Wreck Me (Savage Bosses)

Chapter Fourteen

Tahani

Oh, Zeenith

The next morning, I step into the office with a sinking feeling in my stomach, my mind still buzzing with thoughts of Mason and Grace. I try to shake it off, but there’s a persistent itch in the back of my mind that tells me things are only going to get worse. I know I have to keep my cool, but the pressure is already threatening to crush me.

Sitting down at my desk, I pull up Zeenith's master file, determined to fix the new glitches I’d discovered yesterday. But the moment the code loads on the screen, my heart stops.

More errors. Bigger ones this time.

“What the hell?” I mutter, my fingers flying over the keyboard as I try to debug the new problems. It’s not just a few lines of altered code this time. It’s entire blocks, and they’re wreaking havoc on the system. This is deliberate.

The pressure in my chest mounts as I attempt to track down the source of the errors, but it’s like playing whack-a-mole. Every time I fix one problem, another pops up, and the whole system starts to slow down, making it nearly impossible to work.

“This wasn’t here yesterday!” I groan, slamming my hand against the desk.

I lean back, staring at the screen. It’s like someone’s dismantling my work right in front of me, piece by piece. The realization hits me like a ton of bricks. This isn’t just sabotage. Someone is actively trying to destroy Zeenith to the point that it will never be usable. They are undoing years of work in the blink of an eye.

As I sit there, fuming and panicking, Contessa walks into my office. She’s dressed sharply, her return to work clearly making a statement, but the moment she sees the look on my face, her brows knit together in concern.

“Hey, what’s going on?” she asks, closing the door behind her.

“I think Mason’s doing more than just talking shit,” I admit, my voice barely above a whisper. “Zeenith’s got even more glitches today, and they aren’t minor. Someone’s been tampering with the code.”

Contessa’s eyes widen. “Are you serious? Have you told Archer?”

I shake my head. “Not yet. I just found the new glitches. Besides, he already wants to go nuclear on Mason and Grace, and I told him to hold off. I need to figure this out first.”

Contessa steps closer, crossing her arms. “You can’t just let this slide, Tahani. If Mason’s behind this, you need to get ahead of it before things spiral even further. Everyone knows Zeenith is your baby, so call me Auntie Contessa. No body messes with our baby.”

“I know,” I sigh, running my hand through my hair. “But I don’t have proof of who’s causing the problem yet.”

Contessa’s gaze sharpens. “Well, then let’s get some proof. You know Mason’s been in the office late, right? Have IT check the system logs. They can see who’s been accessing Zeenith after hours.”

I nod, a flicker of determination reigniting inside me. “I was going to let Archer handle it, but you’re right. I can’t just sit back. I’ll contact IT myself and request the logs. If Mason’s been tampering with the code, we’ll have the evidence.”

Contessa grins. “Now that’s the Tahani I know. Don’t let them mess with what’s yours.”

Within minutes, Contessa and I are in IT, speaking to one of the techs about pulling the system logs for the last few days. It doesn’t take long before the tech’s eyes widen slightly, and she turns the screen toward us.

“Here,” she says, pointing at the screen. “Mason’s been accessing Zeenith after hours every night this week. And… wait, there’s more.”

My stomach churns as I lean in closer. “More?”

She nods, biting her lip. “He’s not the only one. There’s another login. Someone higher up. But I can’t see who. Whoever it is, they’ve been using admin privileges to mask their activity.”

Contessa and I exchange a look, the pieces of the puzzle starting to fall into place. This isn’t just Mason acting on his own. Someone else is orchestrating this, someone with far more power and influence than Mason could ever have.

“Thank you so much for your help,” I say, turning to the IT woman. “I can’t tell you how much we appreciate it.”

She offers a small smile, though her concern is evident. “I’m just doing my job, but if you need anything else, don’t hesitate to reach out. I hope you get to the bottom of this.”

“We will,” Contessa adds with a determined nod. “Thanks again.”

As we leave the IT office, I can feel the stress of what’s happening pressing down on me. Once we’re in the confines of my office, dread sinks into my bones. “Do you think Grace is involved?” I ask Contessa, still partially unwilling to draw the full conclusion.

Contessa frowns, her expression serious. “I don’t know, but it makes sense, doesn’t it? She’s been breathing down your neck about Archer, about Zeenith... If she wanted to take you down, sabotaging your project would be the perfect way to do it. She could be working with Mason, pulling the strings behind the scenes.”

Before I can respond, my computer screen suddenly goes black, cutting off my access to Zeenith entirely. My heart skips a beat, panic surging through me as I stare at the blank monitor.

“Contessa…” My voice wavers.

“Not good. Not good at all,” Contessa mutters, rushing to my side as I frantically click the keyboard and move the mouse, but nothing happens.

I take a deep breath, forcing myself to stay calm. “We need to get to IT. Now.”

We quickly head back down to the IT department. The woman we’d spoken to earlier is still there, her eyes narrowing in concern as we approach.

“I lost access to Zeenith,” I blurt out, my voice tight with urgency. “The whole system just went black.”

She glances at her screen, typing quickly. “Give me a second… Let’s see what’s going on.”

Contessa leans in closer, watching the IT woman work, while I pace behind them, my mind racing. I know I have a backup of Zeenith stored safely in my personal cloud, but that doesn’t ease the urgency of the situation. Someone is actively trying to revoke my access, and that’s serious. I can’t afford to ignore this; my work, my reputation, and everything I’ve invested in this project are on the line. The sabotage we’re finally starting to unravel goes beyond the code. It’s about control, and whoever is behind this wants me out of the picture entirely.

After what feels like an eternity, the IT woman looks up and informs me what I already knew. Her expression is grim when she says, “Looks like someone revoked your access to the project entirely.”

“Who could have done that?” I demand, my voice trembling with a mix of fear and anger.

“Someone with admin privileges. Some of the higher up admins do not have names attached.”

Contessa and I exchange glances. It’s worse than I thought.

“Grace,” I murmur, the realization sinking in. “She’s behind this.”

The IT woman nods slowly. “It’s very likely. She has the authority to lock you out of Zeenith, and the logs show her access right before your screen went black.”

I swallow hard, trying to hold back the panic rising inside me. “Thank you for the information,” I manage to say, though my mind is already spinning, trying to process the full weight of what’s happening.

Contessa and I head back to my office, our footsteps heavy with the weight of this revelation. “This isn’t just sabotage,” I mutter as we walk. “This is a full-on attack.”

“Who knows what they’ve done to Zeenith in the time you’ve been locked out,” Contessa adds darkly.

As soon as we step into my office, I head to my desk to try restarting my computer. Just as I sit down, though, the screen remains black, lifeless. My heart pounds in my chest.

“What now?” I ask, panic edging into my voice.

Contessa places a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “You have to go to Archer.”

I nod, knowing she’s right. Grace and Mason may have sabotaged my work stored on the company server, but they won’t win. Not if we can expose them.

I storm into Archer’s office as he’s finishing a call. His eyes snap to mine the second I step in, his expression immediately shifting from calm focus to sharp concern.

“Tahani, what’s wrong?” he asks, rising from his desk, his gaze scanning me as if he already knows something big is happening.

I close the door behind me and take a deep breath. “I went to IT, and I know Mason’s involved with the destruction of Zeenith, but he’s not acting alone. Someone with admin privileges is helping him. IT says Grace logged into Zeenith minutes before my access was revoked. I’ve been locked out of the project entirely.”

Archer’s face darkens, his hands clenching into fists. “What the hell? I put Regina on this and she’s watching this closely. Why didn’t she alert me about this?”

“She probably didn’t think it was serious compared to everything you’re working on,” I say, my voice tight. “I’ve always had control of Zeenith, and from her perspective, this could have just looked like a minor access issue. But locking me out? This is different. It’s sabotage.”

His body shifts as if ready for action. “Zeenith is now priority number one. No more delays. I’ll make sure whoever is responsible answers for it.”

My relief is short-lived because I know this is about to escalate, but I press forward. “There’s more. I… I have a backup of Zeenith on my personal Dropbox account.” I pause, watching his reaction.

His brows furrow, and I can see the surprise in his eyes. “Dropbox? That’s against company policy, Tahani.”

“I know,” I admit, shifting slightly. “But I had a feeling something like this might happen. I needed a safety net just in case someone tampered with it on the company’s server. I kept a clean copy, just in case.”

Archer steps forward, his anger softening slightly. “You shouldn’t have done that, but…” He sighs, running a hand through his hair. “I get why you did. And in this case, it might just save us. Let’s use that backup to compare the code, pinpoint the changes, and catch whoever is doing this.”

I nod, relieved that he’s not as upset as I expected. “I’ll send you the link to the backup. It’s untouched, exactly as it was when I last worked on it before the sabotage.”

His expression hardens again. “I’m going to have IT go through every log, every trace of activity on the project since the glitches began. They’re going to find out who’s behind this, and by the end of the day, I’ll have their names on my desk.”

“Archer,” I start, my voice soft but firm. “We have to be careful to make sure we get everyone involved.”

He meets my gaze, his expression firm. “I know. But understand this—your handling of this is over. I’m not letting them get away with this. I will find out who’s behind it, and they’ll be held accountable.”

My breath catches at the intensity of his words. Archer isn’t just protecting the project; he’s protecting me.

As he starts making calls, I realize just how much this has shifted. Zeenith, my life's work, is being targeted. But with Archer by my side, I know he won’t let anyone destroy it or us.

Before I leave, Archer turns to me. “Send me that backup now. We’ll compare the two versions immediately.”

I nod, already pulling out my phone to send the Dropbox link. As the email sends, I feel a mixture of relief and tension swirling inside me. This is far from over. But with the untouched code and Archer’s determination, we’re one step closer to getting to the bottom of this.