Sammie

“I can’t believe he cooks that well!” I slid onto my sofa and grabbed a pillow, hugging the soft fluff to calm myself down. “Not that it matters, he was just being nice.” Thinking over the day, I was glad that he had been so cooperative when I showed up at his office out of the blue. Since we were going to the Shell exhibit opening together, I figured that I would help solidify my status as a girlfriend.

When I walked into Tempo, I could feel the gazes of the security guards on me. Many of them were direct hires from TCSP and were probably being extra vigilant because of the murder. They had been suspicious of me until I mentioned that I was Zachary Soest girlfriend and that we were meeting for a tour. Misogyny at its finest, the moment I became just a girlfriend, they turned up their nose as if I were some delusional fangirl.

But I wasn’t too offended. I was glad they had bought my act, though they hadn’t been able to wipe the shock off their faces when Zach himself came to escort me. I was pretty certain they wouldn’t look into me any further. If they discovered I worked for Steele Security, they might guess that their crimes had been discovered and start covering them up.

I brushed the tips of my fingers over the back of my hand and sighed. The way he pulled my hand in and the brush of his lips over my knuckles at the gallery had surprised me. In tv shows of knights chivalrously caressing the hands of the ladies of the court, I never could understand their breathlessness. Today, I understood all too well.

Across the room a slinky emerald dress blocked my view to my tv. It was annoying not being able to watch my shows on the bigger screen, but the dress was beautiful. It was like owning a genuine piece of art, it was that fancy.

I had never had a dress or even a reason to dress that fancy, save for prom, which I had intentionally skipped. I couldn’t imagine how my father would have reacted if I had my prom date pick me up. But that didn’t mean that I didn’t like to dress up every now and then. It was just that security was geared more toward functional clothing.

I admitted to myself that Zachary Soest was worthy of being fangirled over. After he became a client, I had started doing research online, finding his old videos and articles. Surprisingly, I had heard his music, but my favorite in his groups was one of his band mates. I hadn’t paid much attention to him. I let out a derisive chuckle. As if he would ever think of me as anything but a security guard. I threw the pillow onto the couch and headed over to my home office.

Turning on the computer, I pulled up the schematics for the Tempo Gallery. The software I was using allowed me to get a three-dimensional representation of the gallery. I pulled off the tiny camera from my collar. It looked like a simple pin, but it was running the entire tour and the security software’s AI would use it to update the current schematics. I grabbed the SD holder. It was a specialized device where I had to plug the whole camera into the card. It seemed bulky, but it allowed more gigabytes of data to be recorded. I plugged in the SD card to the computer and let the computer begin the download.

Zach was surprised when I mentioned the camera in one of the few times we were alone in one of the back rooms during the tour. After asking a few pointed questions to make sure that he wouldn’t be recorded, he had allowed me to turn it on. I guess to many people had tried to blackmail him with secret footage while he was a singer. After that, he made sure to take me back through the other areas that we had missed.

While the download was happening, I stood and stretched. My muscles were taunt from the stress of the day and what could only be described as improper sexual tension. I headed to the bathroom to strip and hop into the shower, letting the water sluice over me, I let myself relax and pushed thoughts of a certain retired Idol out of my mind.

By the time I got out and dressed in my pajamas, the software analysis was complete, and I was able to get an almost perfect 3D image of the gallery. I spent the rest of the evening working on the new security plans that we would be installing and the plans for the Shell opening night in a few days. It was nearing one AM before I dragged myself to bed and drifted off to sleep.

One month ago.

Dana sneered at the ringing phone at her desk. It hadn’t stopped buzzing since she had gotten in and was giving her a headache. Gritting her teeth, she sighed and lifted it to her face. She hated the old technology. It had been only a few days since she had started at Tempo, but the lack of updates was annoying. Still, she had a job to do.

“Hello, this is Tempo Art Gallery. Dana Perry speaking. How may I help you?” She hoped whoever was on the other side didn’t complain about the obvious fake chipperness in her answer.

“Oh, uhh. Hi! Um… I ummmm… I brought in a portfolio last week...”

“Last week was a little hectic.” Tapping her pen on the desk, she clenched her jaw. There were too many people like this who called this number with their whiny hopefulness. She couldn’t figure out how they even got the number to her desk. “Who did you talk to?”

“I talked to the person at the front desk. He said that he would bring it to the director.” She rolled her eyes. That explained how they got her number. The receptionist was an ex and he was petty.

“Well,” she began tightly, “you did leave your contact information?”

“Yes,” Dana wanted to scream and the bright chipper tone echoing in her ears from the phone. She held it away from her as the voice over the phone just got louder. “It should be right with my cover sheet.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure it will be seen soon. You have a nice day!” Dana struggled to see the phone down lightly. It was unbecoming to let her emotions get the better of her.

Looking over at the box next to the director’s office she sneered. Zachary Soest hadn’t been into the office yet. After his parents’ funeral last week, the lawyers had just read the contents of the will. That is when Zach found out that he had inherited his parents’ fortune and property. Not that there was much fortune left. His parents tended to borrow against every asset they had to get more. But he had always wanted to start an art gallery, and having the opportunity to take over an established one aligned with his dreams. It was the only thing of his parents he hadn’t sold or donated.

After getting hired as his secretary three years ago, she knew how much Zach hated his parents. To be fair, they had been awful anytime they tried to meet up with Zach. The person Dana had replaced had complained of the stress having to deal with them too.

Dana sighed and went over to the box next to the director’s office. There were several portfolios in the box. As she flipped though them, she found an interesting one. This must have been the one he was talking about. Opening it, she flipped through the contents of it and a grin spread across her face.