After making copies of the files I opened a remote session to my home computer and piped up an extra copy for myself. I then reformatted the camera's SD card and searched its native drive for any image or movie files. Once I was sure nothing was on the camera I set it on my desk and locked away Daniel's flash drive. Then I started work on my daily task list. Each task took me to a different part of the building. First, to the billing department where Shirley had a broken printer. The new one needed updated drivers so I had to wait through a list of required updates. Then there was the IT office where the new phones for the sales staff were stacked on a bench. Each one had to be configured with our email server and SMS engine. Then it was off to the conference room to fix the projector. After an hour of moving around the ceiling tiles I found the problem. The Ethernet cable was frayed. The insulation was broken and the wires were cut. So, I ran new cable and called the cleaning company so they could lay mouse traps. My first break was at twelve forty five. Damn, it was nearly one o'clock and the only break I had taken was to go to the bathroom. So, I went to my office and sat heavily on my chair. When I put my feet up on the desk I noticed the camera. I was amazed that it was still there. My office was unlocked. I had suspected Daniel would have come in and taken it already, so I grabbed the camera and took the flash drive out of my locked drawer and headed over to Daniels' office.
I opened the door after a couple of knocks and found Daniel behind his desk holding his head in his hands. He looked up with such pain in his eyes I briefly considered turning off the lights. "Oh man are you not feeling good?" I asked.
"I just got off the phone with John." Daniel said as if that was the answer to my question.
"Oh shit, did a shipment go out to the wrong place?" I asked as I tried to find a seat on his grimy desk. Because of a still wet coffee stain I could only sit on the edge.
Still cradling his head in one hand Daniel continued with, "You know that he's been behind all of this stuff with Tiffany. I mean, he's the one that is making sure her pay got bumped up and that she had the time for our extracurricular activities. He also made the promise that she could keep her job if she kept her numbers up. He's been behind all of that shit."
"Ok, I get it, but what the hell. Why bring up that shit now? What is he pissed or something? You're doing what he wants. What the fuck?" I said. I was letting myself get upset. I hadn't thought everything through; if I had, I might have kept my cool.
Slowly Daniel confessed "Everything was fine till I told him about Jordan" Daniel was talking through his hands. I found a chair against the wall and took the stack of manuals off of it. After setting the pile on the gray and white checkered tile floor, I scooted the chair next to Daniel's old, steel-tank of a desk. Daniel dropped his hands into his lap so when I finally sat down and faced him; he didn't look alarmed instead he looked thoroughly annoyed.
"Fuck man can you make any more noise?" Daniel said with a dimpled side grin.
"Noise isn't our problem. Brent, or Jordan or whatever this guy's name is, he's our problem. What kind of guy is he? Fuck, does he know she's really not on the pill?" I replied with a hard emphasis on the word 'really'. When I had his full attention I smiled and added, "Your other problem is your desk, don't you ever let the cleaning crew in here?"
Through the humor, the dire ramifications were beginning to dawn on me. The possibilities must have been the reason for his headache. "I never said anything about birth control and Jordan never asked. How do you think Tiffany will react? Do you think Tiffany will go to a clinic?" Daniel asked with such precision that it was obvious he'd been stewing over it all morning.
Shaking my head I said, "Man I don't know. I watched the video. I saw the part where she said that sex with a black man turned her on. Besides that, you two have been like ham and cheese. She won't need a clinic, these days you can get an over the counter pill for this sort of thing. Is she Catholic?"
Not looking at me or anything in particular Daniel replied, "Damn, I fuck her, I don't pray with her."
"Just wondering, but like I said, I saw her talking about being with a black man. She looked like she meant it. Course she could have been acting, that would be the most logical thing for her to do." I said. I had just been thinking out loud, but Daniel answered me all the same.
"No, she wasn't acting." Daniel said. He answered me with the same emotion as if replying about her eye color. I bobbed my head in agreeance.
"Ok so what do we do?" I asked.
"John's worried that this whole thing will unravel if there is a child involved. You know she might get spiteful when she's let go and then go after me or the company." Daniel said with a long exhale. He looked like he was starting to relax. He was no longer holding his head in his hands and his eyes weren't so bloodshot.
I looked him in the eye and gave him my thoughts. "The real issue is Jordan. But, he won't be much of an issue if he keeps his mouth shut. Hopefully, he'll just keep it to himself. A few years from now the whole thing will just be a twinkle in his eye. It'll be something for his girlfriend to puzzle over. Have you talked to him?"
"Yes, He's nothing to worry about. I know he won't say anything." Daniel replied.
"How do you know that? Maybe one day he'll want to brag to someone?" I said.
"He's married and he's got two kids." Daniel said dismissively.
"Still..." I started to say but Daniel cut me off.