Chapter Twenty-Four Clearance
Stepping off the elevator on the seventy-fifth floor, Evie turned right toward Tommy’s office, her stomach fluttering with a mix of curiosity, nerves, and excitement.
It was her first day as Lead Systems Architect at Sloane Consulting, and Tommy had asked her to come by at ten to review her job description, sign the paperwork, and meet the team she would be working with.
She’d spent most of the past week, since moving into her apartment in the Tower, trying to pester Tommy, Nissa, or Thorn for details about either what her role entailed or what Sloane Consulting actually did, but each of them had brushed her off.
Tommy’s only comment had been that she would report directly to him and that Project HELIX would be one of her top priorities.
When she tried to look it up herself, the Consulting page on the Sloane Enterprises website had been infuriatingly opaque, full of talk about “tailored solutions” to unspecified problems for clients ranging from corporations to governments, all shrouded in confidentiality.
Even the contact page was useless, redirecting inquiries through the Tower’s executive offices.
Digging deeper, she’d checked the public business registry and found only that Sloane Consulting LLC was in good standing and authorized “to provide professional advisory, technology integration, and operational risk management services, and to engage in any lawful business activity incidental thereto.”
After that, she’d given up, conceding with reluctant admiration that Tommy was far too smart and meticulous to let anything he didn’t want known slip through the cracks.
Reaching the executive reception outside the administrative offices, Evie approached Tara Byron, Tommy’s executive assistant, a woman in her late thirties who managed his schedule with the precision of a high-priority military operation, which, Evie had to admit, wasn’t far from the truth.
Tara looked up at the clock and gave Evie a rare, approving smile as she stood to hug her. “You’re early.”
“Well, you’re the one who told me that being on time is actually late,” Evie teased, returning the hug. “How are the boys?”
“Amazing.” Tara beamed as she sat back down and handed Evie the framed photo she kept on her desk. “Jared got into Five-Star Basketball Camp this year, and Mackie’s going to Future Stars Magic Camp.”
Evie studied the picture. Both boys had inherited their mother’s strawberry-blonde hair and hazel eyes.
Jared, nearly sixteen, had been obsessed with basketball for as long as she’d known him.
Mackie, shy and sweet at thirteen, had fallen in love with magic after a performer Tommy hired for the company picnic four years ago let him help with a card trick.
“That’s incredible.” Evie smiled, handed back the photo, then dug in her purse. “Tell them I said hi and tell Mackie I didn’t forget his birthday, I was just very busy in May.” She passed Tara two birthday cards with gift cards tucked inside.
“Don’t worry, he knew you didn’t forget.” Tara winked as she slipped the cards into her bag. “He was very sure you’d bring him something when I said I’d see you today.” She nodded toward Tommy’s door. “You’d better go in. He’s waiting.”
Evie chuckled. She’d babysat Tara’s sons a few times when their mother had date plans and had grown particularly close to Mackie. “Talk to you later,” she said, heading for the office door.
She opened the door to Tommy’s office and found him standing at the corner table, flicking through papers and stacking them into neat piles. He looked up, grinned as she shut the door, and held out his arm in invitation.
“Morning, Evie.”
“Hey, Tommy.” Evie relaxed a little at his easy familiarity.
He was never excessively formal with anyone who worked for him, preferring to be called Tommy instead of Mr. Sloane, much to Rupert’s dismay.
Still, she had been nervous about what to expect now that her close friend was also her boss.
She crossed the room and accepted the hug, her eyes drifting to the orderly stacks of paperwork on the table.
“That’s a lot of paperwork.”
“Most of it’s already filled out.” Tommy pulled out her chair. “I authorized your information to be imported from Sloane Tech, so while you’re technically a new hire, it just needs to be read over, a few things updated and signed.”
He tapped the nearest pile. “This one is HR: onboarding, employee data sheet, direct deposit, tax forms, I-9, benefits, policy acknowledgments, all that fun stuff.” He moved his hand to the next stack.
“This covers salary, bonus structure, and the usual legal agreements, your employment contract and a nondisclosure covering everything we build here. It’s standard procedure.
If you ever try to sell, leak, or reproduce any of our designs, prototypes, or research, we’ll come after you hard.
You’re free to have a lawyer look it over first, of course. ”
Tommy paused and took a seat, regarding her seriously.
“The contract states that while your work is credited to you as the creator, all intellectual property developed through Sloane Consulting remains under our ownership and distribution rights for ten years. After that, the rights revert to you, though the technology will probably be outdated by then. You’ll still receive a percentage of any profits from products that go into production, but everything is published, branded, and sold under the Sloane name. ”
Evie nodded slowly as she skimmed through the contract. The endless legal paperwork she’d had to deal with over the past few years regarding her parents had given her a decent understanding of legal language, so she felt confident she could follow along without needing to take it to Fred.
“So, if I want to market HELIX, it would be under the Sloane name, but I’d still be credited as the developer?” she asked, wanting to be sure she understood.
“If you want to sell it, yes. If you’d rather keep it private, that’s your choice, but you can’t take it elsewhere for ten years. Sloane Consulting is footing the bill and providing the resources, so it’s only fair we benefit too. The split’s sixty percent to us and forty percent to you.”
Evie sat back, surprised. Those numbers were generous, especially since she knew the Sloane Technologies split was seventy-five to twenty-five.
“That’s more than I would have gotten with Sloane Technologies.”
“You have less creative control here,” Tommy admitted, running a hand through his hair.
“At Sloane Tech, engineers can pitch their own ideas and usually work on what interests them unless they’re tied to a major project.
Consulting is different. In your role as Lead Systems Architect, people will come to you with problems they need solved.
You’ll design a prototype and pass the specifications to the design team.
It’s demanding work with tight deadlines, so the higher percentage reflects that. ”
“Another factor,” he added, “is that Sloane Technologies develops products for international commercial release while Sloane Consulting’s work is specialized, often for a single client or a closed network, so the compensation structure reflects that.”
Evie had a brief moment of hesitation, not because there was a significantly reduced chance that anything she developed would become the next significant tech phenomenon, but because of the lack of creative control.
“So, I can’t develop anything unless I’m asked?”
“No, not at all.” Tommy shook his head, realizing she was unsure. “You can develop whatever you want. Requests and commissions just take priority. You have complete control over how you design something, but it has to meet the specifications you’re given.”
Evie nodded and began working through the paperwork, updating and signing each form marked with a “sign here” sticker. Tommy’s foresight in importing her information made the process go much faster, and when she finished, he gathered the neat stacks and slid them into folders.
“Excellent. You’ll have your ID badge and copies of everything by the time you go home today.” He grinned. “Your fingerprint scan and security clearances are already updated for the Consulting floors. We just need to add your retinal scan, and then we can head upstairs.”
He stood and motioned for her to follow him to his desk.
Pressing a key, he brought the matte glass monitor rising smoothly from the desktop.
With a few clicks, he opened a program and flipped upright a slender metal arm mounted to the far edge of the desk.
At its end was a device about the size of a coffee mug, turned on its side, with its casing made of brushed black titanium.
Another tap of the keyboard sent the lens assembly sliding forward on a silent track, a faint ring of cobalt light blooming around its aperture.
“Look straight into the light,” he said, adjusting the height and angle toward her. “It’ll only take a second.”
The scanner emitted a soft pulse, and a ribbon of data streamed across the monitor, confirming that her retinal pattern was locking into the system. The lens retracted again with a low hum, the light fading to black.
“Perfect.” Tommy gathered the folders with her paperwork and led the way out of his office, leaving Evie to hurry after him. To her surprise, he didn’t hand the files to Tara as they passed. Instead, he gave her a nod.
“Text me if anything urgent comes up,” he called over his shoulder. “I’ll be upstairs.”
“See you later, I guess?” Evie murmured to Tara, catching her amused grin.
“Have fun,” Tara called after them, chuckling at what was no doubt Evie’s flustered expression.
“As you know, after the whole attempted kidnapping thing, I started Sloane Consulting and Security Services and installed them on floors seventy-six to eighty-five,” Tommy explained cheerfully as he walked toward the elevators.
“The Security Services Division have seventy-six to eighty, and the Consulting Division has eighty-one to eighty-five. Only the people who work for the Consulting side can access those floors.”
Evie nodded. Because the Tower house housed both Tommy’s businesses and private residence, he had designed the security systems in place, which were intricate and tailored to his specific needs, a mixture of technology and human surveillance.
On the business side, everything below the third floor was open to the public; everything above required fingerprint verification, and the higher you went, the tighter the security clearance became.
Having a high security clearance for one division did not automatically grant clearance for another, and access was entered manually, requiring several confirmations from both security and the division heads.
The top five floors were considered to be Tommy’s private residence, even if he had set aside eighty-six for Evie and ninety for Thorn.
There was a private elevator that two security guards monitored at all times, and they would notify Tommy, Thorn, or Evie if deliveries arrived or if visitors requested access.
They entered the elevator, and when Tommy pressed the button for floor eighty-two, a screen blinked to life, announcing that fingerprint and retinal scans were required for access. Tommy provided both, and the usual mechanical voice spoke.”
“Sloane, Tommy. Access confirmed.”
“Second person detected. Please enter the floor needed and provide security clearance scans.”
Evie pressed the button for eighty-two and went through the same process as Tommy.
One of the most annoying aspects of working at Sloane Tech was the elevator, which would not move until all the people it detected had selected their floor and scanned their fingerprints.
It was so bad that she refused to get on if there were more than five people already there.
“Stanley, Evelyn. Access confirmed.”
“Why is mine Evelyn and yours Tommy?” She asked, amused that her name was more formal than his, especially considering Rupert was the only person who used either of their full names.
“Because I entered mine and someone from security entered yours based on your driver’s license.” He smiled at her as the elevator began to move. “And you know how much I hate being called Thomas.”
“Fair enough.” Evie tapped her foot. The Non-Disclosure Agreement she had signed made it clear that anything regarding Sloane Consulting could only be discussed on those five floors, so she didn’t try to get any more information out of him.
“How’s your mom doing?” Tommy asked suddenly, throwing Evie off.
“Good, great, actually, considering her health is steadily declining.” Evie shifted on the balls of her feet as she pursed her lips.
Tommy had been able to get her mother into the hospice almost immediately.
She hadn’t asked what kind of donation he’d given them, but when they arrived with her mother, the staff had practically fallen over themselves to help get her settled away.
“They have daily mass and prayer groups, so she’s in her element.” She glanced at him. “I know I already thanked you for getting her in earlier than planned, but I’m not sure it was enough.”
Tommy shrugged. “I did it for her as much as for you. She was my rock when Mom and Dad died, so I returned the favour.”