The Love Hack

Chapter 18

"It was worth a shot, I guess," Jason said after placing his hands in his face.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Lexi asked from across the dining table.

He sat up straighter in his chair, set his hands down, and shook his head. "We're getting some pressure from Hasan to solve the case quicker. Another one of his businesses got hit yesterday and he's not too happy about it."

"We're doing all that we can, though! Does he know how much we're working on this?" Lexi stood up and crossed her arms.

"Yes, hun. He's well aware. He's just getting a little impatient, and understandably so," said Scarlett who was seated right next to her.

"I have to go to class. I'll regroup again with you guys later in the week." Lexi waved her parents goodbye and made her way out of the house and back to campus.

The thought that they were now back at square one with no leads was weighing down heavily on her as she drove back to her dorm. Her mind worked through every possibility of where they could go from here. Finding Dash seemed as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack.

Their school was so big, what could have possibly possessed them to think they could take a big case like this on? Identifying someone's long-lost grandfather, or proving a partner was cheating on you - those were cases they were used to doing and excelled in. Not combing through a mid-sized university for a hacker.

With how much money they'd already sunk in, calling in favors to buying the bulk of the party supplies and alcohol, Lexi knew there was no turning back now. They'd gone too far, to the point that if they couldn't solve the case, they would lose their home and livelihood.

She parked her car in front of the dorm and sighed. Her thoughts flickered to Tom and she opened his email back up. He was right. We shouldn't be talking outside of class. I need to focus on my job and my family right now. She hovered over the screen for a moment before deleting his contact information and email.

***

The rest of the day flew by, and the next morning, Lexi and Mindy were up and getting ready for their class with Tom. As much as Lexi tried to stop thinking about him, he kept inching his way back into the forefront of her thoughts. For a moment, she'd considered emailing him but kept telling herself to keep things as professional as possible.

After grabbing a quick bite from a new coffee shop, the girls made their way with Charlotte to class. Lexi wondered if she'd be able to sit through the full class without her thoughts circling Tom and the 'what ifs' that plagued her. When they made their way in, Tom was already at the front of the room, prepping for the session. He glanced up and held his gaze on Lexi as if trying to decipher what she was thinking. She furrowed her brows and quickly averted her eyes downward.

Charlotte led the way through the sparsely populated class to the front row. "Charlotte, shouldn't we sit back here?" Lexi whispered and jerked her head towards the seats next to her in the middle.

"We always sit there. Plus, some studies show the front row can help students focus better," Charlotte said as Mindy followed in right behind her.

Lexi could have not sat with them, but she reasoned that would have looked unnecessarily passive-aggressive. Reluctantly, she walked to the chair beside Mindy and set her bag down in front of her.

As she was taking out her things and trying to ignore Tom's glances seen through her peripherals, a throat clearing in the aisle near her forced her to look up. "Is this seat taken?" Wes asked, nodding towards the empty seat right next to her.

"Hey, Wes!" She smiled back at him, yet it quickly faltered when she remembered how she had accidentally left him at the party. "Yeah, all good, I mean, no, it's not taken." She moved her things to allow him space to situate himself next to her. "Wes, this is my best friend and roommate M-Windy."