My back went down onto hers and neither of us moved. Once we'd both recovered our breathing, she crawled up the bed and fell back onto her pillow while I walked into the bathroom. When I came back into the room, she was already asleep. I pulled the sheet and blanket over her. As much as I wanted to crawl into bed next to her, I knew I couldn't. I'd already done something I'd never done before, put someone or something before my dreams. There was no way I could let it get any worse. I was already losing all but two hours of sleep, and I was supposed to be on my game in that meeting. Everything I'd worked for since I was ten was for that moment. There was no way anyone or anything was going to ruin it, especially a bad decision on my part.
I grabbed my clothes and quietly got dressed. Then I turned off the lights in her room and walked out the door. When I grabbed my key card out of my pocket, I realized I was only one room over from her. Shit, I thought. I quickly got into my room, set my alarm, and went to bed. Two hours, I thought. I needed every single second of it.
I closed my eyes, but she was all I could think about. Her plump, soft lips popped into my head, and I thought about having them wrapped around my cock. I'd never wanted anyone like I'd wanted her. There were so many things I saw myself doing to her during those two hours I lay there. Not for one second did I manage to fall asleep.
My alarm went off, and I was exhausted. I quickly shut it off, took a shower, and got dressed. I'd brought dockers, a dress shirt, and a tie to wear. The moment I put that tie around my neck and looked in the mirror to tie it, she popped into my mind. What would it be like to tie her up, I wondered? Shit! Knock that shit off, I scolded myself.
I packed my bags as fast as I could. I needed to get out of there. I needed to get away from her. As soon as the doors to the elevator closed behind me, I let out a long breath. I checked out quickly and headed for the hotel door. When I stepped out into the fresh air, I saw two black cars parked with drivers standing next to them.
“Mr. Smith,” the first man said.
“Yes,” I replied.
He held the back door open, took my bag that wasn't holding my laptop, and closed the door after I got in. Then he put my bag in the trunk before getting into the driver seat and taking off. I was pretty sure the other car was for the competition. Part of me couldn't help but wonder what the punk looked like. Was he short and nerdy, or was he tall and confident? Maybe he was short and confident or tall and nerdy. I couldn't help but laugh at my thoughts. That same shit had gotten me into trouble with her the night before. The moment my mind went to her, I told myself to stop. It was not the time or the place to be thinking about anything but my dreams and making them a reality. That was exactly what I was going to do.
Chapter 7
Lance
The car stopped, and the driver hurried around to open my door. I looked up at the huge building I was in just one day before. Part of me wanted to tell them they didn't need to waste their time with the punk I knew I was going to take out, and part of me couldn't help but wonder exactly who the guy was. There wasn't a part of me that could wait to get home and get right to work to prove my skills.
I waited in the lobby and the same woman came down to get me. I had to wonder if I would one day be wearing a suit and walking straight through the lobby, to the elevator, and then to my office? When we got off the elevator, she walked me to the conference room. The moment I walked through the door, I was greeted by the same guy as the day before. There were two seats empty instead of one, and they were across from each other.
“Have a seat,” he said. “We're still waiting on the other party to join us.”
The guys all seemed relaxed as they began asking me questions. Before I knew it, we were laughing and having a great conversation. I loved being in a place with people that were into the same stuff I was. My dad tried so hard to pretend to care, but it was so much different when someone actually did. A whole hour had gone by and the loser hadn't shown up yet. Who would do that, I wondered? He had the job of a lifetime at his fingertips, and he was quickly screwing it up. That was good for me, but it still didn't stop me from wondering why. Did he think he was worth more than anyone else? Did he think he was so special that they would let that go? Would they let it go? A knock on the door pulled me from my thoughts.
“Really?” I asked the guy next to me. “It's about time.”
The man that greeted me stood up and opened the door with a huge smile on his face.
“Hello,” he said. “So nice of you to join us.”
“I'm so sorry. The alarm in my room never went off. I can't believe this. Please accept my apology and know that I am the one for this job.”
My head instantly turned from the guy I was talking to over to the door. What the fuck, was all that popped into my mind. It couldn't be. There was some mistake. I was competing with the annoying, little shit that had been torturing me for a very long time.
“Come on in,” the man said. “Lance, I'd like you to meet Lauren. You probably know her as Eagle.”
He turned to me with a smile so wide. I couldn't believe it. He knew he'd gotten me. I'd said he or him so many times. The guy was fucking with me.
“A woman?” I questioned.
“Excuse me,” I heard her snap from behind him. “You did not just say that. I'll show just how good this woman is.”
My blood was boiling. Was she really the one that had been fucking with me all those years? So many thoughts ran through my mind that I couldn't even think straight anymore. Get it together, I told myself. I didn't give a shit. Woman or man didn't matter to me.
“You're going down,” I snapped.
“I don't think so,” she said. “You're the one going down.”
The man took a step to the side. My eyes traveled up two long, sexy legs and continued higher. I heard her gasp the moment her eyes connected with mine. It was an amazing sound, just not one I wanted to hear under the circumstances. Staring back at me were the beautiful eyes I had been looking into just hours before while my cock was buried so damn deep inside of her.
“Maybe you already did,” she said, as she quickly collected herself, pulled her shoulders back, and stood tall and confident.
“Eagle?” I whispered, so damn shocked that she was standing there.
“Like Locksmith is any better,” she said sarcastically, as she walked around the table and took her seat.
“I can't believe this,” I said in a pissed off tone.
“Were you expecting someone different?” she asked innocently, as she sat down, put her elbows on the table, and rested her chin on her hands.
In that moment, I knew things were going to be so much harder than I thought. She was challenging me, and I couldn't wait to show her who was boss.
To be continued...
Hacked by Love, Part 2 coming April 4th.
Be sure to watch for “Code of Love (Bachelor Billionaire Kids #2)” as well as the first novel in a new security series featuring Derek.
Please continue on for the Prologue and Chapter 1 of “Working on My Brother's Best Friend” and Chapter 1 and 2 of “A Love Rekindled” (The Game of Love #1).
Other Stories by Sharon Cummin
Romance Series
Romance and a... Series: The Complete Collection
Billionaire Romance Series
Finding Love, Keeping Love, and Saving Love
Bachelor Billionaire Series
Sea of Love (Bachelor Billionaire #1)
Sea of Love is a complete, stand-alone novel. It is #1 of a 5 novel series.
Hot for Love (Bachelor Billionaire #2)
Hot for Love is a complete, stand-alone novel. It is #2 of a 5 novel series.
Battle for Love (Bachelor Billionaire #3)
Battle for Love is a complete, stand-alone novel. It is #3 of a 5 novel series.
Rescue of Love (Bachelor Billionaire #4)
Rescue of Love is a complete, stand-alone novel. It is #4 of a 5 novel series.
Built for Love (Bachelor
Billionaire #5)
Built for Love is a complete, stand-alone novel. It is #5 of a 5 novel series.
The Future of Love (Bachelor Billionaire #6)
The Future of Love is a complete, stand-alone novel. It is #6 of a 6 novel series.
Bachelor Billionaire: Complete Box Set (6 Novels)
All six novels together.
Bachelor Billionaire Kids
Saved by Love (Bachelor Billionaire Kids #1)
The Game of Love Series
The Game of Love Boxed Set
His Assistant Serials
His Assistant Serials: Complete Box Set
His Assistant: The Final Story
His Assistant Ultimate Box Set (including The Final Story)
Unexpected Love Serials
Unexpected Love Box Set (It Happened in Vegas and What Happened After Vegas?)
A Blast from the Past (A Second Chance Romance)
A Blast from the Past (A Second Chance Romance)
The Dark Night
The Dark Night
The Dark Night Returns
In Love with My Brother's Best Friend
In Love with My Brother's Best Friend: Complete Box Set
A Crush on Her Best Friend's Brother
A Crush on Her Best Friend's Brother: Complete Box Set
Showing Him Who's Boss
Showing Him Who's Boss, Part 1
Showing Him Who's Boss, Part 2
Showing Him Who's Boss, Part 3
Playing Hardball
Playing Hardball, Part 1
Playing Hardball, Part 2
Playing Hardball, Part 3
Playing Hardball, Part 4
Playing Hardball, Part 5
Falling for My Best Friend
Falling for My Best Friend, Part 1
Falling for My Best Friend, Part 2
Falling for My Best Friend, Part 3
Falling for My Best Friend, Part 4
Falling for My Best Friend, Part 5
Working on My Brother's Best Friend
Working on My Brother's Best Friend
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Working on My Brother's Best Friend
Prologue
Gabby
I was twenty five when I threw the going away party for my brother Gabe. There were so many things going through my mind. I looked around at all of his friends and then at the one that was leaving with him. That was where my emotions mixed.
I was going to miss my brother more than anything. We were twins and had been close our whole lives. My name was Gabriella, but he called me Gabby. His name was Gabriel, but I called him Gabe. It was the only thing we'd gotten from our parents before they took off. We were raised by my mother's parents. Ours were too young and not ready for two kids. That was what my grandma told me anyway. Gabe and I had been inseparable growing up. He was the life of the party. The man always had a joke for everything. He always found a way to bring a smile to my face no matter what was going on around us. He had my back anytime I needed it, and I would have done anything for him.
Gabe finished college and had decided to move from Michigan to California to start his own business. I was so happy that he was going to be doing what he loved without having to answer to anyone. He'd loved web development and graphics ever since he'd first gotten onto a computer. It was something he was very passionate about. I was more into the financial aspects of business than anything else. He'd offered me a job at his company. I thought about going so I could be close to him. There were only two reasons I declined his offer.
The first reason being our grandparents. They were both having health issues and I was afraid to leave them alone. My grandma begged me to go. She didn't want me to pass up the opportunity of being with Gabe as he started his company. She didn't know they weren't the only reason I'd said no.
The second and biggest reason I stayed behind was named Doug. He was Gabe's best friend and had been our entire lives. Growing up, Doug was it for me. He was my first and only crush. He was the man I thought in my heart I would end up spending my life with. He was the first boy to kiss me. We were sixteen and he left for the summer to stay with his father. I couldn't wait for him to come back. I counted down the days. Something changed in him while he was gone. When he came back, he was different. He was distant with me, and nothing was ever the same again. It didn't change how much I liked him. He was still Doug, and I still knew we were destined to be together. There was nothing the boy could do to make him less than perfect in my eyes. That was what I thought anyway. By the time we graduated high school, he'd proven me wrong. My crush was gone and was replaced with more disgust than I'd felt for anyone else in my life. He'd hurt me, and there was nothing he could have done to take that hurt away.
I'd been able to avoid Doug all through college. I stayed at school even during the summers. It was awesome. Gabe had gone to college close to home, so he'd been with my grandparents. Doug had gone to school with him. We'd all graduated, and I'd come back home. Being around Doug was awful. I'd seen him move from woman to woman those three years. Just seeing his face made my stomach sick.
When Gabe announced that he was starting a company in California, I didn't know what to think. It was going to be hard to be away from him. I'd done it in college, but that wasn't a five hour plane flight away. I was going to miss him so much. It wasn't easy knowing he was leaving. The one thing saving me was knowing Doug was going with him. I knew he'd have someone right there all the way. Doug would always have his back. Gabe was the one person he'd never screw over. That I was sure of. It was me he didn't mind hurting. I knew with Doug across the country, I could move on with my life. I wouldn't have to see women hanging on his every word or hear his disgusting mouth. That was my decision maker. I wanted a life, and with him gone it would be easier. If I never saw him again, it would be perfect. I'd never let anyone make me feel the way he did, not ever again.
Chapter 1
Gabby
I sat in the quiet, cold funeral home looking down at my hands in my lap. Five years had gone by since my brother Gabe had moved to California. If I knew where I'd be just five short years later, I never would have turned down his offer. I would have gone with him. I would have watched him move to success from right by his side. I wouldn't have let anything hold me back. The tears were sliding down my cheeks. I could feel them, but I never moved to dry them. All I had to do was get through one day. Then I'd go back to my apartment and lock myself away from the rest of the world.
Gabe was all I had. He was my twin. He was my family. Both of my grandparents had passed away in the five years he'd been gone. I'd been married and divorced in that time as well. My life was a mess as it was, and I had no idea how I was going to make it without the only person that mattered to me. How could he have done it, I thought? How could he have left me? Didn't he know how much I needed him? He probably didn't. I hadn't told him enough. Even though we talked every couple of days, I hadn't let him know how important he was to me. I'd never gone to visit him either. He'd come to see me every few months. Those were the times that really mattered. He was my brother, and I loved him more than he ever knew.
When I received the call that he'd passed away, I felt the last little piece of life inside of me die with him. I couldn't believe it was true. He was so young and successful. He had his whole life ahead of him. How could a thirty year old lose control of his car? Why wasn't he paying attention? I was so angry and hurt. He knew he was all I had. How could he leave me too? I knew all of my thoughts were selfish, but that didn't stop them from moving through my mind. They said it was an accident, it wasn't his fault. All I knew
was that everything that mattered was gone. It should have been me, I thought. I would have given anything to take his place.
I'd told the funeral director that I wanted my brother cremated. That was my only request. Other than that, Doug was to do the planning. I was relieved that Doug had only planned one day. I was sure it was to get back to his life in California, but I didn't care. I wasn't sure I could have sat through two days or a funeral. Just sitting in the same room was too much. I hadn't been able to walk to the front. I'd sat down in the very back of the room, and that was where I stayed. I couldn't see him. I just couldn't say goodbye to him.
I could hear people talking, but I couldn't tell you what they were saying. If Doug hadn't been there, Gabe wouldn't have had a sendoff at all. Doug had a smile on his face as he greeted people. I'd heard them all talking about what a great guy Gabe was. Those people didn't give a shit about him. They were just doing what they felt they were obligated to do. When Doug laughed and talked about my brother being so amazing, I wanted to get up and punch him in the face. Why was he the one that got to see Gabe every day? Why was he the one with all of the memories and stories? Why was he the one that was with my brother through his success? Because I was too big of a wuss, that was why. I should have gone to California. I shouldn't have cared who else was there. That was selfish of me. Look where it left me. I'd lost five years of memories. Gabe was gone, and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it.
Hacked by Love, Part 1 Page 4
