Isabella
1550 Words
The First Test
The legal department had never been this quiet.
Isabella noticed it the moment she stepped inside.
Conversations stopped.
Keyboards slowed.
Someone dropped a pen.
Three people stared at her like she had just walked out of a battlefield.
Which, in a way, she had.
She placed her bag on the desk assigned to her and sat down.
Five seconds later a woman leaned over the cubicle wall.
“You’re the one from the meeting.”
Isabella looked up.
The woman’s eyes were wide with curiosity.
“I’m guessing the story has already spread,” Isabella said.
The woman snorted.
“Spread? It exploded.”
Two more employees appeared beside her.
Apparently the legal department believed in collective gossip.
“You challenged Mr. Kane,” one of them whispered.
“Yes.”
“And you’re… still employed.”
“Yes.”
The three of them stared.
Then the first woman said slowly,
“That’s new.”
Isabella opened her laptop.
“I’m glad to contribute to workplace innovation.”
A quiet laugh escaped someone nearby.
The second employee leaned closer.
“You don’t understand.”
“Enlighten me.”
“No one argues with Dominic Kane.”
“I didn’t argue.”
“You exposed Richard Hale in front of him.”
Isabella paused.
Fair point.
The woman lowered her voice.
“I’ve worked here four years. I’ve seen executives resign during meetings because Mr. Kane looked at them too long.”
“Impressive skill,” Isabella said.
Another employee added,
“I heard he once fired an entire department in five minutes.”
“That seems inefficient.”
“No,” the man said seriously. “It was terrifying.”
Isabella tried not to smile.
The legal department clearly operated under one principle:
Fear the boss.
Her phone buzzed.
Mark.
She answered quietly.
“Please tell me you’re still alive,” he said immediately.
“Good morning to you too.”
“I read the news.”
“There’s news?”
“Your meeting leaked to half the building.”
Isabella sighed.
“That was fast.”
“Did you really expose one of Dominic Kane’s executives on your first day?”
“Yes.”
“…Isabella.”
“What?”
“You do realize normal undercover investigators start slow?”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
Mark groaned.
“You’re supposed to observe the suspect. Not challenge him publicly.”
“I didn’t challenge him.”
“You corrected him.”
“Accurately.”
“That’s worse.”
Isabella opened a document on her screen.
“Well the good news is ….”
Her desk phone rang.
She glanced at the caller ID.
CEO Office
“…the bad news,” she finished quietly, “is that Dominic Kane apparently wants to see me.”
Mark went silent.
“Isabella,” he said slowly, “if I never hear from you again, I want you to know how much….”
She hung up.
Dominic’s assistant did not smile.
“You may go in,” she said.
Isabella pushed the office door open.
Dominic Kane sat behind his desk, reading something on a tablet.
He did not look up immediately.
Which felt deliberate.
She waited.
After a few seconds he spoke.
“You enjoy attracting attention.”
“I prefer solving problems.”
Dominic finally lifted his eyes.
“The legal department disagrees.”
“They seem friendly.”
“They’re terrified of me.”
“I noticed.”
Dominic leaned back in his chair.
“And yet you’re not.”
“Should I be?”
“That depends.”
“On?”
“How intelligent you are.”
Isabella crossed her arms.
“That sounds like a test.”
Dominic slid a thick folder across the desk.
“Correct.”
She looked at the folder.
“Is this the part where you assign me an impossible task?”
Dominic’s mouth twitched slightly.
“Open it.”
Inside were several documents.
Legal reports.
Security logs.
Financial projections.
Isabella flipped through them quickly.
“Cyberattack liability,” she said.
“Yes.”
“You want to know if KaneTech can be sued.”
“Correct.”
She frowned slightly.
“These numbers don’t match.”
Dominic said nothing.
Isabella scanned the documents again.
Then she looked up.
“You removed half the information.”
Dominic watched her.
“Did I?”
“Yes.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because these logs stop twelve minutes before the breach occurred.”
Dominic smiled faintly.
“Interesting.”
Isabella closed the folder.
“You’re testing me.”
“Yes.”
“You already know the legal outcome.”
“Yes.”
She sighed.
“You didn’t need legal advice.”
“No.”
“You wanted to see how I think.”
Dominic leaned forward.
“And?”
“And you’re annoying.”
For a moment Dominic looked surprised.
Then he laughed.
The sound was low and brief.
“You challenged me in a meeting,” he said. “Now you’re insulting me in my office.”
“I prefer honesty.”
“So do I.”
Isabella pushed the folder back toward him.
“KaneTech isn’t legally responsible for the breach.”
“Explain.”
“The attacker used an altered authorization key.”
Dominic nodded slowly.
“Which shifts liability to the individual who altered it.”
“Yes.”
“Richard Hale.”
“Possibly.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Possibly?”
Isabella tapped one page.
“This key was modified three days ago.”
“Yes.”
“But the bridge itself was installed a month ago.”
Dominic didn’t respond.
Isabella continued.
“That means whoever planned the breach knew about the bridge long before Richard altered the key.”
The room went quiet.
Dominic studied her carefully.
“You’re suggesting Richard isn’t the mastermind.”
“I’m suggesting someone else prepared the opportunity.”
“And Richard executed it.”
“Or someone made it look that way.”
Dominic leaned back slowly.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Most people would have celebrated catching the obvious culprit.
She kept digging.
“Why are you smiling?” Isabella asked.
“Because you passed the test.”
She rolled her eyes.
“I feel honored.”
Dominic stood and walked toward the window.
The city stretched far below.
“You see patterns,” he said.
“I notice details.”
“That can be dangerous.”
“So can ignorance.”
Dominic turned back toward her.
“Tell me something, Ms. Cole.”
“Yes?”
“If you discovered someone inside my company was planning something much bigger than theft…”
He paused.
“…what would you do?”
Isabella frowned.
“I’d expose them.”
Dominic nodded slowly.
“Even if exposing them put you in danger?”
“Yes.”
Dominic studied her for several seconds.
Then he walked back to the desk.
Opened a drawer.
Pulled out a document.
And slid it across the table.
“A contract,” he said.
Isabella frowned.
“What kind of contract?”
Dominic’s expression was calm.
“Three months.”
She looked up.
“Three months of what?”
“Pretending to be my girlfriend.”
Silence filled the office.
Isabella blinked.
“…I’m sorry.”
Dominic folded his hands.
“I require a public relationship.”
“And you chose your employee.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re intelligent.”
“That’s not a romantic quality.”
“It is to me.”
Isabella stared at him.
“This is ridiculous.”
Dominic shrugged.
“It’s practical.”
“Explain.”
“There are certain… alliances attempting to force a marriage arrangement.”
“Mafia alliances?”
Dominic smiled faintly.
“You’re observant.”
“And you think pretending to date me solves that?”
“Yes.”
“Why would I agree?”
Dominic leaned forward slightly.
“Because the alternative is significantly more difficult.”
Isabella narrowed her eyes.
“That sounds like a threat.”
“It’s a workload.”
He opened another file.
“Legal audit. Compliance review. International litigation.”
The stack of documents looked brutal.
“Those assignments are currently scheduled for you.”
Isabella stared.
“You’re punishing me for challenging you.”
“No.”
Dominic slid the contract closer.
“I’m motivating you.”
She picked up the document slowly.
“Pretend to date you for three months,” she read.
“Yes.”
“Public appearances.”
“Yes.”
“No personal questions.”
“Yes.”
“And if I refuse?”
Dominic smiled.
“Then I wish you luck with your new workload.”
Isabella closed the contract.
“You’re insufferable.”
“So I’ve been told.”
She stood.
“I’ll think about it.”
Dominic nodded once.
“Good.”
She walked toward the door.
But before she left, Dominic added quietly,
“Oh, Ms. Cole.”
She turned.
“Yes?”
Dominic’s eyes were calm.
“But think quickly.”
“Why?”
He smiled slightly.
“Because the woman I’m avoiding…”
He paused.
“…arrives tomorrow.”
Isabella frowned.
“Who?”
Dominic’s answer was simple.
“My fiancée.”
- Writer
