“You’re joking, right? Please tell me that you have a horrible sense of humor and this is a hideously unfunny joke.”
Michael grimaced at Evelyn’s tone. He knew she would be mad, but it wasn’t as though she could really do anything. His lawyers already had the paperwork to guarantee none of his involvement in this little operation would land him in jail, and now that Emma was safe, he was doing Evelyn a favor she had no way of doing herself. So from here on out, if he wanted to do something crazy like, say, open up to Lori about what he was really doing with Thirteen Stars, Evelyn had no right to bitch at him for it.
“I used my judgment to decide that our little deal would be safer if a talented computer hacker had all the cards on the table.”
Evelyn leaned forward and rested her arms on the cloth-covered table in the private corner of the restaurant they were meeting in. “Even if you thought this was the best course of action, why didn’t you call me first?” Before he could answer, she continued, “Because you knew I’d say no. I’m not your fucking mother, Michael. You can’t sneak behind my back and think nothing will happen. What you’re doing is important. We need to be careful.”
“You’re right. You’re not my mother. My mother’s dead. You brought Lori into this, so don’t get pissed at me for not using a completely innocent girl to catch your crooks.”
Evelyn leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest. “Completely innocent? Is that what she told you? Or is that just what makes her so attractive to you?”
“Do you really think I got this far without being a good judge of character?”
She scoffed. “Please. If you knew the places I’ve been. The crap I’ve seen. If I weren’t a good judge of character, I wouldn’t even be alive. So don’t talk down to me, Devereaux.”
He clenched his jaw and glanced out over the busy crowd at his favorite lunch meeting spot, but the familiar sight didn’t ease him at all. If anything, he felt more on edge than he had to begin with. He’d been like this all morning, since the very moment Lori walked out of his office. It had taken everything in him to keep from heading back to her workspace and asking her out again. Sure, she’d turned him down multiple times. But then she’d kissed him.
Not a chaste peck on the lips. Oh no. She’d pulled him to her and taken whatever she wanted from him, and if Cali hadn’t reminded him that he actually had a job to do, who knew how much further Lori would’ve let him go.
“I won’t lie. I do have my own reasons for bringing in Lori. But I’m not wrong about this. She deserves to know. I’m not used to using people and I didn’t want her to think I’d forced her into doing something questionable.”
Evelyn’s expression finally softened. “I do think you had nothing but good intentions. But believe you me, considering how fast she got into that computer, she isn’t as innocent as you might think.”
“Did you ever determine whose computer it was they wanted her to get into?”
“We’re still looking into it, but to be honest, even if we knew, we wouldn’t tell you.”
“So our information only goes one way?”
“Knowing too much is what gets people killed, Michael. Sometimes ignorance truly is bliss.”
“Forgive me if I don’t believe that.” He refused to believe he’d put Lori in more danger by telling her everything, but he wouldn’t fight with Evelyn any more about it. “So what information do you think I need to know?”
“The transfer has gone through, so you’re officially one of the fold. The next step should be fun. You get to party.”
He had to bite back a groan. “Party?”
“Wine and dine with all the other little rich folks. Get to know them. Listen. And then tell me everything you hear.”
“Sounds tedious but doable.”
“You’ll probably even get a chance to meet your girlfriend’s uncle, so you’ll already have a lot to talk about.”
Michael narrowed his eyes. Evelyn was trying something, he was sure of it. He just wasn’t sure what. Was she trying to see whether he was emotionally attached already? Or seeing whether he was uncomfortable with the idea of who Lori might be related to? Either way, Michael kept his face blank. “She’s not my girlfriend.”
“Please try to keep it that way. Really, I’m fine with any woman you want to be involved with, but things could get really messy. Especially considering that if everything goes according to plan, you’ll be putting her uncle in prison.”
Well, so much for him removing all obstacles to them being together. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“I’d like to arrange a meeting with you, me, and Lori.”
“No.” Hell no was the exact phrase that came to mind. “You just said you didn’t want her involved in this.”
“Yeah, I didn’t. But you have seen to it that she’s as involved as possible. If there is someone out there capable of jeopardizing this entire operation, I’d like to have a word with her.”
“Are you going to threaten her into staying quiet?”
Evelyn smiled at him from across the table. “I’m going to ask her to stay quiet,” she clarified. “And, who knows? Maybe she can even help us with this.”
“You don’t need her help. That’s why you have me.”
“I’m resourceful. Tell you what. You let her know that I’m interested in meeting with her and if she doesn’t want to, that’s up to her.”
“And if I say no?”
Evelyn raised a dark brow. “Then you’ll sound exceedingly unreasonable. Just one harmless little meeting with a woman who isn’t even your girlfriend. Plus, if she does help, you can be done with the Thirteen Stars even earlier than you originally wanted.”
“I’ll make sure to keep that in mind.”
Evelyn rolled her eyes and stood. “Don’t bother lying to me, Michael. But, as a sign of appreciation for all you’ve done for me so far, I’ll leave your girlfriend alone. But at least do me a favor and let me know if she does anything that worries you, okay?”
“She’s not—”
She held up a hand. “What did I just say?”
“Well, she hasn’t agreed to be my girlfriend.”
Evelyn actually smiled and he halfway felt like patting himself on the back for such an accomplishment. “Atta boy,” she said.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay for lunch?”
She glanced around the room. “As much as I enjoy our time together, this really isn’t my crowd. Tell Luke the non-Lori related things we talked about today, okay?”
It seemed her and Luke were still at odds. They really needed to sort this out before it started messing with their plans. “You don’t want to tell him yourself?”
“Hell no. He’s your brother. You deal with him.”
Lori set the laptop she’d just finished updating on the empty desk space behind her. She still had a few hundred more she had to do, but she was headed home in the next ten minutes, so she wouldn’t be starting any more upgrade projects for the day. All she had to do was answer a few emails and then she could head home.
Of course, Quinn would be at home and she’d be harping on about that damn photo shoot again. She was still hung up on the idea of doing a double feature on the brothers, and now that she knew Lori and Michael had spent most of Saturday together, she was more convinced than ever that Lori was her secret weapon to make that happen.
Maybe she would grab another laptop to work on... Just then, a new email popped up, and Lori’s eyes widened as she saw the sender. Michael sent her an email. How...normal. That worried her. From the few days she’d known him, she’d realized Michael Devereaux didn’t do normal. Until she opened the email and realized there was nothing normal about it.
Can you come up to my office to finish our discussion?
Her answer was simple and swift. No.
She immediately received a response in her inbox. Then can we go out to dinner and finish it?
No. No. That’s a double no. The second she hit Send, she wis
hed she could take it back. The joking probably wasn’t going to get her point across any more. She stared intently at the screen as she waited for his response. Was he going to ask her out again? On the one hand, asking for a date via email was incredibly inappropriate, but considering it was his company, it wasn’t as if they were going to get in trouble.
This was what she got for kissing him. But it wasn’t her fault! It was as if the entire universe conspired against her to make her want him! And he only made matters worse by saying he wasn’t actually a criminal.
No. It was her family who was apparently filled with bad guys. Well, one bad guy. But that was more than she wanted.
“So you’re really going to play this game?”
Lori twisted around to see Michael behind her. Oh no. People would hear. “Umm... No games.”
“Do you have a good reason to say no?”
She had fifteen thousand reasons to say no, but went with the first one that came to mind. “Because you terrify me?”
“Then give me a chance to change that.”
Lori motioned to the surrounding cubes with a jerk of her head and mouthed, “People can hear you.”
He gave her what could only be described as an I don’t give a fuck look. “Five minutes?” he mouthed, holding up five fingers in case she missed the message.
“Ten,” she said. Her own little rebellion.
He smiled in victory and her traitorous heart beat faster. He really did have a beautiful smile. Not that that had anything to do with anything. She would go out, let him buy her a nice dinner that would probably cost more than her rent, and then she’d order him to take her home.
“I’ll meet you out front,” he said quietly before he left.
After he walked away, she twirled back to her computer. She didn’t have to make him take her straight home. She replayed all the reasons she and Michael weren’t compatible and they were all still valid. But women had used men they weren’t compatible with for centuries.
It wasn’t as though they would be getting married or anything. Hell, after Michael spent more time with her, he’d probably be running for the door. But for now, he seemed to be intrigued by her, and she couldn’t say she didn’t feel the same way about him. The only difference was that Michael Devereaux was used to getting everything he wanted and Lori was the kind who kept herself controlled and forced herself to keep her wants at bay.
A few minutes later, she was at the front of the building and approaching the familiar car and driver, who stood next to the open door to the backseat. Lori smiled as she bent down just far enough to verify Michael was already inside and waiting for her. Knowing her luck, she would’ve accidentally hopped into a stranger’s car if she hadn’t checked first.
She climbed in next to him. “You’re insane, you know.”
He looked her over but didn’t smile. “Is that right?”
“Wandering down to my cube and demanding I go to dinner with you? That seems rather insane to me.”
“I wouldn’t say I demanded.”
“Then you’d be wrong. If I said no, I would’ve caused a scene and everyone would think I was screwing my boss.”
“You can say no now.”
She eyed him. “I can?”
“Say the word and I’ll take you home right now.”
She squinched her face. “No. Quinn is at home. She’s been on my case ever since Saturday. I’d rather stay away.”
For the first time since she got in the car, he smiled and she realized that he’d been nervous. Nervous she would change her mind and refuse to see him. Hmm... She couldn’t remember the last time she made a man nervous, and she had to admit, she kind of liked knowing that she wasn’t the only one a bit terrified.
“Do you have any preference for a restaurant? I can get us in pretty much anywhere.”
“I was thinking we could order in, actually.”
And just like that, the smile was gone, replaced by an intense look she’d never seen before, let alone directed at her.
“Head back home, Jerry.” Michael sat back in his seat.
The car took off and Lori inched away from Michael and tucked into the corner of the backseat. She really should be inching closer, considering what she’d intended to do from the moment she’d turned off her computer, but it just seemed off. The driver was only a few feet away, and it seemed all too surreal to know exactly what was coming. Or rather, that they both would be coming shortly...
“I should probably tell you something,” Michael said.
“Well, that sounds romantic,” muttered Lori.
“The joint venture we were talking about earlier? My main contact there is Evelyn Price. She knows I told you about the venture, so she wants to meet you. I told her to go to hell, but I figure I owe it to her to tell you. So now you know and I can tell her I did what she wanted.”
Lori scoffed and looked across the seat at him. He seemed so far away. Like that first car ride they’d shared on the way to the museum. But it had been different by the time they’d left. They’d been different in his office that morning.
Biting her bottom lip, Lori slid over a few inches. Not too much closer, but not hovering as far away as she could get either.
“Why does she want to talk to me?”
Michael’s gaze fell to the now smaller amount of leather between them. “She wants to use you to her own gain.”
“Well, do you think I can help? After all, it is my family—”
Michael reached out and intertwined his fingers with hers. “I don’t want to talk about this right now.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but once Michael started to run the pad of his thumb over the sensitive flesh where her wrist met her palm, forming words became much harder. She became entranced where his big hand wrapped around her smaller one.
“There are a few good places we could order from.”
She had to rip her gaze away from where they touched. “Why are your palms callused?”
“From when I was younger. I didn’t always live in the city. I grew up in the country and my parents always kept my brothers and I busy with chores. Mostly manual labor to keep the family home up to standards. But I also played a few sports.”
“So you’re a jock?”
“Recovering jock. But when you’re in a Georgia high school, trying out for the football team is basically a given. And when your family is the richest one in town, making it on that team is also pretty much a given. As much as I’d like to think my athletic abilities earned me my spot, I’m not that naive.”
Lori turned his palm over and ran the fingers of her other hand over the veins and thinly veiled strength. “I find that hard to believe.”
“Well, I’ll have to show you my stats and prove it to you.”
“I might take you up on that offer.”
The car came to a halt and Lori’s heart kicked into high gear. Were they really at his place already? Though considering how much he made a year, it would make sense that he’d live in the Upper East Side.
He slid out of the car before Jerry could open the door for him and strode around to the curb side of the vehicle. Once he opened the door for her, Lori froze. Was she really going up there? She’d been to Michael’s apartment before. She knew exactly how clean and sterile it looked on the surface. Kind of like Michael.
His suit was always perfectly pressed and every hair was in place. But underneath that perfectly constructed exterior was something she never expected to find. A person. Funny and charming and not at all as polished as he liked to pretend. Once she got out of the car, there was no turning back. No. The ship had sailed the second she’d gotten in the car to begin with. When she left her cube. When she’d kissed him that morning. Maybe even when she’d stormed into his place just days ago.
But there was no going back. Lori stepped out of the car and took Michael’s hand again. Instead of eyeing the building breathlessly like she had the first time she’d come here, all she could focus on was Michael
. As he moved, his back muscles played against the fabric of his suit. She’d stared at him like this that first day. Once again, she followed him into the elevator, fantasizing about how he’d look without that jacket on. Without his shirt.
Except her fantasies were about to become a reality. Once they got upstairs, she could do whatever she wanted to him.
“You look like you’re about to hyperventilate,” he said as the elevator climbed higher and higher.
“I’ve never had much of a poker face,” she said with a hollow laugh.
He squeezed her hand a bit tighter. “You’re not afraid, are you?”
“I thought I told you already. I’m terrified.”
“Well, the joke’s on you then. Because I’m really not all that scary.”
The doors opened and she followed him down the exceedingly short hallway to his door. Buildings like this either had no hallways or the elevators opened right into the fancy apartments of the owners. Her own place had a barely working lift and a hall that passed ten other doors before she got to her own.
But here it was three feet and then door.
Michael took out his key, but turned to her before he opened it. “You really look like you’re about to run.”
For as smart as Michael was, he really could be dense sometimes. “Did you ever think that maybe my antsiness has more to do with anticipation than fear?”
He smiled down at her. “Yes. But believing it would’ve made me pretty arrogant, now wouldn’t it?”
Lori stepped in closer. “I think that ship has sailed long ago.” And then she pushed up on her tiptoes in her sneakers and pressed her lips softly against his.
He kissed her back slowly, thoroughly. One hand splayed against her back and pressed her against him.
“Luckily for you,” she whispered, “I’m one of those crazy women who thinks arrogance can be sexy.”
She could feel his smile on her lips before he reached around her and unlocked the door in one deft move. It was especially impressive considering he didn’t take his eyes off her the entire time.
As soon as the door was open, Lori backed inside, wrapped her fingers in Michael’s jacket and pulled him in with her. He kicked the door shut with his foot as his mouth found hers again.
Devereaux Billionaires Complete Series: Books 1-4 Page 25
