“If you get caught or something. How long do you think it’ll take you to get in and out?”
I tracked it all in my mind, coming up with decent estimates. “About five minutes to get up there, depending on the elevator and if he answers the door. Then maybe five or ten minutes inside? If no one’s there, it won’t take long, but if I have to make some excuse for why I’m there it’ll take a little more time.”
“Let’s say twenty minutes, then? If you aren’t back here in twenty minutes, I’ll figure something out and come get you.”
I laughed. “So you’re just going to walk right up and go to Solomon Royce’s office? That’ll defeat the entire purpose of the plan. He’ll know there’s something wrong then.”
Jeremy gave me a hard look. “It doesn’t matter, Jessika. If something happens to you, Asher’s going to blame me for it. I know this was your plan, but we’re doing this together, so let’s make sure nothing bad happens, alright?”
I huffed. “Fine. If you say so. Nothing’s going to go wrong, anyways.”
Jeremy didn’t know what happened last time, though. I’d told him about the phone conversation between Beatrice and Solomon today, but he didn’t know the actuality of the situation. He didn’t know I’d fallen on the couch and Solomon had walked over, started acting like he was ready and willing to take me right then and there, with or without my consent. I never told him any of that, and I didn’t want to tell him it now. If I did, would he let me do this? Probably not.
So, instead, I reassured him with a pat on his hand and a careful nod. “It’s alright,” I said before I left the car. “Don’t worry about anything.” I closed the door and left him in the parking garage.
My heels clicked across the concrete and I made my way through the dimly lit area to the ground floor elevator. No one else was nearby and the parking garage looked oddly empty. It was just my nerves trying to make up something ominous, I told myself. I pressed the button for the elevator and waited.
I felt calm and relaxed, but my hands kept shaking. Almost jittery, like I’d drank too much coffee and was suffering for it. When the elevator came, dinging its arrival, I stumbled inside and braced myself against the back wall. No one else was here with me. The doors closed, but without directions on where to go, the elevator stayed put.
I finally hit the button for the floor I wanted. Leaning against the wall, I watched the numbers pass by above the door as I rose past floor after floor. It was late, but not too late, so apparently no one was using the elevators right now; not time to go home, but every time sensitive issue involving walking through the office had already been dealt with.
The elevator chimed my arrival and the doors slid open. No one was coming in, so I scurried out and into the open hallway. Nothing. Strange? This didn’t seem right, but I blamed it on my anxiety more than anything else. Just an excuse, Jessika, I told myself. Why are you making excuses? Go and do this and be done with it.
I hurried down the hallway, nearly tripping on the carpets. To Solomon’s office, fast, quicker, my heels thudding against the carpeted floor in frenzied strikes. Once I arrived, I nearly opened the door without thinking.
“Calm down!” I hissed to myself. Then I knocked on the door to Solomon Royce’s office.
Nothing. No one. I waited and knocked again, but no one answered. When I knocked a third time with still no answer, I decided it was safe. Twisting the knob to his office, hoping beyond hope he hadn’t locked the door before he left, I winced and expected the worst.
The door opened easily enough. I pushed inwards and stepped inside. The light in the corner, the one I needed to look under, lit up the room. No one was inside though, nothing unusual. I scampered in, closed the door behind me, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Well, that was easy. What was I worried about? And, anyways, it wasn’t like something could happen. I knew this, but I’d gotten myself worked up and nervous anyways. What would Solomon do? I’d warded off his advances before, so I could do it again. And his usual assistant, Daphne? I had no idea who she was, but I doubted she’d be an issue.#p#分页标题#e#
With all that settled, no longer panicking, I hurried to the lamp. When I went to lift it up and steal whatever lay beneath it, it wouldn’t budge. I pulled harder, yanking on the thing, but no. Checking carefully, I noticed it was bolted into the floor. Nothing too high tech, just screws, but who did that? I didn’t have a screwdriver, either.
Solomon must have one, in his desk or something. How else would he fit something under the lamp? Maybe he wanted to just leave it there, but I doubted it. Rushing to his desk, I opened the drawers and rifled through his belongings. It didn’t take long to find a tiny screwdriver, so my hunch must have been right.