Naked Sushi Read Online Free PDF

back.
    I sat down at her computer and, after a few clicks, I was in.
    Yes.
    I drew in my breath, nervous and excited as files popped up on the screen. It didn’t take me long to find what I was looking for: a list of former employees. I knew that Ms. Sims used an off-site human resources company to answer job inquiries about their ex-staff. She must have given them the off-putting information about my termination. All I had to do was change that info in my file.
    I scrolled through the names, looking for my moniker. Once I found it, I’d change the reason for my dismissal to “termination without cause.” Then I’d add that I was part of a company layoff.
    Next, I’d write a letter on the video company letterhead documenting that my efforts were of value to the company, but “because of the weak economy and a slowdown in the technology field,” they’d had no choice but to terminate my employment.
    With luck, no one would notice the change in my file, and I could email it to the various job banks to clear my record.
    It didn’t work out like I planned.
    My file was gone. Disappeared. Like I never existed.
    I stared at the computer screen as if I were reading another language, one beyond my comprehension. I felt dumb, foolish. I traced my steps again, tried another file, opened it. Nothing. Another file, still nothing.
    I sat back, thinking. How did Mr. Briggs intend to explain my disappearance to the IRS? It occurred to me that might not be a bad thing. Still, I kept searching through the files, scrolling up and down, doing a name search.
    I came up with zip.
    What happened?
    Where was my file?
    I didn’t even blink, as if by sheer mental force I could will the pixels to form my name. Zilch. I rubbed my eyes. Nothing changed. Finally, I had to admit no computer trick or maneuver was going to bring back my file. I couldn’t fix what wasn’t there.
    That left me no choice. I had to see Mr. Briggs in person and demand an explanation.
    That presented a new problem. How was I going to get close enough to confront him? No doubt Ms. Sims would have security haul my ass out before I could talk to him. I would have to corner him somewhere off the premises, but where?
    I had bounced forward, my feet flat on the floor, opening various files while looking for his calendar, when something strange on the screen caught my eye.
    What was this?
    Mr. Briggs was doing business with companies I didn’t recognize. Offshore companies, by the locales of their bank transactions. Weird. I shrugged it off, since outsourcing work in this business was common.
    I closed the file and kept looking until I located his calendar. Scrolling through it, I could see he was out of town for the remainder of the week. Then he had meetings across the Bay at snooty banks with security so tight even I couldn’t hack into their system. Later, a haircut at an exclusive salon. I could go all scissor hands and scare the hell out of him until he gave me my job back. Not a good career move.
    Wait. Next Thursday he had a luncheon appointment at a place called The Mermaid’s Tale.
    A sushi restaurant.
    Cool.
    I knew just the person who could help me snag a gig there.
    Cindy Ball.
    Former prom queen. Do-gooder. And all-round girl-gone-wild.
    Better yet, she owed me one.

Chapter Three
    “I can’t do it, Pepper,” Cindy said, glossing her lips so red she looked like a fire hydrant eager for a hot firefighter to push her buttons. “I could get fired.”
    “You’ve got to help me, Cindy,” I pleaded, “my life depends on it.”
    “That’s what you said when Mr. Ambrose found out you were doing my French homework and he threatened to fail us both.” She kept glancing down at her phone. She was waiting for a text from her agent about an important audition.
    “He didn’t, did he?”
    “No, because you discovered he was sleeping with the girls’ tennis coach.” She raised a finely drawn brow. “You always were a snoop, Pepper.”
    Thanks,