Olivia left the office premises at 7:30 pm. She drove off along Roly Lane, a road she rarely drove on.
After driving for approximately half a mile, she noticed through her rearview mirror that someone was closely following her; in a white SUV.
She adjusted the rearview mirror and looked at the car behind her through the right-side view mirror. She slowed down and drove at 10 Kilometers per Hour lower than the speed limit thinking she'd annoy the driver but that didn't work.
However, she played it cool. She then turned her right turn signal on and moved over to the right, almost onto the shoulder of the road to give the driver room to get by. He still showed no signs of overtaking her.
She retreated to her normal lane and drove straightforwardly to a roundabout. She circled the roundabout twice and the driver also did the same.
"Whoever this person is, it's the silliest man on earth." She said to herself.
She stopped in front of a convenience store and went in to purchase a refreshment.
She talked to the cashier -turns out it was Hannah- at great length after which police sirens could be heard from a distance. When Olivia peeped outside the store, the car that was trailing her was no longer in sight.
She tipped the cashier generously and left the place, however, not in her car but on foot.
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Global TechKicker Company was bustling with murmurs from every corner the following morning.
Everyone was either paired up or in triple groups discussing what had happened the previous night.
Those who gathered in Ma'am Lopez's office suddenly sopped chattering and tranquility filled the vicinity the moment Olivia entered her office.
"There she is." A soft voice uttered.
Olivia was shocked beyond words. Her office was a total mess. Papers were strewn all over the floor, all her drawers were open and her window was too. "Will someone tell me what's going on here?" Anger was boiling in her.
"Someone broke into your office through the window yesterday night. Mandy informed her.
"What the... What do you mean?"
"Sir Conrad showed me the CCTV footage that was shared with him."
"Can I see it?"
"I sent it to you. Check your phone."
"Oh no, my battery's dead. I forgot to charge it yesterday."
"This way. Follow me. I've saved it on my desktop."
From the CCTV footage, a tall feminine person broke into Olivia's office through the ceiling.
Olivia paused the video and,
"Mandy... Has there been a passageway through the ceiling to my office?"
"I'm afraid I am not aware ma'am." She responded.
"Okay. Play the video."
Apart from her shadowy figure, the feminine person's long, shoulder-length hair was also partly visible.
She frantically searched through the pile of books for what the video couldn't unravel -tearing whatever seemed of no importance to her;
She sought through the drawers before switching to the desktop on the table. She then fled through the window and disappeared into the darkness.
"Sir Conrad says there is evidence that might help in knowing who the person was," Mandy added.
"Evidence? Would you happen to know what it is?" Olivia was trembling.
"No. I think you should ask Sir Conrad."
Do you have the softcopy of all the documents you handed to me this month?"
"Yes ma'am. Sir Conrad also has backup copies."
"Conrad, you say?"
"Yes. Mr. Huddlings Conrad.
"He's the Chief Sales Officer."
"Yes."
"So, how does he have a backup of the documents from my department then?"
"He asked me for them early last week."
"And you just gave him without informing me?" She was scolding her.
"You were absent and he said they were urgent. I'm sorry I forgot to inform you."
"You..." She held herself back. "It's okay. I shall speak to him. You said he has the evidence. Didn't you?"
"Yes, I did." She was as humble as a lamb being led to the slaughter house.
"Okay. Thank you."
*******************
"A bracelet can't prove a person's identity Mr. Huddlings." Olivia tried to persuade him.
"You are right. However, this specific bracelet will."
"How?" Olivia was fidgeting.
"It has a mobile phone linked to it. Mr. Huddlings told her.
"I think we should let this matter slide, sir."
"Not if Wilhelminar Agency's sales are going to be tripling by the day! Not a chance?" He emphasized.
"What does Wilhelmina Agency have to do with this?"
"The lady who snuck into your office," He was pacing up and down the office,"
She hacked your desktop and sent our rivals the strategic decisions we'd come up with to overcome the financial crisis we had this year."
"We can come up with better strategies." Olivia proposed.
"The point is they are using those strategies to beat us in our own game.
Don't you get it?"
"I do... Can I see the bracelet? I could try contacting the person."
"Mandy tried down the phone manually but it seemed the phone was off. We've handed the bracelet over to the police. They'll track down the phone with the link to it and get back to us."
"That's better. I'll take my leave now." She shut the door behind her.
"What exactly is Conrad up to?" She soliloquized as she walked back to her office.
She scanned her eyes across the room and spotted a hole in the ceiling. She climbed on her office desk and was able to touch the ceiling.
"Quite a sensible distance even for an unskilled thief." She thought.
She stared at the hole for a while until some dust effused from the hole. She sneezed and covered her mouth with a white handkerchief. She pulled that part of the ceiling and to her surprise, it slid inwards.
She was more into finding her clues. Now that she suspected that Conrad was up to something, she could not take any chances.
She stepped down and walked over to her window.
"Hello Mandy, Come to my office now." She called her using the telephone.
--------------------------------
"Do you happen to know whose car that is?" Olivia asked Mandy.
"I'm not sure since both Mr. Wyatt and Mr.Huddlings drive use it."
"How come I've never seen it in the parking lot?" She asked again.
"Oh! I overheard Mr.Conrad boasting to Mr. Wyatt of how he spent over ten thousand dollars to repaint it. So I guess it was the blue one that was always parked there." She pointed to the farthes left end of the parking lot.
That wa the white SUZ that was trailing Oloivia's car the previous night.
"You can go now Mandy. Thank's for your time."
'Oliva...Conrad...Oliva and Conrad. Olivia was know confused.
"Conrad is surely up to some mischief.. and I have to find out what it is." She affirmed.