Chapter 11 --- Track The Location

Chapter 11

~ Track the Location ~

[IRIS'S POV]

My face was beet red from embarrassment and, looking up, I shot an icy glare at that smug face that he wore oh-so well. That bastard… he was enjoying this! He was looking down at me, seeming to be waiting for me to fumble out another apology. Well, if that is what he was waiting for, he would be waiting until Hell froze over. I gritted my teeth, got up off the floor, with as much grace as I could muster, and dusted myself off. He smirked over my nonchalant attitude and leaned back against his office chair leisurely, watching me walk back to my desk.

Plopping down in my office chair, I racked my brain for ideas on how to impress the president. Unfortunately, nothing came to mind. I stared at my computer. Suddenly, my eyes lit up with an idea and I began to get to work. Before I knew it an hour had passed and I hadn’t exchanged a single word with him. It didn’t matter though. I was too focused on completing my tasks to make small talk with that meanie. With one final stroke of a key, I had finished.

At that moment, the president’s phone started to ring. Without averting my eyes from the screen, I heard him pick up the call. After a few moments of being on the phone, his expression instantly turned dark and he bolted out of his chair. He quickly made his way outside the office without even glancing at me. I looked at the door and was confused.

“What was that about? Whatever, he didn’t even look at me so it should be fine,” I thought, shrugging nonchalantly.

[XAVIER'S POV]

Scott called to inform me that the CEO’s under my corporation were sitting in the conference room because of an emergency. Hastily, I made my way down the corridor and felt annoyed. I just cleaned up one mess a couple of days ago and now had another one to handle. Letting out a frustrated sigh, I pushed the transparent doors open.

My CEO’s were all standing around the large table wearing terrified expressions upon my entrance. I knew they feared me and gave me the nickname, “Demon King.” It was no surprise. However, I was a little saddened that my own people were afraid of me. They knew me to be a ruthless, cold, and a domineering president. Even so, they didn’t have to be so tense in my presence all the time. It was getting really old.

Sitting down in my king sized chair, I gestured them to take their respective seats. Folding my hands together on the table, I looked at them in genuine confusion.

“What happened for all of you to rush over here at the same time?”

The CEO of Redhill Corporation pushed his laptop towards me.

“Mr. President, our personal server has been hacked. Our database and plans regarding the upcoming project has been leaked.”

I furrowed my eyebrows and Scott pulled the laptop closer towards me. My eyes shifted to the screen.

“It happened an hour ago. At first, we thought that our IT departments could handle the situation. But, this hacker is way too advanced and we couldn't recover the server. So we had to come here to ask for your help,” he informed.

My mind went blank for a moment.

Looking back at him, I asked in a frigid tone, “Did you contact my IT department?”

Another CEO chimed in and while nodding his head, he said, “Yes, we did and they weren’t able to recover it.”

I stared at the laptop screen, seething. This was the first time that someone had the audacity to attack any of my companies. Not only that, but they also had broken into my state of the art computer systems. I also noticed that the hacker wasn’t attacking my own company, “Eden International Limited.” They targeted the smaller companies that had formed collaborations with me. Is he warning me?

Looking up at Scott, I ordered, “Get Miss Young in here, now!”

Scott blinked at me a few times, trying to register what I had said. I guess it finally clicked because he gave a small nod and went to go get her. This was the moment she would prove if her abilities were on par of working under Xavier Gray!

[Iris’s POV]

Leaning comfortably against the office chair, I was sipping on my hot coffee while reading a book I found in the office. My laughter sometimes echoed in the empty room as I read the comics. I couldn’t believe that Mr. President had a book like this! His face absolutely didn’t suit a man who enjoyed reading comics.

As I was enjoying my small break, I barely heard the hasty footsteps that were pounding down the corridor. Mr. Scott poked his head through the half-way opened door and spotted me within seconds.

“Miss Young, follow me. Mr. President is calling you in the conference room.”

My peaceful expression instantly twisted into a grimace. Carefully, I put my cup down on the desk and stood up to fix my skirt. Leaving the office, Mr. Scott urged me follow him. He was walking way too fast! I was panting for breath once we entered the conference room. As I made my way further inside, I noticed the surprised looks from the people who were sitting around the large conference table. It was extremely uncomfortable to have everyone staring at me. But that was nothing compared to how my stomach lurched when my eyes met the president’s gaze. Gathering myself, I quickly gave them all a small bow out of respect.

Looking at Mr. Scott, President Gray said, “Place a chair beside me.”

In an instant, a chair was put right beside of him.

“Come and have a seat Miss Young. You have an important task to do here.”

I looked down at the chair beside him and slowly approached. Still hesitant at the thought of being so close to him, I sat down carefully and saw the complete dumbfounded expressions on everyone’s face, except for Mr. Scott. One of the men around the table shifted uncomfortably in his chair and cleared his throat.

“Mr. President, this isn't any child's play. She is just a mere...”

The rest of his words died in his throat upon receiving the president’s icy glare.

“Let me remind you, Mr. Mendes, I am the president here not you. I wouldn't be in this chair if I treated my business as child’s play.”

His confident response shut down the possibilities of any further objections on the matter and Mr. Mendes lowered his gaze in defeat. The air in the room became strained. Not quite understanding why everyone was behaving like this, I noticed the president push a laptop in my direction. I felt his arctic blue eyes stare at me as I observed what was on the screen.

“Prove to me that you are eligible to work under me,” he said quietly. “This server has been hacked for the past hour. You have proudly mentioned your knowledge of programming. Now, show your skills to me.”

Astonished, I looked up at his face. President Gray’s eyes were boring into mine, not giving me any room to decline his order. Well, I had been a hacker for two years. To make extra cash, I had worked with few international websites to ensure their security system worked properly. But, I had never revealed that to anyone. How could he handover this important task to me? Unless… he knew? And if he did, how in the hell did he find out? The way he spoke to me sounded rude and commanding, but I also saw a glimmer of confidence in those eyes. He knew I could do it. How could I possibly refuse an offer of trust like that?

Looking back at the screen, I shifted in my seat and started evaluating the situation. After a minute, the dark aura of my professional hacking abilities surrounded me and my fingers reflexively started to move across the keyboard. I ignored everyone else in the room out of habit because I normally did my hacking jobs in the middle of the night as to not run the risk of being interrupted.

Forty-five minutes later, I announced, “The server is safe now and all the databases have been recovered safely. I have also destroyed the leaked files as well. Is there anything else you would like me to do?”

Everyone started to talk on top of one another in excitement. The whole room was in an uproar at my victory. Turning towards the president, I saw a glimpse of admiration in his gaze. That was unexpected…

“You may all leave now. Miss Young has already done the main task and any further steps will be completed by our IT department.”

The CEO's glanced at me in approval and then quickly left the room.

As I worked on the last step of my coding, he said, “Can you track the hacker's location?”

I knew that I could do it but to be on the safe side, I said, “I can try, sir.”

“Alright, go ahead.”

I nodded my head slightly and started locating the hacker. It only took a minute, but my hands instantly froze as I stared at the result on the screen.

“What the hell?! This is where the hacker is?” I thought panicking.

I gulped.

Glancing back at him, I said, “I couldn't find his exact location, Mr. President. But the server is safe now. Your IT departments can safely start the next process.”

He frowned at me slightly. Did he suspect anything?