The fuck he lets slip reveals how rattled he really is.
“This isn’t a hack,” Mark explains, his voice low. “This is the spyware she’s talking about. It’s in every major social media app now, ready to turn on cameras and microphones and GPS whenever the creator tells it to. And it can break the encryption that Pixio phones are currently using.”
Jack isn’t looking at Arne, not that Fuchs is giving any guilt away in his expression. Which is fine since we’re not ready to nail him. Yet.
“If the images coming off your phone were encrypted by Ultra though,” I say, “it wouldn’t matter that spyware was trying to grab them. The thief would never see anything but noise.” I hit the track pad with a flourish, calling up my program. “That’s where Ultra comes in. The most powerful encryption system in the world.”
I hold up the deconstructed phone. “We can’t use your phone for this part of the demonstration because it’s not running Ultra. But this is.”
Once more, I start pulling video from the phone while it stays quiet and dark. Jack watches with hooded eyes.
And then I call Ultra into action, telling it to scramble the video.
Suddenly the image coming from the phone goes to white noise.
I release a breath. I hadn’t realized how worried I was it wouldn’t work until it did. “The spyware can’t break my encryption. And nothing can be decoded without the user’s unique key.”
I demonstrate that for him too, showing him that Ultra can decode what it’s already encoded. “See? No information has been lost. Just protected.”
A muscle in Fuchs’s jaw is twitching, his nostrils flaring as he fights for breath. Otherwise, all of him could be carved from ice.
His reaction frightens me—and makes me triumphant. He wasn’t expecting anyone to be on to his plan, much less to be able to block him. But I and my team have outflanked him. We have him on the run.
Even if he is able to ruin my company, I’ll remember this moment fondly. We’ve accomplished this, if nothing else.
I look to Mark, who’s as assured and cool as ever. As if he never for a moment doubted that Ultra would work. Never for a moment doubted me.
I take a breath and draw on Mark’s strength from across the table. We’re in this together, and we’ve got this.
Finally I let myself look at Jack. His is the only reaction that really counts here.
Jack leans back, his eyes narrow and his shoulders closed off. I can’t tell if he’s impressed by Ultra or still shocked by the spyware. He taps on the screen of his phone. “How did you know about this?”
So he’s focused on the spyware. I will myself to not be disappointed, but there’s still a pinch in my middle.
“We can’t tell you,” Mark says. “But trust us, it’s there and it’s waiting. And this won’t be the last attempt at something like this.”
“Which we’re ready for at Ultra,” I say. “We’re developing a chip that can generate new encryption codes based on machine learning. Put the Ultra system in all your phones, and you’ll always be one step ahead of any attempt at data theft.”
“January was on this way before anyone else,” Mark says. The warmth in his eyes burns my cheeks. “She’s the only person I’d trust to encrypt my data. She’s… amazing.”
I’m fighting my expression with all my might, but the love, the joy, is still seeping through, pulling up my cheeks, lighting my eyes, curving my mouth. It’s the worst possible way to look at Mark while in a meeting with a high-powered CEO, but I can’t help it. I love him too much.
“Thank you,” is all I manage to say.
One of Jack’s eyebrows twitches, but he otherwise doesn’t comment. He steeples his fingers. “This is impressive. Let’s set up a time for you to meet with some of my engineers, go over what you’re doing in more detail.”
Mark flashes me a grin. That’s pretty close to a yes.
“Great,” I say. “Anytime.”
Mark shakes his head. Too eager. But he’s still smiling. But hey, I’ve possibly just sold Ultra to Pixio, and I’ve let Fuchs know he won’t get away with it. Oh, and I love Mark with all my heart. I can be a little overeager.
“I’m curious about the spyware though,” Jack says. “Every social media app? How is that possible?”
Mark turns to Arne, who hasn’t moved a muscle. “Well, Arne? How did you get them all to agree to it?”
Fuchs still doesn’t move, although Jack has flinched in shock.
“Wait, what? Arne, this is your spyware?”
Fuchs slowly, deliberately folds his hand on the table. “You know I can’t answer that. All of Corvus’s projects are very sensitive. Top secret even.”
“So you did do it. You fucking asshole.”
I gasp. The CEO of Pixio has just called the CEO of Corvus a fucking asshole in my hearing. It’s like having the president call the chief justice of the Supreme Court an asshole right in front of you.
Mark steps in. “We knew you would have concerns about this,” he says to Jack. “Which is why we brought Ultra to you first.”
“Concerns? You’re goddamn right.”
Fuchs snorts, the first show of any real emotion from him. “Don’t be a child. You’ve put a device in everyone’s hand that tracks and records their every move. Of course someone’s going to use that data.”
“To do what?” I demand.
“Stop crime. Terrorist attacks. Track criminal networks and break them.” Fuchs is sneering at me. “Stop governments who’d do our citizens harm.”
“At the expense of everyone in America’s privacy?” I ask. “You don’t need to track everyone to do that.” I’d say something about how it’s also probably illegal, but I’m not entirely sure it is, and I don’t think Fuchs would care.
He doesn’t answer me. Apparently I’m not worthy of a response.
“So you are tracking phones?” Mark asks.
Fuchs won’t be drawn in though. “I never said that. I said that someone is going to use that data if it’s there.”
Meaning Fuchs will. He doesn’t have any qualms at all.
“You know what Pixio’s stance on privacy is,” Jack says flatly. “What our stance has always been. This violates all that.”
“You only make the hardware. What do you care what software is on it?”
“Because people trust us!”
“And the government trusts me to keep track of things,” Fuchs says.
Things, not people. I imagine we’re all pixels on a screen to Fuchs.
“I can’t allow this.” Jack is shaking his head.
“The government will though.” Fuchs is certain of that.
We’ve come to a standoff. None of them will say anything publicly because they don’t want the attention from the media or the government, but privately…
I think I might have started a war between Pixio and Corvus, a private little war. With Mark and the Bastards as a guerrilla force.
Fuchs rises suddenly. “Good luck, Miss Harris.”
I can tell he hasn’t forgotten his promise to ruin my company. But with Pixio’s backing, Ultra won’t be vulnerable. And he knows that and it enrages him.
“I have to get to my meeting,” he says as he walks away.
The temperature rises five degrees once he’s gone. I can finally take a full breath.
Jack is looking at both of us skeptically. “You had all this planned, didn’t you?”
Mark is unabashed. “It’s my job to know people and how they’ll react. I knew Fuchs would be here, and I knew how you’d react to our demo.”
Jack shakes his head. “You’ve hooked up with quite the character,” he tells me.
“He’s not a character,” I say, never looking away from Mark. “He’s… he’s just Mark. Always has been.”
I can tell Mark hears everything I can’t say in front of Jack, because his cheeks darken a tinge. Almost like a blush but more manly.
When Jack shakes my hand this time, it’s longe
r, firmer. I’ve been accepted. “My assistant will contact you to set up a meeting with our engineers and me. I’m dying to get a good look at the inside of your encryption system.”
Only when he’s gone do I let out my squeal. “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.”
Mark drapes an arm over my shoulder, pulling me as close as the silly chairs will allow. If only we were in a booth. “I knew you’d do amazing. You’re magnificent.”
“But with Fuchs here and showing them both the spyware and Ultra…” I gesture, trying to encompass what we’ve just done. “And you were amazing too. It could have gone wrong at so many points.”
His lips brush my temple. I don’t care if the entire café is staring now; I lean into him, drawing in his warmth, his confidence, his love. “But it didn’t.”
“He’ll be at the meeting with the engineers. Jack himself,” I explain. “Do CEOs do that?”
“Told you he was interested in encryption. And no, he doesn’t. You’re special.” He rises, tugs at my hand. “Let’s get out of here and celebrate.”
“We should invite my team and all the Bastards. And Anjie. This is as much their victory as ours.”
“First we celebrate alone.” He puts his mouth to my ear. “They won’t miss us for another few hours.”
I race him to the car.
Chapter 32
January has some bubbles on the tip of her nose, and it’s killing me.
I reach out of the water—we’re in the hot tub in my bathroom, relaxing after our victory today—and wipe them off. She giggles, the sound bright with the champagne we’ve been drinking.
Cold champagne, hot suds, and the woman I love—I can’t imagine needing anything else in my life.
Scratch that. What I need is this woman in my life forever.
I pull her closer, our legs tangling. But I need to see her eyes for this.
“What do you want to do with Ultra now?” I hold up a hand when she starts to answer. “What you really want to do, not what you think your investors want.”
Her expression goes still. She’s beautiful like this, deep in thought. Her hair is clinging to her neck and breasts, her skin is damp and glowing, and her eyes… I’m always struck by the blue of her eyes.
I’ll have to find her some sapphires that exact color. It will take some time, but she’d love them.
“I want to keep Ultra as its own company,” she says finally. “Not sell it to any one bigger but keep it for myself. I know it will be difficult, but that’s what I want.”
“Then that’s what you’ll have.”
Fear flits through her eyes. “And Fuchs? He has promised to destroy me.”
“I don’t want you to ever worry about him again. You concentrate on Ultra, and we’ll take care of him.” I squeeze her hand, which is slippery with the rose-scented suds enveloping us. “You’re not alone now. You’ll never be alone again.”
All of her relaxes, and my ego roars. That’s right, honey. Leave everything to me. I’m strong enough to handle it, to fight your battles for you.
Her foot slips up my thigh. “And what do you want?” she asks. It’s clear what she has in mind.
But even though my cock responds, that’s not what I quite have in mind.
Here it is. I’d told her once in college, but those were superficial requests: a date, a movie. The faint start of a romance.
We’ve come so much further now. And I want so much more.
I lean forward and kiss her, keeping it shallow when she demands more. I’ve already given her three orgasms tonight, and as much as I love her greedy desire, I need to finish this.
“I want you,” I say against her lips. “I want you for always. I want you to move in with me. I want you to marry me. I want you by my side, in my heart, every second of every day.”
I’m greedy too. Her eyes widen, and the tips of her breasts brush my chest as she pulls in a hard breath.
“Oh, Mark.” Never has my name sounded sweeter on her lips. “I want you too. Exactly like that.”
“Good. Because I’m going to take you. You’re mine now.”
Her smile is both knowing and accepting. Well, I always warned her I was a greedy bastard. But now I’m her bastard, completely and totally.
Which means I’ll have to get Anjie on a moving company ASAP. All of January’s things need to be in my house by the end of tomorrow. And then she never needs to leave again.
I spin her around and pull her back against my chest, ready to move on to the orgasm portion of this. I nip at the place where her neck meets her shoulder.
“First you’re going to take tomorrow off,” I say.
“What?” Indignation has to fight past the pleasure in her voice to get out. “I can’t, not with—”
I bite a little harder this time. “You can. Just one day, the two of us going wherever we want. We’ll wake up tomorrow and just go.”
Her head falls back as she surrenders. “Where will we go?”
“Anywhere the car can take us. Or anywhere the jet can take us.”
“You have a private jet.” It’s not a question.
“What kind of master of the universe would I be without a jet?”
“Hmm. Well, I don’t care what kind you are, as long as you’re mine.”
“Done,” I promise, sealing the best deal I’ve ever made.
Chapter 33
Six months later
* * *
There are no flourishes for encryption programs. The excitement is reserved for smartwatches and earbuds and laptops thinner than a credit card. Encryption is not what the masses want.
But I know it’s what they need, so when at their annual product rollout, the CEO of Pixio announces an exciting development in encryption, provided by Ultra Systems, that will be available on every Pixio phone, I shout in the office we share. Mark splits his time between Ultra and the Bastards now, more often than not doing his deals from the desk right next to mine. He wasn’t kidding about wanting to be with me every second of every day.
Mark looks over at me from his workstation, a huge smile on his face. “Are we celebrating tonight?”
As if our life together doesn’t feel like one big celebration every day. Mark does more than pamper me—he cherishes me. All that stuff that a girl could get used to? I’m still not used to it, but I am enjoying it.
“We sure are,” I say.
“Good, because I just got some other good news.” He leans back in his chair. “Corvus has just quietly announced they’re shuttering their Spiderweb project.”
“What?” I drop my tools and rush over to him. Sure enough, there’s the press release. They don’t say anything about Spiderweb being the official name of their spyware division or that they’ve already tried to put it on a bunch of phones, but I can read between the lines.
Fuchs is still around, still a threat, although he hasn’t done anything since our meeting with Jack, and Grace’s immigration status is still up in the air, but we’re winning. Slowly, but it’s happening.
Outside my office, I hear my team whooping. I stick my head out. “Doc, open that champagne in the fridge.”
Several hours later, when we’ve got all the celebrating out of our system and I’ve sent my team home, Mark and I return to my office.
Sitting on my workbench is the machine we’ve been working on for weeks together, waiting for us to finish it.
“Do you want to do this tonight?” Mark asks.
“Yeah. It feels… right.”
So I connect one last wire, then step back. Here comes the big moment. I’m almost more frightened than when I presented Ultra to Pixio, even though the stakes are so much lower.
But are they? The machine sitting in front of me has a lot of symbolic importance to me and Mark. If it doesn’t work, if we haven’t assembled it properly, does that mean we’re doomed?
No, of course not. We love each other too much for that to be true. But I’m still anxious about this.
“Do you w
ant to do one last check?” he asks me, sounding as nervous as I feel.
Yes. I’m not ready for this.
But I was. “No, let’s hit it.”
I look at the message we’ve prepared and take a deep breath.
I press one of the keys. An H. There’s some clicks and whirrs and then a key slams down, pressing an A into the paper. I hit another key, this time an E. More clicks and whirrs as the circuits flash and the tumblers turn. This time the Y key slams down, putting a Y right next to the previous A.
When we’re done, our original message is just gibberish. Completely incomprehensible.
I smile so wide when I see it my mouth hurts.
“That’s amazing,” Mark says over my shoulder.
“Let’s see if we can decode it.”
I carefully set the tumblers to decode the message. Letter by letter, I type it back into the machine.
Hey, does this thing even work? is printed out when I’m finished. Exactly what I’d originally typed in. I pull the sheet out and start to laugh.
Mark hands me another sheet, gibberish on that one too. “Let’s try this one.” He’s way too serious.
Suddenly my heart starts to race. But I set the tumblers and begin to type. With every letter that’s added, my heart picks up speed until it’s echoing in my ears.
January Harris, I love you with all my heart. Will you marry me?
I’d known this would be coming at some point—Mark hasn’t exactly been shy about his intentions—but when he pulls a ring out of his pocket, rose gold with a diamond large enough to announce itself but not shout about it, I’m shaking.
This is all so real, his love for me, my love for him, that I’m overwhelmed by it. It’s too much emotion for one person to feel.
Thank God I’ve got Mark to feel it with me then.
“Of course,” I say, my voice shaking as hard as I am. “Of course I will. I love you and—”
He’s kissing me then, hard and demanding, and I know he’s as moved as I am. Somehow he manages to slip the ring on my left hand.
I don’t bother to look since I already know the ring is perfect. I keep kissing this perfect man of mine instead.
Secret Acquisitions Page 20
