by Ravenna Tate
“I’ve worked retail and at fast food places for almost eight years. I pushed on, earning first my undergrad and then my MBA, because I wanted a life. I wanted a career. Something where I could use my skills and pursue my interests. And what did I end up with? A boss who watches old television shows all day and gossips more than he investigates anything.”
“I’m sorry about that, too.”
“I thought I could make a difference at HCS. I thought they were the good guys. But now I don’t know who the hell the good guys are, or even if there are good guys. At first, all of you seemed to be the good guys, but not lately. Not if you believe some of the rumors out there. That’s why I acted on what I overheard. I needed to know the truth, Viggo.”
“It was a rash decision. You should have done your own investigation first.”
He was right. “Agreed. I see that now. I told you that in your office, and I apologized for what I did. It was very stupid. But if I lose this job, as disappointing as it is, that will be the end of my professional career because who the hell will hire me once they find out I couldn’t hack it at HCS for more than a month?”
“I won’t let that happen.”
“What?”
“I said I won’t let that happen.”
This guy changed his mind as often as most people changed socks. “So now you’re not going to blackmail me?”
“It was never meant to be blackmail. You have access to information I need.”
“You mean why Ralph knows about the warehouse and the hackers.”
“Yes.”
Had he meant to tip his hand? “So it’s true.”
“Partly.”
“You want me to spy on my boss for you?”
“Not exactly.”
She wasn’t convinced this about-face was altruistic in nature. “But if I refuse, you’ll tell him what I did this morning.”
“I’m not sure about that either.”
Now she was really confused. She was about to ask him another question, but the sound of footsteps behind them stopped her.
“Dinner is ready.”
Madison turned around to find a man in livery standing there. She almost laughed. It was like watching an old movie. Who the hell had staff in their homes these days? Who was this guy?
“Thanks,” said Viggo. He glanced down at her with amusement in his eyes. “Hungry?”
Madison nodded, then followed him toward the stairs, wondering whether he’d meant hungry for dinner, or hungry for him. Judging by his tone of voice, and that sexy look on his face, she was sure it was the latter.
What was his story? And what had changed from this morning, when he’d been ready to toss her out of the building? She was as intrigued as she was confused. This promised to be one of the most interesting evenings she’d ever had.
Chapter Five
Madison had never tasted steak cooked so well, or lobster this succulent. “You are one lucky man,” she said, wiping butter off her chin with her napkin. “This is the best meal I’ve ever had.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Nick has been with me a long time.”
“Was he the man who came upstairs?”
“Yes.”
She glanced toward Nick as he came back into the dining room, carrying another bottle of wine. “I brought the white, too, just in case.”
“That’s a good idea. You can leave it. We’ll help ourselves.”
Nick left the room, and Madison asked how many other staff lived there.
“I have a housekeeper who comes in twice a week, but she doesn’t live here. Only Nick does.”
She had no clue if Nick was listening, so she leaned closer to Viggo and lowered her voice. “Why does he wear livery? I haven’t seen anyone wear that in real life like … ever.”
Viggo smiled. “He likes it. Says it makes him feel more professional.”
“So you don’t make him wear it?”
“No. Of course not.”
“But you had no qualms telling me what I should wear tonight.”
His easy laugh was infectious. It was hard to stay angry at this man.
“Only because I thought either of those colors would look very pretty on you, but like I said before, I think you look adorable.”
“Can we go back to talking about what I overheard?”
“Absolutely.”
“It sounds like you’ve changed your mind about telling Ralph what I did.”
He chewed the food in his mouth as he eyed her, and she had the sensation he was carefully choosing his words. “Not exactly. It’s more like I’ve decided your position at HCS is useful to me.”
“What makes you think I’d help you spy on Ralph?”
“Because you’re still not off the hook, Madison. What makes you think you are?”
She slammed down her fork. “Viggo, please stop playing head games. What do you want from me? I’ve already said I made a mistake in coming to your office. It was a stupid move. I had no clue what I’d overheard, and I jumped to conclusions. I don’t know what else to say except I’m sorry.”
He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off.
“But if you think you can blackmail me by threatening to have me fired, it won’t work. I’ve already told you to go ahead and tell Ralph what I did. I’ll call his supervisor and come clean. I know that means I’ll be fired, too, but I’m willing to let that happen.”
“I don’t care if Ralph loses his job. He’s an incompetent idiot, and I’m guessing you already know that.”
How could he sit there, cool as a cucumber, stuffing his face with asparagus and boiled potatoes, and talk like this? Did nothing affect this man?
“You told me you wouldn’t let me lose my job. Was that a lie?”
“No. I meant that. You won’t lose your job, but I need to know how he found out what you overheard.”
“And you think I’m going to get that information for you simply because you ask me to?”
He nodded, then took a sip of the white wine Nick had brought in. “This is really good. I think I like it better than the red. Try some.”
“If you want to find out where he heard it, why can’t you simply ask him yourself?”
“If I ask him myself, he will also hear what you did this morning.”
“So much for not being sure you would tell him.”
“You’ve forced my hand.”
“You change your mind every second. Don’t you get dizzy doing that?”
He grinned, which really pissed her off. Nothing mattered to him.
“If you tell Ralph, I’ll lose my job. Since you said that wouldn’t happen, that now makes you a liar.”
A muscle in his jaw twitched, and she knew she was pushing it, but she’d had just about enough of Mr. Viggo Ingram and his inability to give her a straight answer.
“All right. Fair enough. You’re right. I’m sending you mixed signals. Let me rephrase it. If you lose your job helping me, you won’t be left without employment.”
“Meaning what? You’ll find me another job?”
He took another sip of wine. “This really is good. I wish you’d try some.”
“Getting me drunk won’t convince me to spy on Ralph, any more than it will convince me to sleep with you.”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she wished she could take them back. He hadn’t said shit about sex. Not overtly, anyway. She’d stepped into that hornet’s nest all by herself, and he sure as hell didn’t miss it. The look he gave her both took her breath away, and made her want to get the hell out of his apartment before she did something really stupid.
“Good to know, because I’m not in the habit of getting women drunk so they’ll have sex with me.”
“What did you mean by saying I won’t be left without employment?”
Changing the subject was her only defense right now.
“You have an MBA in marketing, and I like your moxie. I can always use talented people on my team who aren’t afraid to take chanc
es.”
She nearly choked on the sip of wine she’d finally taken. “You’re offering me a job?”
“I’m offering you a chance to help me.” He leaned forward, his expression filled with passion. “To help all of us. I listened to a heart-breaking story upstairs about a young woman who never should have had to go through such tragedy. Your story isn’t unique, but what you did with your life is. You probably don’t realize that.”
“You mean because I went to work and earned a graduate degree?”
“Yes. Exactly. But it’s more than that. You didn’t let your circumstances defeat you. Every week I interview people looking for jobs. Some have impressive degrees, but most do not. The same things happened to all of us when the world imploded, to use your phrase. The strong ones survived it and made a life for themselves here.”
“You mean like you and the other Weathermen.”
“Not only us. Look what you’ve done. Can’t you see how strong you are? You also have determination and self-motivation, two qualities I need to see in a person before I consider them for any position in my company.”
“That’s what you took from my stunt this morning? Determination and self-motivation?” She was genuinely surprised.
He smiled and shook his head. “No. Not even close. I’m talking about what you did with your life after moving underground.”
“And now I’ve screwed that up by coming to your office this morning.”
“No, you haven’t. What you did this morning isn’t fatal. You’ve admitted it wasn’t the best move, and you’ve apologized. I’m not going to keep tossing it in your face. Let’s look at what you did another way.”
“All right.”
“You’ve worked at HCS a month and received no formal training in investigations of any kind. My guess is that you spend most of your time sending emails on Ralph’s behalf, and the rest of it picking up his dry cleaning or getting him lunch.”
She took another sip of wine.
“I’ll take that as a sign I’ve envisioned your job duties closely enough. Yet you overheard something that, coupled with an article you read—”
“It was more than that one article.”
He raised his brows.
“I’ve read everything out there on all of you. The Weathermen, that is.”
“That’s the point I’m trying to make, Madison. You took all that information and instead of doing something really self-destructive, like going to the media with your half-baked theories, you came straight to me. You wanted answers. You needed to make sense of what you’d heard, but you also needed to come to terms with your disillusionment. You thought your job at HCS would be something very different than what it turned out to be. You thought the people at HCS were different.”
He was fascinating to watch right now. He had just reached into her soul and plucked out the truth. No wonder women threw themselves at this man. He had more charisma than any person she’d ever met.
“You went about it the wrong way, but I admire the fact that you tried in the first place.”
She pushed around the food on her plate for a few moments, absorbing what he’d said. She wasn’t going to be permanently disgraced, even if he did end up telling Ralph what she’d done. That alone was enough to make her relax more fully than she had all day. “So what happens now?”
He speared a piece of steak with his fork. “Now, we finish this delicious dinner. Afterward, we take our two bottles of wine in front of the fake fire, and discuss our business arrangement.”
“We have a business arrangement?”
There was that damn sexy grin again. “We will before this evening is finished.”
She had to ask, only so she knew his expectations. “Will this business arrangement include sex?”
He chuckled softly. “Do you want it to?”
Heat rose to her face, but she doubted it was from the wine. “I’m asking what your expectations are.”
His gaze cut to her sweater, where he stared at her boobs for far longer than was necessary. If she hadn’t been so intrigued by him, the gesture would have pissed her off royally. Finally, he looked her in the eyes again. The humor on his face made her wary.
“I don’t see how you can expect me to resist that sweater. I’m only a man.”
“I didn’t wear it to seduce you.”
“Oh, I know you didn’t. You showed up here dressed like this as a silent protest because I asked you to wear specific colors. But I’ll bet your underwear matches, and I’m guessing it’s black.”
She studied the last few pieces of asparagus on her plate only so she could take a break from that penetrating gaze. “X-ray vision?”
His hearty laugh sent shivers down her spine. “No, but that would be cool to have, wouldn’t it?”
“Very useful. Yes. For men, anyway.”
“Oh, right. Like women wouldn’t use it, too.”
She lifted her gaze to meet his. “Seen one penis, seen them all. But men act like they’ve never seen boobs before every time they look at a woman.”
He moved his index finger back and forth in straight lines. “It’s the trim. Draws attention to them. Is that why you wore it?”
“No.” She told him the story of the bee conversation and how she’d ended up with the sweater as a birthday present.
“That’s cute. Honestly. I’m not joking around now.”
“Thank you.” She finished her food and pushed her plate away, then drained her wine glass. “You’re right. The white is better than the red.”
He rose and grabbed both bottles, plus his glass. “Let’s take this someplace more comfortable so we can discuss business.”
Madison followed him to the cozy living room he’d showed her earlier on the tour. An electric fireplace gave off heat and the sound of crackling, complete with an image of dancing flames and falling embers. They sat side by side on a deep leather sofa in front of it.
“Did you have a real fireplace in your home?” he asked.
“No, but we went skiing many times at a place where the lodge had one. I loved it. So many things are gone forever.”
“Not forever. Not if I have anything to say about it.”
She turned to face him, accepting a glass of white wine from him. “Do you have the hackers? Please tell me. I won’t say a word to Ralph. He is an incompetent idiot, just like you said.”
Viggo smiled, and she noticed for the first time how the gesture accentuated the tiny crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes. They didn’t make him look old, only wise. He was the most handsome man she’d ever seen in person.
“I’m glad to hear you say that. For a few moments this evening, I thought I might be wrong about him.”
“Not even close. I have no idea what they pay him, but it’s too much. He does next to nothing all day.” She took a sip of wine. “And you’ve avoided answering my question.”
“I’m glad you caught that. I was getting worried you’d lost your edge from too much food and drink.”
She placed her glass on the table behind the sofa. “I haven’t.” They watched each other for a few seconds. “Making up your mind about whether or not to trust me?”
“It isn’t that. If I tell you anything, it puts you in a tenuous situation at work.”
“I thought you wanted me to spy on him?”
“Not spy. Listen. I need to know who he was speaking to and where he heard that information.”
“If it wasn’t true, you wouldn’t be so worried about it. There are rumors about the twelve of you flying around online every day, so what I overheard must be way more than a rumor.”
“What if I told you that if what he said gets out, it could jeopardize everything? That we have a real chance, finally, after almost eight years, of stopping The Madeline Project? But not unless we keep what we’re doing a secret for now. Would that be enough to convince you to help me? Look what this program gone rogue did to your life. Don’t you want it stopped?” He gestured toward the fireplace. “
Don’t you want to see a real one again someday?”
“You’re playing on my emotions.”
“Yes, I am. Because this is as personal for you as it is for the twelve of us. People spin their lies about us and think we’re fair game because we’re rich and successful, but they forget everything else we do. They never talk about the Storm Troopers anymore. That was Ace Easton’s idea, and all of us have financed them for eight years now. They don’t talk about what we’re doing behind the scenes to find the people who did this to the program. They only want to report on how many women we date, or how many government agencies they think we have our hands in.”
“You wouldn’t have known Ralph had this information unless I had come to your office today. So cut me a break and I’ll help you.”
He narrowed his eyes slightly. “Define ‘cut me a break’.”
“Promise me that if I lose my job over this, you’ll hire me, and in a role that uses my skills. Not some bullshit job where my main function is to fetch you coffee.”
He placed his glass on the table next to hers. “I’ve already said I would do that, but if you need to hear it again, you have my word. If you lose your job finding out what I need to know, I will hire you, and it won’t be to fetch me coffee. It will be as one of the analysts in my marketing department. Make an anagram for me out of that.”
Chapter Six
Madison laughed. One of the analysts in the marketing department at Ingram Properties. She’d never have a better offer than that.
“All right … let’s see … marketing department…” She glanced down at her hands to think then laughed again. “Kindergarten am tempt.”
“Quite appropriate. I’m seriously amazed to watch you do that. I mean it.”
She gazed into his eyes as they smiled at each other. Guilt washed over her suddenly. What was she doing? She was ready to rat out her boss for this man, and no matter what happened to Ralph, she’d have a great new job. Was she really that shallow?”
“What just happened?” he asked. “Your expression changed.”
“Guilt does that to me.”
He picked up his wine glass and took a sip. “You mean about Ralph?”
