Chapter 11
I was relieved that it was Friday for a few reasons.
One was that the job Gio and I had been working on would be tied up today.
We held an exit meeting with the CEO and his administrative heads to review our findings and recommendations, as well as the timeline and cost. We worked on these and did the calculations as new details emerged, rather than waiting until the end.
I disliked giving the client our findings and then leaving them to wait days or more to discover the cost and other details.
While I was happy to have this assignment wrapped up, the biggest reason I was relieved was that I was impatient to tour two houses this weekend.
The realtor Danae’s boss had given her the name of had turned out to be a no-nonsense woman.
She had her fingers planted firmly in real estate in and around Hampton.
We spoke to her Tuesday night, and by yesterday, she had sent us five possibilities.
We chose the two that struck us the most. And she turned around to set up weekend tours.
Eleanor, or Nora, as she preferred to be called, had already impressed us.
I couldn’t wait to see the houses in person. The pictures looked good.
Gio and I entered the conference room. The others were seated and waiting for us.
The low murmur died down when they saw us.
Their faces were stern. I wondered what they would look like after this meeting.
Not wasting time, I got started as Gio passed out folders outlining what we were to discuss with them.
“Thank you for joining us. Gio has handed you the prospectus of our findings and the changes we believe you need to make to ensure you make it more impervious to being hacked again.”
“Wait, what do you mean, more impervious? If we do this, shouldn’t you be guaranteeing that it’ll never happen again?” the COO asked.
“I meant what I said. If I gave you such a guarantee, it would be a lie. Nothing is one hundred percent unhackable. Anyone who tells you that’s possible is lying to you.
There are minds out there that, given enough time, resources, and patience, might get in.
However, most people don’t have those things in abundance, so after a few failures, they’ll stop and move on to another target.
We’ll make it as unbreachable as we possibly can, which is very damn buttoned up.
We have some of the best experts in the business who do this kind of work,” I replied.
“How do we know your company has the best? You can say that, but those are merely words,” Thomas, the CIO, stated.
“I would assume Mr. Dell thoroughly researched the options out there, and based on that, he discovered that we have the best rating in the business. If you want a rundown on everyone who used us, then the answer is you can’t have those names.
Not everyone is open to the world knowing they’re our customers.
For those willing, Mr. Dell was given their names and contact information.
He clearly felt we were the ones to call.
Would you like to ask him to run through those?
If so, we’ll excuse ourselves. When you’re ready to listen, we’ll arrange to return. ”
I reached over to take back the folder that had been handed to their CEO. He laid his hand on it and addressed his people.
“The Dark Patriots are the best. I’ve done the due diligence. I showed it to all of you—no more wasting time. I want to hear what they found and what their solutions are,” he snapped.
That stopped the bullshit. Over the next two hours, we ran through our findings and the remedies we recommended. There were plenty of appropriate questions, as well as some stupid ones, but we finally made it to the end.
“Thank you for the thorough job that you’ve done.
You went beyond what I expected, and you’ve given us a lot to consider.
Would you please let your bosses know that I’d like a few days to go over this and discuss it with my team?
I’ll be in touch by the end of next week to let you know whether we want to proceed with any or all of the actions you mentioned,” Mr. Dell said politely.
We expected that answer, so we agreed. I knew they’d go back and talk to their people to see if they could do the work themselves.
One of two things would happen. One, the staff might say yes only to fail in the end.
Or they’d tell the truth and let the boss know it was outside their wheelhouse to do all the work.
Dell would eventually resign himself to the fact that while it cost to do the work, he was better off biting the bullet.
He’d already lost customers over the last breach, and it was minor compared to what could happen.
Walking outside the building twenty minutes later, I took a deep breath. Gio and I walked to our vehicles and stood there for a minute.
“Are you as glad as I am that we’re done with that?” he asked me.
“Hell yeah. And if they say yes, it’ll be up to Makayla and others to do most of the work. Those people got on my nerves,” I admitted.
“Same here. And I usually get along with most people. Well, I’m headed home. Do you and Danae have anything going on this weekend?”
“We have a couple of houses to tour, and we’ll be bringing her clothes and personal effects to my condo. Other than that, we’ll see what she feels up to.”
“Look at that, Heath is all grown up and settling down. So you’ll be living together. You’re having a baby. What about marriage? Or will you be one of those modern couples who don’t believe in that?”
“I am settling down, and I love it. As for marriage, I’ll be asking her soon. Trying to get the house and baby more situated first. I believe in that piece of paper.”
He held out his fist for me to bump. I did it, grinning. “Congrats, man. Oh, crap, I forgot. How did the visit to the baby doctor go the other day?” He asked.
“It was great. She’s growing, and right at the markers she should be.”
“And have you decided on a name yet?”
“Not yet. But we might keep it a secret until she’s here. We’re not sure.”
“I get it. Alright, I’ll stop yapping so you can go. Tell Danae I said hi.”
“I will. Drive safe.”
I got behind the wheel and took off. I had to remind myself not to speed. Not that it was easy with the amount of traffic on a Friday after work. I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel whenever I got stuck in a backup.
???
The last box of Danae’s clothes and the personal items she wanted to take to the condo were packed and sitting by the door, waiting to be carried out to my truck.
The weekend had been somewhat busy for us.
On Saturday, we toured the first house with Nora.
She’d been a delight, and both of us liked her even more.
She was younger than I imagined. For some reason, I pictured her being older, maybe because of how competent she sounded on the phone.
In truth, she was thirty. We’d found that out when she remarked that she was getting too old to have a baby soon.
That was when we discovered she was single.
For me, that news was just casual talk, and since I had a woman, it didn’t matter, though she was attractive.
But the way Johann had watched her from the moment we met her, I wondered if there could be something there.
She’d seemed to be rather taken with him.
I caught her staring at him more than once when she thought no one was looking.
Yes, we’d asked Johann to come with us if he had nothing else to do. I knew how much he meant to Danae, and if I had a family I was close to, I would’ve asked them to come along. The ultimate decision was ours, but it was good to get other people’s perspectives. Plus, I had come to like him.
Both houses had several strong points. And overall, they were good homes, but neither had struck us as “the” home. Nora hadn’t been discouraged. She told us she had plenty more to show us. She’d have more for us to tour by Monday, she assured us.
After the tour this morning on the second house, we’d come to Johann’s to pack her things. Johann had been all for the move, and he’d gladly stayed in case we needed help carrying anything. The banter between him and my woman kept me chuckling. They fought like siblings, and it was fun to watch.
“Hey, you got everything, Danni? Surely to God you don’t have more shit to take,” Johann hollered down the hall. He winked at me as he did it. Danae was making a final walk-through of her bedroom and bathroom.
“Kiss my ass, Johann,” she called back up the hallway.
He chuckled, then called back. “You’re gonna have to clean up your language before that baby comes. If not, she’ll be cussing like a sailor by the time she begins to talk. She’ll be in the principal’s office on the first day of school.”
I grinned and shook my head, knowing she wouldn’t let that stand.
I was right. She came toward us with a glint in her eyes.
She stopped in front of him. Her hands went to her hips, and she craned back her head to look up at him.
Sometimes, it was crazy to be reminded of how petite she was.
Her attitude was twice her physical height.
“If she’s swearing like a sailor, then she’ll have gotten that dirty mouth from a sailor, her Uncle Johann.
And when she does, I’ll make sure to tell everyone you taught her all those bad words.
If the principal calls, you’ll go to the school to listen to the lecture.
I’ll be her long-suffering momma trying to prevent your bad influence on her,” she told him sweetly. She even batted her eyelashes at him.
“If they know you at all, they won’t fall for it. You look sweet and can act that way, but you have an evil side, too. Don’t put the blame on me. I remember the shit you pulled as a kid and as you grew up. Heath, are you sure you want to tie yourself to her?”