Chapter 5 : The Evidence Between Us

At 1:43 a.m., Thea finally saved the last copy of the evidence.

She stared at the folder on her laptop for several seconds before opening it again to make sure everything was there. The original report, the altered version, the version history, the timestamps and the records showing that the corrupted file had existed hours before Ashley handed it to her.

She had made three copies and saved them in different locations.

For once, she was not going to take any chances.

The Sales Department had been almost completely empty for hours. The lights above most of the desks were switched off, leaving only the glow from a few computer screens scattered across the floor.

Thea rubbed her tired eyes and leaned back in her chair.

She should have gone home hours ago.

She knew that.

But every time she thought about leaving, she imagined walking into the office the next morning without enough evidence to defend herself, and the thought had kept her sitting there.

She finally closed one of the folders.

That was enough, well, at least for tonight.

She reached for her bag when the lights across the floor suddenly came on.

Thea froze.

She looked toward the entrance to see Felix Carter standing there.

For a moment, she simply stared at him.

His suit jacket was gone, leaving him in a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms. His tie had been loosened, and several strands of his usually neat dark-brown hair had fallen out of place.

He looked different.

Not softer exactly, but less like the untouchable CEO who could silence an entire boardroom with one look. He looked tired.

Thea quickly looked away.

She had absolutely no reason to be staring at her boss at one in the morning.

“What are you doing here?” Felix asked.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

His eyebrows lifted slightly. “That wasn't an answer.”

“Neither was yours…sir.”

For a moment, Felix simply looked at her.

Thea realized what she had said and immediately returned her attention to the laptop.

“I was finishing the evidence.”

“Have you?”

“Yes sir.”

Felix walked closer. “And what did you find?”

Thea turned the laptop slightly so he could see the screen.

“The report was already corrupted before Ashley gave it to me. This version was created at 10:07 in the morning, but she didn't give me the file until after one.”

He looked at the screen.

“I know.”

Thea looked up.

“You know?”

He realized his mistake almost immediately. “I've seen the security records.”

“Security records?”

He nodded.“After the earlier incidents involving your assignments, I asked Security to monitor access activity around your files.”

Thea stared at him. “You did that?”

“I had reason to believe someone was interfering with your work.”

“And you didn't tell me?”

“You were already investigating it yourself.” Felix leaned one hand against the edge of the desk. “And telling you wouldn't exactly help.”

He couldn't really tell why he was leaning this close to her but the more he was there, the closer he wanted to be.

Her scent was driving him crazy.

Thea frowned. “You could have at least told me that you were looking into it.”

“And what would you have done?”

She went quiet.

“Exactly.”

She looked at him with growing irritation. “You seem very comfortable making decisions for other people.”

“I make decisions for this company every day.”

“That. I'm aware.”

Something about the way she said it made the corner of his mouth move.

Thea rolled her eyes and looked back at her laptop. “I have evidence to organize. I don't have time to argue with you.”

“That hasn't stopped you before.”

She looked up again.

“Are you saying I argue too much?”

“I'm saying you don't seem particularly intimidated by me.”

Thea considered that. She did feel her stomach roll whenever he was close, for some reason, but intimated? Not really, only when he stared at her like he would eat her if she as much as say a word.

“I am intimidated by you. I'm just not intimidated enough to let you tell me I'm wrong when I know I'm not.”

Felix stared at her.

There it was again. That same stubborn refusal to retreat.

The same quality that had made him enjoy their conversations as Daniel long before he knew Thea was the woman from his dreams.

He had spent months speaking to her without knowing her identity, listening to her complain about professors, money, work and life in general. Daniel had always been the person she could speak to without worrying about appearances.

Now he was standing across from her as Felix, and she was still speaking to him the same way.

He found himself wondering how long he could keep the two worlds separate.

Felix frowned. “You should go. You've been here since morning.”

“I know.”

“You need to rest.”

She nodded. “I will after I send this evidence to the right people.”

“You have already saved it.” He half glared at her.

“That doesn't mean I'm finished.”

She was insufferable whrn she's stubborn. “I think you've done enough.”

Thea's expression hardened.

“No.”

“Thea.”

“I need to clear my name.”

“You already have the evidence.” He almost screamed.

“And I want to be the one to present it.”

He stared at her then slowly nodded. She did not want someone stepping in and fixing the problem for her.

“You think I'm trying to rescue you.”

She paused, then squinted her eyes in suspicion. “Are you?”

“No.”

She gave him a skeptical look and he sighed. “I am trying to make sure you don't destroy yourself proving something you have already proved.”

“That sounds very similar.”

“It isn't.”

“How is it not?” She asked.

He looked at her for a moment before answering.“Asking for help is not the same as being saved.”

Thea went quiet.

He continued. “You found the evidence yourself. You did the work. No one can take that away from you. But refusing help simply because you think accepting it makes you weak is different.”

“I never said I was weak.” Thea looked down at the laptop.

For years, she had learned not to depend on anyone.

Her parents were gone. Mia depended on her. Bills depended on her. Her university depended on her. Every time something went wrong, there was no one standing behind her waiting to solve it.

She had learned to solve things herself because she had to.

“You don't understand,” she said quietly.

“Maybe I don't.”

She looked up.

“But I understand that you shouldn't have to carry everything alone.”

The words caught her off guard.

She looked away before he could see how much they affected her.

After a moment, she picked up her bag.

“I'll deal with the rest tomorrow.”

He nodded in approval. “Good.” he remained where he was, watching the doors close behind her.

He had known powerful people who could manipulate an entire room without raising their voices.

He had known ambitious people who would sacrifice anyone to get what they wanted. But that woman. She was insufferably different.

The following morning, the investigation moved quickly.

Thea was called into a meeting with Antia, the senior supervisor and representatives from Security.

Her evidence was placed beside the company's access records.

The timeline was impossible to ignore.

The altered version of the report had been created at 10:07 a.m., several hours before Ashley handed the supposedly final version to Thea. The restricted data had been inserted through an account belonging to an employee with access to the source system.

Thea had never possessed that access.

The supervisor looked through the records in silence. “So the report was altered before it reached her.”

“Yes,” one of the Security officers confirmed.

Antia looked at Thea.“You're cleared.”

Thea released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

Relief washed over her like flood. She hadn't lost the internship. She also hadn't ruined her reputation.

Most importantly, she had proved that she had not done what they accused her of doing.

The investigation did not stop there.

Two employees connected to the unauthorized access were removed from the project pending further disciplinary action, while Ashley was placed under formal disciplinary review for her involvement in passing the altered document to Thea without verifying its contents.

Thea returned to her desk afterward feeling strangely exhausted. She should have been happy.

She was.

But one question continued bothering her.

Felix.

He had known about the security investigation before she did. He had intervened without telling her. And somehow, he always seemed to notice things about her that other people overlooked.

Once they were redone there, she made her way to the executive floor to find him.

“Mr. Carter.” she knocked on his door.

Felix stopped, surprise, almost on his face. He nodded and let her go in.

“Yes?”

“Sorry for the abrupt appearance. I wanted to as–can I ask you something?”

He threw the pen he was holding onto the file on the desk. “Go ahead.”

Thea took a deep breath and finally asked. “Why did you personally get involved in my case?”

“I don't think I did.”

She shook her head. “You did…Sir. You could have left it to management.”

“I could have.”

“But you didn't.”

“No.”

She waited for a sensible reply that didn't involve him trying to avoid the actual answer.

He looked at her for several seconds. “There was a security issue involving confidential company information. I was responsible for making sure it was investigated.”

“That sounds very professional.”

“It is.” He nodded

“And completely impersonal?”

Felix glanced at the door behind her and slowly his expression changed. “Do you wish to know why I keep noticing you?” He suddenly asked. All trace of amusement gone from his face.

For a second, neither of them moved.

The question was simple, but something about the way he asked it made Thea feel like there was an answer behind it that she was not prepared to hear.

Before she could respond, Felix stepped past her.

“Be careful, Ms Roth.”

She turned to him.

“About what?”

He looked back at her. “Do not accept so readily what everyone tells you about how ordinary you are.”

Thea frowned.

“What does that mean?”

But he walked away without a reply, leaving her standing there with more questions than she had started with.

The second she returned home that night, Thea sat on her bed with her phone in her hand.

She opened her conversation with Daniel and her fingers hovered over the keyboard.

She wanted to tell him everything, about the investigation, her being cleared and about Felix.

Especially about Felix.

But for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to type the words. She closed the chat.

Across the city, Felix sat alone in his office with the same conversation open on his phone. He stared at the screen. Reading Thea's last message over and over. He could reply as Daniel.

But every conversation brought him closer to the moment when she would notice something she shouldn't.

A phrase, a habit, apiece of information only Daniel could know.

The lie could not last forever. Eventually, Thea would put the pieces together. He sighed deeply and locked his phone and leaned back in his chair.