Game Player

20 - Cal

"I don't think I need to stress to you how important it is to get this issue resolved. As we all know, if you're successful here over the next twelve months then you will be a serious contender as my predecessor when I retire. I will also be able to comfortably make my recommendations to the board." Pieter gave him a stern look. "We really can't afford to lose any more IP and if Geoff says that the pattern of leakage has changed and become more concerning, then I want as much manpower as we can get on it." He took a long sip of his wine and signaled to the waiter to take their order.

"We're already doing everything we can and have all the best people working on it," Cal assured him. "I appreciate that this must be a top priority - and it is - and has implications for the company." And his entire career. He was so fucking screwed if they didn't sort this out. He could kiss his career at xByte goodbye and probably any senior management roles, in any reputable organisation, if he wasn't at least seen as being proactive in resolving the issue.

"I can reiterate everything that Cal says. We believe that the information is being leaked by physical means. We can't seem to trace anything suspicious digitally," Geoff added. "There's the London office as well as the Reading and Prague offices that we have to scan through. It's just taking us a bit more time than we'd like. It's not clear when the pattern changed but, coincidentally, it was around the time we started on the Serkos engagement."

"I would like to review all the contracts and the clauses around IP and how this is handled between the various parties. There should be nothing of ours going to EoN or Datamix without our prior approval and only if it's necessary. We should have bulletproof clauses in the contracts to ensure that the flow of information is very controlled and monitored." Odette said with authority. "I was hoping to have a chat with Cal separately straight after lunch," she rubbed her leg against his suggestively under the table and looked directly at him.

Cal shifted his leg and reminded himself to sock one to Geoff later for purposely manoeuvring the seating arrangement so that he ended up sitting next to Odette. Cal knew Geoff had done that purposely to laugh at his expense, as he'd specifically said he didn't want to be seated next to her at lunch. Odette had been making little suggestive play at him since she arrived and he was weary of her. She had a reputation for her penchant for younger men, super-sized chest, and her genius as legal council. She was a looker no doubt, and she definitely played her role of a sexy cougar well but she was slightly too rough around the edges for Cal. She'd taken a fancy to him when she first joined the executive team just before he left San Francisco, and made sure he was aware of that fact every time she interacted with him.

"We also can't discount the fact that this could just be malicious intent rather than monetarily motivated. We're investigating any dismissals or terminations in the last few years. Don't forget that we had a large employee turnover and unhappy individuals before and during the previous restructure a couple of years ago." Cal added while again having to shift his thigh away from Odette's wandering hands.

Geoff noticed Odette's hands reaching over to Cal under the table and grinned evilly then looked at Odette. "I think it's a good idea if you can spend a bit of time with Cal before you head back to San Fran Odette. We need to ensure that we don't have any small loopholes somewhere and somehow information is passing hands and shared accidentally as well. People may be sharing information, believing it's in the context of the project, but it's exposing our technical details to a degree that makes us uncomfortable."

Cal narrowed his eyes at Geoff's subtle smirk and was tempted to kick him in the balls under the table.

"That's settled then, you two carry on here as we fly out tomorrow afternoon. We'll get Odette and some of the other legal eagles to go over the contracts again over the next couple of weeks." Pieter finished up his meal and said with finality.