Chapter 5 The Hidden Agenda

As the sun started to set, the long shadows crept through the buildings that surrounded Alex's office, and the weight of the day fell on him. The security breach looming large was still quite a problem he had to deal with, but the churning in his mind was over the talk he had to have with Olivia. He wanted to know more about the issue that she was going through, yet the question of how to address the issue was on the horizon.

There was barely any noise in the office, and the only sound heard was the low whispers that could be heard coming from the corridor. Alex looked at the time on the wall and waited for the meeting, impatiently drumming fingers on the table. He had asked Olivia specifically that she should come to his office immediately after the emergency meeting was over, and he was waiting for her to be direct about whatever else was on her mind.

She appeared composed professionally as she entered the office, but at the same time, she looked worried. After locking the door, she sat opposite Alex on the small table set between the bed and the door. The two of them did not speak for a little while; the space between them was silent.

Alex was the first to speak. ''He simply got up and left'' was all that he said. "Hello, how are you? Welcome. May I know how things are going with the security teams?"

Olivia nodded. "The teams are actively working on reducing the breach. They've put the vulnerabilities on the priority list and are in the process of applying the solutions at the moment. There is much to handle, yet they are on it.

Alex sighed with relief. "Good, thank you. I am glad you asked me that. I do take pride in dealing with this."

Olivia looked him in the eyes, and she was lost for words, waiting till the hearing of the verdict. "I have something else that I want to discuss with you, but I figured it was better to wait until we discussed the breach. It's sort of related."

Alex lowered his head and moved closer to the door, wondering what the man wanted. "What's going on?"

Feeling scared and angry, she went ahead to take a deep breath. "I have been receiving these unknown threats-emails and text messages, to be precise-telling me they have sensitive information about the company and plan to release the same unless and until I give in to their demands."

Alex's brow furrowed. "What kind of demands?"

Olivia hesitated. "No, they have not been specific yet; they have just threatened, just enough to let me know they have information about the breach.

Alex's mind raced. This was a new factor to take into consideration in a situation that was already not easy to manage. One query that most people love to ask is: "Have you reported this to the authorities?"

"Yes," Olivia replied. "The authorities know, and we are in the process of identifying the origin of the messages with them, but I felt it prudent to inform you because it may vie with the recent security compromise."

Alex simply agreed with what they'd said, partly because he appeared to be seriously mulling over what had been told to him. "This complicates things. If someone is trying to blackmail us, they could be intent on sabotaging the project.".

Olivia nodded. "That is precisely what I am worried about. I lack information on who is behind it and what their intentions are."

Alex got up from the chair, slowly stepped towards the window, and then looked outside the window at the city. He was thinking about several options. Ze was higher than he had thought at first. "We have to be reactive now." "I would like to hear from you if there are other messages from him."

Olivia also stood up; she too did not look defeated. "Most of the time, ma'am, I will keep you informed."

At this point, Alex received a call on his phone. He looked at the screen, and now there was a new message from Ethan.

Ethan: I just received some rather unpleasant information. It seems that some people don't want our company to have a clean slate; someone has dug up our company's past. Do you think it's related?

Alex felt a catch in her throat. This was the last thing they could ever have expected. Said he!: He quickly typed a reply.

Alex: Possibly. I'm facing something more or less like that. Let's meet ASAP.

Ethan: On my way.

Alex glanced up at Olivia, and he appeared anxious. "We have another problem: Ethan just told me that someone has been investigating the history of our company; probably this might be related to the threats you received."

Olivia's face paled slightly. "We have to talk about it." That's terribly wrong. It's as if they are out to search for anything negative about the candidate.

"Indeed," replied Alex, thinking very hard-I mean very hard. "This is a very serious issue, and I think we should be able to try and sort it out before it escalates even more."

Then the door to Alex's office swung open, and Ethan entered the room looking rather determined. He glanced around the room to get an overview of the situation. "What's the latest?"

Alex informed Ethan about Olivia's discovery, thus the new formation of events. Ethan was still listening, and the harder he sat and listened, the more stern and concentrated his face looked.

"This is getting complicated," Ethan said, having been lost in thought for a while. "It goes without a doubt that we are dealing with a well-organized and willing-to-act malicious individual."

Alex nodded. "Olivia and you, I want you both to work together with the IT and security departments to find out where the threat is coming from," the director said passionately. "We can't let this hinder our progress on the project and the company's credibility."

Ethan agreed. "I will begin calling and getting in touch with some people to find out what has happened here. We have to act fast."

Olivia turned to look at Alex, and her eyes had determination in them, but there was apprehension too. "I will inform you of anything that may threaten the company further on; we have to be careful."

With the security side gone, Ethan, Alex, and Olivia were left on their own. The tension filled the room; the feelings collectively shared between them were rather stifling.

Olivia was near the door, leaning lightly with both of her hands on the handle. "Alex, there is one more thing with which I wonder if it is connected with what we are investigating at the moment. Having gone through the documents of the previous night, I noticed a memorandum about some leakage in financial records.""

Alex's eyes widened. "A leak? This information could be pathetic if it finds its way to the wrong source.

Olivia nodded. "I'm not rightly certain of the gravity of it yet, but it is something that should be looked into. I didn't want to raise the issue yet due to the recent security issue we have suffered from, but now is probably the right time to bring it up."

Alex felt his head spin with the ideas that were being put on the table. The potential of the leak could just be the start of the problem. "Okay. Let's check it out. We must cover all bases."

Olivia opened the door to leave the room and was ready to move on to the next level of their investigative process. "I will immediately start investigating this; we will figure out who is responsible for this and halt it."

When Olivia walked out, Alex felt like the day was wasted, and he could not do much about it. Evaluating threats to their company, along with the open conflict between him and Olivia, caused a storm of undecided events. He understood that they were at a latitude where the actions they took in the next couple of hours could postpone, shape, or kill their project and possibly their business and friendship.

Alex was quite daunted by what he discerned from the meeting and went back to his workstation, thinking. This danger was very present and direct for their company, but the consequences of it are not only shocking; they are ominous. No matter what was coming next for them, Alex knew that the root of the threats and the leak must be exposed in order to save their company and their futures.

That hovering sense of enormity settled down upon him as he sat looking at the papers on his desk. Never before had so much been at stake, and yet their issues appeared to have no ready solution.