Read Indispensable Party (Sasha McCandless Legal Thriller No. 4) for Free Online

don’t think this is a
conversation that your girlfriend should sit in on. Do you want me to set her
up in one of the lounges with a magazine or something?”
    Connelly laughed. “It’s okay.
Sasha’s going to represent the company on this issue if it ends up in court.
She can stay.”
    Grace’s eyebrows shot up her
forehead. “Really? Tate approved that?”
    “It was his idea, actually,”
Connelly said, giving her a confused look.
    Grace was silent for a moment.
Sasha could see her calculating what this news might mean.
    Finally, the other woman said, “Oh,
great. In that case, let’s get started. Welcome to the team, Sasha.”
    Sasha smiled and hoped it looked
more sincere than it felt. “Thanks.”
    It suddenly seemed perfectly
appropriate for Grace to be a coffee-fetcher.
    She turned to Connelly, “Before
we start, I think I would like that coffee, after all.”
    Connelly shut his almond eyes for
an instant, then exhaled slowly, and said, “I could probably use a cup, too. I’ll
get it. Grace, can I bring you anything?”
    “No, thanks,” the other woman
said in a bright voice, “I’m all set. I did just make some, though. I thought
you might need something to pick you up after your drive. The fresh stuff is in
the kitchenette near the library.”
    “Thanks,” Connelly said. He shot
Sasha an unreadable look before he left his office.
    Sasha and Grace sat in silence.
Sasha on the leather couch; Grace draped across a chair, her legs crossed, the
top leg swinging back and forth.
    They looked at each other.
    “So,” Grace said, “what do you
think of the building?”
    “It’s impressive,” Sasha said. “I
haven’t seen much of it, but I was surprised by how spread out it is.”
    Grace nodded. “We have more than
one hundred employees working on-site, as well as a gym, a child care center,
and a cafeteria. But, the majority of our employees are stationed at our
various research and development centers, located throughout the world.” She
spoke with the soothing, practiced tone of a tour guide.
    “How many R & D centers are
there?” Sasha asked.
    Grace ticked them off on her
fingers. “Four state side, and three foreign centers in England, France, and
Switzerland. We also have manufacturing plants in Asia and South America.” 
    “Can you give me an overview of
how security is handled at each facility?” Sasha asked.
    “That’s a complicated question. I’m
not sure where to start,” Grace said.
    “Okay, for instance, I noticed
Connelly’s ID card is keyed to his office door. That seems like a piece of a
pretty sophisticated, multi-layered system. I just wondered how it fit into the
bigger picture.”
     “Well, as you recognized, it is
a multi-layered system; and security is tailored to the needs and weaknesses of
each part of the corporation. Here at headquarters each employee has an ID card
that provides access to the building, the common areas, and the employee’s
department. Accounting personnel cannot access human resources; HR can’t access
security; and so on. But, with the exception of Leo’s office, the individual
offices within a department are not secured.”
    “Why is his?” Sasha asked. She
spotted a fresh legal pad on Connelly’s desk and grabbed it to jot down some
notes.
    “The decision predates us. The
system was in place when he was hired. Apparently, the Board of Directors
thought it was important that the Chief Security Officer’s office be unbreachable.”
Grace leaned in and said in a conspiratorial tone, “He thinks it’s overkill.”
    Sasha was sure he did. Connelly
despised security theater—dramatic displays intended to create the impression
of security without actually improving safety or security.
    “What about the research centers
and the manufacturing plants?”
    “It depends. The R & D
buildings are locked down pretty tightly; that’s where the patented information
resides, after all. The manufacturing plants probably should be, to
prevent