Phishing for Love by Lara Martin

Author:Lara Martin [Martin, Lara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lara Martin
Published: 2024-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The email lands in my inbox the following Tuesday, about an hour after lunch.

The subject message reads: PLEASE CONSIDER CONTRIBUTING TO THE BULLDOG SOCIETY CHARITY RUN.

I glance at the sender. It’s from Calvin, but I remember the sophisticated phishing test Aaron sent out a couple of weeks ago. The one that so many of us, including me, had failed. What had he called it? CEO fraud. He’d even copied Calvin’s writing style and addressed the email to each of us personally. Exactly like this email.

“The sneaky son of a...” My words drift off as I shake my head in resentment and grudging admiration.

How clever to cast out another CEO fraud phishing test so soon after the first one to see who takes the bait.

Not me. Not anymore.

I refuse to be lured in by a man who’d given me a ridiculous verbal warning. I recall Sofia’s shock that I’d received a warning before her. We’d always assumed that, out of the three of us, she’d be the first. And Kenzie...well, I can’t picture her receiving any sort of warning. A police officer had once reprimanded her for driving too slowly, and it had taken her a week to recover from the mortification of having suddenly acquired, in her mind, a criminal record.

I’m on the verge of clicking the Phish Alert button when a swell of righteous anger sweeps through me. Impulsively, I decide to take this one step further by replying to this email. I’ll lash out at the sender, knowing I’m actually lashing out at Aaron. What a brilliant way to give him a piece of my mind while pretending not to.

And if, by some microscopic chance, the email is a real phishing scam and not just a test, then I can at least give these scammers a stinging rebuke. It feels good to be in control.

Scooting closer to my desk, I begin typing furiously. The words spill out of me. Outrage, it seems, is a creative stimulant. When I’m finished, I click Send and lean back in my chair in satisfaction.

Fifteen minutes later, I’m in the breakroom with Sofia and Kenzie, ostensibly making coffee, but really, we’re snacking on pretzels and examining Rick’s compulsion to brag about almost everything in his life.

“I wonder if he’s compensating for something?” Sofias muses, making Kenzie giggle.

All of a sudden Dana materializes in front of us like the Grim Reaper, causing Kenzie to emit a startled squeak. Sofia’s about to offer a snippy comment, but Dana ignores her and looks straight at me. “Calvin wants to see you in his office.”

My heart rate picks up at her grim expression. “Me?”

“Yes.”

“Not, um, Sofia?” I ask.

“Thanks, Tess,” Sofia says, but she doesn’t look put out. Instead, she seems quite pleased to wear the label of troublemaker.

Dana looks equally disappointed it’s not Sofia. “He wants to see you.”

“Now?”

“Now.” Dana pauses. “He’s spitting mad, Tess. What did you do?” Her voice drips with reproof.

My eyes go big. “Nothing!”

“Come on, Dana, give us a clue,” Sofia demands. “What’s going on?”

Dana shakes her head.

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