James was having such a fantastic time with Olivia that he completely forgot to mention to her anything about the hack in Platinum Media Records, or the fact that he would be working with Michelle Adams. Later that night, they went out for dinner, in high spirits and teasing each other. There was still one thing that he had not done with her in public, which James had been thinking about for days: he wanted to take her dancing. Their little dance in his cabin had been swirling in his mind. He did not mean to repeat it; after all, it would be extremely difficult, but he did want to get out of her apartment and go somewhere other than “Jodie’s” bar for a change. She did not say ‘no’ to him. The young couple visited bar after bar that night: dancing to love songs; getting lost in each other’s eyes.

But, even if he did recall the hack in question, he would not reveal it to her, not until he found a clue as to who had gone to such lengths in order to entrap him. A revelation like that could lead them to speculate further, thereby ruining their best night together. Olivia was already too emotional, and a possible, fruitless discussion about the man or woman who wanted to see him behind bars or the provocative blonde would definitely add to her distress.

The following morning, he was getting ready to attend his rehearsal with Michelle, when his cell phone rang. It was Rick.

“Hello?”

“James, we really need to talk!” The urgency in Rick’s voice puzzled him. “I have news about the hack. You’re not going to believe this.”

“Who is it: Atlas?” James spoke too fast.

“We can’t do this over the phone. There’s a small room in the parking lot in my building. Meet me there tonight, 8:30pm. Come alone. Don’t tell anyone about this. Another thing, don’t go to that rehearsal.”

“Why?”

“Please do as I say. Please, don’t ask questions.” Rick requested. “I’ll tell you more when you get there.”

James had barely hung up, when his phone buzzed with an incoming message from Michelle.

“Sorry, can’t make it today. Got a terrible hangover. Tomorrow morning, same time. Text me back if you can’t make it.”

“Ok, this is weird.” James said to himself. “Information about the hacker is one thing. Why would Rick want me to cancel the rehearsal? What does Adams have to do with any of this? And why can’t I talk about it with anyone? I can’t wait to hear what you have to say, Rick.”

He drove Olivia to work, wondering if he should tell her about Rick’s phone call. Yet, he did no such thing. He gave her a quick kiss and drove off in a hurry, feeling more anxious by the second.

The room that Rick had been referring to was located in the upper left corner of the spacious parking lot. Slivers of gold light were peeking through the cracks of the door. Despite the fact that James arrived there almost twenty minutes early, he found Rick waiting for him. There was a light bulb hanging in the middle of the ceiling and a small table against the far wall. Other than that, the room was completely empty.

“Hi, Rick.” James spoke, his voice firm as he sauntered towards him. “What’s the big emergency?”

“Hey, man. I don’t know where to start.” Rick’s tone was unusually stiff. “I’m pretty sure I’ll screw this up somewhere along the way, so, I’ll leave this to the expert. Pete, we’re ready when you are.”

“Who’s Pete?” James inquired. Rick cast an attentive glance at the open door, as the sound of short, quick footsteps echoed in the parking lot. Within seconds, a short, scrawny young man walked into the room, with a closed laptop in his left hand.

“James, this is my nephew, Peter Crawford. Pete, this is my good friend, James Farrell.” Rick introduced them.

“It’s nice to meet you, sir.” Pete said, with a broad smile on his face, as he offered his hand.

“Hey, kid.” James shook his hand. “What’s with the laptop?”

“Pete is a hacker,” Rick informed James, as his nephew eased the device down onto the table, “and a damn good one.”

“Thanks, uncle.” Pete murmured, pressing the “on” button on his laptop. “Whoever hacked into the company’s database was very good. He knew how to cover his tracks. Back tracking his IP address didn’t work.”

“Ok, this is pretty lame.” Rick admitted, turning his head to the left to face James. “But, I asked Pete if he could hack into Atlas’ database, you know, for the hell of it.”

“I did it.” Pete grinned, typing something on his laptop. “If any of their computers were used to hack into your company’s database, it would have left a trail. I found none. But…” He pressed the “enter” button, one last time. “I was able to retrieve their financial records. They’re very thorough, I must say.”

“Where are you going with this?” James grumbled.

“Show him.” Rick spoke in a low, barely audible voice, dropping his gaze from his nephew’s. Pete picked up his laptop from the table and rotated it towards James. There was a bank statement copy on the screen. One transaction stood out: a check to “Ms. Olivia Ralston” for $50,000. James’ heart sank. It seemed that the woman he in whom he had dared to believe, had betrayed him in the worst possible way. In a split second, his entire world had come crushing down. His battered heart had taken yet another, devastating blow, perhaps the hardest of his life. A sigh of despair left his lips, as he dropped his head into his hands.

“Pete, play the video. James, you may want to check the date on it. I’m really sorry, man.” Rick patted him on the back. Pete did as told, before a video popped up on the screen. Olivia was in an office, talking to an aging man in a suit. A few seconds into it, he pulled out his checkbook and wrote the check in question. The date stamp on the video was Wednesday, January 11^th, 2017, two days before her accident.

“Zoom in on it.” Rick requested. The video was paused and Pete zoomed in on the check, as the man handed it over to Olivia. The blue globe logo on the upper right corner confirmed his worst fears. She had been bribed by “Atlas”.

“They paid her to act like she was interested in you. They found your cabin, got your prints. The rest was easy.” Rick continued, speaking in sighs. “At least that’s what I think.”

“It can’t be…” James’ voice came out at a whisper, as he ran both hands through his hair.

“The reason why I didn’t want you to go to that rehearsal is that the Adams chick screwed up big time last night.” Rick explained. “She went to this fundraiser, got drunk and threw a glass of wine in a waiter’s face. Peterson himself called it off for now. He’s really mad at her.”

“So what: like I even give a crap.” James muttered, dropping his arms.

“I’m sorry, brother.” Rick slightly raised his tone, with a guilty look painted all over his face. “I thought she was decent. I guess I was wrong about her. Can I ask you a favor?”

“Go ahead.” James nodded, as tears rose in his eyes.

“Please, don’t go back to that bar. Things could get really ugly. I don’t know what you’re going to do with her, but, whatever it is, stay away from that place.” Rick’s suggestion made perfect sense. James was hurting too much to think clearly; he could take out his frustration on anything or anyone.

“I wasn’t going to.” He shook his head sideways. “Thanks a lot for this. You know where to find me.”

Distraught and drowning in sorrow, James did not answer Olivia’s phone calls; he even switched off his cell phone. Staying true to his word, he did not stop by the bar, either. His solitary refuge beckoned, offering to ease his pain. Once again, James Farrell was leaving behind New York City, seeking comfort in the wilderness, bearing the scars of yet another failed romance…

“Go to ‘Jodie’s’? For what, Rick? Argue with the woman who betrayed me: the fake? Say ‘goodbye’ to her? Why? Does she even deserve that? I don’t think so. All I can think of is going back to my cabin. It’s far from people, their treacherous minds, and their evil hearts. Far from everyone who’s been letting me down all my life. Another relationship, another crack in my heart: thank you, Olivia. Thank you for showing me, again, what people are capable of: fake words; fake actions; lies; deceit…”