Pitch Perfect Lies

Chapter 5

Naomi stared at the screen, the blue light turning her skin ghostly pale. The access ID blinked back at her: Ethan Blake. Her fingers curled into fists. There had to be a mistake. Ethan had many faults, being smug, manipulative, and dangerously charming, but betraying her? Exposing their carefully constructed lie? That wasn’t part of his game. Not unless his rules had changed.

She forced herself to read through the logs again. The access time was 2:47 AM. The breach had happened while she was asleep in this very apartment. Ethan had texted her that evening, flirtatious and casual. Either he was covering his tracks perfectly, or someone was using his credentials.

She called Claire.

"It’s almost midnight," Claire groaned.

"Someone accessed the Pitch Perfect Initiative file. The ID used was Ethan’s."

"Wait, what? Are you sure?"

"I’m looking at the logs right now."

"Could it be a spoofed ID? We had that penetration test last month. Remember the consultants said some of our internal logins weren’t secure enough?"

Naomi swore under her breath. "Maybe. Or maybe someone inside is playing us. I need surveillance footage from the server room."

"Already on it."

Naomi hung up and sat back, her thoughts racing. If Ethan had truly betrayed her, she needed to find out why. If he hadn’t, they were both in deeper trouble than she’d thought.

The next morning, Naomi walked into Leon & Co. like nothing was wrong. Her heels echoed against the marble floors, her hair tied in a sleek knot, her blazer sharp enough to cut steel. Confidence, she’d learned, wasn’t about how you felt. It was about how you made others feel around you.

Ethan was waiting outside the executive boardroom. He was sipping coffee like he hadn’t detonated a landmine in their lives just hours before.

"Sleep well?" he asked with a lazy smile.

Naomi gave him a pointed look. "We need to talk."

He raised an eyebrow. "In public? Are we breaking up already?"

She wanted to slap the smirk off his face. Someone accessed our file. Your ID was used."

That wiped the amusement from his face. "When?"

"Early morning hours. While I was sleeping. You?"

"Sleeping with bourbon and terrible jazz. Alone. I swear."

Security is pulling footage now. If you didn’t do it, someone set you up."

He stared at her for a beat too long. "If you think I betrayed you……"

"I don’t," she cut in. "Yet."

Claire caught up with them halfway through the meeting. She dropped a tablet into Naomi’s hands. "Footage from last night. You're not going to like it."

Naomi tapped play. The footage showed a shadowy figure entering the server room. Face hidden by a cap, body slim, confident. The person scanned in with Ethan’s ID and moved directly to the terminal connected to the classified server.

"No face recognition?" Naomi asked.

Claire shook her head. "Whoever this is, they knew where the cameras were."

Ethan crossed his arms. "They didn’t just want to see the file. They wanted you to know someone had. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have used my credentials."

Naomi nodded. "This is about power."

Claire glanced between them. "There’s something else. I cross-checked gala RSVPs. One name came up flagged in the system. Not in our database, but a subcontractor through a third-party partner. Marcus Drevon. Former cyber risk analyst. Let go two years ago for suspected corporate espionage. Charges were never filed."

Naomi’s eyes sharpened. "Where is he now?"

"We tracked a badge scan to the 12th floor. Conference room C. He scheduled a meeting with one of our logistics VPs this morning."

Naomi didn’t wait. She stormed to the elevator with Ethan hot on her heels.

"What’s your plan?" he asked.

"I’m going to get answers."

Conference room C was dim and cool. Marcus sat alone, flipping through a digital portfolio like he hadn’t just broken into one of the top marketing agencies in the country.

"Mr. Drevon," Naomi said as she entered.

He looked up, entirely unsurprised. "Ms. Carter."

Ethan stepped in behind her and closed the door.

"We know you accessed the Pitch Perfect file," Naomi said without preamble.

Marcus tilted his head. "You’ll have to be more specific."

Ethan moved closer. "You used my ID."

Marcus smirked. "And it worked beautifully, didn’t it?"

Naomi slammed her hands on the table. "What do you want?"

"I want to offer you a choice."

"Excuse me?"

"I have information. About someone on your board. Someone who plans to leak the engagement to your competitors and not just the lie, but the real reasons behind it."

Naomi went cold. "Why should we believe anything you say?"

"Because," Marcus said calmly, "I’m not working alone."

He slid a small flash drive across the table. "Proof. Surveillance audio. Emails. Transfer records. You’ll find them all there. But it comes with a price."

Ethan took the drive but didn’t plug it in. "What’s the price?"

"I want in. On your next major project. Give me a consulting role. Pay me like royalty. And this whole mess disappears."

Naomi stared at him. "Or we take this to the authorities."

Marcus shrugged. "Do that, and the leak goes public tomorrow. Your shareholders will eat you alive."

They left the room ten minutes later, both silent. Back in Ethan’s office, Naomi finally spoke.

"We’re being blackmailed."

Ethan nodded. "What are you thinking?"

"I think we let him believe he won. Then we gut him from the inside."

Ethan gave her a dark grin. "Now you’re speaking my language."

Claire entered with fresh intel. "There's more. Marcus has a connection to someone on the board. Penelope Stratton. They were lovers."

Naomi cursed under her breath. Penelope. The finance queen. Always clean. Always calculating.

"If she's helping him..." Ethan trailed off.

"We need to bait them both," Naomi said.

"How?"

Naomi looked at Claire. Schedule a press conference. We’ll announce a new engagement milestone. Make it big. The kind of bait no insider rat can resist."

Claire hesitated, then nodded. "I'll handle it."

As she left, Ethan turned to Naomi. "You trust me, right?"

Naomi hesitated. "I trust you not to bore me."

That night, Naomi sat on her balcony, the city glittering below. The flash drive sat untouched beside her wine glass. She didn’t want to hear what it confirmed. But she would. In the morning.

For now, she needed to breathe. To plan. To decide just how far she was willing to go.

Her phone buzzed.

UNKNOWN NUMBER: You’re digging in dangerous places. Dig too deep, and you won’t like what you find.

Naomi’s breath caught in her throat. She glanced around her dark apartment, phone trembling slightly in her hand.

Then another message pinged through.

UNKNOWN NUMBER: Are you sure Ethan is who you think he is?