adores you."

"I adore her too. So where do you and I go from here?" Lori asked.

"I vote for brother and sister," he said. "But not putting so much space between visits."

"Just brother and sister?"

"Yes. Except for swimsuits on vacation, we keep our clothes on. So, when is Miriam going to make you an honest woman?"

"I've been to afraid to come out," Lori replied.

"Afraid of what?"

"Societal norms, I guess. How mom, and especially dad, would react."

"Lori, it's 2022, people are coming out all over and society, for the most part, is fine with it. It's your life. Live it your way. Now, Mr. and Mrs. Combs are another story. They no longer have any right to judge anyone. I really don't think she'll care anyway. I want an invitation to the wedding."

"Okay, you've given me guidance. Now I'd like to give you some," she said.

"Fire away."

"I can't believe that you're so blind you can't see what's staring you in the face."

"Apparently, I am. What are you talking about?" her brother asked.

"Cindy."

"What about her?"

"She's head over heels in love with you," Lori told him.

"What?"

"Trust me, Jeff. I spent half a day with her. You were our main topic. She's beautiful, smart, available, and in love."

"Lori, we've never even gone out."

"It's time you rectify that. When are you going home?"

"I changed my flight to tomorrow evening. I need to meet with your IT guys then you and Miriam tomorrow."

"Perfect, that gives you Friday off. Call Cindy tonight. Tell her to have herself and her daughter ready at 9 Friday so you can pick them up."

"And...?"

"Take them to Disney, of course. You'll all have a ball."

"You're sure about this?" he asked.

"I'm sure."

"What if her daughter doesn't like me?"

"What does Sophia do every time she sees you?"

"She brings me a picture she drew."

"Of what? What is it a picture of? They're on your office wall."

Jeff thought for a moment. "A man, woman, little girl, and a house."