Chapter Three - Just Roommates

Leah

As soon as the elevator doors slid open, I froze.

A man stood outside, surrounded by a few IT staff. Not just any man—an unreasonably handsome one. Tall, confident, with an air of quiet authority that made him stand out instantly.

"Oh! Isn't that Leah?" one of the IT staff said. "We were just about to come down to your floor."

I barely registered his words. My brain was too busy processing the sight in front of me.

"This is Peter O’Brien, the CEO of Cybernetics," he continued, gesturing toward the man. "He’ll be leading the investigation and working on a solution to the cyberattack."

Peter O’Brien. The name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it.

A sudden tap on my shoulder made me jolt.

"Earth to Leah," the IT guy said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh! Sorry, I zoned out," I admitted, embarrassed.

I mentally smacked myself. Not only had I been caught staring, but I had been standing there like an idiot.

I cleared my throat and extended my hand. "Hi, I’m Leah Henderson. F-from the third floor."

Why am I stammering? And why do I sound breathless, like I just ran a marathon?!

Peter took my hand, his grip firm yet warm. "Nice to meet you, Leah." He smiled.

I smiled back. Oh, no. That smile should be illegal.

"Alright," he said, already sounding impatient. "Let’s get through these introductions and get to work."

We rode the elevator down together.

There were others with us—two IT department members and someone who had arrived with Peter—but my attention kept drifting toward him.

His name still nagged at me. Peter O’Brien. Why did it sound so familiar?

Then it hit me. Isn’t that Anna’s stepbrother’s name?

I glanced at him again through the elevator’s reflective glass walls. Just as I lifted my head for another peek, our gazes met.

My stomach flipped.

I froze, caught in the act.

Peter smirked knowingly.

Oh no.

I felt my face heat up. My heart hammered in my chest as I turned away sharply, pretending to focus on the elevator buttons.

Through the reflection, I could see the faintest blush creeping up my cheeks.

This elevator ride suddenly felt way too long.

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Peter

Two months after my breakup, Anna reached out to me with an offer—a temporary house and a change of scenery to help clear my mind. She insisted it would do me good, and honestly, I agreed. Work kept me busy, but a fresh environment wouldn’t hurt.

The house was a bungalow she shared with Leah. According to her, everything had already been arranged, and Leah was aware of the situation. No need to worry.

Speaking of Leah…

The last time we saw each other was six years ago. Though, within those years, I’d caught brief glimpses of her—five times, to be exact. She was always busy, always focused on something, never noticing me. I never interrupted.

I was originally scheduled to move in at the end of the month, but an urgent case came up at Centurion Graphics, the company where both Anna and Leah worked. A ransomware attack.

So, instead of arriving in two weeks, I was here now.

I stood outside the bungalow’s door, pressing the doorbell for the second time. No response.

I had been told where to find the spare key in case no one was home, but I rang the doorbell once more just to be sure. Leah wasn’t answering her phone, and she was the only one currently living here.

Still nothing.

Sighing, I retrieved the key and let myself in.

"Miss Henderson, are you home?" I called out as I stepped inside. Silence.

I called again, louder this time. Still no response.

I headed straight to my designated room—Anna’s room. According to her, it was the master bedroom of the three-bedroom bungalow, located on the left side of the hallway, across from the other two rooms.

I set my luggage down on the bed and took a quick tour of the house.

The master bedroom had an en-suite bathroom, a closet, and a queen-sized bed. The decor was minimalistic, with soft pink walls accented by white geometric designs.

The other two bedrooms had the same style, except they featured a golden hue instead of pink. One belonged to Leah. The other was used as an art studio.

The bathroom between them was a Jack-and-Jill setup, accessible from both rooms through opposite doors. Leah’s room had a double bed, while the studio’s closet was packed with art supplies.

The rest of the house followed the same simple, modern aesthetic.

Returning to my room, I spotted my luggage still on the bed. I’d unpack later. First, Centurion.

After freshening up, I dressed in black pants, an off-white dress shirt, and a black suit. I added a blue tie embroidered with the word Cybernetics in bold, diagonal sans-serif font—a gift from Patrick, my best friend and Cybernetics’ CTO.

I grabbed my phone and called Patrick.

"Already outside," he said before I could even speak.

I stepped outside to find him casually leaning against the passenger side of my car, chewing gum like he didn’t have a care in the world.

"Sup, bro!" I greeted.

"Yeah, sup."

"You up to the challenge?" I asked as I unlocked the doors, though I already knew his answer.

"I was never born ready," he shot back with a grin.

We got in, and I pulled out of the driveway, heading toward Centurion Graphics.

Upon arrival, we checked in at reception. A woman—probably in her late twenties—made a call to notify her superiors.

"Give it a few minutes," she said.

While we waited, Patrick and I went over our strategy, discussing what kind of ransomware we were dealing with and the best way to neutralize it.

Three minutes later, two men approached us.

"Maxwell Reeds, CTO," the first man introduced himself. Stocky, reddish-brown hair.

"Imran Khan, Cybersecurity & Network Manager," the second man said, his tone gruff. Short raven hair, all business.

As we headed toward the IT department, Imran explained the situation.

"The attack originated from a device—Leah Henderson’s phone," he said, handing it to me.

I glanced at it briefly before passing it to Patrick.

Connecting to their network, we began analyzing the ransomware.

I frowned.

A hybrid attack. A mix of the Midnight Shades variant and the Oculus variant.

Midnight Shades was resilient. Almost impossible to break.

Oculus? Sneaky as hell. Hard to detect, harder to eliminate.

I smirked. This was going to be fun.

We decided to check out Leah’s floor for further inspection.

As we approached the elevator, it chimed and slid open.

And there she was.

Leah Henderson.

Standing inside, looking utterly bewildered.

I whispered under my breath, "Speak of the devil."

She stared at me, frozen.

Did she recognize me? I doubted it.

Last time we met, my hair had been longer, my beard just a patch on my chin. I hadn’t been as built as I was now.

Well… maybe she’d figure it out.

If she could stop staring at my suit first.