Cocky Genius: Ethan Cocker (Cocker Brothers of Atlanta Book 9)

by Faleena Hopkins

  He was a very good-looking man, and my mother would have seen him as the perfect choice for me to marry. He’d gone to Vassar, came from a good family, was well-built, thick blonde hair, highly intelligent, great work ethic. Good genes to pass down, she would have said.

  But he left me cold.

  I could no more picture kissing him than kissing a live crab. Despite how he presented himself to the world, Brock Tyson had claws. He hid them well, but not from me. Instinct told me to always be careful of him getting too close. I also didn’t want to have him on my bad side. But he was very good for Wyntech. His judgment had proven as sound as his skillset. Vassar had even offered him a job teaching business finance, and he’d turned it down to stay with us.

  Trouble is he’d been asking me out ever since my Grandfather passed away and left me this company. It had almost become a game. He would ask – I’d decline, pretty much every time we were alone. Most of the time he took it in stride but I had seen a shift in his eyes on several occasions that told me his casual and even friendly acceptance of my refusals was an act that wouldn’t last forever.

  My father always said, There’s no reason to worry about the future until it’s here. Only then can you do anything about it. And who knows? It might turn out fine.

  So for now…this game was fine.

  “Oh. No, I haven’t.” I took a seat across from him, biding my time until Ethan went back to wherever his office was, so I could safely escape to mine.

  Brock watched me, and he set the pen down. “You change your mind, you let me know. Is something wrong?”

  I blinked at him, so distracted it was almost like he wasn’t even there. Gathering myself I crossed my leg and relaxed my body in an attempt to appear natural. “Just getting a lot of calls this morning and I wanted to escape for a minute. You don’t mind, do you?”

  His concern transformed into an easy smile. “Of course not. Gives me a chance to have an intelligent conversation for once. I’ve been on the phone with our investing team and they…well, you came in here to escape so I won’t add to your burden.”

  I mumbled an honest, “Thank you,” and sipped my coffee. It was the perfect temperature, offering even more consolation for the embarrassment I just put myself through.

  “How have you been? How’s your golf game?”

  “I rarely lose.”

  Brock laughed, “So, it’s the same then.”

  Smiling I nodded a little and took another sip. “They say when you’ve done something for ten thousand hours it makes you an expert.”

  “Depends on how good you are at it,” he countered.

  “And if you did it to the best of your ability.”

  Brock leaned back and kicked one heel over his knee, comfortable in his own skin. “How’s your grandmother doing?”

  I appreciated that he was keeping the conversation off work, on purpose, but my mind was elsewhere and he couldn’t help me with that. I just wanted to get back to my cave and hide.

  “Same. Listen, which office did you assign to Ethan Cocker?”

  Brock’s eyes darkened as he asked, “Why?” He cast a quick glance down to his pen, lifting it off the desk once more. Did he avert his gaze on purpose before I’d witness that strange glimmer? He’d recommended Ethan to me, said they were friends in high school. I’d heard the name before. Everyone knows about the Cocker family in Atlanta with two living members politicians, and many others in the public eye. One was a very successful music producer who’d started a record label years ago. Another owned a large construction company that had an excellent reputation. One of the ex-Senator’s children, Gabriel Cocker, had a song on the radio that I absolutely loved. The Matriarch, Nancy Cocker, was on every board known to woman, as she was a huge activist for women’s rights, and it was said that some of her granddaughters were even more passionate about the cause than she was. And that was just scratching the surface. I didn’t go to school with any of them, but I’d seen some at the school games when we played their teams. Tight knit group, and they seemed like good people. You really couldn’t miss them.

  So when Brock suggested Ethan Cocker, I simply agreed without thought after Brock explained he was a computer genius who’d patented an invention for high-clearance agencies like the C.I.A. and would be able to, in essence, hack the hacker who’d attacked Wyntech.

  So, why did Brock look angry when I asked where Ethan’s office was located?

  Whatever the reason, his almost imperceptible reaction inspired me to lie. “I haven’t met him yet, and I figured I should greet the man. Size him up.”

  Brock smiled at me. “You know Charlie, you’re funny. Can we take off our work caps and allow me to be candid for a moment? Off the record as they say?”

  I warily sipped my coffee then answered, “Sure. Go ahead.”

  “Sometimes you sound like you’re sixty instead of thirty.”

  “I’m twenty-eight,” I corrected him.

  “Even better! Or worse,” he chuckled. “What twenty-eight-year-old says, greet the man, size him up?”

  “If you’re about to suggest that I talk about boys and overuse the word ‘like,’ I’ll throw this coffee in your face.”

  His chuckle grew to a laugh, teeth perfect. “I’m just teasing you. But I do think you need some fun. Come on. How ‘bout that drink? You can even bring Vanessa if you want.”

  Rising from the chair I smoothed my suit down with one hand, favorite coffee cup in the other. I was a woman in a man’s world and Brock might think me stuffy but in order to be taken seriously I had to behave like a man, without all the cussing and talking about getting laid, of course. There would be no light-hearted bubbly conversation for this broad.

  “Brock, it is true that I need some fun. And Vanessa and I already have plans that night. While I find you a very worthy conversationalist, I need some girl time. Please don’t be offended. Maybe another time.”

  “Absolutely.” His manner was friendly without a hint of disappointment. “A man can try. And try. And try.”

  I smiled and mumbled, on my way to the door, “Yes, well, your persistence hasn’t gone unnoticed.”

  “I’ll wear you down one of these days.” His voice was filled with confidence, and I know he believed it, but I also knew he would never kiss these lips. “Corner office diagonal to the break room.”

  My hand paused on the shiny, silver doorknob, and I glanced over my shoulder. “Sorry?”

  “Ethan Cocker’s office. But I wouldn’t go in there. You might laugh in his face.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  Brock’s face twisted in ugly mockery. “His contract had ridiculous stipulations. He’s got an enormous dolphin fountain in there.”

  My hand dropped to my side as I turned to face Brock in utter confusion. “Dolphins?!!”

  “Just one porpoise. He said it’s a replica of the one in his grandparent’s backyard. Wants to put Koi fish in it. Can you believe it? Eccentric, all of ‘em.”

  He meant techies, I think, but I barely heard him. I was still wrapping my mind around the reason for the fountain. It was odd, but sort of sweet. It certainly took me off guard.

  Nor did I wish to acknowledge Brock’s put-down. Because that’s what he meant it to be, and he wanted me on board, as most people do when they gossip. I’m not interested in that bullshit, especially at work. To me we are a team. And gossip never did anyone any good.

  “Get him the fish,” I said as Brock stared at me, appalled. “We need him happy. In fact, we just need him. Period. Give him whatever he wants. And this conversation is between us. Don’t tell him I gave approval.”

  I left just in time to avoid an argument that I had no interest in.

  5

  ETHAN

  I’d waited as long as I could to see where that sexy redhead worked, because I knew for a fact it wasn’t in Brock’s office. When someone saw me watching his door I’d had to come up with a stupid excuse and head back to my own.

  But even wit
h the obsession I normally felt for blocking that hacker out of this server permanently, in a way that he’d know I was the one who kicked his techno-ass, I couldn’t focus anymore. There was one false start after another as I sat at my desk.

  Stacy poked her head in, that naughty smile back. I’d only just two hours before bent her over my desk yet the look she gave me said she wanted to go another round.

  “You want to get lunch today, Ethan?”

  Frowning I muttered, “I’m working through lunch hour, Stacy.”

  She shut the door. “You can always eat in.”

  Leaning back in my chair I smirked, “Didn’t I already do that?”

  “Want seconds?”

  Chuckling I shook my head, said, “I think we’ve both had enough meals for one day,” and focused back on the middle screen, then looked to the right one, 0’s and 1’s flashing before my eyes.

  She paused, unsure of whether or not to push harder. I didn’t look up from my work again because I knew if I did she’d see that as an invitation for determination. My dick was limp for her now, and there was nothing she or I could do about it. She was adorable, but that redhead in the break room got under my skin in the weirdest way. It was her I was thinking about.

  Did that make me an asshole?

  I didn’t think so because the truth of the fucked up situation was plain – I hadn’t planned this. None of it. But something about those cobalt eyes dug into me, and I needed to find out what it was.

  In my periphery I watched Stacy’s perfect legs hurry toward the door, but then I felt her pause. Instinctively I knew she was trying hard to invent one last thing to say.

  I made a mistake in fucking her.

  It was a snap judgment.

  Any man would have done the same in my shoes.

  But now I was regretting it.

  Most men wouldn’t.

  “Ethan?” she said, her voice quiet.

  I glanced up, inhaling patience and feeling like a jerk. “Yeah?”

  “I’m here if you need me.”

  “I know that. Thank you. We had fun today. You’re cute as hell.” It was the least I could do to flatter her, and it was an honest compliment. It wasn’t her fault I’d just met a woman who made her look like a child.

  But my kindness worked. Stacy lit up, the disappointment and insecurity vanishing in an instant, thank God.

  “You’re really cute, too,” she smiled.

  With a little wave she was gone.

  I leaned back in my chair and exhaled, hoping that was that.

  My mind flew back to the break room.

  I’d had a singular reaction to the redhead the second those cobalt peepers locked onto me. She was my age, I thought, but she wasn’t like any of the women I’d come across because she held herself like someone from the 1940’s, a real class act. Her fucking attitude pissed me off, and I sure as hell didn’t like being called a skater.

  That’s what was really weird. I normally couldn’t care less what people thought of my clothes, my life choices, or me. Confidence isn’t something I lack. But in that one insulting speech her Highness told me I was beneath her. And I did not like that one bit. A princess won’t take a pauper to bed.

  Plus she was ready to have me fired and she said it with such self-assuredness that I didn’t doubt for a second that she had the power. Probably had worked her way up since interning during the first year at whatever Ivy League school she’d attended. I know she hadn’t gone to M.I.T. because I would remember her. And she had to have worked at Wyntech for many years. Only time would make her so sure of herself, and give her the power to ax someone who wasn’t wearing the right clothes for her taste.

  Unless she was the daughter of Charlie Reed.

  Hmmm. Why hadn’t I thought of that?

  Of course.

  It made so much sense.

  That’s why she ran off as soon as she learned who I was. Her father must have told her about me.

  I’d yet to meet Charles Reed so I hadn’t seen if he was a ginger, too, though of course he’d have a lot of grey by now if she was his kid, just like my dad, Jake Cocker. I don’t know why it hadn’t occurred to me that she was part of the family here. For being a genius I could really be stupid sometimes.

  Guess no one’s perfect.

  Yeah, right.

  I’m pretty perfect.

  With the puzzle of who she was solved, I went back to my binary code dreaming of a way to take this cunning fucker to his virtual knees.

  When it was around seven o’clock and I came up for air, I realized I was fucking starving. Muttering to myself, “You have to remember to eat, Ethan,” I got up, grabbed my jacket and keys to head home.

  The hallway outside my office was quiet. That door must be soundproof because I never heard anyone talking all damn day. I liked that. Good workmanship was to be admired. Dad taught me that when I worked at his and Mom’s construction company as a teenager. If something was made properly it won’t be a problem later, he’d say.

  I’ll never forget that.

  I pushed the button for the elevator and it was waiting for me. Unusual, but since I was about to gnaw on this stainless steel framing in lieu of a juicy burger, I was grateful. I stepped on and pressed for the lobby.

  The doors began to close.

  “Hold the elevator please!”

  I shoved my hand through just in time.

  They whooshed open and my heart jumped in my chest.

  The redhead locked eyes with me.

  She almost told me to go on without her.

  I could see her sexy mouth open to object and her heels took two steps backward.

  “Just get in the damn elevator,” I smirked.

  She hesitated, her purse on her shoulder and an encased laptop under arm. She stepped aboard, neck high and long. I liked her hairstyle – it was twisted in an elegant way. Despite the lobby button being already lit she pushed it, hard, and stood a step ahead of me for distance. Cold as ice, this one. I wanted to warm her up, or make her so cold she cracked. Couldn’t decide which would be more entertaining.

  I stepped up to her left side, as an equal, but very aware I was in jeans and this Fuck The Man t-shirt. Probably should clean up my sneakers, too, but it never occurred to me until today. “Leaving early?”

  She cut me a quick, angry look. “It’s after seven and I’ve been here since six!”

  “Amazing what they’ll let you women get away with these days.”

  She snarled, “Excuse me?”

  “Only an thirteen-hour-day. I mean, wow. You think you’d want to show the men what you’re made of.”

  Her right arm twitched and I was pretty sure she wanted to hit me. I could have told her I was fucking with her, but where was the fun in that?

  Stiff as steel she stared ahead, but then cocked a look at me one last time before she walked into the lobby so fast that if it were a dirt road I’d be coughing up dust with pebbles embedded in my skin.

  I jogged before I even knew what I was doing. I don’t chase women, but maybe that’s because they never ran.

  “Hey! You want to grab a bite?”

  What was I doing? There was no way she’d say yes. I claim starvation for my lack of better judgment.

  She whirled around. “Are you kidding me?”

  “Nope, not joking.” The security guard looked up from behind his desk, eyeing us. I glanced to him and quietly said, “I’m starving, and I figured you might be, too.”

  “After what you just said to me in there?!?”

  The guard rose up. “Is there a problem—”

  “No, Neil, I can handle myself.” She locked eyes with me to dryly add, “Even if I am just a woman.”

  I almost started laughing. Boy, had I reeled her in good. Hell, I guess all men did that with women we liked. Poke the bear, see what she does. Gets your blood pumping.

  I motioned to the bodyguard that everything was cool and fake-whispered, “She likes me, Neil. She’s just mad that I tol
d her I like her, too, but think she’d look better in a dress.”

  What the fuck was wrong with me?

  Her Highness lost her composure and shouted, “You’re unbelievable!”

  I pinched my skin. “Nope, I’m real. See? Feel that!”

  Shaking her head she strode quickly to the revolving doors, calling over her shoulder, “Don’t follow me, Ethan! And Neil, make sure he stays there until I leave. Then let him go, and only then!”

  “Yes, Ma’am.” He headed for me like he was going to restrain me. Laughable. The guy had no idea how good a fighter I was. Together, Ben, Eric and I had kicked our fair share of ass in our limited years, although our cousin Sofia Sol made us look like amateurs. Still, old Neil here thought he was ready to wrestle me to the ground. Yeah right.

  I held up my hands and backed away. “It’s all good, dude. I can take a hint.”

  With suspicion he eyed me and stayed close. His eyes kept darting to her as she walked in front of the building on the sidewalk leading to the parking garage. We could see her through the glass and man, she was furious.

  Neil muttered, “You’re not going anywhere until she gets in her car.”

  “You can see that far? Are you a superhero?”

  He glared at me. “You just stay put.”

  “Whatever you say, Neil.”

  “It’s Mr. Drummond to you.”

  “Whatever you say, Mr. Drummond To You.”

  I took a step back as he took one forward.

  The second I felt he was actually going to punch me, I smirked, “Try it. I dare you.”

  His fist hesitated and his nostrils flared.

  I was so steady in my challenge that he second-guessed his ability to do any real damage to anyone but himself. After a sufficient number of minutes had ticked by he stepped away from me. “You can go.”

  “Yeah, fuck you,” I muttered on my way out.

  6

  CHARLIE

  Staring at my screen the following morning I grumbled, “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”