“No,” I correct him. “You said that the work would go faster if you had a developer, and I told you that I couldn’t pull anyone off one of my projects.”
“Well, Sachin didn’t think there was a problem,” he says huffily. “You’re not in kindergarten anymore, Sanders. Learn to share.”
Deep breath. “You went behind my back,” I tell him clearly. “Sachin is dreadful at saying ‘No’, and you intimidated him and implied that his job was on the line if he didn’t cooperate.” My jaw clenches in anger. I’m done with this clown. “This time, you’re getting away with it. I’m going to hire someone else. But consider this a warning, Larry.” I step into his office and glare at the man. “You pull this kind of shit one more time, and no matter what the consequences, I’ll see to it that you’re sidelined or fired.”
He doesn’t reply, nor do I expect him to.
10
Miki
At six in the morning on Monday, User0989 sends me a link to a job posting at Imperium. They’re looking for someone to act as a security expert on one of their products. It’s a perfect match for my skills.
Under different circumstances, I’d be applying to the role in a heartbeat.
Yet, for the next three hours, I’m wracked with indecision.
If I’m inside the Imperium network, I have a fighting chance of finding out what my brother-in-law is up to. I love Leah, and I will move heaven and earth to help her.
But I have no illusions. Once I’m inside the company, I’m committed to doing what User0989 wants. I won’t have any other choice. He knows too much. He knows my real name as well as my DefCon username. If he threatens to expose me, I’ll have to cooperate with him.
And if Oliver and Finn were to find out the truth, I have no doubt that the easy charm and sexy smiles will disappear. They will have me arrested.
I wish I could talk to Merlin and Lancelot about this. I pull my phone out, but they’re not online. Again.
I went to the furniture store yesterday. When I realized what the two of them had given me, I’d been ready to bawl my eyes out at their kindness and their consideration. In our year of marriage, Aaron never once got me a gift I wanted. Instead, I got jewelry and fancy clothes, so that he could show his colleagues what a wonderful husband he was.
Forget Aaron.
I’d sent Lancelot and Merlin a couple of messages yesterday thanking them for their gift, but I’ve heard nothing back from either of them. After talking to them every single day in the last few months, the radio silence feels strange and weird and, if I’m being perfectly honest, a little hurtful.
Forget Merlin and Lancelot.
Finally, I give up and apply for the job. They might not even call you back, I tell myself. You’re probably stressing over nothing.
Less than an hour later, I stare at my email with total disbelief. There’s a message in my inbox from someone called Mary MacDonald, who heads up Human Resources at Imperium.
They want to interview me today at four in the afternoon.
Crap on a cracker.
I’m torn. This job interview is the best thing that’s happened to me since my divorce. For the first time in a long while, I’m excited. There’s a part of me that wants to do a happy dance around Wendy’s living room.
I type out a reply confirming my availability. My heart is pounding in my chest when I’m done. I have to tell someone my big news. I could call Leah or one of my girlfriends, but they wouldn’t appreciate what a big deal this is. If you’re a hacker, Imperium is the Holy Grail of employers.
Except it isn’t real.
But even that sobering thought can’t quite quell my excitement.
Lancelot and Merlin would understand. Even though they haven’t been online or seen any of my messages, I still want to tell them.
I pull out my phone and type them a quick line. Guess what? I have an actual job interview. AT LAST! And it’s at IMPERIUM!!!!!!!!
My euphoria fades in the shower. Oliver and Finn are way, way out of my league, and nothing is ever likely to happen between us. But it had been nice to daydream about the possibilities.
If I’m hired at Imperium, however, I can’t let anything happen.
Because I’m secretly plotting to destroy them.
11
Oliver
Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?
Abraham Lincoln
Monday morning, I have a meeting with Susan Dee, the head of Public Relations at Imperium. “You were quite cryptic at the party, Oliver. What are we dealing with here?”
I slide the envelope containing the six photos across my desk, and she opens it and flips through them. “I’m a little disappointed,” she quips when she’s done. “I was hoping you’d be wearing leather pants.”
I chuckle. Susan’s impossible to shock. “Claudia claims that I coerced her into bondage, spanked her without her consent, and took photos of the act.”
She rolls her eyes. “How much did she ask for? I’m assuming you’re not paying.”
“If it were money, I might pay just to get it over with. She wants Imperium shares. That’s not going to happen.”
Susan nods, unsurprised. “No, of course not.” She flips through the images again. “Well, these photos aren’t good. How long do we have before this hits?”
“Ten weeks, probably.” We go public in three months, and there’s a blackout period for six months after that to prevent people from selling their shares. Claudia is going to want to get her portion before the IPO.
“Ouch.” She frowns. “This isn’t my area of expertise, Oliver. I’m going to recommend we hire a PR firm that specializes in crisis management.”
“We need someone discreet.”
“Absolutely,” Susan replies. “I can have a shortlist of firms on your desk by Wednesday morning.”
“Thanks, Sue. I appreciate it.”
She clears her throat. “Oliver,” she says, “This blackmail attempt is just vile. We’re going to fix this.”
Her faith in me is reassuring. I only hope the board sees it the same way.
A couple of hours later, Finn and I are lost in work when both our phones buzz at the same time. Out of habit, I glance at my screen.
And freeze.
Miki’s interviewing at Imperium.
Finn looks like someone’s hit him with a baseball bat. “What the hell?” I swear out loud. I pick up my phone and page my assistant. “Janine, I need to see Mary in my office as soon as possible.”
Hanging up, I look at Finn. “This is bullshit.” I’m infuriated. I don’t know where my rage is coming from, but there’s no doubt that I’m angrier than I’ve ever been in my life. “Tell me that it’s coincidence that the only person who successfully hacked into one of our systems is interviewing at our firm.”
He doesn’t reply.
“Tell me,” I continue, my voice louder, “that she’s not hiding something. Tell me she’s on the up-and-up. Tell me that I can trust her.”
Finn meets my gaze squarely, but he doesn’t say a word.
“I’m done.” I get to my feet and stare out of the window. From my office, I can see the East River. Typically, the view soothes me. Not today. “I’m done being Lancelot. No more DefCon. No more late night chats. If I can’t trust Miki, then I’m going to cut her out of my life, Finn. Mary can cancel the damn interview.”
My gut churns at the idea of never talking to her again, but my mind’s made up. If I wanted to spend time with a lying, conniving woman, I’d call my fucking ex-wife.
“She’s not Claudia,” Finn replies quietly. “And I don’t think either of us can take the moral high ground. We’ve been lying to Miki for three months.”
“So you trust her unquestioningly?” I sneer, ignoring the stab of conscience I feel at his words. “You want to roll out the red carpet for Miki? You want to let her inside Imperium and give her access to our network? The IPO is in three months, Finn. Do you trust her that much?”
&n
bsp; “No,” he admits reluctantly. “Something doesn’t add up.” He glances at his phone again, and his lips twist into a small smile. “She sounds really happy about this job,” he mutters.
Yeah. She really does.
I remember the first three months after my divorce. I’d been shattered. My emotions had see-sawed from relief that I was free of Claudia, to self-reproach that I could have been stupid enough to marry her. Finn had never liked her. Janine couldn’t stand her. Finn’s grandmother had taken me aside and asked me if I knew what I was getting into. I’d ignored them. I’d been a fool.
I’ve poured all of this out to Miki over several late night conversations. No names, of course, and no identifying details, but she knows more about me than anyone except Finn.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice?
Finn’s lost in thought. “I think we should hire her,” he says at last.
“Are you out of your mind?”
“Hear me out, Oliver,” he snaps. “I’m not suggesting we have her running around without supervision. I think we should hire her, and have her work on something where we can keep an eye on her. There’s someone behind this. Don’t you want to find out who?”
I give him a questioning look. “Don’t you think it’s Fitzgerald?”
“He isn’t acting alone. Someone inside Imperium is helping him. Possibly the same someone who put Miki on the guest list for Friday’s party.”
There’s a knock on our door, and Mary MacDonald sticks her head in. “You wanted to see me?”
I wave her inside. “You’re interviewing Mackenzie Cooper today?”
She looks surprised. “Yes. She sent her resume in this morning. She’s exceptionally well qualified.”
Yeah, I know.
“Is there a problem?” Mary asks. “I did a quick background check, and there wasn’t anything that stood out.”
I make up my mind. “No, no problem,” I tell her. “Who’s meeting with her, Sachin and you?”
She nods.
“Change of plan. Finn and I will be interviewing Miki ourselves.”
Finn’s right. We need to keep an eye on Miki. My head tells me we’re doing the smart thing by hiring her.
But in my heart, I know this is a very bad idea. I like Miki, and I’m attracted to her.
If I felt nothing other than pure sexual attraction for her, I could ignore it. I’m a fucking adult, after all. But I genuinely like her, and that makes her dangerous.
You liked her, I correct myself. Your friendship is in the past.
12
Miki
True friends stab you in the front.
Oscar Wilde
I get to Imperium’s front desk and ask for Mary MacDonald. The receptionist waves toward the couch. “Please take a seat, Ms. Cooper,” she says. “I’ll let Mary know you’re here.”
The Head of Human Resources appears in the lobby three minutes later. “Mackenzie,” she greets me with a friendly smile. "Thank you for coming at such short notice.”
She places her hand over the scanner, and it flashes green. I’m impressed with Imperium’s security. Key cards can be stolen. Fingerprints are much harder to fake.
Mary pushes the door open, and I follow her through. “Can I get you something to drink? Coffee? Water?"
“I’m good, thank you.” As I walk, my head swivels back and forth, and I check out the office space. It's light and airy, but it's smaller than I would have thought. "How large are you?"
Since Friday night, I've googled Imperium six ways to Sunday, but I've run into some real limitations in my search. Information on the data security company is practically non-existent. Their website has a lot of detail about their suite of products, but almost nothing about the company itself, apart from the one page with a list of their executives. It's maddening.
"We’re just over sixty employees now,” she replies. "When we talked earlier, I think I said that Sachin Sharma, the team lead of Shield would be interviewing you, didn’t I?”
I nod.
“Change of plans. Sachin’s slammed. You’re going to be meeting with our CEO and COO instead.”
My heart almost stops. “I beg your pardon?” I say faintly. Surely I’ve misheard her. Why would Finn and Oliver be interviewing me personally?
She stops in front of a dark walnut door and knocks. “Come on in,” a familiar voice says.
“Good luck, Mackenzie,” Mary says. She turns the handle and pushes the door open.
I step into the office, my palms damp. Run, Miki, run, a voice inside me is screaming. Get out before it’s too late.
But it’s already too late; it was too late the moment I wore my pink dress and went to their party. It was too late the moment I replied to User0989’s message.
Now, I need to see this through.
“Miki.” Oliver rises to his feet when I enter, as does Finn. He smiles at me, his eyes amused. “I pride myself on being able to remember conversations. When we first met on the plane to JFK, Finn asked you what you did.”
The office is huge. It’s got floor-to-ceiling views of the river, two huge desks, a large gray sectional in the corner, and a round table with eight chairs around it. It’s very fancy. “What did I say?” I ask. Even though his smile seems friendly, I’m still wary.
Finn answers. “You said you stared at spreadsheets all day. Then again, you probably couldn’t talk about your work at Blackthorne.”
I seize on the lifeline he’s thrown me. “Exactly.”
Oliver waves me to a chair across from him, and I sit down. Finn’s sitting next to me, and I’m acutely conscious of his presence. After the way I’d flirted with them Friday night, how could I not be?
This is a job interview, Miki. Stay professional.
It’s hard. Finn’s eyes are not running over my body now, but I can’t stop thinking of the way he’d looked at me Friday night. Oliver’s sitting across the desk from me, acting completely professional, and all I can think of is the way he bent his head toward me and asked me if my pussy was happy.
My pussy would be a lot happier if it got up close and personal with these two men.
Oliver is scanning my resume. “Tell me about yourself,” he says. “Why do you want to work at Imperium?”
My brother-in-law might be cheating on my sister, and the proof, if any, is here. Oh, also, someone’s paying me a hundred thousand dollars to steal your client list. I’m still looking for a way out of that one, though.
“I believe in data security,” I reply. Yeah, I know that’s a lame answer. “I enjoy finding vulnerabilities in systems before someone can exploit them.”
“Tell me about the work you did at Blackthorne,” Finn prompts.
I answer his question, wishing I could read them. It might be my imagination, but I’m willing to swear there’s an air of tension in the room. Suddenly, the reason behind their strained expressions strikes me.
“I’d like to say something.” God, this is awkward. “I had no idea who you were on Friday. Obviously, if I’m hired, I’ll keep things strictly professional.”
A smile tugs at Oliver’s lips. “Thank you, Miki.” He raises his eyebrow at Finn. “Finn, anything you want to add?”
My stomach sinks. They haven’t even asked me three questions. So far, my interview has lasted less than ten minutes. When Mary emailed me, I thought I had a real shot at this job. So much for optimism.
I’ve blown it.
I don’t know what passes between Finn and Oliver; I’m too lost in my misery to pay attention.
“Miki,” Oliver’s voice pulls me out of my gloomy reverie. “We’d like to offer you a job.”
“What?” I gape at him. “But you didn’t ask me any questions.”
Finn chuckles. “I spent twenty minutes on the phone with your boss at Blackthorne,” he says. “Wade Beaumont could not say enough good things about you.” He holds his hand out. “Welcome to the team,” he says. “If you’re interested in joining us?”
“Of course.” I’m absolutely numb.
Oliver shakes my hand as well. “About your salary,” he says, and rattles off some terms that have my head spinning.
It's money. It's pretty good money. It's enough money that I'm going to be able to hit ‘Restart’ on my life.
Miki, this is insane. What are you doing?
They’re looking at me expectantly, and I realize they’re waiting for me to respond. "I'm in," I reply quickly. “Thank you.”
“Excellent,” Finn says. “How soon can you start?”
“Tomorrow?” Everything’s moving so quickly that I don’t have time to think. I’m acting purely on instinct.
“Good.” Oliver rises to his feet. “Oh, by the way. You won’t be working on the Shield team.”
“I won’t?”
There’s a dark expression in his deep blue eyes. “No,” he says. “Your skills are much more suitable for a project that Finn and I are working on. You’ll be working directly with us. In fact,” he adds, “until we find you a cubicle, you’ll be working in our office.” He waves at the conference table. “As you can see, there’s plenty of room.” His eyes gleam with amusement and something more heated. Or is that just my imagination? “Welcome to Imperium.”
I won’t be able to poke around their network with Oliver and Finn watching my every move. How am I going to find out what my brother-in-law, Benjamin, is up to? What’s User0989 going to say?
I’m screwed.
13
Miki
The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
Mark Twain
I do my best to calm down on my way home. The instant I walk into the front door, my phone buzzes. It’s User0989. Well? What happened?
Ménage in Manhattan: The Complete 5-Book Ménage Romance Collection Page 90
