The Billionaire's Assistant

Chapter 37

Kat sat in the office for hours, biding her time and trying not to pace. At 2:00 she all but jumped up from her chair. Her plan was to go to the small coffee shop in the lobby as a pretense for her presence, spill a bit of her drink of her white collar, and step out of sight as if she were trying to rub it off discreetly. She'd make a beeline for the back wall, reach the fire door, pausing for a second as if removing an item propping it open, then head for the back stairwell and enter, all without a guard spotting her to question her intentions.

She made her way to the lobby via the elevator and clicked across towards the coffee shop nervously, her hands clammy. Not every floor on the building was outfitted with such stringent guard schedules, only areas designated as HVZ.

Unfortunately, all the areas we need, thought Kat, eyes studying the airport style coffee shops menu as she approached the line. It thankfully moved quickly, and at 2:13 Kat was sipping a hazelnut latte, opting for iced as she had to spill the drink on her shirt. She lifted out the straw, feigning as if she were struggling to mix the drink properly, and let a few drips fall onto her collar, cussing lightly under her breath when she pretended to notice. She looked around. No one was looking at her, but she grabbed a few napkins from a table top dispenser and shied off, dabbing at her shirt aggressively and frowning.

Once concealed, she walked over to the fire exit door as slowly as her feet would allow, wanting to test the limits of the time constraints. No voice shouted for her to stop, no feet ran her way, and she continued on to the door unencumbered, the clock on her phone blinking 2:16 as she did so.

She waited for a moment, even bending down as if removing a small wooden door stop, then straightened up and walked slowly to the stairwell door, rationalizing that whoever infiltrated would be faster than this but giving them extra time just in case. She set each foot in front of the other with concentration, stomach in knots. If they were wrong, if the book was outdated or a guard was off path, someone would turn the corner and see her any second as she crossed the wide open, exposed floor.

She reached the stairwell door, throat becoming tight, and pushed it open gently to avoid its metallic clack. The door eased open with the lightest creak, making her wince, and then she was inside, closing it. She breathed out deeply then began to pant as if she'd been running, realizing she was holding her breath as she traversed the distance.

She checked her phone. 2:19. Plenty of time, and she hadn't seen a guard. More importantly, they hadn't seen her, no one had.

She began the climb to the 4th floor, the first non HVZ zone that was mostly unoccupied where she could pop out of the stairwell and take the elevator the rest of the way to 55. Her second task was completed, the cameras were going to be avoided as best as they could, and she'd left her easiest task for last.

Why does it no longer feel like the easiest, Kat grumbled to herself as she trudged up the stairs, the adrenaline leaching from her now that her anxiety-inducing goal was achieved. Now I just have to talk to Courtney and steal a badge. The first one will probably be worse, she thinks with a laugh.

She arrived home a bit early that day, her anticipation at the group's reaction causing her to leave the building at 5 instead of her typical 5:30.

"No one saw me," she announced loudly as she stepped through the door, Andy rushing to greet her. "Step two is a go, we're good."

Andy threw her arms around Kat's neck in an aggressive hug and Kat squealed with laughter, startled and ticklish.

"Where is everybody?" Kat asked.

"They'll be back any second, I sent them for your favorite lo mein noodles with broccoli cause I wanted it to be hot, I figured you were getting home later." She smiled at her more widely, as if just noticing she'd come into the room. "You're early," she observed.

Kat couldn't help but mirror her grin and the two of them looked at each other, unspeaking, smiles threatening to split their faces.

"Yea" said Kat finally. "Andy, I think this is gonna work. I really think this is gonna work, the only thing we have left to do is talk to Courtney and get the badge."

"I had a thought about that," Andy said, turning and heading toward the living room while Kat followed her. "What if instead of telling Courtney that Jove told you to do it, you just do it?"

Kat bunched her eyebrows together in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Tell her that Mr. Tillibenton wants to see her and that she may have to wait a little. You know he's not there, so you'll have time to go into her computer and disable the key card yourself, that way it doesn't trace back to you at all. I mean, she'll do it for him, right?"

"What do you mean, why would you say that?" Kat rushed out, her veins feeling icy. She had been so sure to avoid mention of Courtney's crush on Jove, certain she'd slip in some way and give herself up.

"Cause he's her boss?" Andy questioned. "Are you ok? You seem off."

"No," Kat muttered. "No, I'm just. I'm tired, that's all. All this has been a lot, a lot of pressure."

"Oh honey," Andy murmured sympathetically. "Poor thing, you're pale. Here, sit, I'll make you some tea."

She turned to the kitchen then turned back to Kat, a heavy sadness in her eyes.

"Thank you for doing this Kat, really. Thank you. I know it's hard but," she stopped, shook her head. "Just, thank you."

Kat nodded weakly, feeling almost faint, and slid onto the plush orange couch, her vision swimming. She hadn't done anything wrong, anything at all, so why did she feel so guilty? So caught?