Chapter 237 - Date
Hoping that Zeus would clean after himself and not let anything be traced back to him, Zaria went to Desmond's office with all the evidence she had found regarding the mole.
He went through the information and couldn't help feeling annoyed. "Those useless investigators. You have done a much better job than them. If I knew, I would have let you handle this from the word go instead of wasting money and time hiring them."
She smiled. "Glad to know I can help you save money."
"Skeleton ran checks on many of the employees to see if there is anyone who could potentially get bribed." He reported.
"That's so much work." She was exhausted just thinking about it. "And not just that. I'm starting to have a feeling that the private investigators have been bribed too."
"You think so?" He found her assumption odd.
"Maybe I'm overthinking it. But I found it strange that the supposed highly qualified team that has helped solve several top notch cases has been unable to uncover anything significant all this time. On the other hand, we, who are not primarily investigators, have found out so much just by using logic."
"That's a point to consider, yeah." He rubbed his chin and went through her report again. "Do you think you could get any evidence? It doesn't have to be real evidence."
"What do you mean?" She didn't understand.
"The point is to kick the intern out. We already know that she has a hand in this matter. It doesn't make a difference whether the evidence is real or fabricated but there has to be something tangible to lay her off."
Her eyes widened. Fabricating evidence to fire anyone was heartless. Even so, she couldn't blame Desmond. It would be insane to wait around for the intern to do something more significant just so they could get irrefutable evidence or catch her in the act.
But firing her was not the only thing on Desmond's mind.
"I bet she will not have the courage to go running to Nathaniel. She will contact her counterparts and ask them whether they are experiencing the same challenge."
"That's a good point." She smiled.
"Keep a close eye on her once you have fired her." He instructed.
"I will."
"Make sure this stays between us. No one is to know that we are employing other investigative measures. Not even the COOs." He added, and she nodded. This meant she couldn't use Zeus' help bugging the intern.
At the thought of that, she smiled at her own genius idea. She could ask Zeus for a bug. She didn't have to tell him what it was for, only that she needed to have full control of it and he was not allowed to snoop.
"Zaria," He called before she could step out of the office. She turned while still holding the doorknob. "This weekend, I will take Rosaly to the amusement park. Would you like to join us?"
She thought about it briefly and nodded this time. "Sure."
He was relieved. "Saturday at 10am. I'll pick you up."
She nodded and couldn't leave his office any faster.
He reclined in his backrest as he stared at the door that had closed behind her. Things would never be the same between them. He didn't need to be told that by anyone but it still hurt. How he wished Rosaly was his daughter with her instead of Angela. The woman was no longer trying to cause trouble but her mere existence was a hex.
…
Zeus looked like he had landed a jackpot when Zaria showed up in front of him again.
"Do you need my help with something, sis?"
"I didn't know I could only find my brother if I needed his help." She gave her brightest smile.
"You know, sometimes I wonder what kind of sister you would be if our roles were reversed and I was the older one." He sunk into thought, imagining a younger Zaria. "You would probably be cuter and I would dote on you to the heavens."
"You can still dote on me. There's no age limit to that." She blinked.
"You have a point but hey! Who are you and what did you do to Zaria?" He recoiled in horror. Zaria would have already smacked his head for that remark. This cute side of her was oddly terrifying.
"I just don't want to fight with you anymore." She took a seat. "After all, you are now an uncle."
"You are using the baby to guilt trip me." He complained but was still ready to listen to whatever she had to say.
"Do you have any of those bugs that can be used to track someone's location and listen in on them?" She asked.
"I knew it! You wanted something from me all along." He accused her.
"Are you going to whine about it all day?" She facepalmed. "Do you have them or not?"
"I do, but you have to pay for them." He crossed his legs at the knees while looking at her as if he had finally managed to pin her down.
"How much do you want?" She had expected him to ask for payment so she had brought a cheque and was ready to write a figure on it.
"You are kidding, right?" He laughed out loud. "You are facing one of the world's best hackers and the best in Olphire."
"The best in Olphire, would be the original user of the alias Zeus, who we both call mother. Don't try to swindle me." She rolled her eyes at him.
"Fine. I'm second best. I will surpass her some day but anyway, I can rob banks if I feel like it. If I need money but I'm too lazy to work for it, I can steal it from money transfer websites and the users wouldn't even know it."
Her jaw went slack.
He didn't stop at that. "Fine. That's working for it too. And there are other ways to make money. What makes you think I'm in need of money?"
"Treat it as selling a bug, can't you?" She was helpless with him.
"Try something else." He demanded.
She was furious but she had no choice. "Fine. What do you want? What would attract the attention of second-top-hacker Zeus?"
"That's better." He placed his hands on the desk. "Help me set up a date with Natalie."
"I'll do no such thing." She was puzzled. Was Zeus actually interested in Natalie? It had sounded like a joke before but it was becoming more and more serious.
"Your loss. Then I don't need to help you with this." He gave one of those smiles that Zaria found infuriating.
"Just a date, right? Fine. But do not regret it."
Zeus didn't need to hear anything else after Zaria agreed. He was overjoyed. "Your bug will be delivered to your office shortly. Don't forget about the date."
Zaria left his office feeling like she had lost a few brain cells. She gave Natalie a call and asked if the other was busy in the evening, and if they could have ice cream together. Natalie agreed before hanging up.
"Sorry Nat." Zaria chuckled at how hilarious it was going to turn out. It would be a good enough surprise if Natalie didn't slap Zeus and throw water in his face for making advances at her after destroying Devonte's reputation. She was suddenly tempted to ask Ximena out so they would watch the drama unfold.
…
After leaving the office, Zeus rummaged through his closet in frustration. The noise alerted Lucy, who rushed over to check if he was alright.
"Is everything…" She looked at the suits and ties strewn all over the floor and was baffled.
"What's going on?"
"Mother, it's great that you are here. Help me pick an outfit for a date." He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the room to help him choose.
She glanced at the pile of suits carelessly strewn all over and didn't know what to tell him. Didn't he know to handle them with care?
"What kind of place are you going?" She asked.
"Ice cream." He responded urgently.
"I see. What about the woman? What's her personality like?" She picked up a shirt and inspected it.
"She is gorgeous. I think of her as a queen. A courageous queen who knows what she wants and won't stop at anything until she has it."
She frowned. If she was not overthinking it, that description…Natalie ticked all the boxes. Was it because Zeus liked women like Natalie or was he just hung up on her? Because if he was actually going out with Natalie, she would have no choice but to force it to an end. The two of them could not be together no matter what.
"Mother?" Zeus probed.
"Don't go for suits and whatever. Dress casually." She advised.
"But why?" He didn't understand.
"Because a woman like that is probably used to seeing suits left and right. One casual attire will be a breath of fresh air especially while having her ice cream, don't you think?"
"You have a point." He excitedly grabbed the shirt that his mother had chosen.
"Bring her back for dinner, okay?" She asked.
Zeus was even more confused. "This is the first date. Literally the first date, and you want to meet her?"
"Why not? I would love to know this woman who managed to turn my son into a love-stricken teen. She must be lovely."
"She is." Zeus agreed.
Lucy forced a smile.. Intuition still told her that it was Natalie, even though she hoped not.
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