Gambling Debts 13/?
Chapter 13
Of course Erica wanted to help, Derek had never really doubted that. So the next morning Derek picked her up at her place. She could have gotten to the Red just fine on her own, they both knew that, and she just wanted to ride in his car but Derek really wanted to drive said car so he didn't call her out on her flimsy excuses. It was even worth getting up early on a Saturday.
"So." Erica said after a minute in the car. "Stiles Stilinski, owner of the Red Riding Hood, and Derek Hale, minimum wage grinder. You don't even live in the same universe, how did you become his assistant?" He didn't have to look at her to feel the raised eyebrow. "And don't tell me you woke up one morning with the need to hand in an application."
Yesterday he had dodged the question by asking for her help but now he didn't know what to say.
"Peter, my alpha." He finally said. "He made the contact and for some reason Stiles agreed to give me a chance." It was the truth, more or less, and if he was honest, Derek had no clue why Stiles put up with his shit. Only a few days ago Derek had a complete freak-out and Stiles' answer had been a massage and the promise of weekly cuddle dates. Derek didn't really get it but he didn't dare to question it either so he just took what Stiles offered.
Next to him Erica hmmed as if she was sensing that his answer hadn't been entirely honest.
"You'll meet him." Derek tried to stir the conversation in another direction. "Stiles, I mean."
"Looking forward to it." She let him get away with it. "I've never met a casino owner. What is he like?"
At the Red Derek parked the car in its usual spot and then he led Erica to the elevator.
It was still early in the day but this was the weekend and the casino would be buzzing with people in a few hours so by the time they reached the right floor, the elevator was packed. Derek mostly ignored the glances thrown at him and by now he was a common enough sight to be glossed over by most of the staff. However, now Erica was at his side which immediately sparked the interest. Nobody said anything in the vicinity of the elevator but Derek breathed easier when he stepped out of the car.
Derek was kind of glad that Stiles didn't want to feel like he was living in a hotel room with fresh sheets every day in an impersonal room. Stiles wasn't a slob but he liked a lived in feeling in the suit so he let the maids in only once a week. Which was on Mondays so nobody had seen the used bed in the playroom yet. Derek didn't want to know what kind of comments he would get once that was out.
The hallway was less crowded, just the usual people hurrying by, and Derek turned left towards Isaac's office where Stiles and Isaac were waiting for them.
"This area is staff only." Suddenly one of the security guys stood in their way, a forced smile on his face while he looked Erica up and down.
"She's with me." Derek said and tried to shoulder his way past the man. He had a somewhat higher position in security, that much Derek knew about him but he didn't know him well enough to remember his name. Stiles usually avoided this man and Derek got why.
"I think you're overestimating your authority, Mr. Hale." The smile slipped off is face. "I understand why you got the impression but this is not the kind of establishment where you can bring in hookers as you wish."
"Hooker?" Erica cut in.
"I'll escort you outside." He reached for Erica's elbow but she wrenched it out of his grip. If he kept it up, there would be a bloody nose in his near future and Derek wasn't sure if he should intervene or just watch.
"Mr. Stilinski is waiting for us." Derek tried to defuse the situation, usually dropping the big boss' name did the trick.
"He's already growing tired of your service, Mr. Hale?" He asked smugly but then he narrowed his eyes on Erica again. "Anyway, I wasn't informed of any more … guests. I have to ask you to leave, Miss."
"I don't know what you're trying to compensate here, buddy." Erica's voice was hard as steel. "But like Derek said, Mr. Stilinski is waiting for us."
"I'm sure of that." His eyes raked up and down her body and Derek really didn't want to know what he was thinking.
Derek used the chance to phone Stiles.
"We're in the building." He said when Stiles picked up. "But one of your goons is trying to kick Erica out."
It took the man a second to realize who Derek was speaking with and when a moment later Derek tried to hand him his phone he just stared at it.
"Mr. Stilinski wants to talk to you." Derek said just because. Knowing that he didn't have any other choice the man finally took the phone.
"Mr. Stilinski?" All the smugness was gone from his voice. "Harris speaking."
There were a few yes-sirs and no-sirs and of-course-sirs and when Harris handed the phone back to Derek he didn't look him in the eye.
"Apparently that's how Mr. Stilinski wants to run this casino now." He said with a disgusted look at both of them before he hurried off.
"Is there a reason why he thinks that I'm a hooker?" Erica asked once they were alone.
"No." Derek ushered her farther down the hallway. She gave him a skeptical look but didn't push the issue.
At Isaac's office, Derek knocked but didn't wait for a response before he opened the door.
Isaac was sitting behind his desk, looking professional, while Stiles was in one of the armchairs in front of his desk. He didn't look professional at all. He had loosened his red tie and his jacket was lying on the other chair while he was lounging in his chair, playing on his phone.
He did sit up straighter when they entered the room, though.
"Harris gave you a hard time?" He asked and didn't bother to hide his grin. Derek just glared at him.
"Miss Reyes?" Isaac intervened before Stiles could ask what exactly Harris had been harassing them about for which Derek was grateful. There were things Erica didn't need to know.
"I'm Isaac Lahey." Isaac introduced himself. "Head of security, I assure you, you won't be bothered like that again."
"Good." She accepted his hand for a firm shake. "I don't like being called a hooker." She gave him a feral smile, one that would suit a werewolf, if Derek was honest. But Erica was terrifying enough as a human, no need to enhance that.
"Of course not, Miss Reyes." Stiles assured her. "I'm Stiles. Derek told me a lot about you."
"I doubt that." Erica called him out on his lie but with a knowing wink at Derek. "I still wonder why Derek willingly chose a job where he has to actually talk to people."
Now Derek directed his glare at her and tried to ignore the snorts coming from Stiles and Isaac.
"But I get that you have a problem with your system?" Erica glossed over the moment and Derek wanted to hug her for that.
Five minutes later Derek and Erica had conquered Isaac's seat and computer with Derek's and Erica's laptops taking over the rest of the desk. It took almost an hour to set everything up and for Erica to get familiar with the system and what Derek had uncovered so far. Isaac assisted as much as he could but most of the time he just tried to not stand in the way.
Stiles didn't even try to help, he went straight back to his phone. Derek had the suspicion that he was watching Erica and he wondered what his boss thought of her.
At some point mugs of coffee showed up on the desk, probably provided by Stiles but Derek was too busy to actually register his mug before it had cooled down. When he did look up, Stiles was gone. He had other things to do than to watch them work, especially on the weekend. If that meant that Erica had passed some kind of trust test, he wasn't sure, though.
What Erica was doing once she got a feeling for the system was beyond Derek but that was kind of the point of having Erica here.
"I think whoever placed this thing has abandoned it." She finally said.
Isaac had taken over Stiles place in front of the desk and was busy with his phone but now he perked up with interest.
"What makes you think that?" He came around the desk to have a look at the screens.
"Well." She drew out the word. "I can't tell you who placed it there but it was an intern job a little over two years ago. As far as I can tell, it hasn't been touched since."
At intern job Derek was thinking of Andrew. Had it been him or was there somebody else they needed to look out for?
"Whoever installed this." Erica continued. "He left a backdoor open to have access from the outside. I tried to backtrack it but I hit a dead end and it has been dead for a while now. As far as I can tell, the program is sending data but it's going nowhere."
"What kind of data?" Isaac asked.
Derek on the other hand was more concerned about why somebody would go through the trouble of installing this thing from the inside just to abandon it. They hadn't even known about it a week ago but if Erica was right, and he didn't doubt her, the connection had been cut before that.
"It's encrypted." Erica shrugged "I need more time to decipher it. We're not dealing with an amateur here."
"Can you delete it?" Isaac asked. Derek hadn't dared to touch it but Erica knew more about this.
"And close the back door." Derek added.
"Oh, boys. I can do so much more than that." Erica cooed at them. "There is no such thing as one-hundred percent but I can make it really hard for Mr. X to get back into your system."
Isaac had to get back to Stiles to authorize something like this but Derek wasn't surprised when Stiles just asked how long she would need and if she accepted cash. He probably didn't want this to appear in the books. His only condition was that Derek had to supervise her.
Done for today Erica started to pack her things, idly chatting with Isaac. Derek kept his head low to hide his smile over how well they hit it off.
When there was a knock at the door, Derek expected Stiles to be back but it was Boyd who entered the room.
"Miss Reyes?" He asked and held his hand out for a shake. "Vernon Boyd, Stiles informed me that you're going to do some off the book freelancing for us."
That was one way to put it.
"There are a few things you have to sign, please." He gave her a smile which she returned with a hint of something that spoke directly to Derek's werewolf part. It recognized a fellow predator.
Boyd's stoic expression wavered for a second but then he was back to his professional self.
"First of all you have to sign a non-disclosure agreement" Boyd gave her the same speech he had given Derek not long ago. Erica nodded and then signed the form. Her fingers lingered on Boyd's longer than necessary to hand the pen back and Boyd hurried to lower his eyes.
"Officially you'll be a visitor, this is your pass." He handed a card over. "You still need Derek or Isaac to get anywhere important but with this you'll be able to get in the building and nobody should bother you any more."
"Thank you." She clipped the pass to her top and Boyd had no choice but to notice her cleavage now. Derek had to turn away and cover his mouth but when he met Isaac's gaze, they shared a knowing smile. Isaac didn't know Erica but it was obvious what was going on here.
"Anything else I can help you with?" Boyd gathered his papers, almost desperately not looking at her.
"Yes, your phone number."
Chapter 14
Masterpost