Dark Redemption - Charlotte Byrd Page 0,33

a waitress just to pay the rent. It's where I used to work before ..." I let my words trail off.

He knows what I mean, before my brother's death.

"I thought that you were a secretary," he says.

"Administrative assistant," I correct him. "But yeah. But that was thirty hours a week, and I needed a little more. Plus, they were flexible at the restaurant so I could, you know, take different shifts when I needed them."

"So what happened to both jobs?"

"I couldn't deal with it. It was just ... When Michael was alive, I managed to juggle everything. Full-time school plus practically full-time work, sometimes more than that. I just sort of was like this Energizer bunny, just kept on going. But after his death, I tried and it's like whatever momentum and energy I had was just completely zapped out of me. First, I quit the restaurant job. Then I couldn't even make it to the administrative assistant position in any decent way. Luckily, I didn't get fired. I just told them that I was going through something and I couldn't keep working. I thought that that would allow me to finish school, at least somehow, but the semester was gone. I couldn't focus. I had to drop out just so that I wouldn't get all Fs."

"Well, having this degree should be a lot of help," Dante says. I nod. "You don't seem so convinced."

"I don't know. I don't mean to put a damper on today. I'm really having a lot of fun. I just kind of have all this shit going on and it's worrying, you know?"

"Yeah, totally. I understand."

I want to tell him that he may hear me, but he surely doesn't understand. From the looks of it, and from how easily he paid my mom's loan off, it seems like whatever work he does is purely voluntary, if that. He doesn't actually work for money, and he doesn't know what it's like to have to take jobs that you don't want to take just because you have no other options.

"Can I run something by you?" Dante says, closing his laptop. I nod. "I need some help and you don't have a job, so I have an idea."

I sit back in my chair and wait for him to explain.

"I told you about my client, Vasko, and the fact that Apex Capital invested five million into his company?"

"The microprocessors?" I ask.

"Exactly. Well, it's been a while and everything seems on the up and up, but I have a feeling that it may not be the case."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, I've had my suspicions about him for a while, and he's very good at hiding paperwork, that sort of thing. You have done some investigative journalism, and you're currently sort of flexible with your work."

"What are you getting at?" I ask.

"They have an opening for an administrative assistant in his office. What if you applied? No relation to me, of course, otherwise he'd never hire you. But what if you just applied? You know, you're more than qualified, you have a few years of experience. Tell him that ..."

"What about my degree?" I ask. "Wouldn't they think it's a little suspicious?"

"You can leave that out. Maybe, maybe not. I don't know. But definitely mention your bachelor's. We can figure out the details if you're interested."

“So, what would I do?"

"Work for him. Figure out how he works, what makes him tick, maybe get access to some of his internal files. I mean, you will be doing all that, and I want to confirm my suspicions. If you tell me that there's nothing shady going on, then that's it. We let it go. I'm wrong. But I just can't help but wonder that my investors are losing a lot of money. They're getting swindled. I don't want to be a part of that, no matter what kind of deal Cedar made on their behalf."

We talk about that for quite some time. He's not so much trying to convince me to do it, but just putting it out there as an option.

I would be lying if I said that it didn't intrigue me.

"Is this here?" I ask.

"No. That's the other thing. It's in Seattle."

"Seattle?"

"Have you ever been there?" I shake my head no. "Well, I'd have no problem putting you up in a hotel. Whatever you need. Or renting you some short-stay apartment."

"So I'd have to move to Seattle?"

"It would be a longer term thing. I mean, it'd probably take, what, six