SATURDAY, 7:30 A.M., AUGUST 3, 2001
Ashley woke up and looked around, remembering where she was. In Orlando, in a hotel room, waiting for Jive Records to open at 8:00.
She sighed and got dressed in a black skirt and blue tank top, pulled her hair up into a ponytail, got in heels, and went into the bedroom for her briefcase. She took a small scrap of paper out of one of the pockets and read it.
Ok, so she may not be lucky, but she wasn't dumb. She had written Josh's keycard number down. All she had to do was carve it onto the part of a credit card that ran through the slot and she would have her own keycard.
She worked for a few minutes, putting in the numbers carefully until she was finally done. Now she could leave.
A few minutes later, Ashley was standing inside the lobby of Jive Records.
Very nice, she thought and put some sunglasses on. She smiled at the receptionist as she walked by and made her way to the elevators, taking them to the office level. She stepped out and immediately bumped into a very frazzled looking woman.
"Oh no!" the woman cried as several papers flew out of her hands.
"I'm sorry." Ashley bent down and helped her pick up the papers. "Where are you taking these?" She had taken speed-reading in high school. These papers were information she needed.
"Mr. Wright himself. My office is down the hall and I was hurrying them to him," the woman explained.
"I'll do it." Ashley snatched the papers away and left before the woman could say anything. She had to make copies of these first. She found a small copier in an empty office, stepped inside, and closed the door.
Only then did she realize it was Mr. Wright’s office. The computer was in the corner.
Ashley smiled. She had the whole office to herself. She got to work.
Josh whistled to himself as he walked down the hall. He had some ideas to discuss with Johnny, who was coming up in the elevator right after him.
He started to open the door, but stopped when he heard the click of computer keys. Someone was in there, and it wasn't Johnny.
He opened the door further. Seated at the computer was Ashley, and it looked like she was into some complicated stuff. The cat suit burglar went into his mind, but he pushed it away. She couldn't be.
Inside, Ashley heard a creak of the door and stopped typing. She had copied the papers, but was trying to familiarize herself with the master computer. Now she stood up, gathered the papers, clicked the computer off button, and searched for a way out.
Josh hesitated as Johnny opened the door. He wasn't sure how he was going to react.
Surprisingly, Johnny went to his desk and sat down.
Staring at the window, Josh could see Ashley pressing herself against the window ledge outside, moving slowly to the right, to the next office.
"What did you need, JC?" Johnny asked, clasping his hands together.
"Uhh...I kind of forgot..." Josh muttered. "Sorry..." He ran out of the room and into the next office. He flung open the window and jerked Ashley inside. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You could have been killed!"
Ashley stared at him angrily. "I've fallen off a window ledge before and it doesn't hurt!"
"You better explain what you were doing in there, and fast!"
With that, Josh hauled Ashley into the elevator, towards his car, which he drove to his apartment.