13. Sebastian
Chapter thirteen
Sebastian
T he sky is an aircraft blue outside my office window, deceptively bright despite the chill outside. Still, Iris’s text suggesting lunch has me grinning at my mountain of folders. After introducing Rowena and overhearing Iris tell Ernest they can’t date, I managed to stay away for the rest of Rupert’s party, but it was hard.
A knock sounds on my door, and Bob sticks his head in.
“Do you have the presentation for the board meeting?” Bob asks. “Colby wants to make some changes. He wants to include more numbers about the tax breaks and other incentives New York City offers for filming. We need to beef up how we’re competitive with Albuquerque and, in particular, why the types of movies we make are better filmed here rather than building a city set there.”
I pull up the presentation.
“He says we didn’t go deep enough,” Bob continues. “He thinks Albuquerque will come off as more competitive, especially given all the below-the-line talent that moved there when Popflicks opened its production studio. He wants us to show how the movies set in NYC are doing better than the movies set in small towns.”
“During the holiday season?” I ask, thinking of the ever-present Hallmark Channel movies on at my mom’s house. Those are definitely not set in New York City.
“In terms of revenue,” Bob says.
“We can do smalltown movies in New York State,” I say. “There’s the New York State film tax credit if you shoot in upstate New York.”
“Good. Add that. Here’s his markup. I have another call with our outside employment counsel. And I got the term sheet for Raphael’s severance agreement, although I still haven’t seen the actual agreement.”
“Why was Raphael terminated?” I ask. Raphael had been impressive at the senior management meeting.
“Kevin said he thought he was doing something unauthorized, but he can’t prove it, so he wants him out.”
“Shouldn’t we figure that out?” I ask. “What if he took confidential information?”
Bob raises his eyebrow. “Kevin says Raphael is too good to get caught and we’d be wasting money tracking it down while we’re in the middle of a fight with Albuquerque. We need to show limited spending. Colby said to let it go.”
No way . That’s not the proper protocol. Why would Raphael be doing something unauthorized? He gave me a straight-arrow vibe.
“But that’s one of the reasons I want you to socialize more with the other people in the company. I can’t. I’m too senior,” Bob says. “But I think we’re out of the loop, and I’m not sure exactly what’s going on. I can’t protect the company if I don’t know.”
I flip through the markup. Scratch that—it’s not a markup; it’s a complete rewrite. Do I cancel lunch with Iris? No. I can get this done. Plus, I want to hear what she has to say about Raphael’s departure. I was told to socialize, so socialize I will.
I ris is already at StuffIt, wearing a bright-blue hat. Today’s music is pop. A waiter is wiping down the counter in front of me with a little shimmy to his step.
I go to kiss her on the cheek but then remember that I shouldn’t do that as her work colleague and end up pulling back. She’s kind of turned her cheek so maybe I should? Oh, no. Don’t repeat the other night when she thought I rejected her.
I move in to kiss her cheek, but she shifts. Lips. Pink. Aargh. No. Avert. Quickly. I hit her nose.
Her nose.
It’s a very cute nose, but still.
I’m usually much more polished.
There’s no way to save this. My face heats up.
“Uh, okay,” she says. “Maybe we should agree to just say hello in the future?”
“Yes. That sounds like a good idea,” I say. “Sorry I had to move this back—and that I’m still late. I’m revising the board presentation. Congratulations on your promotion.”
“Interim promotion,” she says. “But I’d rather have Raphael here. Do you know what happened?”
“Let’s order first and then discuss,” I say.
“Good idea,” she says. We place our orders at the counter and then retreat to a table in the back. On the turquoise wall is a drawing inspired by the Day of the Dead, lots of dressed dancing skeletons. Is that now an apt comparison to what is going on at Dream?
StuffIt is not exactly private, but it’s not crowded at two p.m. The usual lunch crowd has cleared out.
“Do you know what happened?” she asks as we both dig into our burritos.
“Not really,” I say. I’m not sure what I can or can’t share. “Was it a surprise to you?”
“A complete surprise. We were in the middle of following up on an attack to our system.”
“Oh, yes, Bob told me about that, but he said nothing was taken.”
“Raphael said something was taken, but he didn’t tell me what. He said he didn’t think he should tell me on Friday. So now I’m wondering if that’s why he was fired. I have to figure out what was taken.”
If I’m supposed to get on-the-ground intelligence, I’m partnering with Iris on this mission.
“Bob told me that Kevin said he thought Raphael was doing something unauthorized,” I say.
“No way.”
“You can’t just dismiss it. Why no way?”
“What’s his motive? Why would he tell me he’d found what was taken?”
“To throw you off the scent that it was him?”
“Except that he told me to investigate it.”
“Could he have set up that intrusion as a diversion?”
Iris stares at me. “You’ve got a very devious mind. But looking to see if this intrusion is a diversionary tactic is part of an investigation protocol. In other words, I’m investigating everything, so it doesn’t make sense to tell me you found something if you don’t want to be caught. Anyway, what motive would he have?”
“I don’t know.”
“I’m going to set up some honeypots,” Iris says.
“Excuse me?” I ask.
“Enticing targets that are fake but look real, so the cybercriminals go after them instead of legitimate assets. And then, as they spend time in the network target, you can assess their capabilities. The reason we knew an attacker was in the system this time was because they tripped one of my traps. I made my trap look like the CEO’s files because I figured that the CEO’s and the CFO’s files are the most valuable targets—other than the movie IP.”
Iris gets so passionate when she talks about cybersecurity. She’s smart.
“I think Raphael was terminated because he found something while investigating this intrusion. Kevin told me the investigation is resolved, but I plan to keep investigating. He said he’s deciding between Hank and me, so he may still plan to get rid of me and move Hank into the position. Apparently, Hank immediately asked for the job. That’s such a joke because Hank is a total nepo hire, and as much as we try to teach him, he's lazy.” Iris looks completely disgusted.
“I overheard Hank complaining to Kevin about not getting the promotion,” I say.
“I still can’t believe he thought he was qualified,” she says.
“Kevin replied to Hank, ‘ You don’t want it right now,’” I say. “What do you think that means? It doesn’t sound good.”
She stares at me. “It doesn’t. I don’t know.” She shakes her head. “Raphael’s files were also all deleted. I checked. Deleted by Hank.”
“Is that proper protocol?” I ask.
“No. They should have been kept, and I should have been given access to take over his projects.”
“Hmm. So proper protocol isn’t being followed there either.”
“Are you very into proper protocol?” she asks, her head tilted.
She is making fun of me. And boy, do I want to make a definitely not proper joke, but this is serious.
“In these circumstances yes,” I say. “As the company lawyer.”
“I’m going to Raphael’s after work,” she says. “Kevin has piled a bunch of work on me—probably so I can’t spend any more time investigating this hack—so I need to get through that first, and then I’ll go. And since Raphael refuses to pick up his calls, I will go to him. Maddie is coming with me.”
“I’ll come with you too, if that’s okay,” I say.
“Sure,” she says.
“Are you still going to the Big Brothers Big Sisters event this afternoon?” I ask. “I’m meeting my little sibling today.”
“I’ll probably be late, but I’ll definitely stop by,” Iris says. “Did you sign up for the ice skating later this week?”
“I’m a terrible ice skater,” I say. “I don’t think anyone needs to witness me ice skating. I’m much better at skiing.”
“You’ll make the kids feel better.”
“I’m sure the kids skate better than me.”
“I’ll hold you up. I’ve been directed to go.”
“You definitely can’t hold me up,” I say, “but I’ll come.”
D ream’s largest conference room is crowded with teenagers and employees grouped in clusters along the one long white conference table. I stop on the threshold. Jazmine approaches me with Aaron in tow.
“I’m so glad you signed up. We need more men as mentors,” she says. “I also convinced Aaron—you guys met in the canteen.”
I nod hello.
Jazmine waves at us to follow her to a corner where several teenage boys are hanging out.
“Jamal, this is your big sibling, Sebastian. Sebastian is a lawyer,” Jazmine says.
Jamal ducks his head in a hello, and I hold out my hand to shake his. Maybe that’s too formal. But Jamal shakes it. He’s got a good grip.
Jazmine introduces Aaron to his little sibling. “You should each take a get-to-know-you questionnaire and sit at this corner here. I think it will be easier if it’s the four of you together.” Jazmine gestures to some empty chairs.
We move to the end of the table as directed and take turns asking each other the ice-breaker questions. We bond over playing basketball.
“Maybe we can meet some time to play hoops,” I say. “I sometimes play with my friends on Riverside and 76 th . We’re a bunch of old men compared to you guys, but we’re always looking for more players. Just don’t hurt us.”
“I’d be up for that,” Jamal says.
“I also play squash, so I could teach you how to play,” I say. “Have you ever played tennis?”
“We tried tennis and badminton in gym, but I like basketball more,” Jamal says.
We proceed through the rest of the get-to-know-you questions. It’s almost a pity Ernest didn’t sign up, because this exercise could suggest a Secret Snowflake gift for him.
Iris enters and sits with her little sibling. Her skin looks flushed, like she’s in a rush.
Raphael’s departure does not make sense. If the company proves he did something unauthorized, it wouldn’t have to pay him severance, which seems like a win when we’re looking for cost-cutting options—unless an investigation would cost the amount of his severance. Still, with what Iris said, it sounds like Raphael figured out something Kevin didn’t want known. Let’s hope we get some answers when we go to Raphael’s tonight.
Jazmine claps her hands once and says, “You’re welcome to go back to your desks with your siblings to study, but before that, we’re looking for volunteers to help decorate the gym for the Alice Walker High School holiday dance. We need a theme. Faith here”—she points to Iris’s little sibling—“is leading the project.”
Jamal’s hand shoots up. “I’ll volunteer to help out.”
I raise my hand as well.
“Great, you’ve got Sebastian and Jamal,” Jazmine says, “and Nora and I are also happy to help.”
“Let’s go discuss it with them and see how we can help.” Jamal gets up and hurries over to sit next to Faith.
Jamal and I are definitely going to get along.