I needed to get home and get to work. I needed to do it for Jackson.
When I parked my car outside of my grandma's house, I saw the light on my phone blinking. I turned it on and couldn't believe what I saw.
Lance: Text me when you get home.
I quickly typed back.
Me: I'm home.
There was an instant reply.
Lance: Enjoy the shirt. Yep, I noticed. I'm not so sure about your hacking skills though. You didn't even delete the call from my log. Good luck, Eagle. You're going to need it. :-)
I couldn't help but laugh. Then I looked over at his shirt and shook my head. I grabbed all my stuff and headed in to get a hug from the two people I loved most.
The next month flew right by. I didn't mess with Lance at all, but I missed it. He hadn't said anything to me, which I expected. It was me that had the weird obsession with fucking with him. Surprisingly, I was actually able to concentrate. I hadn't sat around wondering how well he was doing. We were both in the same boat, so I knew I had just as good of a chance at finishing as he did.
I'd been sitting at my desk every single day trying anything and everything I could think of. Each day ran into the next. I'd be with Jackson all day except for a couple of hours that grandma would spend time with him. Then I'd work at night. I wasn't sleeping much, but I was fine with that.
Then it happened, I was sitting there and had just tried something that I honestly never thought would work. When it did, I jumped up from my chair. Then I sat back down to double and even triple check my work. I'd done it. I'd finally gotten through.
When I looked over at the clock, I was so excited. It was three in the morning. The first person I thought of was Lance. It wasn't what you're thinking. I didn't want to rub it in or brag. I just wanted to call him. I wanted to share it with him. He was the only one that would even begin to understand what I'd done. My grandma would say “Good job, Lauren,” but she wouldn't get it. She wouldn't see what a huge accomplishment it truly was. Only Lance would.
“Fuck it,” I said, as I grabbed my phone and hit call on his name.
Chapter 12
Lance
I heard a ringing noise and jumped to find my phone in the dark. Shit! Was it Sammie? She had to be okay. When I saw Lauren's name, I let out a breath of relief. Wait! What the fuck was she calling me at three in the morning for? Yes, I'd saved her ass in my contacts. I knew you were thinking it.
“Hello,” I said, as I put the phone to my ear.
“Lance,” she said, sounding very awake.
I hadn't heard from her in a month. Each time I'd turned my laptop on, I expected to see a message. Sure she said truce, but I didn't believe her. She stayed true to her word. In all honesty, I'd missed it. I was able to work though, so that was a good thing. I'd made a huge breakthrough earlier that week, but I hadn't worked everything out yet.
Hearing her voice instantly took away the irritated and worried feelings I'd had when my phone rang. What the hell was she up so late for, and why was she calling me in the middle of the night?
“Yes,” I said.
“It's me,” she said. “It's Lauren.”
I heard her sniffle and instantly felt my chest tighten.
“Are you okay? Are you crying?”
“I did it,” she said with another sniffle. “I got through.”
Her voice was shaking, and I could hear that she was definitely crying.
“You got through?” I asked, unsure whether or not I wanted to tell her that I had too.
“Yes,” she said. “I can't believe it.”
“Why are you crying?” I asked.
“I don't know,” she said. “I'm so shocked. Were you sleeping?”
I sat on the edge of my bed, in the dark, wondering if she'd lost her mind.
“Yes,” I said. “I was. Your ass woke me up.”
“I'll let you go,” she said. “I had to call you. I'm sorry.”
She had to call me, I thought. What did that mean?
“There was nobody else you wanted to wake up? It's fine,” I said. “I'm awake now.”
I got up, walked to my kitchen, and turned on the coffee maker.
“I never thought it would work,” she said with such an animated tone to her voice. The tears were gone. “I seriously didn't.”
“How?” I asked, totally sure she was going to give me an “I can't tell you” speech, but she didn't.
“Is your computer on?” she asked.
“Yes,” I answered.
“Pull up the project,” she said.
I grabbed my coffee and headed toward my office. When I sat down and brought up what she'd asked using a fresh copy, she started talking faster than I'd ever heard before. I followed along with everything she was saying, and it worked. I was through. I hadn't said a single word the entire time she explained. Once I was through, I sat back in my chair and thought. She'd just told me exactly how to break into it. What the fuck was she thinking? I was her competition. She'd just given me the answer.
“Lance,” she said. “Are you still there?”
“I'm here,” I said, feeling so damn confused. “What made you call me, Lauren?”
Part of me felt guilty. There she was, telling me everything I needed to know to take the win from her. I hadn't called her when I'd gotten through. I hadn't called anyone. The only person I'd even mentioned it to was my dad, and that was only in passing. I was planning to do more research before I called to tell them what I'd done. Not her. She called me.
“Shit!” she said. “I'm sorry. I know you don't want to talk to me. I was just so excited. The second it happened, I picked up my phone, and you're the one I wanted to call. You were the one I wanted to tell. I know I said I was going to leave you alone. I didn't do it to mess with you. I shouldn't have called.”
“No,” I said. “I'm glad you did.”
It was true, I was glad. Out of all of the people in her life, she'd chosen me to call. It was the first time I'd ever felt special to someone that wasn't related to me. Lauren called me. That meant that she trusted me. If she thought for one second that I'd use the information to win, she wouldn't have given it to me. That said a lot, and I wasn't sure exactly how I felt about it.
“You have to call and tell them what you did,” I said. “They're going to be so happy.”
“Okay,” she said. “Now we just have to figure out how to stop someone from getting through. I'll call you right back.”
Then she was gone. I sat staring at my phone. We, I thought. What did she mean we?
Chapter 13
Lauren
I thought I'd heard Jackson, but when I went to his room, he was sound asleep. I hurried back to my room, grabbed my phone, and called Lance back.
“Sorry about that,” I said, as soon as he answered. “What do you think? How can we stop it? This is the fun part.”
“You're right about that,” I said. “I was looking at it again, and I'm thinking it might not be too hard to stop.”
That was it. We sat on the phone going through our ideas. I had a notebook out so I could take notes of what we came with up with. I'd filled four pages before I heard a weird beeping sound coming through the line.
“What's that?” I asked.
“My alarm,” he said. “I have to get ready for work.”
“Oh shit! I'm so sorry for you keeping you up,” I said.
Just because I wasn't running out for work didn't mean he wasn't. I'd totally forgotten that he worked for his sister's husband.
“I forgot you had to work.”
“It's fine,” he said. “It's nice talking to someone that actually knows what they're doing. You're good. Nobody here gets it. They think I play around all day. I'm going to let you go so I can at least shower. Make sure you call them at nine.”
Did he just compliment me, I wondered?
“Can I call you tonight?” I asked.
“Sure,” he said. “I'll be home by six.”
“Why
?” I asked without thinking. “You have a million dollars and you're doing this. Why have another job too?”
I could hear Jackson moving around in his room.
“I like my job,” he said. “James gave me a shot to help prove myself to my parents. I want to help him as much as I can. I'd do it even if he didn't pay me, but I'd never tell him that. I'll talk to you later. Make sure you call them now.”
Jackson called out to me when Lance was talking.
“Okay,” I said just before hitting end on the call. “I'll be right there, Jackson.”
As soon as he was up and settled with his morning cartoons, I made the call. I was so damn nervous. Lance was right. The man sounded so happy that I'd gotten through. I let him know I'd get back to him with more information when I had it. He wished me luck and let me know how great it was that one of us had done it.
I walked back into the living room with a smile on my face. Jackson and my grandma were snuggled up together on the couch. I sat down on the other side of Jackson and hugged them both. Everything was falling into place. Life was amazing.
Chapter 14
Lance
When I heard her say “I'll be right there, Jackson” as she hung up, I couldn't help the pissed off feeling that filled my veins. Part of me wanted to call her back to tell I'd already been through, but I couldn't do it. She'd been so happy when she called. I couldn't take that away from her. For a moment, I thought about calling them myself and telling them how I'd gotten through. It was a competition, and technically I'd gotten through first. It was also my dream job. Then I thought about the happiness in her voice as she walked me through the exact steps on how to do it.
“Fuck,” I growled, as I threw my phone down and took off for the shower. “She's a pain in my ass.”
The saddest part of it all was that I'd thought about her all day long while I was at work. I was actually looking forward to her calling when I got home. It didn't help that my mom was working that day and mentioned Lauren twice. I needed to get my shit together. What I needed was a night out. All I had to do was bury myself deep inside of a sexy woman, and I'd be fine. Wait! I hadn't been with anyone since I'd been with her the first time, and I'd already been with her three times. That was not okay, and I was going to resolve that problem very soon.
When I got home from work, I heated up a frozen meal and headed for my office. I jumped right in and had come up with a few things before she'd called. The second I answered the phone, I started rattling off ideas, and she came right back at me. By the time we hung up, I was exhausted, and I was pretty sure she was too.
The next two weeks went by quickly. We were super busy. I hadn't even had the chance to go out and take care of my problem yet. Lauren seemed to work during the night. I wasn't sure why. I hadn't asked since it was none of my business. Each day my schedule changed a bit. By the end of the second week, I was working during the day, sleeping after work, and up talking to her all night. We'd made a huge amount of progress together. I'd come up with something and she'd add to it, or she'd come up with something and I'd add to it. It was actually going very well. Even though all of our conversations revolved around work, I couldn't wait to talk to her. She got it, and it was awesome. She was just as passionate as I was. It was so damn nice talking to someone that was right there on the same page with me.
Things were going great, and then one day they stopped. I went back in my mind over our last few talks. Had I said something to offend her? Was she pissed at what I'd come up with? Shit! Was she using me? Had she gotten everything she needed so she could go to them without me knowing? Would she do that? Why would she have told me how to get through if that was her plan? I seriously couldn't figure out what was going on. She'd told me what time she was going to call, but she didn't, and she hadn't messaged either. I tried calling, but she didn't answer. I tried messaging her, but I got nothing back. It was like she'd vanished. I was pissed. She'd played me, I knew it.
Screw her, I thought. I wasn't having that shit. I grabbed my phone and typed out a message.
Me: I get it. You went to them. I understand. You won. Congratulations!
It only took a second for me to figure out that she hadn't vanished. Nope, she was ignoring me.
Lauren: It's not what you think.
Really? That was it. Ugh!
Me: Nothing ever is, is it? Answer your damn phone.
I hit call on her name. My blood was boiling. I was so ready to tear her a new one.
“Hello,” she said in a strange tone.
“Lauren,” I said.
“Yes,” she said with her voice shaking.
“What's wrong?” I asked.
“Nothing,” she mumbled.
“Don't give me that shit,” I said rougher than I should have. “What's going on?”
“My grandma died,” was all she said before bursting into tears. Not just small tears, but I could hear her sobbing through the phone kind of tears.
“I'm on my way,” I said, as I jumped up from my seat, grabbed my keys, and took off out the door.
“No,” she said through her sobs. “You can't come here. I'm fine. Stay there.”
I hung up before she could say anything else. There was no way she was talking me out of it, and I needed to get there as quickly as I could. Her grandma was the only one she had, I remembered her saying that. Her parents both sucked, and the only person that really cared about her was gone.
“She doesn't need you,” I said into my empty car. “She has Jackson, whoever he is.”
I thought about stopping and turning my car around, but I didn't. Something felt off. I wasn't sure what it was, but there was something there. She didn't seem like she'd had someone there for her. Hearing her burst into tears tore at my heart. All I wanted to do was take her pain away. If I couldn't do that, I was at least going to be there.
The drive seemed so long. Was she alone? Was she okay? It made me sick being so far away. The closer I got, the more unsure I was about going. Would she even want me there? She'd told me no. What would I do when I finally got there? How could I help ease her pain?
I pulled in the driveway that belonged to the address I'd found for her. She wasn't the only one that could dig shit up. There were two cars there besides mine. Maybe she did have someone, I thought. Maybe driving there was a waste. I looked up at the house. It was nice. There were two floors. It wasn't huge, but it was enough for her grandma and her. Was her mom there? She'd said that her mom had pulled away from her and that her grandparents raised her. Where was her mom?
I got out of the car and walked up the walk. When I lifted my hand to knock, I was more nervous than I'd been in a long time. My nerves always revolved around work. I'd never had a reason to be nervous around a woman. It wasn't because of her. It was because of the situation. Yeah, that was it. When I knocked and nobody answered, I knocked again making sure to be louder.
I heard the lock on the door move and took a deep breath as it opened. The moment I saw her, I felt a tug in my chest. She wasn't the cocky competitor I'd seen before. She was the opposite really. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and her face was filled with sadness.
“Lance,” she said when she looked up and saw it was me. “You have to go. You can't be here. I told you not to come. I'm fine.”
She had a tissue in her hand, and I could hear the little sniffles she was trying to hide.
“You don't look fine,” I said, as I moved to step forward.
Her hand came up to stop me, and her head shook.
“No,” she said. “You need to leave. I don't need anything.”
“You might not need me, but I'm here anyway,” I said, feeling something between hurt and offended that she was pushing for me to leave so quickly.
Was she afraid I'd see him? Was she worried I'd tell him that we'd been together? Did he know anything about me? I wanted so badly to say something, but seeing her looking the way she was stopped me. It wasn't about them. I knew about him before I was
with her the second time. It was about her and the pain she was going through.
“No,” she said. “Just go.”
She reached up and grabbed the door behind her to close it.
“Why?” I asked.
“Lance,” she whispered.
“Mommy,” a very young voice yelled out.
I watched Lauren's eyes widen and a nervous look cross her face.
“Go,” she said, as she pushed the door forward.
I reached out to stop it and pushed it back against the wall.
“You have a child?” I asked quietly.
Lauren burst into tears and instantly covered her face with her hands. A little boy rounded the corner and walked up to us. He looked to be somewhere between three and five and looked just like her.
“Hi,” he said with a smile on his face.
“Hello, I'm Lance,” I said.
“My name is Jackson,” he said.
It felt like someone punched me in the stomach.
“Jackson,” I whispered.
The hotel, the phone, the person she'd been talking to. It all made sense. She was talking to her son.
“It's nice to meet you, Jackson,” I said.
“Are you my mommy's friend?” he asked.
“I am,” I said.
“She's sad,” he said. “Our grandma died.”
“I heard,” I said, wanting to reach down and hug the little guy that had just lost someone close to him. I couldn't imagine losing my grandma.
“Did you come to help her?” he asked.
“I sure did,” I said. “Would that be okay with you?”
I could hear her crying even harder and felt my heart breaking for her.
Hacked by Love, Part 3 Page 7
