The Love Game

“I’ll leave soon.” Tyler watched them walk through his door.

Yes, for better and worse, they’d have an answer to the mystery of the security breach tomorrow. Knowing who had leaked the test results would help determine what procedures should be put in place to ensure it never happened again. At the same time, the leak was someone who had betrayed their trust. How would the identity of the traitor affect their company?

Xavier seemed to think Iris had something to do with the leak. The idea was absurd. For one thing, a failed launch for “Osiris’s Journey” would reflect poorly on her company. For another, Iris didn’t have access to the test results. She couldn’t be responsible for the leak. Tyler wasn’t that poor a judge of character.

* * *

Iris paced her living room Monday night. So many questions bombarded her mind: Who’d leaked the old test results to The Gamer’s Seat? When had he or she contacted the reporter? What made him think he could get away with something like this? Most important, why would someone try to hurt Anderson Adventures?

Iris dropped onto her sofa, resting her head on its back. Tyler had seemed devastated when she’d gone to his office to say good-night. He hadn’t called to tell her how his update with Foster had gone. That couldn’t be a good sign.

She sat forward, cupping her face in her palms. In her mind’s eye, she pictured the ten members of the product-development team and Sherry as they sat in the associates’ lounge eleven hours ago. No one had looked, sounded or acted guilty. Instead, they’d been surprised and angry. Someone had leaked damaging information about their game. They were personally and professionally insulted.

She sat up. Speaking with Rose and Lily had helped some but Iris needed another sounding board. She glanced at the clock on her cable box. It was just after 8:00 p.m. Was Tyler home? Iris shook her head. They’d been debating, dissecting and discussing the situation

since Friday. She needed a fresh perspective. Iris grabbed her cordless phone and punched in Cathy’s number.

“Hello?” Her friend answered on the third ring.

“Are you busy? I need to pick your brain.”

“Shoot. You can have whatever’s left.” In the background, the sound of Cathy’s television suddenly silenced.

Iris stood to pace her living room again as she brought Cathy up to date on the Anderson Adventures leak.

“So you don’t think it was an inside job.” Cathy made the statement after a brief pause.

“No, neither Ty nor I believe an associate was involved.” Iris lowered herself onto her sofa. “I don’t think the executive leadership believes it was someone in their company, either.”

“Then it was someone on the outside.”

“How do I figure out who did it?”

“I can think of one person.” Cathy’s voice was dry.

“Pete Kimball.” Iris sighed. “I thought of him, too. But what would he get from hurting Anderson Adventures? What have they ever done to him?”

“They hired you.” Cathy’s response was quick and decisive.

“Be serious.” Iris leaned back on the sofa. She stared blindly across the room, imaging Cathy sitting on her own sofa in her own living room.

“I am.” Her friend certainly sounded serious. “He lied to Ty Anderson about the reason you left RGB, remember? He’s capable of sabotaging their new release.”

“The jerk.” She’d never forget Pete Kimball’s lies. “But someone within Anderson Adventures would still need to send Kimball the test results.”

“Kimball has worked with Anderson Adventures before. He knows the employees. He probably has their email addresses and direct phone numbers.” Cathy’s words came faster as she fleshed out her scenario. “He could have called someone, made up some story about the reason he needed the documents, then casually asked for them.”

Iris considered her friend’s theory. It had legs. “You have a point. But how could this be about me?”

“Kimball’s not happy that you got the account. He’s probably trying to make you look bad.”

Iris wouldn’t put it past the egotistical marketing executive. She got to her feet, then wandered her living room. “This leak has shaken me more than I would’ve thought. Maybe Rose is right. Maybe I’ve taken on more than I can handle.”

Cathy sighed. “Your sisters love you very much. They’re protective of you, and I understand that. But Rose is wrong. You’ve already proven with the work you’ve done for Anderson that you can handle these types of projects.”

A part of Iris agreed with her friend. Then why did she feel so far out of her element? “I can handle individual projects but can I handle a campaign?”

“Yes. And I’m not just saying that because you’ve hired me to design Anderson’s marketing collateral.” Cathy sighed again. “Now put on your big-girl pants and find out who’s trying to sabotage your client.”