“Helping you is exactly what I’m doing—by not deferring to you or allowing you to tell me how to do my job. I can’t allow you to have any influence over me and direct me, that’s the point. I know what I’m doing, and there’s a lot you don’t understand yet. You need to know exactly what we’re doing and why and how, because if this becomes the big deal I’m sure it will, you’re going to be asked and attacked. It won’t be me in front of the judge and jury explaining the forensic computer part of this investigation, and you probably won’t be able to call me in as an expert witness for at least one obvious reason.”

“We have to talk about that,” Berger said bluntly.

“The relationship issue,” Lucy said.

“You would be discredited.” Berger seized the opportunity to voice her misgivings and maybe put a stop to things.

Or maybe that’s what Lucy was about to suggest. Maybe Lucy was about to quit and put a stop to things.

“Frankly, I’m not sure what to do,” Berger added. “If you could be objective about it, I’d ask you for a suggestion. You started something not knowing it personally involved you. Now what? You probably don’t want to continue with this, either. I suspect you’re realizing it’s a bad idea and we should shake hands and walk away, and I’ll find another company.”

“Now that we know my aunt’s involved? Are you kidding? The worst idea of all would be to quit and walk away,” Lucy said. “I’m not quitting. You probably want to fire me. I warned you that you would. I also told you there is no other company. We’ve been through that.”

“You could let someone else finish running your program.”

“My proprietary software? Do you have any idea what it’s worth? That’s like letting someone else fly my helicopter with me sitting in the back or letting somebody else sleep with my lover.”

“Does your lover live with you? Do you live in this loft?” Berger had noticed stairs leading to a second level. “It’s risky working where you live. I’m assuming this person doesn’t have access to highly classified—”

“Jet Ranger doesn’t have a password to get into anything, don’t worry,” Lucy said. “What I’m saying, literally, is nobody’s touching my software. It’s mine. And I wrote the code. Nobody’s going to figure it out, and that’s deliberate on my part.”

“We have a major conflict neither you nor I anticipated,” Berger said.

“If you want to make it one. I don’t want to quit, and I won’t.”

Berger scanned data rolling by at a dizzying rate. She looked at Lucy and didn’t want her to quit.