Karen had taught him years ago getting involved with anyone in that company was a dangerous path to follow. Good thing he and Mikki knew last night was a one-time thing. The thought didn’t take the edge off the realization she’d kept something as significant from him as working for the competition.
“Speaking of, if you want to see your karaoke partner on stage in a more professional fashion, she’s running an NSS panel in the morning breakout sessions.” Tate took another sip of coffee, grimaced, and tossed the cup in a nearby trashcan.
Jared cringed as coffee splashed in the waste bucket. So messy. Despite his irritation at being deceived, his pulse kicked up at the thought of hearing that playful voice again. He beat the reaction back with the rest of the morning’s conversation. “I was planning on it anyway.”
He was going to see if there were any hints about the direction NSS was taking their security offerings. And hopefully uncover a detail or two as to what he was missing in these rumors that his company wasn’t worth its own press releases. Not that he expected there to be any usable information—providing as little information as possible was status quo for these demos—but there was always a chance. And he could almost convince himself Mikki wasn’t adding another layer of incentive.
Tate’s brow furrowed, and he studied Jared for a minute. “I was joking. Vivian’s already attending. You can skip it if you want.”
Jared shrugged. “Hayden’s been bragging they’ve got something that can put us in the dirt. I’d like to form my own opinion.”
He didn’t want to be excited, or intrigued, or anything besides nonplussed about the thought of seeing the playful siren again, but he couldn’t swallow his growing arousal. Every inch of him hummed, his pulse racing in a way he knew wasn’t related to his abbreviated jog.
“Almost forgot.” Tate plucked Jared’s phone from the top of his gym bag. “Check your mail.”
Jared glanced between him and the device. “Just tell me what I’m looking for. You know I have about fifty unread messages.” His own verbal reminder set his mental compulsion on edge. He always forced himself not to check before his morning workout. Otherwise he’d be stuck in email hell before he had a chance to wake up. But he’d have to catch up on those before the morning breakout sessions.
“That’s it? How late were you up last night?” Tate shook his head. “Anyway. Peacock announced his retirement.”
That was almost enough to pull Jared back to the now. Larry Peacock was chief operations officer for Skriddie, and rumors of his retirement had been circulating for a while.
Jared wanted the job, and he knew he was one of the people being considered. The kinds of changes he could make in a position like that... Excitement tingled in his limbs, and he drummed his fingers against his leg. One of the reasons he loved his work was because there was always something new to learn—another way to make things perfect. And a step up the ladder would give him even more access to exactly that. “Any other news?”
Tate tossed the phone back on the bag. “Nah. But I’m sure you’ll hear before either of us anyway.”
JARED SLIPPED INTO the conference room with a just a few minutes to spare. Vivian already stood near the back, despite the empty chairs lining the last couple of rows. She gave him a tight-lipped smile and nodded him over.
“I didn’t expect to see you here.” Her voice was low amid the chatter of the trickling in crowd.
“I had to sate my curiosity.” He kept his tone as cool as possible and tried to convince his rampant imagination to chill as well.
“If everyone wants to have a seat, we’ll get started in a minute or two.” A familiar voice sliced into Jared’s thoughts, and his head snapped toward the stage.
Before his brain finished processing what the sound meant, his body reacted. Want tugged his cock to life and tempted him with memories of the night before. Even in her company’s basic trade show uniform, she still made his blood run hot. Not good. He needed to bring that under control.
Vivian looked between him and the podium, eyebrows rising. “Tell me you didn’t share more than a mic with her.”
Fuck. Why did she have to know him so well? When she’d been brought into the company a few years back and dropped into a high-ranking position, he’d resented her. This person didn’t know their business, especially not something as critical as day-to-day operations.
Since then, he and she had become solid friends. She understood things no one else did. And she had an odd—sometimes refreshing, occasionally irritating—way of looking into his head and helping him sort out his malfunctions when he wasn’t thinking straight.
He couldn’t pull his eyes away from Mikki as he talked to Viv. Maybe he could redirect the conversation. “Speaking of, did it occur to you to tell me who she was?”
“When would I have done that?” She dropped into a nearby seat. “While you were singing round after round of cheesy love songs? Besides, I figured she’d tell you.”
He took the spot next to her, attention still fixed up front. “It didn’t come up.” Would the knowledge would have stopped him? Of course it would have. He needed to stop that line of thinking now. If he abandoned the logic and reason he used to keep his life in line, he’d surrender the grip that order had on his sanity.
“Weird. But it was just a couple of duets. Given this entire week is about networking, the two of you were going to meet anyway, and it’s not like you screwed, right?”
“Hmm?” He’d heard the question clearly, but the sick clenching in his gut didn’t know how to respond.
“You’re pulling my leg. You did not do something that random. She’s an incredible talent, and I have nothing but respect for her. But she’s a decade younger than you.”
“You make me sound ancient. We’re both consenting adults.”
Vivian brushed a nonexistent strand of hair from her forehead. “Not that it matters, as long as she knows it was only one night.”
“Of course she does.”
“Did I ever tell you she gushed about you in her interview? Some kind of minor hero worship.”
Vivian had never told him that. And he wasn’t pleased to hear it. Or maybe I am just a little. “Doesn’t sound familiar, or relevant.”
“Right.” She crossed her legs at the knee. “Since you’re here, tell me if you think she’s got the skills everyone says she does. I still want her.”
That made two of them. Fuck, he needed to stop that. Of course Vivian was still trying to recruit this talent. She’d never been a good loser, especially when it came to Hayden. “Sure. I need you to give me something in return, though.”
“What’s up?”
Mikki’s eyes met his, holding him captive. The corners of her mouth twitched, and then she looked away. The teasing half smile of her not-quite acknowledgement made his pulse quicken and refreshed the page file of his mind with pleasant memories.
“I need to talk to her, strictly business, and I need someone to run interference.”
“Absolutely.”
Chapter Six
Mikki paced next to the image projected on the wall behind her. It took every ounce of her concentration not to yawn at her own presentation. Fortunately the talking itself took minimal thought. Every time she touched on what the company could do technologically, she had to swallow back the details, and that made the entire thing duller and more bullshit-filled than an end user license agreement.
Even if she were allowed to talk outside the company about the specifics of her job, these people didn’t want to hear what really made the technology work. They wanted glitter and bows and reassurances their information was safe from big, bad hackers. They didn’t care if it happened because of a tear in the space-time continuum, as long as it happened.
She’d seen Jared and Vivian hovering in the back of the room, but resisted the urge to stare, turning her attention away from them instead. That was a distraction she didn’t need. Or at least, she was telling herself she wasn’t distracted. Her h
eart hammered in her throat, she’d stumbled over more memorized lines than she’d nailed, and she’d emptied more glasses of ice water than she cared to admit, to dissuade herself from the rampant fantasies taunting her.
She needed to keep cool; they were. They would only be there to see what they could glean from the competition. And possibly see if she was using what she knew against them. Not that she ever would. Besides, they’d have corrected any security holes the moment Hayden told them there was an issue with their network security. And where had the sudden train of worry come from?
She rolled the question around in her head. It was because she cared what they thought. That was new. Or rather, an old feeling she thought she’d rid herself of. Before she’d set out to prove Payton wrong, it had been an intricate part of who she was to not make waves. After all, the nerdy girl two years younger than most of her class was safer going unnoticed.
But after his cruel words back then... She needed to remember why others’ opinions didn’t matter, or risk being that kind of vulnerable again. Yet she couldn’t help hoping Jared and Vivian would be impressed with what she had to say.
As she wound up her presentation, relief trickled through her, and her zombiefied state ebbed. Next time, she was staying at home and Hayden was showing the slides. Traveling on the company dime wasn’t worth it if this was what she had to put up with.
She almost laughed at the thought. Who am I kidding? It totally is. First time in Vegas, she already had memories to show for it, and she only had to surrender a few hours to boredom in exchange. She still had nearly three days left in town, the last day as authority-free as the first, and she was going to take advantage of her time here.
The room didn’t empty immediately, as she’d thought it would. Some people lingered in corners, heads bowed together. Others waited to talk to her. She wouldn’t have minded setting everything else aside and spending hours just chatting with people and answering their questions, but it didn’t seem like anyone wanted real answers, just more pretty special effects. She used the excuse of needing to pack up her laptop and projector to give vague replies to vague questions. The room had come with its own computer technology, but since she was there representing a tech company, she’d brought their higher resolution equipment.
She’d expected to have to argue to get the budget for it, but Hayden had agreed appearances were important. Despite her reluctance to chat, she wasn’t in a rush to get back, so making sure everything was securely packed away was a good excuse to drag her feet.
She shook hands with a couple of people in suits, accepted the compliments, and exchanged business cards. The entire time she was intently aware of Jared and Vivian hovering in the back of the room. Would it be worse or better if it was just him? What could they get up to if everyone else left? An unpleasant voice reminded her of Hayden’s warning from that morning. Stupid propriety.
And then almost everyone else was gone. Vivian stood near the back door, but her attention was directed outside the room. Mikki’s heart hammered a beat on her ribs when Jared approached.
“Let me guess.” His familiar voice called to the pleasant half of her warring thoughts. “You’re not the one who writes all the pretty words that take forever to say nothing.”
She cursed her racing pulse. It was because he’d startled her was all. It has nothing to do with the chills his voice sends down my spine. “I wrote it myself, if that’s what you’re implying. I’m not just a pretty face.”
“I wouldn’t dare assume anything of the sort.” He stood less than a foot away. Slacks and a suit coat had replaced the jeans and T-shirt from last night, and he looked incredible. He leaned against the podium, shoulders tilted toward her. He wore the same flat, difficult-to-read expression he’d had on when they’d first met last night. His gaze flickered over her before he met her eyes, and a hint of a smile threatened his face. “You know, when they talk about the NSS prodigy, they leave out the bit about you being really good at sounding like you’re saying everything when you’re not really saying anything.”
She blinked and shook her head at the double talk. Insult or compliment? “Only when it’s required of me.”
“I mean it in the best way possible. I was impressed. And sympathetic, if it helps.”
Warmth flooded her face, and she couldn’t ignore the pleased note springing though her.
He opened his mouth and then snapped it shut again, brow furrowing for a moment. He took a deep breath. “I don’t have any idea how to do this other than being direct, so please don’t take it the wrong way.”
“I’ll do my best not to?” Wow, this was awkward. Maybe she should have considered the morning after before now. Still, she was tired of a morning of vagaries. Actually hearing someone speak his mind would be a nice change.
“Last night was incredible.” A current of confidence and heat ran through his words. “But I didn’t know who you were.”
Okay, she could do this. They’d set things right and life would move on. “I told you.”
“You told me your first name.”
Right. Embarrassment flooded her. So he really hadn’t recognized her name. She couldn’t believe she’d assumed something like that. Just because she knew who he was didn’t mean she’d ever registered on his radar professionally. The realization kicked stones in her gut. At least that meant he didn’t hold her hack against her, right? “I’m sorry.”
He studied her for a moment, brows furrowed. “I should have poked for more information.”
She couldn’t help herself and let the teasing slip out. “I think you did an incredible job poking.”
The corner of his mouth tugged up, but the smile vanished before it could form completely.
Don’t be pleased he smiled. You’re not trying to impress him. Nah, I totally am. She nodded toward the door, and Vivian. “Does she know...?”
This time his smile bled in and stayed. “She knows how to keep quiet, if you’re worried.”
He glanced around him before locking his gaze on her again, and stepped closer. She should put more space between them, except his heady scent, and the response her body had to the crisp smell, made reason evaporate. He wasn’t touching her, but he was close enough she felt his heat.
He tilted his head toward hers, and the growing tingle in her belly stretched through her, hardening her nipples. Damn her body for betraying her need to put this behind her. His breath was hot on her ear when he spoke. “I still had an amazing time last night, don’t doubt that. Even if it was just one time, and even though we can’t do it again, I’m glad you gave me the souvenir.”
Every inch of her screamed to lean in. To grab one last kiss, or something more. To add to the taunting fantasy dancing in her thoughts. She shoved it all aside and replaced the distance between them. The cool air rushing around her didn’t soothe her roaring blood. She kept her smile casual. Apparently, picking his brain wouldn’t be an option right now.
She needed to bring her body under control and regain her rational ability to speak, before they could have a decent conversation. She would fan girl after he was gone and she was alone, and then tell her brain to start doing more than just swooning when he was around. Maybe next time they ran into each other, she could actually talk to him.
She shouldered her laptop and took another step back. “Me too.”
They exchanged generic goodbyes, and she reined in the impulse to make the conversation any more than it already was. After he was gone, she packed up the rest of her stuff.
“Mikki.” A pleasant female voice cut through her rambling thoughts as she left the room.
She whirled to face Vivian. Given the time they’d spent together when she’d interviewed with Skriddie Bust—they’d hung out after hours, seen the town, all as part of the recruitment speech—this conversation should be casual and normal. But Vivian knew. Maybe everything, since she’d seen them singing together last night, and it looked like she’d been running interference while Jared talked to M
ikki. Does she think less of me? Is that even possible? Based on what Hayden had told her, Vivian’s opinion of her was no longer measurable anyway. She hoped her tone sounded even and calm. “Good to see you again.”
Vivian’s smile grew, never appearing anything but genuine. Every hair was perfectly in place, and her suit looked like it cost more than everything Mikki had packed. “You never told me you’re so impressive on stage.”
Is she talking about last night, or today? “It’s not really the kind of thing that comes up in casual conversation.”
“I guess not. I’ll let you get back to work soon. I just wanted to let you know it was a great presentation. I’m just sorry you weren’t giving it for us.”
A trickle of surprise nudged Mikki’s senses, surging around every time Hayden had warned her that Skriddie was disappointed in her actions. On several occasions, he’d told her Vivian made no secret of the fact she was glad she hadn’t hired Mikki after all. What were the words he’d used? That Vivian couldn’t have someone working for her who didn’t know the difference between ethics and a challenge. “I’m sor—”
“Don’t.” Vivian waved her off. “You did what was right for you. But you should know, I still want you on our team, so if you ever change your mind...”
Mikki shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She’s kidding, right? She started to say she was happy where she was, but the words died before they reached her lips. Odd. “I didn’t think the job was still available.”
Vivian furrowed her brows. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
“You know... What I did.”
“It’s in the past now, right? We’re all adults. We can handle it.” Vivian adjusted her purse and glanced at her phone. “I’m sorry, I have an appointment. You still have my card?”
At least no one there was still mad about her hack. A guilt Mikki didn’t know she was carrying slipped away. They exchanged handshakes and said their goodbyes. As soon as the other woman was gone, Mikki sank into a nearby chair. Her head was whirling even more than before. The two contrasting conversations had her thoughts in a jumble. She wasn’t cut out for this casual sex thing, so why was she willing to do it again if it meant another night with him?
His Hacker (Love Games, #5) Page 5
