The Padel Court Confidential

The steam rose from Elena's coffee cup as she watched them from across the padel court—Marcus, her boss, laughing too loudly with the woman from legal. Elena's palm tingled where she'd pressed it against the cold glass of her phone, still warm from the spy camera app she'd closed moments before.

Three weeks of surveillance, all because she'd caught him shredding documents that should have been archived. Corporate espionage wasn't in her job description, but neither was discovering her boss was selling client data to competitors. She'd been running on caffeine and paranoia since finding the first encrypted email.

"You're playing terrible today," Mateo said, dropping onto the bench beside her. His knees were freshly bruised from their last match. "Your head's somewhere else."

Elena forced a laugh. "Just tired. This spinach and goat cheese salad from the cafeteria isn't exactly fuel for championship padel."

He bumped her shoulder gently. "Want to grab real food after? There's that Mediterranean place downtown."

She hesitated. She'd been attracted to Mateo for months—his easy humor, the way he actually listened during meetings. But everything was complicated now. The USB drive with copies of Marcus's files burned in her pocket. Tomorrow, she'd have to decide: go to corporate HR, or take it to the authorities.

"I'd like that," she said, surprising herself. "But I have somewhere to be tonight."

Marcus was leaving the court now, his hand lingering on the woman from legal's back. They would never know that in the reflection of the glass wall behind them, Elena had captured everything she needed.

"Tomorrow then," Mateo said, already standing. "Same time? I promise not to crush you so badly."

She watched him walk away, the morning sun catching the gold flecks in his brown eyes. For the first time in weeks, something tightened in her chest that wasn't dread. Maybe, just maybe, after she did what needed to be done, there would be room for something real.

"Tomorrow," she called back, gripping the USB drive in her pocket like a lifeline. "Tomorrow."