"Oh and Marco?"
He turned back.
"Ask the housekeeper to add in three pitted dates and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Also bring coffee. The very best he has. Have you got that?"
Marco nodded and then sped to the door as quickly as he could. It would have been funny except that he still had Suzy's laptop and he took it with him. Her heart sank as she watched him go.
It was a beautiful autumn day, sun shining down on a blue ocean, temperature just right to be seated outdoors on the Eastern Seaboard, but the feeling of being a prisoner in this man's hands bore down on her, mixing claustrophobia with… excitement? It was confusing. Too confusing.
Get a hold of yourself Suzy. You're the only one in Katy's corner right now, so don’t lose it. You're here for a reason, to pump this guy for information, not just pump him….
She halted the ridiculous thought.
"I think you'll enjoy the sweetness of the dates Ms. Baker, assuming Clay has such a thing in his larder. After all, he's not a complete barbarian."
Suzy ignored the small talk.
"Who exactly are you Mr. Mayweather? Do you work here or are you owner?" She was trying to project confidence but she could hear the tones of trepidation in her voice and cursed herself silently.
"I'm an associate of the Hargrave brothers. I occasionally take care of some of their security issues. I also buy a lot of their technology. I take it that you came here looking for Clayton and please don’t tell me you were lost Ms. Baker. You're not in any trouble here but don’t take me for a fool either." His voice never lost the lighthearted note, but it was clear that he was very, very serious.
"I don’t care about Hargrave." She said, clawing together her self-confidence from pure desperation to help Nadia. Ruben noticed the change instantly and his smile flickered a brighter for just a moment.
"It's my friend Katy Maldon." She continued. "I'm looking for her and I have reason to believe that your boss Hargrave, was one of the last people she had contact with before she went missing."
Ruben watched her for a moment without making any move to respond.
Suzy held his gaze for as long as she could and heard the sound of her own heart beat loudly in her ears. It was exactly the same face, the same gaze, the same infinitely deep and all consuming eyes that had fascinated her when she first saw him on her oversized computer screen.
She had fantasized about him then and now here she was, trapped in his world, and whether she liked it or not, completely under his control.
She felt her color rise and dropped her eyes.
What the hell is this? She thought. What is with me? Anything could be happening to Nadia and here I am blushing like a school girl because I had a few dirty thoughts about the guy when I first saw him.
The housekeeper arrived with one perfect looking green chocolate smoothie, a pot of coffee and two delicate fine bone china cups on an ornate silverware tray. The smell of the coffee was intoxicating and the smoothie looked as delicious as any she had ever fixed herself.
Ruben thanked the housekeeper and then looked at Suzy again.
"How do you like your coffee?" He said.
"Plain. Black."
"A purist. I like it." He poured two cups, then held one just below his nose and drew in a breath. "Peaberry." He said with satisfaction. "Clay usually has some of this stuff around. Are you familiar with Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee Ms. Baker?"
She shrugged and shook her head.
"May I taste it?"
Ruben laughed.
"May I taste it?" He mocked her. "Maybe if you’re a good little girl Cynthia." He said, exaggerating her first name to highlight his belief that it was false. The playfulness made him instantly seem more like a bold little boy than a very impressive full grown man. It did nothing whatsoever to diminish his incredible sexiness.
But he was way too sharp and perfect to be straight. Suzy didn't have the best 'gaydar' in the world but this one didn’t require too much thought.
"I'll take that as a yes." She said and reached for the cup. He watched her raise it slowly to her lips and take a slow sip. The coffee was still hot so she drew back, pursed her lips to blow some air on the surface and then returned for a second try. It was good this time, God was it good. She felt renewed strength coming into her flesh. After her drive to Portland, her flights to Boston and Bangor and then the drive all the way down here to Lovett she was sleep deprived, jet-lagged and physically exhausted.
Maybe that was why it felt like the most incredibly delicious cup of coffee in her life.
She closed her eyes and drank deeper.
When she opened them again he was still watching her, intently, as though his life depended on it, but the coffee was too good for her to bother with feeling uncomfortable about being so completely scrutinized by such a sexy man.
She finished her long sip from the cup and replaced it on the table. The cup was three quarters empty.
"I'm not a big coffee person Mr. Mayweather but that was good." She said and heard some of her old self returning to her voice.
Ruben leaned over and refilled her cup from the pot.
"You look like you've just been brought back to life Ms. Baker. Please drink some more, don’t be shy. Make yourself at home."
Suzy looked at the coffee but held back. Her thoughts were beginning to clear with the strong caffeine.
"If I'm not in any trouble what exactly am I doing here? Am I free to go now?"
Ruben tapped one long, tapering finger onto the armrest of his chair and considered his response. Suzy had no idea what she would do if he said no, but she also wasn't sure what she would do if he said yes.
"You are absolutely free to go wherever you please Ms. Baker."
"And my laptop?"
"It will be returned to you shortly."
They sat for a moment watching each other, each aware that the other wasn't telling the whole truth. There was no way she was walking out that door without any strings attached and this guy knew well her name wasn't Cynthia Baker. Besides, she needed to drill him for information and walking out of here wouldn’t get her any closer to helping Nadia.
"You can cut the Ms. Baker thing." She said. "It's not my name."
Rube smiled and gave her a wry look. "You don’t say."
"I've had a very long day Mr. Mayweather and your goon frightened me with his gun back there so forgive me if I wasn't exactly thinking straight. Do you think we could start from the beginning again?"
He nodded his head in gentlemanly fashion.
"Please do."
"Okay then, my name is Falstaff - Susan Falstaff - and I'm here about my friend Katy Maldon who I believe is in a lot of trouble. I'm hoping that you know something about her and if you do that you will share it with me. If you don’t know anything then I'll be on my way and you won't hear from me again."
Ruben didn't hurry to reply. In fact, he looked like he could sit there forever, slowly but surely reading her mind, one non-verbal body language clue at a time. He was definitely an oddball, a sexy one, but still odd. Maybe if she asked him nicely, after all, he had been strangely tickled by her asking permission to taste his coffee.
"Please Mr. Mayweather," she said in her best behavior voice, "if you know something, anything at all, then I would be extremely grateful. And if there was ever a way for me to repay you I would do anything you ask."
"Hmm, extremely grateful." he repeated. "And you would repay me for the information?"
She looked into his eyes and nodded her head. She couldn't imagine what someone like him could possibly want from her but she meant it. If he could help her find Nadia then she would be happy to give him anything he asked of her that was within her power.
"Anything I'm capable of." She said.
"In that case Ms. Falstaff, I do happen to know something about your friend."
Her heart jumped. It had been worth it.
"Thank God." she said huskily. "You have no idea how grateful I am for
this Mr. Mayweather, no idea at all."
"Well, I'm very happy to be of service Ms. Falstaff, but you know that nothing comes free in this mercenary world we inhabit and although you're swearing your gratitude to me now, I hope you'll excuse me if I take it with a grain of salt. I'll believe in your gratitude after it's been thoroughly put to the test. But let's not worry about how you'll repay me just yet. I'm sure we can think of something appropriate together when the time comes."
The words were weirdly exciting, ominous in a way that made her anxious to know what he would come up with 'when the time comes'.
"What can you tell me about her?" She said.
"I can tell you that she's in a very safe place, so there's really nothing for you to worry about. Clay is with her and so is his older brother Dale. She's got nothing to worry about. They contacted me today in relation to an event that took place here last night and which relates directly to your friend."
He stopped there, leaving her hanging.
"Well can you please tell me? Katy is my best friend. I need to know if she's in danger."
"She's fine Ms. Falstaff. As I said, there's nothing to be worried about. So now let's come to the gratitude part."
Suzy stiffened and sat bolt upright. The thought was thrilling but the reality was terrifying. She had no idea who this man really was or what he was into, and no proof as of yet that he was anything but a twisted liar.
But against all reason, this was making it all the more exciting.
This man was like nothing that had ever happened to her before.
She looked at him again and all of a sudden he seemed very, very straight indeed. A minor explosion went through her as a result.
Jesus, how could I have been so dumb?
Was he really trying to manipulate her into some kind of kinky arrangement?
"I'd like to point out Ms. Falstaff that this house was the subject of some cyber snooping today. At precisely the same time that we observed your rental car come onto the property. Information theft is something the Hargrave brothers, and I myself, take very seriously."
Suzy's heart pounded. She had barely connected with them for a couple of seconds but this wasn't just any home and these weren't just any people. She knew all about the punishment for cyber crimes and how serious the government took them these days.
"There was only one piece of electronic equipment in the vicinity during the attack and that belongs to you Ms. Falstaff. Your laptop to be precise."
Lie her way out or beg forgiveness? So far playing ball had seemed to work better than being confrontational.
"I'm sorry about that." She said, looking down to her knees and then back up to him again. "I was just concerned about my friend. That's all."
"Is that so?"
She dropped her eyes again and waited. If he decided to go legal on this then she would be in very deep trouble. Her laptop was powerfully encrypted, illegally so but a court order could soon change that.
"You look very contrite all of a sudden Ms. Falstaff. It seems to be a look you project quite well and with the greatest of ease."
"I don’t know what you mean." She said, glancing up at him briefly and then diverting back down to her knees again.
"God I wish you would stop doing that." He said, his arch tone suddenly sounding more human.
"Doing what?" She glanced up at him and then straight back down, an instinct of devilment taking over her momentarily.
"That." he said. "You know exactly what you're doing."
"I have no idea--"
"Stop pretending Susan." He said in a firm commanding voice. "To yourself and to me. First you try to hack into my friend's personal home computers, then you lie about your name and now this?"
She was at a loss for words. Did he seriously mean the eyes she was giving him? Of all the things she had done today, this was bothering him the most?
"I'm sorry." She said quietly. "If you would just give me my laptop, I'll go right now."
As if on cue Marco reappeared, holding her laptop, crossed the deck and placed it on the table in front of Ruben.
"It's the one alright." He said. "No doubt about it. Checks out with an attack against Hargrave Robotics last night as well."
What little calm and control Suzy had left was torn to shreds. This was getting very serious, very quickly. The kind of hacking she had engaged in from that machine would put her behind bars for hundreds of years. Messing with Hargrave's home Wi-Fi was one thing, but snooping his corporate databases was something else altogether.
She took a deep, rattling breath and put one hand to her temple.
"Mr. Mayweather--"
"The encryption on this machine is military grade Mr. Mayweather." Marco continued. "Totally illegal unless you're working for the government. We have our little hacker right here." He said with relish. "Shall I call the authorities?"
Ruben let the question hang while Suzy rubbed her temple more vigorously. Feelings of panic were beginning to overcome her. First Katy's cover had been blown and now hers as well? Just yesterday they had been tight, invisible, beyond the reach of the most sophisticated surveillance services in the world.
Stay low, stay clean, leave no trace.
What bullshit it sounded like now - two stupid little girls getting way out of their depth in a world full of sharks and barracudas.
She struggled for breath and made ready to beg mercy. It was crushing, mind blowing to be reduced to this from the freedom and independence of her life on the edges of society.
"You can go Marco." Ruben said. "I'll handle this."
The man left without a word.
Suzy looked around nervously, rubbing her temple ever more insistently. She was practically in the middle of nowhere, as far away from anyone she knew in the USA as she could be and she was on Clayton Hargrave's extremely well guarded property being grilled by his top security professional.
Make a run for it? She didn't think so.
"You look quite alarmed Ms. Falstaff." Ruben said. "I take it you understand fully the extent of the trouble you're threatening to put yourself in. If you can hack into Hargrave Robotics successfully then you're not as innocent as you so good at making yourself out to be and you're a whole lot smarter than showing up here on Hargrave private property a day later would suggest."
She looked around like a caged animal but when Ruben leaned forward and put his hand on her forearm, despite everything, she felt calmed. There was something in his touch that made it clear he wasn't out to get her just for the sake of it.
And his warm hand felt good on her arm, resting against her naked skin in the cool evening air.
"It's okay." He said. "You're still not in trouble. Nobody has been informed about any of this. Not yet."
Her analytical mind was deserting her under stress. When it came to code, computers and technology her thoughts were razor sharp, but this was not her world. She was a fish out of water in this kind of environment and this was like no other situation she had ever been in.
She glanced up at him and her big round eyes met his dark, impenetrable gaze. She looked down to the floor again.
"If you insist on doing that again Ms. Falstaff, I may not be responsible for the consequences."
His hand remained on her arm; promising and threatening at the same time.
"What do you want from me?" She said, keeping her gaze firmly down to her knees this time.
He sat back into his chair and the withdrawal of his touch felt like a sudden loss.
"The question is Ms. Falstaff, what is it that you want from us?"
"I told you, I want to know where my friend is and I want to know what's happening to her."
"So in order to find out about your friend you decided to conduct a sophisticated and highly illegal 'session hijack' remote entry into Hargrave Robotics corporate servers. After this you come to the personal residence of the CEO where you attempt to hack into his home computer. I'm just curious Ms. Falstaff, did you at any time consider calli
ng to ask Mr. Hargrave about your friend before committing a series of multi-state felonies?"
"Okay, so maybe these haven't been the best decision I've ever made, but have you ever tried getting hold of a famous billionaire on the phone when you're an ordinary citizen and not one of his rich personal friends? I don't have time for that kind of runaround. Katy is in danger now and the longer we sit here the more time I lose trying to track her down."
"I've already told you that she's under Clay and Dale's protection. She couldn't be safer if she was in the Witness Protection Program."
The choice of words didn't inspire any confidence in Suzy. That particular organization had let her down once before.
"You can look up at me once in a while Ms. Falstaff." He said, his tone becoming more human again. "Just don't give me those little lost girl eyes or I might end up letting you walk out of here with Clay's laptop and personal address book in your pretty little hands."
WTF?
He was openly flirting with her now. Something was just not adding up here.
She lifted her eyes slowly, found his and then locked their eyes together. He looked transfixed, expectant, his breath halting between gorgeous, slightly parted lips. The thrill of it was intoxicating.
"You'd let me walk out of here?" She said slowly. "Then tell me Ruben, what exactly would I need to do to make that happen?"
Chapter Three
Humiliating or electrifying? Or both?
Suzy couldn't decide which. When she had decided to risk all and ask Ruben what it would take to let her walk she hadn't really expected him to take her seriously, but obviously this was a different world to the one she and ninety-nine percent of the ordinary human race inhabited.
She would have to figure out the rules as she went along, or as her arch manipulator made them up.
He was considering her very seriously, waiting for her reaction to his request.
"If you like Ms. Falstaff, you can think of it as a favor. A personal favor to me."
It was a personal favor alright. Very personal.
His Secret Request: Billionaire Secrets - Book Three Page 3
