I recognized the name for I now owned a considerable number of shares in that company. So, at last I thought I knew where she worked and I was ready to fly out and find her.
“I made it a point to arrive in L.A. early on a Friday so that by the time I found her she would hopefully soon be off work for the weekend. I took a cab directly from the airport to address I had obtained from the P.I. The building was in a very upscale industrial park: all metal and bronzed glass with a strip of grass and large well-tended flower beds in front. The name above the door read ‘Los Angeles Internet Nexus, Ltd’. I entered a spacious lobby with numerous large wall screens showing various modes of the internet and an impressive information desk in its center. I was immediately offered help by an attractive red-headed woman dressed in a business suit. I explained that I was looking for an employee for whom I only had a first name, Laiinet. The woman’s face immediately registered a shocked, surprised look but she quickly recovered and asked me to wait for a moment. She picked up a phone and asked the person on the other end to come to the reception desk immediately. I couldn’t catch the whole conversation but I did hear Laiinet’s name repeated several times. Very soon, a tall man of perhaps fifty some years old dressed in slacks and a sport coat appeared. His face was florid and his wild shock of blond hair was pulled into a pony-tail. I could sense much agitation in his manner.
“He extended his hand, introduced himself and immediately asked me to accompany him to his office. I did so and was soon seated in a comfortable chair to one side of a grand desk of some exotic wood. On the opposite wall, visible to anyone seated where I was, there was yet another of the large computer screens. This one showed only the company’s logo. The blond man at first sat on the corner of the desk but soon stood again. He was obviously very nervous. He wasted no time on small talk but immediately asked me again who it was that I had asked to see. I explained that I knew an employee of his but only by a first name. I said I was in L.A. for a few days and had hoped to catch her before she went home for the weekend. He asked where we had met and I explained that I actually hadn’t met her yet but that we had been corresponding on the internet for more than a year. I explained that I had only recently discovered where she worked. These revelations seemed to upset him further. At that point, he asked for my patience for a few moments and left the room. When he returned he was accompanied by two other men. They were introduced as the President of the company and the Chief of Software Design. He told me he was the Project Engineer working on a highly classified software design.
“He asked me to repeat what I had told him. I did so and both of the other men reacted much as he had at the story. They were obviously very disturbed by what I said. I then asked for an explanation of the entire event. They all exchanged what could only be described as cryptic glances; then the President nodded and said, ‘OK, we need to know’.