Hate Love

by Katie Ford

  I kissed her on the tip of her nose. “Does it bother you?”

  Mia nuzzled her head on my chest. “No. Not really.” She paused. “Well, maybe sometimes? Mostly on Father’s Day. You know, the one holiday where I am reminded that I don’t have a dad, but in general, no. I’ve been happy with just my mom.”

  Something I knew about all too well. Mother’s Day. Father’s Day. Grandparent’s Day. Even Distant Relative’s Day would be a drag, seeing that I had no one.

  Twirling a strand of her hair around my finger, I said, “What if I offered you a job?”

  Mia giggled, “Then, this is a highly inappropriate interview seeing that we’re currently like this,” she said, gesturing to our entwined bodies. But it looked exactly right to me, her softness complementing my hardness, every angle fitting perfectly like puzzle pieces.

  “Very inappropriate, but so amazing.” I cupped her chin in my hand kissing her luscious lips. “Seriously, I’d like to offer you a job. We obviously need help strengthening our security measures.”

  Mia winced, “I couldn’t. I’m in school right now.”

  I broke in, “You can work as much or as little as you want. It’s up to you. I can arrange it so you get school credit.”

  She gave me a charming smile. “You can?”

  Shrugging, I asked, “What’s the name of the new computer science lab on campus?”

  Mia laughed and said in a saucy voice, “The Theodore Wainwright Lab.”

  I lightly touched her nose. “Exactly! I can arrange for you to get credit for working for me. How does that sound?”

  Mia blew a raspberry, frowning a little. “I don’t know. My schedule is so busy right now. It would be a pain for me to ride BART all the way to Mountain View.”

  Cupping my hands around her round ass, I gave her an encouraging squeeze.

  “Why would you have to ride BART, sweetheart?”

  She rolled her eyes playfully. “I don’t have a car. Duh, most students don’t. We’re impoverished peasants, remember?”

  I squeezed her ass and jiggled it with my hands. Fuck. This was an ass sculpted by the gods. But public transportation wasn’t going to keep me from the curvy girl, not when it was something easily solved.

  “I can arrange transportation for you. No problem,” I said.

  Mia sighed, her eyes dancing with amusement.

  “I hear you, Theo, because nothing gets in the way of the billionaire. But can I think about it?” she asked softly. “This is a lot to swallow at once, to say the least. I mean you kidnapped me, we’re supposed to hate each other, and now, we’re like this?” she asked ruefully as I squeezed that luscious rump again, hard.

  But suddenly, those beautiful chocolate eyes opened in alarm looking at the windows covered in blackout curtains. “Speaking of class, holy cow. It’s so dark in here. What time is it?”

  Picking up my Cartier watch on the nightstand, I replied, “Almost 8:30. Why?”

  The girl bolted upright. “I’m going to miss class. I have to go,” she said.

  That made me laugh. Reaching for the curvy girl, I tried to pull her back into bed. “Class? Really? Can’t you skip it just for today? For me?” Wow, was that wheedling voice mine? Was I actually begging a woman to stay in bed? Usually, it was the opposite. I always left them high and dry and not the other way around.

  But somehow, everything with Mia’s turned on its head with the enemies to friends dynamic. The way I was on my back foot with the luscious student driving the car. The way that I, the billionaire, was letting a penniless girl wrap me around her finger.

  And the reason why I was entranced became clear because the brunette pulled back, eyes determined.

  “No,” she said firmly. “I just told you how I’m the first in my family to go to college. I can’t let my mom down. I can’t let my lab partner down. I can’t let myself down, most of all, and give up on my education for nothing.”

  And I had to respect that. Because education is an investment in yourself, and who was I to stop her from improving her skills? So I watched as she scrambled out of the bedroom. Her ass jiggled deliciously as she hurried out, tempting me even more.

  But within minutes, the woman was back, dressed in her tank top and drawstring pajama pants, incredibly fresh faced and beautiful. Brown curls fell down around her shoulders, and understandably, all I wanted to do was take a fistful of that hair and bend her over again.

  Mia smiled wryly in my direction.

  “Looks like when you kidnapped me, you forgot to let me get my shoes.”

  I laughed looking at her bright red painted toes. “Noted. Next time, I kidnap you, I will let you bring footwear.”

  She flipped her hair back off her neck. “There’s going to be a next time?” her voice came, casual but imbued with urgency. I could read her nervousness, and it was sweet.

  Climbing out of bed, I swept her into my arms once more, planting a kiss on her lips.

  “Maybe.”

  She giggled, seeing right through me.

  “Okay, but can you do me a favor?”

  Breathing deep, I inhaled that lovely flowery smell. Honestly, anything at that moment was possible. I would have helped her with her homework, cancelled all her classes, even talked to her mom. Anything to get Mia to stay. But it was too soon for all that, so I shot her a wry smile.

  “Sure, what’s up honey?”

  She smiled right back, making my heart seize.

  “Can you order me an Uber?”

  “Can you do me a favor?” I retorted.

  “Anything. Well, within reason,” she laughed.

  “Will you please consider working for Pictogram?” I pleaded. “We need someone like you, Mia. Someone talented with brains to spare. Someone quick on her feet who can see through the tangled web of programming.”

  And she smiled then before blushing. My heart contracted again involuntarily, breath growing short.

  “I’ll think about it, Theo,” she said shyly. “But I need to get to class now. Even dressed like this,” she said ruefully. “Now order me that car, big guy. Surely you can do that,” she teased.

  And oh shit, but this woman had me wrapped around her little finger. Because like a servant, I pulled out my cell and began fiddling with a ride-sharing app, dialing up a limo for service. Who had I become? Usually, there are people at my every beck and call, catering to my whims. But with Mia, everything was different. I was begging her to come work for Pictogram. Begging her to stay in bed, chatting about nothing. Begging her to share more of that luscious body while moaning sweetly beneath me. And because the CEO always gets what he wants, Mia was going to be mine …and that was that.

  Chapter 5

  Mia

  Although Theo’s job offer was inviting, I had misgivings about working for the very company that had mistreated me and the rest of its users. Would it be like working for the enemy?

  But when Theo sent over the offer details, I felt completely blown away. The salary for consulting was more money than I’d ever imagined making in my life. It was more than I thought was possible for someone who didn’t even have a computer science degree yet.

  Essentially, I was a high school grad getting paid the big bucks. And the kicker? The position also came with a car, a brand new Tesla.

  When Theo said he would take care of my transportation, my assumption was maybe I’d get a BART card or hook up with a carpool. It never crossed my mind I’d get my own vehicle as part of the position.

  But even with the money and the new car, I took my time giving Theo an answer. Things were okay since I was on scholarship, but extra money to help my mom with the mortgage would be nice.

  Full of indecision, I’d written Theo back saying I still needed more time to decide.

  His response?

  Dozens of red and pink roses, Pictogram’s brand colors, delivered to my dorm suite.

  I came home to Jill sitting on the couch surrounded by the roses. “Look at these! Absolutely gorgeous!”
she gushed.

  There were flowers taking up every square inch of our dorm suite, blossoms on every available surface. “Who sent these?”

  Jilly shrugged, holding out a card to me. “I wanted to open it, but I didn’t because I’m a respectful dorm mate. Now quick!” she squealed. “I want to see!”

  Setting my backpack down, I took the card from her and noticed that it was already open. She giggled, “Okay, okay, so I opened it. It was too much to resist, and you know how bad I am with self-control!” She grinned. “Besides, a certain Theo sent the flowers. Ohhh! Read the card, Mia, you’ll see.”

  I sat down next to her, rolling my eyes. I loved Jill, but seriously, opening my mail? Where were our boundaries?

  “Okay, give me a chance,” I laughed. With shaking hands, I pulled the card out and read it. Immediately, I felt my cheeks warm.

  Pictogram needs you. I need you. –Theo

  Jill squealed jumping up and down, peering over my shoulder. The couch cushions bounced making me bounce up and down with her. “He said he needs you! Needs you!”

  I stood up. All that bouncing was making me nauseous.

  My overly excited friend kept squealing. “This is Theo Wainwright, right? The one we’ve been sparring with? Oh my god, he’s so hot, and he said he needs you, Mia. It’s so romantic.”

  “It’s not romantic,” I protested. “He needs me to fix his security problems at Pictogram. He needs my brain, not me.”

  Jill threw a couch pillow at me. “Who cares! Oh my god, how does he know you, anyways Mia?” She eyed me curiously. “I mean, sure there’s that whole Pictogram thing with your picture and all, but how did it get to this point, where he’s sending you flowers?”

  Rolling my eyes, I threw the pillow back at her. “Did your mom send us any Danish treats?” I tried to change the subject.

  She pointed to the cabinet above the microwave. “Yup. I just opened a package of aebleskiver. But seriously, Mia, spill it. How did this happen?”

  And knowing that I wasn’t going to be able to get away from my best friend, I took a bite of the mouth-watering puff.

  “Well,” I began slowly, “remember how I showed up to class one day with no shoes and basically dressed in my pajamas?”

  Jill frowned.

  “Well yeah, but everyone does that around here,” she says. “This university is filled with nerds, and even in PJs, you were better dressed than most people.

  I laughed. Cal isn’t exactly known for its formality and Jill was right. Most people wore sweats, so my pajamas weren’t particularly odd. Even the no-shoes thing wasn’t that weird, as there’s a group on campus that calls themselves the “Barefoot Trotters,” advocating a return to nature and barefoot walking. It’s pretty crazy, the soles of their feet are like leather, tough and horny.

  But that was beside the point.

  “Well, I showed up late and in my jammies because the night before, I got together with Theo Wainwright.”

  Jill’s mouth dropped open.

  “Are you serious? How?” she breathed.

  I paused for a moment. Should I tell her about the abduction? Because that’s what had happened, for sure, but biting my lip, I decided against it. Given that Theo and I had ended up in bed, going into the kidnapping vein was too much information that no longer seemed relevant. So instead, I fudged.

  “Well, I was standing next to the bike racks over by the gym, and Theo walked by,” was my white lie. “He recognized me from my photo, and we struck up a conversation.”

  Jill nodded solemnly.

  “Totally, Mia. You’re so beautiful, you don’t even know it,” she huffed, eyes wide. “And then what?”

  I paused again, thinking furiously.

  “And then we got to talking, one thing led to another, and soon we were on a date sort-of,” I said helplessly, smiling a little. “We’ve been communicating, and I guess that’s why there are flowers now.”

  Jill’s nose wrinkled.

  “That’s some communicating,” she teased. “But seriously Mia, this is so awesome. A billionaire wants you, and I’m so jealous. You rock.”

  I smiled again but said nothing, merely chewing the Danish pastry as Jill kept on.

  “He obviously has a thing for you,” she intoned. “He wants to be serious, honey. Why else with all these flowers?” She gestured expansively. “Honestly this stuff must have cost at least four figures.”

  Groaning, I chewed on my pastry puff. “I know, I know. But did you see all the photos I posted of him?”

  Jill fanned herself. “Yes! Obviously. The entire world did, you made sure of that as Anonimo.”

  I scrunched up my nose. My friend was the only one who knew what I’d done. I’d sworn her to secrecy.

  “But that’s the thing, Jilly,” I said slowly. “He sleeps with tons of girls. I’m just one notch among a thousand on his bedpost.”

  She cocked her head to the side, eyeing me contemplatively.

  “Maybe,” she hedged. “But I doubt he sends flowers to all his notches. I mean, look at these roses. Gorgeous, just gorgeous.”

  But I wasn’t convinced. Spending a thousand dollars on roses was just a drop in a bucket for a billionaire, so I couldn’t measure his real interest in me just based on how much money he spent. Theo Wainwright could afford sending roses to all his paramours if that was his MO. At this point, there was frankly no telling.

  “Well, you’ll have to tell me everything,” my friend said. “I’m your confidante, and so much has already happened. Everything!” she emphasized.

  I laughed, throwing some potato chips her way until the two of us were in a mild food fight, but it turned out that I didn’t have to tell her anything because the gifts just kept arriving.

  A few days after the roses, I came home to another surprise. Jill was on the couch munching on something crunchy. Her eyes opened wide when she saw me. “He sent candy, Mia!”

  “Candy?” I asked, surprised.

  She nodded her head as she crunched. “Peanut brittle, yum. It’s real good.”

  I rolled my eyes. God, my buddy was too into my stuff, it was getting unreal. We had to set some boundaries pronto, but reading my mind again, Jill spoke.

  “You honestly didn’t expect me to stay away, did you?”

  Sighing, I closed the door and looked at the coffee table. There were twenty different kinds of peanut brittle strewn about.

  “Eat as much as you want,” I said in a resigned voice. “There’s a ton.”

  Jill nodded happily. “Yeah, I know. Read the card, Mia. This guy is really after you.”

  I fingered the small piece of paper. The card had a red heart broken in two on the front. Inside, it read, “We’re broken up over here. Make our brittle security indestructible. Help me put us back together again. -Theo”

  The message was pretty cheesy, but I was charmed anyways. Hey, this guy knew how to be creative. And as if on cue, Jill opened a box of peanut brittle, holding out to me. “I think this one is my favorite. It’s called Choco Monster Almond Delight.”

  What was with the name? But I popped one into my mouth, the velvet melting instantaneously on my tongue. “Mmm. That is good. Wow.”

  Was it possible? Was Theo interested in me for more than my technical talent?

  That couldn’t be true. The billionaire could have anyone he wanted, bar none, from princesses to supermodels. So why me?

  Jill sighed. “Well at least do you believe me now?”

  I sighed again.

  “Believe you about what?” Opening a different box, I popped another peanut brittle piece in my mouth. Mmm, this one had the nutty flavor of salted caramel. My favorite.

  Jill pointed at the card. “Help me put us back together again?” She shook her head. “Come on! He wants you!”

  I picked up the card and looked at it again thinking about this man who’d taken over my life in one week. How could this be happening? I hadn’t even known of his existence until recently. Well, I knew Theo existe
d, but only through the pages of magazines and gossip columns. But now, my days were filled with images of the man, my curvy form tingling at the thought of being with him again. It was amazing, and slowly, my defenses began to crumble.

  “Maybe,” I mumbled. “We’ll see.”

  “Maybe?” exclaimed my friend. “That’s all? You should join Pictogram. Seriously, Mia, I’m kinda excited about what he might send next, but don’t let the poor guy suffer like this. Besides, he’s offering you so much money and a car. We could use it to explore, instead of always being stuck on campus.”

  I frowned. Money and perks aside, I wanted Pictogram to make changes, and it would be easier to do that if I worked there. Plus, there were some security tactics I’d like to try out anyway. The whole point of the hacking attack as Anonimo was to protect Pictogram users. I could do that as one of their engineers.

  I held the card close to my chest and smiled at my friend. “I guess I could try it out.”

  Jill jumped up. “Yes!” She ran over to me hugging me. “Just give it a go. You never know, you might enjoy it.”

  And so week later, I started at Pictogram as a consultant. Driving my brand new Tesla over to Mountain View, I told myself that I was only working at Pictogram strictly because of my talent. That was why Theo had recruited me so fiercely, and not because of our romantic interlude. In fact, I hadn’t seen him in weeks now. Knowing the alpha, he’d probably already moved on to some other girl. Our one night of hot and heavy sex was one and done, I was sure.

  But my brain kept roiling because despite my desperate efforts at self control, Theo was all I could think about. That flashing white smile. The funny quips. The way he gripped my shoulder, eyes intense while pounding me from above.

  Oh yes, my billionaire. The man who’d seized my heart after one short encounter.

  And now my boss too. Or more accurately, my boss’s boss’s boss’s boss, if that was even accurate. He was the king on his throne, whereas I was merely a lowly consultant, a paid gun.

  But I put the thoughts out of my mind because driving on Pictogram’s campus, I was stunned by how vibrant it was. I turned onto Picto Way, which brought me right through a mini town made just for employees. To the right, there was a large expanse of green grass where people sat at picnic tables or sprawled on blankets with their laptops. A game of Ultimate Frisbee was underway while another group of people practiced Tai Chi.