Her eyes landed on something odd in the corner, on top of a suitcase. She squinted, trying to make out the letters in the dim light spilling in under the door. And then it hit her. A novelty picture frame. Nothing in their brief time together would have made her think he’d know what the point of something like that was. “Do you take a lot of pictures?” she asked.
His thumb traced lazy circles along her hip, and drowsiness lined his voice. “Not really. Are you offering to be a subject?”
The notion flooded her with a series of muddled emotion. Heat flared through her at the thought of being his private peep show and mixed with more aching at the reminder they didn’t have the kind of relationship that allowed them to make plans like that. Not that she needed to plan anything out. She nodded toward the box. “Are you going to put the pictures in that?”
Behind her, the mattress shifted. He raised his head into view, kissed her shoulder, and the flopped back down. “It’s for my sister.”
Right. Because he had a life and family outside this bubble of pleasant euphoria. The simple statement was a reminder how much they still didn’t know about each other. “Are the two of you close?”
“I love and adore Alyssia.”
Mikki couldn’t help her smile at the sincerity in the simple statement, even though he couldn’t see it. “Are you one of those overprotective brothers who thinks his younger sister is pure and innocent, and you’ll hurt anyone who dares suggest otherwise?”
His chuckle rumbled through her. “To hear her say it, I am. I’m just a normal kind of brother though. Not that I mind the questions, but conversations about my sister rank pretty far on the opposite end of the scale from sexy pillow talk.”
“I always wanted a brother like that. Or any kind of sibling, really.” She pushed back into him.
“Once upon a time, I would have told you it wasn’t that great, but really it is. Her, Tate, and Viv, they’re pretty much the sanity in my life.”
“You’re lucky.” She swallowed back the sting his words dragged up. Both that he had friends like that in his life, and that she wasn’t on the list.
“What about you? Family? Girlfriend you’re squealing about me with?”
She wanted to smile at his words, but her sadness had sunk too deep. “Dad’s a government contractor.” Mom walked out before I was old enough to remember her, and we never heard from her again. “We moved a lot growing up, so I didn’t really make any close friends.” She couldn’t completely keep the ache from her voice.
“I’ll share mine. You’d love Alyssia.”
The simple statement warmed her as much as his touch. Until her brain kicked on and reminded her he wasn’t part of her future. Not like that. She bit back the creeping sadness and concentrated on his embrace instead. Silence settled in the room again. Behind her, his breathing slowed into a quiet rhythm. Her eyes began to droop.
“This is almost perfect.” His drowsy voice drifted to her ears.
It really was. She was opening her mouth to reply when he said, “Now we just need to figure out how you guys are stealing our clients, and I’ll be set.”
Her eyes jerked open. “What?”
He didn’t respond. The steady rise and fall of his chest against her back told her he had probably drifted off. Something about his question wouldn’t let her do the same. Why did that single thought make her stomach lurch and her skin crawl? Not even the warmth of being wrapped in his arms could chase away the chill his drowsy statement had covered her in.
Chapter Thirteen
The bed shifted under Jared, nudging him awake. He forced his eyes open when the warm body next to him pulled away. The night before teased his half-conscious mind, and a nagging reminder wormed its way into his thoughts; a voice whispering how completely she’d almost made him lose control.
She’d drawn out a side of him he thought he’d reined in long ago. The side that should know better than to say what was on his mind and wanted nothing more than to growl dirty words into her porcelain skin. He’d even considered sex without protection.
At least he’d pulled back before they’d gone too far. Stopped her from doing whatever her version of “returning the favor” might have been. He’d kept things from being about anything more than just immediate pleasure. Right?
Something tickled the back of his thoughts, reminding him he’d all but offered to introduce her to his sister. Maybe he’d lost a little more control than he’d intended to.
What was wrong with him? He watched Mikki climb out of bed and pluck her clothes from the floor.
“It’s five a.m. You’ve only been asleep for a couple of hours,” he said
She jumped and turned to face him, giving him a fantastic view of her naked figure. “We both have places to be today.”
He pushed up on one elbow, smothering the disappointment swelling inside. She had a good point, and he didn’t have an argument. It wasn’t like they could lock themselves away for the rest of the week. Or that he’d ever see her again outside of trade shows. “Right.”
Still, he couldn’t just let her walk out. He sat up and scooted forward on the bed until he was sitting on the edge. He tugged her between his legs and pressed his lips to her stomach. The sound that tore from her throat was somewhere between a sigh and a moan. He continued the line of kisses as he stood, tracing up her sternum, her throat, and finally her mouth. She molded into him, palms hot on his chest.
It was too soon when she stepped out of his grasp, dark gaze not meeting his. “I have to go. Last night was good.” She shook her head. “No, that’s not true. It was amazing.”
He sank back to the mattress, silent and watching while she dressed. She gave him one last weak smile before she left. The moment the door swung shut behind her, he flopped back onto the bed, stare directed up but thoughts turned inward.
“Fuck.” His soft curse echoed in the quiet room. The ache in his chest defied every denial he tried to feed himself that this was all over. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t fall for her. It didn’t matter how much she was everything intoxicating, she was also everything completely wrong for him.
He wasn’t going to throw away his career or sense of order for a fling. This job was important, and she worked for the competition. On top of that, he’d already let himself be distracted too much this trip. He needed to remember where his priorities lay. His personal rules and boundaries existed for a reason, and she was so far from falling into the ordered pattern he required that he couldn’t begin to rationalize making it work.
He didn’t have to be downstairs for a couple more hours; he should get some more sleep. As seven a.m. rolled around, he hadn’t done anything but stare at the clock.
He was due to meet with a potential client soon. He rubbed his face. Time to put the night behind him, except maybe the memories, and hope he could down enough coffee between now and then to make it through things without yawning.
He got ready for the morning and made his way to the lobby. For as little sleep as he’d gotten the night before, his eyelids should have been drooping. So why do I feel like I couldn’t sit still if I needed to? He hadn’t even touched the coffee yet. He stepped off the elevator and out of the flow of traffic. This tension needed to be under control, whatever the source. He closed his eyes and took a few calming breaths.
Nervous energy still coursed through him, itching under his skin. This meeting isn’t going to go well. The thought came out of nowhere. That was ridiculous. He was just jaded because of the string of bad luck they’d been having with new clients. They’d still signed people. It hadn’t been a complete dry spell. Worrying about where the next contract came from was Tate’s department. The sleep deprivation was attacking him from a different angle than he was used to.
Still, despite the lack of rest—remembering Mikki’s gasps when she was turned on, the scent of citrus on her skin, her bare body under his, actually having someone who was interesting to talk to and didn’t make him filter his thoughts—he’d
do last night again in a heartbeat.
Half an hour later, he made his way to the back of the exhibitors’ hall, near the row of rooms set up for private conferences. Tate was already waiting with an older gentleman, who glanced at his watch the moment Jared made eye contact.
And I’m five minutes early. Time to wrangle this in before it spirals out of control. He extended his hand as he drew closer. “Mr. Rosen. I’m sorry to keep you waiting.”
Rosen glanced at his watch again before returning the handshake. “No worries at all. Some of us aren’t as busy as others. Call me Adam.”
Jared’s pleasant expression never cracked. If there was ever a time to not be blunt, it was now. He nodded at Tate. “Speaking of, I know Tate has other things to take care of.”
Tate’s attention stayed on the client the whole time. “And I’m off to it. Adam’s in good hands.”
A snort of laughter barked from Rosen’s throat.
Jared held the door open, ignoring the implication he wasn’t capable of handling this conversation, and gestured for the older man to join him in a more private setting. Adam Rosen worked for Lenoronto—one of the largest umbrellas corporations for retail websites in the country. Tate had been negotiating with him for months, pitted against NSS and whatever secrets they were hiding. The reminder of Mikki almost knocked Jared’s thoughts offline, but this wasn’t the time or place. Contracts and promotions were on the line.
He took his seat across from Adam, leaned forward in the leather plush, and rested his elbows on his knees, hands clasped. “Are you enjoying the trip?”
Adam checked his phone and then pocketed it again. “I wish they’d stop holding these things in places like this. An excuse for drunken foolishness. I’m petitioning the board to move it to Miami next year. We’ll keep the warmth and lose the distractions.”
Right, because Miami was such a dull place. Jared never flinched. “I look forward to the outcome.”
Adam let out a long exhale. “Look, I’ll be honest. When Tate told me he could hook me up with someone technical, I thought I’d be talking to one of your people who’s actually close to the action. No offense, but how long has it been since you did any actual security work?”
The first few times someone had asked that question, Jared had gotten defensive. He’d learned since, the best way to prove he still knew his shit was to prove it rather than argue. “It’s true; I’m not as involved in the day-to-day tech as I used to be. But we like to let the real talent do their jobs, and any questions you have I can’t answer, I’ll take back to them and get you an in-depth response within a few hours.”
That had never happened. He didn’t take questions back to his people, but it made the conversation flow more smoothly. As Adam launched into a series of concerns, Jared responded to each without hesitation. He’d heard them all before—it was a fairly standard list.
“So tell me about these holes in your own security,” Adam said. “What are you doing to address them?”
For the first time since sitting down, a sick pit settled in Jared’s gut. He nudged it aside. He had this as well as he had anything, and the answer was right there. Especially after the extra hours he’d put in yesterday making sure his network was still tight.
It didn’t matter that he hadn’t been able to do more work last night; he’d still covered all his bases. He just hadn’t expected to use the reassurance again so soon. “We don’t have any internal holes. We undergo both internal and independent audits on a regular basis, and those results are available to anyone who’d like to see them. As a company who places so much importance on security, we’re always aware of the risk—the badge of honor, if you will—for a hacker to poke holes in our walls. If a situation like that were to arise, and it hasn’t in years, we’d have the weaknesses patched within hours.”
Adam’s lips drew into a thin line and he stared back, green eyes unblinking. A heavy silence hung between them before he finally spoke. “I guess what I heard can’t be true then.”
An alarm clanged in the back of Jared’s head. This was the same conversation he’d already heard three times in the last six months. So why was it tugging up new memories he couldn’t quite grasp? “You’re in contract negotiations. I’m sure a lot of things were implied that aren’t necessarily true.”
Rosen laughed. “Fair enough. Then I guess there’s nothing to the rumors some of your outlying departments have made your entire network vulnerable.”
The simple phrasing kicked the right pebble in Jared’s head, and the conversation from the night before avalanched back. The words were almost identical to what Mikki had told him. It was a coincidence, right? “Absolutely no truth to those at all.” He kept his uncertainty from his voice.
Was this the basis of the rumors they’d been hearing in every missed sales opportunity for the past six months? Ever since… No, there was no way. “Our networks are secure; you have my word.”
Adam stood, his expression flat. “Of course. I know your certifications support that, to the point I know something like a Trojan would be spotted in an instant. You understand, of course, this is just due diligence.”
Fuck. That’s new. “Of course. And I can assure you there’s nothing to worry about when it comes to Skriddie and the standards we hold ourselves to.” A Trojan virus was the digital equivalent of its namesake. Once it was on the network, it provided someone outside access to the inside. That was so many steps beyond—and a much larger threat—than just a couple whispers they might have security holes.
Call the office. Isolate every server. Go into full lockdown until we know this is just a malicious rumor. Jared’s thoughts raced with next steps, but he forced himself to stay in the conversation. “Can I answer any other questions for you?”
“No.” Adam stepped away, ignoring the offer of Jared’s extended hand. “I think I’ve got the information I need. Thank you for your time.”
Jared sank back into his seat the moment Adam was gone and dropped his face into his hands. Shit. How would a Trojan even make it onto their systems? The server should have caught it. The virus software would have stopped it. There were so many check points along the way where it should have been obliterated. He was dialing the office before his thoughts finished forming. Dewson can hole up in the data center. Tate needs to know I’m skipping the courtesy suites. To-do items continued to stack on the list in his head while the phone rang.
At least he knew one thing—the rumors had begun six months ago, while Mikki was still interviewing with both companies. So even if there was anything to what Rosen had said, she couldn’t have done it. Her odd questions and statements about why she’d signed with NSS instead, those weren’t related at all. Were they? A new nagging doubt joined his mounting concern.
Not that it mattered if she was involved—it wasn’t like he was attached. Fuck, who was he kidding? He was so hooked on her it ached to think about parting ways. How had she done that to him in just a few short days?
If she meant so much to him, why didn’t everything he felt for her and knew about her reassure him? He was just being paranoid. Businesses went through slumps. Still, he couldn’t take a chance on this. He snarled at the receiver when he went to voice mail after several rings. “Dewson. I don’t care what you’re working on. You have a new critical priority. Cancel your plans for the night. I promise I’ll make it up to you. We need a deeper scan than you’ve ever done, yesterday. From the top down, servers, every department, any device that’s ever even touched our network. Call me for details.”
He dropped his phone into the coffee table in front of him. It would be okay. He’d work with his staff, they’d secure an all clear, and he could set everyone’s minds at ease. His network wasn’t flawed. There was no way something so severe had made it in. And once he proved it, all would be right with the world again.
Chapter Fourteen
Jared rolled his neck to try and loosen the tight cords running from his shoulder blades to the base of his skull.
His eyes never left his laptop screen. The hotel desk wasn’t an ideal workspace, but his room was private. At least he didn’t have to rely on the free, unsecured Wi-Fi. A hotspot he’d rigged himself sat next to his computer, signal lights flickering and blinking as he worked.
“Peachtree servers next,” he directed the comment at his phone, which sat next to the entire setup, with the speaker on.
A knock echoed through the room, and Jared’s train of thought snapped.
He growled at the empty air. “Do not disturb means do not disturb. Hang on, Dewson.” He crossed the few short steps to the door, shoved down some of his irritation when he saw Viv through the peephole, and let her in. He gave her a brief nod and gave his attention to the phone. “Dewson, rinse and repeat on that entire stack. I’ll call you back in ten.”
“Got it.” The disembodied voice sounded tinny and distant coming from his phone. Jared glanced at the device long enough to see the call had been disconnected and turned back to Vivian. Her gown hugged every curve enough to show it off, without ever looking anything but professional, and the emerald made her eyes flash.
He offered her a weak smile. “You look great. Are you turning heads on purpose, or is that something you dug out of the back of your closet?”
The dress was new. He didn’t have to hear her response to confirm it. She wouldn’t do things any other way.
She tugged on the sleeve of his T-shirt. “It’s not nearly high fashion as what you’re wearing. I drew the short straw, so I get to come nag you to join us in the courtesy suites.”
“Not happening.” His fingers twitched toward his phone. “We’re not done.”
She pursed her lips and trailed a fingernail down his arm. Once upon a time, the gesture would have been seductive. These days that moment was in the past, and he never questioned she knew it as well as he did. “You’re ninety-nine point nine percent sure they’re rumors.” There was no question in her voice. “The odds Hayden’s behind the gossip are so high, you couldn’t even find someone in this town to bet against it.”
Breaching His Defenses (Love Hack #1) Page 11
