Lucky Neighbor: A Second Chance Secret Baby Romance

by Gage Grayson

  "I'm good,” she says. “That female cop just wanted to make sure that I had all my belongings."

  "Well, let's go eat at this local diner I know. It's the perfect after-jail meal," I say, hoping to tempt her to spend more time with me.

  "How would you know?" she asks me in a teasing tone. "Something tells me you had never seen the inside of a cell until last night."

  I shrug. "That’s true. But you can't hold that against me," I say, taking the opportunity to grab her ass.

  I can't keep my hands off her.

  We get to the parking lot and spot my Mercedes.

  "I had my car brought over here so I can drive," I say.

  "Sounds good," she says.

  Even freshly out of jail, she looks beautiful. Her hair is unkempt because of all the fucking, but she still looks perfect.

  I’m already thinking about our next. But first, we have to eat.

  We drive downtown, and I'm happy to show Katy my favorite little haunt. It's a diner that's been around forever. They have the best breakfast food, but more importantly, they're open all day and all night.

  I've been here many a morning to nurse my hangovers.

  We walk in and the first thing Katy orders is black coffee. I should've guessed.

  Now that I have her back in the light of day, I think she has some explaining to do.

  "So, Katy," I begin, "I think it's time you tell me the truth."

  A worried expression flashes across her face. "Truth about what?"

  "I think you should tell me exactly why we got arrested."

  She laughs. She thought I was going to ask her a deeper question.

  Lucky for me, she’s already revealed the fact that she's a hacker. Unfortunately for her, she doesn’t know that I own the bank she intends to hack.

  She sets her eyes on me and says in an unapologetic tone, "Well, since I'm alone now, hacking on my own, I need new equipment that can infiltrate the more sophisticated systems that I target.” She sighs.

  “Unfortunately, you can only buy that kind of thing on the black market because most of it is illegal. That's where I was going the day you followed me. That's why we got arrested."

  I think back to the jealous rage I had felt when I followed her. I thought maybe she was going to see another man.

  It’s at that moment I realize I desire Katy for more than just her body. I'm starting to feel possessive of her. I want her to see me—only me.

  This sense of jealousy landed me in jail. But I can't say I regret a second of it. Jail was one of the more intriguing spots I've had sex with Katy in.

  "So," I say over eggs and toast, "you're planning on going at it alone as a hacker, huh? Somehow, I thought this experience would teach you that you need to legitimize your job."

  She looks up at me through her long eyelashes. "Why would you think that? I'm a hacker. I'm a very good hacker. I do what I do for reason, and I'm not gonna stop because I accidentally got involved with some disreputable people."

  I recall the fact that she was talking about infiltrating more sophisticated systems. This leads me to surmise that she’s talking about my own business. What an uncomfortable position to be in.

  She’s buying equipment so that she can hijack my company's finances, and here I am paying for her breakfast.

  A man approaches us in the diner. I know him. He's a fellow businessman. I can't have him revealing who I really am. Now is not the time for Katy to learn the truth about me.

  I stand up to meet him halfway, but he beats me to the punch. He walks over to our table, then looks at Katy and me.

  "Hi, Marcus," he says. "How have you been?"

  "Jeff," I say, "nice to see you. It's been too long. Things are going really well, thanks."

  I'm hoping he just takes this greeting for what it is and leaves...but he doesn't.

  "Who is this beautiful young lady?" he asks, extending his hand to Katy. "I'm Jeff, Jeff McDonald. Marcus and I have done some business together."

  I cut into the conversation before he can spill my secret. "She's just an acquaintance. We thought we'd have a little bit of lunch at this exclusive diner."

  The man eyes Katy and then looks up at me. He's obviously wondering if we're sleeping together and what our relationship is.

  Well, I'm not going to stand here and tell him anything about my sex life. I don't have anything to prove. I barely even know the guy...

  It's such a close call that I'm afraid Katy will find out that I'm more than what I seem. Why would I, a so-called activist, have business relations in the city? It's a question I hope she isn't tempted to ask.

  I look down at her. She looks annoyed and sullen. I've never seen her look so downcast.

  "Well, Jeff, it was great to see you."

  "You too, Marcus. We should have lunch sometime."

  "Definitely," I say.

  And then he says, "I'll have my secretary call yours."

  His statement makes me pause, worried that this will make Katy ask about my true identity. Thank fuck he didn't mention our recent contract together.

  I sit back down across from Katy, but she barely meets my eyes. Does she suspect anything? Does she sense that something's off?

  Before I have a second to find out my answer, she abruptly says she has to go.

  "Where do you have to be?" I ask her. "We just got out of jail. You can't have a pressing engagement right now, can you?"

  I know she's upset, and I have to figure out why.

  "I just need to go," she says, but I know it’s an excuse. "Like I said, I have equipment to buy and things to do."

  She's trying to brush me off, and I know she's lying.

  I probe her for the truth. "Katy, what's wrong? Tell me."

  She looks up at me. "You want the truth? The truth is that I don't really know what our relationship is. And obviously you don't either, if you can introduce me as simply an ‘acquaintance’. I thought I was more than that to you by now. I guess I was wrong. And now I have to go."

  I grab her arm from across the table. Now it all makes sense.

  "Katy, we're together now...exclusively. At least that's how I see it. I just didn't think the whole world needed to know, especially some businessman I barely even know."

  Her face brightens up when I tell her that I want to be exclusive. That’s how I’ve been feeling for a while now, and I really couldn't imagine any other way for us to be.

  I want Katy to be mine. I don't care what her lifestyle is—I need to have her in my life forever.

  After our little talk, she agrees to let me take her home. I think that we're a far cry from that first moment I met her—when she stole my wallet and ran from me.

  Well, I won’t let her go this time.

  Chapter 37

  Katy

  I'll never tire of being in a Mercedes.

  The black interior matches my general attitude in life: moody with a penchant for technology.

  The feel of his leather seats and the fact that I'm on my way home, to freedom, has me in a very good mood.

  I'm not entirely pleased that Marcus just introduced me as an acquaintance. But then again, he also said we're exclusive. I'm happy about the latter fact, and I decide to ignore the acquaintance comment.

  I naturally don't want to be more invested in him than he is in me, so I let the comment go like I don't care.

  It's been a long night and an equally long day.

  If I was gonna be in jail with anyone, I'm happy it was Marcus. He definitely made it worth my time. Thus, I felt no need to escape even though I so easily could have.

  I can't get the fact that he called us exclusive out of my head. While I make it a rule not to date anyone for a given length of time lest they get too close, I find that I break all my rules for Marcus.

  It's not like I'm dying to have a label or to get married or anything, but we've never talked about where we stand. Our relationship has been purely based on sex. And I guess I just wanted to know where his head was at.r />
  Now I know.

  It's a good thing he's in it for the long run, but I can't say the same for myself. It's hard for me to trust anybody. Growing up as an orphan has left a poor and lonely landscape inside my soul that I find is only appeased when I take charge of my own life.

  I had to learn to be scrappy, to fight my own battles, and to earn my own food and shelter. Those walls of independence that took me so long to construct do not come down easily.

  But if there's one person I'm gonna let into my life, it seems like Marcus is the right choice...if only for his mesmerizingly hot body and huge cock.

  By helping to deactivate the bomb situation and by being there at virtually every turn, he's proven himself worthy of my trust. At least that's what I'm hoping for.

  I've never been so excited to see my old building as he rounds the corner. It may be dilapidated and not the nicest place to live, but it's mine.

  He stops the car in front and pulls me in for a tender kiss. I'm reminded of last night and just how good it feels to have his thick shaft thrusting in and out of me. I want him now, just as I want him always. He's too good to be true.

  "Bye, Marcus. Thanks for the jail time," I say cheekily, pulling away from his amazing lips.

  He kisses my hand. "You made it worth it, Katy. I'll see you later."

  With that, he speeds off and I'm left to my own devices. I feel kinda bad that my black market shopping trip landed Marcus in jail. It's a good thing he knows me so that I can wipe his record clean. The judicial system is not hard to hack.

  I get to my place, immediately undress, and take the longest shower possible. I need to wash the jail off of me. I think of Marcus touching me and the way it sends shivers down my spine. I start to masturbate in the shower, and I imagine it's him in here with me and that he's got me pressed up against the wall, dominating me with his hard cock.

  It takes all but a minute of envisioning this for me to come. And I come hard, multiple times.

  When the mere thought of a guy can send you over the edge so easily, it's a sign...that's he's a fucking god in bed.

  I get out and drip dry before pulling on my black silk robe. I've got work to do.

  Being with Marcus has thrown me off my cause. I haven't stolen money for a while now, and people are suffering. So even though I don't exactly have the right equipment, I can still try to infiltrate the systems that I have targeted.

  It occurs to me as I log in and there are no available chat rooms with people for me to commiserate with and to exchange tips with, that I'm alone again. There are no fellow hackers to talk with, there's no Marcus here, it's just me.

  I like being alone. I even prefer it. But ever since knowing Marcus, I also like being with him.

  I miss his company already.

  I've been hacking for a few years now and I should be able to get this done without the best equipment. It's gonna be harder for me to do, but I'm always up for a challenge.

  The bank I've had my eye on for a while is called Pinnacle Financial Group. It's one of the largest banks in the country, and I know that I can steal from them and it won't even matter because they're overflowing with money.

  I make myself a pot of hot tea and start to browse around the website. It's gonna be a long night hacking into a new company by myself and transferring the funds properly.

  I've had my eye on these guys for a while because I know that they recently fired a lot of employees for virtually no reason. The people are out of work, and they're angry.

  There's been rumors of protests going on in front of the bank. I think these people deserve to be compensated well, considering the people at the top make so much money and that it's undeserved.

  I fish around on the website because I like to be familiar with the company before I go into their system. I look at all the details and everything looks normal.

  But then just before I move to the online system, I notice the page where you can see the other executives at the bank. It might be nice to have faces to match the names. I might as well know whose lives I'm about to ruin.

  I open the screen, and guess whose familiar face is at the top?

  It's Marcus...my Marcus.

  His ruggedly handsome face is staring at me from the screen. His name is listed as Marcus Hall even though he introduced himself to me as Marcus Layman.

  I freeze because I can't believe what I'm witnessing. Marcus has been leading me on this entire time because he knows I was out to get his firm. Everything with him has been a hoax, fake, not even real.

  This is quite a blow for me considering my fierce, independent nature. The minute I let up and started to trust that life was giving me my dream come true, I'm snapped back to reality by the pain of a knife in my back.

  First I got pummeled by the people in the chat room who turned out to be insane bomb terrorists, and now I find out that Marcus isn't even real.

  Here's a guy I've been with many times. Here's a guy that I could truly fall for. And it turns out he's been spying on me since the beginning.

  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hurt. In fact, I'm crushed.

  I'm so upset that my body's shaking involuntarily. I can't seem to find a calm within the storm.

  Just to be sure, I go to the website that lists his activist organization. I need to investigate it more to find out if it's even real. Maybe Marcus has a chance yet to come out on top. But as I dig further into their website, I realize that it's just a dummy site. There's no actual activity going on within it even though it looks legitimate on the outside.

  I feel so betrayed that suddenly anger and fury overcomes all sense of betrayal. I want to get back at him...badly. I want to make him suffer as he has hurt me. I will inflict pain.

  Whereas before I was just gonna steal several hundred thousand dollars, now my plan is to take everything from him. I want him on his knees. I want him to understand that he can't treat people this way.

  I use every talent I have available in my arsenal to hack into Marcus's bank. I am so filled with rage that nothing can hold me back now. It's my mission in life to ruin this man who got me into bed and even used my body for secrets.

  He wanted to know my game plan, and I damn near gave it to him. I told him I'm a hacker. I told him everything. Now he's gonna pay.

  First I get a list of all the fired employees. I get their account numbers and everything I need to make this plan happen.

  Then I get into the online banking system and I shut it down immediately. I steal an unbelievable amount of money and divide it between the accounts of the fired employees.

  I have their accounts open and waiting to receive vast amounts of money. These people are not gonna know what hit them. They're gonna think it's Christmas. And it is...only I'm Santa.

  After the job is done, I pack a bag, grab my laptop, and I leave my apartment in a hurry. I have a feeling Marcus is gonna be looking for me after this. I hope he understands that I'm not the kind of woman that you can double-cross.

  I'm too good for that.

  And then I'm on the run.

  Chapter 38

  Marcus

  I wake up to the sound of my phone going off.

  I'm immediately pissed off.

  I hate to be woken up by anything other than a woman going down on me.

  I look out the window and realize it's still dark. It must be 5:00 a.m. What is my secretary doing calling me at this hour? She needs to understand her place.

  I groan and pick up. "What are you doing calling me like this? Have you any idea what time it is?"

  She sounds like she's in a panic as she says, "Sir, I'm so sorry to bother you like this, but something happened. Something has happened to our online system. It's all shut down and someone stole into the account. The bank is under siege. I didn't know who else to call."

  Her words wake me up like nothing ever could. I hate to think that it was Katy who did this, but I have a sinking suspicion it was her. How many other hackers do I know that have their sights se
t on making big banking corporations pay?

  Maybe it was just a coincidence. Maybe it wasn't her.

  "I'll be right there," I say. "Make sure security's at the building."

  I hang up with her and feel absolutely dismayed. How could this have happened? I knew Katy had eyes on my business. I guess she wasn't as reformed as I thought. She obviously went through with her mission.

  I get up and take a quick shower before dressing in my finest suit. I'll likely have to deal with press and all manner of police today depending on the situation and how far she took it.

  I get in my car, and even though I know I should go to the office immediately, somehow, I find myself meandering the car to Katy's part of town. I'm gonna go to her apartment and check on her first.

  I get to the aged building just as the sun is starting to come out. I wonder if she's even awake.

  When I get to her door, I take a deep breath before knocking. This is gonna be the moment when she learns the truth about me. Whether she hacked into my system or not, she's gonna know the truth today.

  I'll reveal everything and then she'll fix whatever she did and things will go back to normal.

  I wait and I wait and I wait. And then I determine it's time to go in. The door is not locked, and it swings open easily. I peer around and see that Katy is not there. This tells me everything I need to know.

  I'm crestfallen. She's left. And I know why.

  She's somehow discovered my dirty little secret...that I'm the owner of the bank. I lied to her, and now I've been caught...or rather, I've been had.

  She obviously hacked into the bank to show me that she's over it, independent, gone.

  Her apartment is left tidy as always. The bed is made and her few belongings are there, but she isn't.

  I feel absolutely devastated. I feel like someone just kicked me in the stomach. I feel sick. And I feel like I know that Katy will never forgive me.

  From her perspective, it must look like I used her. Every moment of our time together will look fake to her. She doesn't know that I have feelings and that I care. Maybe she never will know these things if I can't find her.