Jessica walked confidently into Theodore Johnson's office. She approached the safe hidden in the closet, entered the code - it hadn't changed. Click. The door opened. Among documents and folders was a .22 caliber pistol. Jessica didn't hesitate. She grabbed it quickly and left the office, closing the door carefully. She stashed the gun in her desk drawer. Now she just had to wait.
At 12:30 PM, Theodore Johnson was deep in conversation with Hugo Kaiman and his lawyer, discussing the final details of their deal. They were so absorbed that none of them noticed Jessica walk in.
"I'm going to lunch a bit early," she said.
"Go wherever, just shut the door," Theodore responded irritably without looking up.
She said nothing and did as told. Through the staff corridor, she headed to Nick Burien's office.
It was locked. "He's probably in the monitoring room," she thought. That's what she called the tech room filled with screens showing live camera feeds. Jessica entered. Nick was lounging in a chair, legs stretched out, half-turned, eyes on the monitors. Surprisingly, no one else was there.
"Hey Nick, where is everyone?"
"Hey gorgeous. They're all at lunch. I'm holding the fort. Boss has guests today? They've been in there a while."
"Yeah, important talks." Jessica stepped closer.
"Theo seems annoyed. Would be good to know what they're discussing."
"We'll know soon, Nick. All of it," she replied smugly.
"I've been meaning to ask—found a buyer for the info yet?"
"Not yet. Don't worry, I've got some ideas."
"Of course, I won't worry when I've got a smart one like you." Nick wrapped his arms around Jessica's waist and rested his head on her stomach. She twirled his hair absentmindedly. Nick whispered about his love for her, how much he needed her. Jessica wasn't listening—her eyes were locked on Theo's office feed. When she saw Hugo and his lawyer leave, she stopped playing with Nick's hair.
"I've got to go. See you tonight," she said without looking at him.
"Not even a kiss?" he teased.
But Jessica was already gone, racing back to her desk. Now or never, she thought. The phone rang. "Theodore Jones" flashed on the screen.
"Bring me mint tea," he barked, then hung up.
Jessica smiled—cold, calculating. She took the pistol from her drawer, hid it under her blazer, and zipped up. Then she made his tea in the kitchenette.
With the cup in hand, she slowly walked toward his office. As she reached for the doorknob, a male voice shouted:
"Stop!" Jessica flinched and turned around. Hugo was standing there with two men.
"We need to go in—urgent," he said quickly.
Jessica froze. She just nodded.
"Why are you standing there like a statue? Move!" Hugo barked.
Rex stepped in: "Miss, please let us through."
Jessica barely moved, her feet like lead. She sat at her desk, hands trembling. She returned the pistol to the drawer. "Calm down, calm down," she kept repeating.
The phone rang again.
"Jessica, if Theo signed the financials, I'll collect them."
"Yes, yes, everything's ready. I'll bring them over right now, Alex." She grabbed the folder and headed to the eighth floor—the finance department.
When Jessica left, Nick started thinking. He suspected Jessica was using him. "I need to beat her to the punch. If she gets the wiretap recordings and sells them first, I'll get nothing. I should sell them to Theo myself—maybe even get promoted."
Seeing Jessica was gone from her desk, he hurried to Theo's office.
In the lobby, he unexpectedly ran into Claire Jones—dressed in a sharp black suit and sunglasses.
"Mrs. Jones, how are you?"
"Don't you have anything better to do?" she snapped.
"Actually, heading to see Mr. Jones."
"Don't bother him. He's busy," Claire ordered.
"I'll come back later." Nick turned and walked off.
Claire waited until he left, then used Theo's private elevator.
Back in the monitoring room, Nick was still on edge. "That woman's a nightmare… Fine, I'll talk to Theo later. But what the hell was 'Bomba Mama' doing in his office?" He rewound the security footage.
"Damn it. Gotta hurry." He raced down to the parking lot.
Claire was driving out. Nick barely made it, cutting her off.
She honked. He didn't move. She rolled down her tinted window and snarled:
"Psycho, get out of the way!"
"I saw everything. You killed him."
Claire didn't flinch. "I'm a shooting champ," she said with a mad laugh. "I taught Theo how to pick a gun. He always listened to me. Now you do the same. Handle it - and you'll get everything."
"You've thought of everything. It's dangerous not to listen to you."
Only Nick, Theo, and recently Jessica knew about the hidden camera in Theo's office.
Nick, still breathing heavily, returned to the surveillance room and checked the cameras to see where Jessica was. She wasn't at her desk. She was on the eighth floor in the finance department, flirting with Alex. Nick quickly turned off the camera feed from Theo's office. He looked at his watch—the guys would be back from lunch in ten minutes. He had to act fast.
Twenty minutes later, Jessica returned to her desk. The office was quiet. She dialed Theo's number to see if he needed anything. No answer. "He couldn't have left so early... maybe he's just not picking up. I better check on him."
She entered Theo's office and looked at him. He was sitting in his chair as usual, his head slightly tilted back, his eyes motionless. Jessica took a step toward his desk. She froze. Her loud scream echoed throughout the building. In panic, employees rushed to the scene, shocked into silence. Then someone finally snapped out of it and said, "I'll call the police."
But it was already too late. Theodore Jones was dead.
Jessica stood in the doorway, motionless, still not fully understanding what had happened. When she came to, she looked around—some colleagues were crying, some drinking water, others speaking on the phone. That image of Theo flashed again in her mind—he sat still, his face calm, eyes open, blood trickling down his forehead, a gun in his hand.
"The gun!" She rushed to her desk, opened the drawer—it was gone. A cold chill ran through her. She turned pale. Someone in the office said, "The police will be here soon."
Those words brought her back to reality. "Colleagues, please step into the lobby. The police are on their way," she said in an iron voice. Everyone left the office.
"What do I do? What do I do?" the same phrase kept spinning in Jessica's mind.
She went back into Theo's office, covered her mouth to stop herself from screaming. Tears welled up in her eyes from fear. She looked at Theo's desk. The wiretap—she remembered. Gathering all her willpower, she approached the desk. Nick had installed the bug under it.
She crawled underneath, accidentally touched Theo's leg, nearly screamed, tears streamed down her face. She yanked the device out with such force that the desk shook.
Jessica barely made it—the sound of police sirens was already approaching. She left the office, on autopilot stuffed the wiretap into her bag. The zipper stuck. Jessica fumbled with it, but it wouldn't move. Tears flowed uncontrollably. Finally, it budged. She zipped the bag shut and hung it on her chair.
"Police! Everyone stay where you are!"