Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 95307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Sophia begins to fuss a little, and before either Harrison or I can get up from the couch, Chase sets the photos down on the coffee table and takes his goddaughter. He props her on his shoulder like a pro and lightly rubs her back, without even breaking stride. Gabby is completely shocked by how natural he seems, considering the man was scared shitless of holding her only a handful of days ago. “I thought the cameras were offline,” he says quietly, cooing softly at the baby against his chest.
“They were, but our computer crimes division is the best. Our guy was able to retrieve feed from your off-site server, even though your cameras were wiped after the fire. Gina was good, but we were better. She tried to cover her tracks well. We were able to use her IP address to follow her tracks. We learned that Gina also logged in multiple times a day into your computer system and made several adjustments to your calendars and orders, and were able to trace that she was the one who tripped your security systems a few weeks ago.”
“Finally,” Harrison says with a loud exhale. “I feel like we knew it was her these last eleven days, but having you confirm it is like a weight being lifted.”
“She was arrested?” Gabby asks, a sad look on her face. After all, she considered Gina a friend the last ten or so years.
“She was brought in last night. She denied everything, of course, but the DA is moving forward with charges. We have solid evidence. She won’t get off on this,” he says, placing the photos back in the folder. “There’s a good chance this will go to trial, if she keeps screaming innocence. If that happens, you’ll all be on the list of witnesses.”
“We’ll do whatever we have to do to bring her to justice,” Harrison informs the man across from him.
Detective Benson just nods. “Well, I’ve taken enough of your time on this Sunday afternoon,” he says as he stands up. “And congratulations on the baby. She’s a beauty,” he adds, a warm smile on his wrinkled face.
Harrison glances at me. “She’s her mother.” Even though that’s not really the case. Sophia is the spitting image of her daddy, with my nose.
Everyone stands up, and the guys walk the detective to the door. I don’t hear what they’re saying, but I’m sure it’s in appreciation of solving the case. After he’s gone, I snuggle into Harrison’s side, happy to know that the Gina mess is behind us. It’s still hard to believe one petite woman caused all this drama.
“So, we’re officially ready to reopen tomorrow morning,” Chase says.
Harrison gives him a nod. “We are. Everything is set,” he confirms.
They hired a cleaning company to come in and scrub everything down. Fortunately, the flooring is painted and sealed concrete, so there was only minimal water damage from the hoses, and that was contained mostly to the locker room. The rest of the building was covered in a bit of soot, but that washed up nicely after an extensive deep clean. They hired a local IT firm to rework their security and computer systems, ensuring no one would be getting back in anytime soon. All in all, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been.
“There’s just one problem left,” Chase says, adjusting Sophia into the crook of his arm.
“What’s that?” Harrison asks, pulling me tighter into his side.
“We still don’t have an office assistant,” his friend reminds him.
“Actually.” Gabby interrupts, stepping around Chase. “I was thinking… what if I was your assistant?” My sister seems nervous and watches Harrison’s expression closely, her own eyes giving away how nervous she is.
“You?” he asks, slightly confused.
“I thought you liked your job at World Travel,” I say, not really sure why she’s suddenly looking for a career change. It’s not that I don’t think Gabby could handle the job, and frankly, she’d be phenomenal as Harrison’s assistant, but she’s never once complained about her current position as a travel agent. She’s been there for years, ever since she graduated college.
My sister averts her eyes. “I do— did, I mean. They made cuts this week. I was laid off,” she adds with a shrug of her shoulders.
“What?” I gasp, shocked that my sister is suddenly without a job. She’s one of four travel agents in the small family-owned company.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Chase asks, his eyes breathing fire at my sister.
Again, she shrugs. “It just happened Friday afternoon,” she says quietly. “Anyway, I know my degree is in hospitality, but I’m a detail-oriented person. I’m timely and I’d never set the gym on fire intentionally,” she adds with a smile.
Harrison watches her for a few long seconds. “You’re serious?”
She nods. “I mean, unless you don’t think you can handle me whipping your ass into shape every day in the office.”