As Fate Would Have It

Getting to work!

The silence in the office was thick, broken only by the hum of the air conditioning and the frantic thrumming of Fate’s heart.

She looked everywhere but at Julian at the minimalist glass desk, the rack of silk samples in the corner, the expensive Italian loafers he wore.

"You were dreaming," Julian said. His voice was not cold like it had been in the car; it was low, vibrating with a note of something she could not quite place. Curiosity? Or perhaps a memory of his own.

"I... I have not been sleeping well," Fate stammered, smoothing down her white shirt and reaching for her baby blue sweater as if it were a shield.

"Is that why you called out your own name?" Julian stepped closer, his shadow falling over the sofa. "Or were you making sure you still existed in a room where you usually try to be invisible?"

Fate looked up then, her chestnut hair messy from the sofa cushions. "I’m not invisible to everyone, Mr. Thorne. You saw me. You're paying me to be seen, remember?"

Julian’s eyes narrowed slightly. For a second, his composure wavered, and Fate felt good about that.

"We need to have a justification as to why a data analyst from Valerius House is spending her nights with a man the industry considers a rival even though our intention is to try by all means to ensure that you are not seen," Julian began, finally.

His eyes were observant, stripping away her oversized sweater and finding the woman beneath.

"As it is, I made sure I told my mother I’m taking on extra freelance work to cover the bills.

That way she is an alibi and at the same time there is an evident source of where the money I will be using to pay for the farmhouse.”

Fate said, her voice steadier than she felt.

"Good. In fact that’s better," Julian countered. "So then, as of this morning, you are my Private Style and Branding Consultant.

I am relaunching my image, my brand to fit the times and you are the eye behind the curtain.

That would explain the late hours, the close proximity, and that is what we have as an excuse if we happen to be seen."

“Noted.”

“Now, to hide you, I want you to work with the mysterious lady persona. The one who was seen at the Gala when we first met and then we can meet by 9:00PM."

"9:00 PM?" Fate frowned. "Leo leaves for his clubs at eight. I can be out of the archives by 8:45." Then she asked, "What do you mean by the mysterious lady persona?."

"That is the best disguise I have in mind. The lady you dressed up as, the one without the sweaters at the gala the other night." And just as Fate was about to say more in protest, he added,

"if you can come up with another idea before Monday then I am all ears."

"But I introduces myself to Leo and so I cannot use that..that.. mysterious woman persona."

"You can just create another, different hair, but still stylish and cool. Look take your time but remember that by Monday you have to begin and by Sunday I have to have an idea so I will send you clothes to fit your persona."

With nothing else to say, Fate pulled a small, encrypted flash drive from her bag.

“I can’t use the internal servers. Leo’s IT team has 'leak-detection' software that triggers if a single byte moves to an unauthorized IP."

Julian reached into his jacket and produced a sleek, silver fountain pen. He handed it to her.

"This is a localized burst-transmitter. You don't upload anything. You store the tax records and the stolen patents on this. When you walk into my office every night from Monday, the pen will automatically sync to my private, air-gapped server. No trail. No digital footprints for Leo or anyone else to follow."

Fate took the pen, her fingers brushing his. A strange, electric jolt; something that felt like a distant, half-forgotten memory, shot up her arm.

She pulled back quickly, hiding her hand in her lap.

"And my side of the ledger?" she asked, her voice dropping an octave. "The farm. My payment."

Julian tapped the tablet and slid it toward her. On the screen was a legal document.

“The first payment has already been put in.

The moment the first set of stolen patents hits my server by Monday, the bank will receive the funds to halt the foreclosure on your father’s farm.

By the end of the month, when we are done then you should receive your final payment."

Fate looked at the numbers. They were the only things she trusted, and here, they were perfect.

"You're giving me everything I need to walk away."

"I'm giving you the power to take what is already yours," Julian corrected.