Big Ben

by Nana Malone

  “Thank you. I admire you a lot.”

  “Same here. Now, if we could just fix my dating life, then the world would be perfect.”

  I laughed. “Are you still trying the apps?”

  “You know what, don’t write me any more profiles. The last one you wrote me was so good I got all these guys who were trying to have intellectual conversations with me but didn’t seem to want me for my body at all.”

  “What happened to the perfect man right in the middle? Where is he?”

  She laughed. “Not anywhere I can see. Feels like I was jinxed a long time ago in love. Doesn’t matter though. What matters today is we have good news for you. I’m really proud. I’ve loved having you on my team, and I’m sure it’ll work out. Whatever you decide, just let me know and then I’ll work out a transition with Ben.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

  There was nothing else to say. Looked like Ben was going to get his way.

  8

  Ben

  We had a plan. We just had to execute. But no one could execute a damn thing until I had the drive, and so far, I was coming up empty.

  I threw my stress ball up in the air as I leaned back in my seat. I needed to figure out a secondary approach and fast, because if she took it to someone who could figure out what she had, it was risky for everyone. Especially her. I had to find a way to get the advantage.

  So, what? Be her friend?

  When was the last time I had been friends with a woman? It wasn’t even an option. She was in my system.

  Never.

  I loved women. Women were beautiful. Certainly engaging. But having a long-term relationship would be complicated and not on my top ten list of things to do.

  Ever since Lila, I’d kept a healthy emotional distance from the fairer sex.

  Not that a woman from five years ago should be clouding my judgment at all. She just informed so many of my interactions with women. So being friends with a woman I wanted wasn’t going to work. I wasn’t capable.

  A knock sounded on my office door, and I assumed I’d find East or Bridge jamming their big frame inside my doorway, but instead I found oh-so-delicate Olivia. Her dark eyes met mine levelly, and my fucking dick twitched. Traitor.  “Had a change of mind, love?”

  She just scowled at me. From behind her back, she produced the flash drive. “You want this?”

  I blinked as I sat up straighter.  “Yes, I do.” I wanted so much more too. Like her pretty mouth around my cock. I kept that to myself, though.

  She wagged her finger back and forth at me.  “Easy does it. Possession and all that.”

  I crossed my arms. “Fine. What do you want?”

  “Well, I want you to tell me why this is so important.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Is it something illegal?”

  “All that’s on that disk is information. You are just going to have to trust me.”

  “Trust you?  I don’t even know you.”

  My skin hummed. Didn’t she feel that? Was I the only one suffering? I took a sip of coffee from my mug. “Yes, you do. Your body was molded against mine a few days ago. I know exactly how you fit against me. I know your scent. You know mine too. You can feel the electricity, can’t you?”

  She watched me intently. “Did you know your mug says world’s biggest dick?”

  I grinned. “Yep. It was a gift from Jessa. Not sure how she knew, but I’m happy to announce it loudly.”

  “I don’t think that mug means what you think it does.”

  I frowned at the thing. “What else could it mean?”

  She snorted and rolled her eyes. “If you don’t know I won’t tell you. Look, I don’t like to put faith in things I can’t see or touch.”

  Smart. But she could touch the electrical charge between us. She just didn’t want to yet. “Then that makes you a very smart woman. What do you want in trade?”

  She stepped into my office and then eased the door closed behind her. The look she gave me was one of calculation.  “Well, the job you offered, I’ll take it.”

  My heart tried to punch its way out of my chest. She was saying yes? I arched my brow.  “I thought you felt like I was buying you.”

  “You are. And I accept.”

  Bloody brilliant.  “All right then. I see your sense of morals took a quick dip.”

  “Sometimes I can be stubborn. But if the job is legit and I’m not like your personal naked assistant or something, then I would like to accept.”

  Too bad. I liked the idea of her as my personal naked assistant, though.  Why didn’t I think of that job title? “Fine, what else?”

  She smoothed her hands over her blouse and then cleared her throat before tucking her hand behind her back. “I have some tasks I need to perform, and I would like you to accompany me.”

  I blinked slowly as I considered the tasks. “Excuse me? What kind of tasks?”

  She lifted her chin. “Do you want this drive or not?”

  “Oh, I do. But I didn’t get to be a shrewd businessman by blankly agreeing to things. I like to know what I’m getting into.” Especially if it involved me with my tongue between her thighs. Stay focused.

  “I won’t be asking you to do anything illegal, immoral or otherwise. I just have to get some things done and it will be a lot easier if someone is there. And I am not going to tell you what I have to do. I just want to be able to call you, and you’ll have to turn up.”

  I shook my head. “No deal.”

  Her brow lifted. “Okay then. Guess I’ll just call the Guardian and give them the drive. Apparently, you don’t want this so badly after all.”

  Hardball? She had to be fucking with me. You can show her hard balls.

  I forced myself not to laugh at my internal joke. I couldn’t let her walk out of here with the drive.

  Bollocks. “Fine. Call when you need me to accompany you to something, and I’ll turn up. But I have a few limitations. I’m not going to shave your dog’s balls or something.”

  Her face scrunched up.  “Don’t be so dramatic.”

  “Hard not to be when you’re blackmailing me.”

  “Well, you brought this on yourself. And it’s not blackmail since you offered me the job.”

  My fingers itched to get my hands on the drive and her skin. “Anything else you’d like to ask me for?”

  She shifted on her feet and her gaze scanned over me. Did she stop on my lips?

  “No, that’s it for now.”

  She stepped forward, her palm outstretched with the flash drive on it. When she was close enough, I pushed myself to my feet. I realized how small she was then. Even in her heels, I loomed over her.  “Think about it, princess. This is your last chance to ask for something else.” Like my tongue on her clit.

  Her gaze flickered to mine and held. “I don’t need anything else.”

  “Okay.” I took the disk from her warm palm. “Glad to hear it. I guess we’re in bed together.”

  She stunned me with a brilliant smile before she hit me where it hurt. “I don’t think you’re that lucky.” And then she turned on her heel, sashaying out, the red soles of her shoes mocking me as she clicked away. I’d just been outplayed by a player. And I couldn’t even be mad about it.

  Ben

  I waited until the day was over and let myself into East’s flat without even thinking about it. He didn’t usually bring women back to the penthouse. Anyone who was temporary he took to a room downstairs. He often told them that he was spoiling them with room service and all that jazz, but mostly, he just didn’t want them in his place. He looked up from his laptop. “You never knock, do you?”

  “What’s the point?”

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  “Bridge was held up in his meeting.”

  “Tell me you have good news.”

  I held up the flash drive. “I have good news.”

  East jumped up. “Thank fucking Christ. W
hat did you have to give her?” He smiled at me lasciviously. “Did you show her Big Ben? Is that why she gave this to us?”

  “Shut it. I mean, it’s not like I didn’t offer. But she wasn’t interested. Boyfriend and all that.”

  “Ugh, what does it feel like to have a deflated ego?”

  I tossed the drive at him, and he caught it one-handed. “Nothing deflated about my ego. It’s perfectly intact, just like always.”

  He rolled his eyes then. “So, what did you have to give her?”

  I poured a scotch and eased back on my usual spot, staring at the muted game of football on the telly. “I gave her a job.”

  He laughed. “Seriously? You really did give her a job?”

  “Yeah. And she’s qualified for it too. I don’t know why she’s been working as an admin.”

  “Okay, if you say so.”

  I winced. “There’s something else.”

  He lifted a brow. “What?”

  “She wants me to do some things for her.”

  He grinned then. “See, I knew you’d get to the good part eventually. Tell me more.”

  “There’s nothing to tell. I don’t know what these things are, but she assured me it would be nothing illegal or immoral.”

  “Wait, she got you to agree to do something and you don’t know what it is?”

  “I had to agree, or we wouldn’t have that.” I inclined my head toward his palm. “I did what I had to do.”

  He grinned. “Well, if you’d shagged her, I would also be okay with that. You know, taking one for the team.”

  Bridge opened the door a minute later. “Hey, losers. Ah, the prodigal son. Tell me you got it.”

  I lifted my arms wide and said, “Have I ever failed you? Who’s your daddy?”

  “If I were you, I wouldn’t lead with that question. I hate my father.”

  I sighed. “Good point.”

  East held up the drive. “We’ve got it. I’ll start the decryption tonight.”

  Bridge laughed. “Well, golden boy delivers. What did you have to do to get it?”

  I shrugged. “You know… Why do you have to ask such questions? The point is I got it. Just like I said I would.”

  Bridge just turned his attention to East. “He shagged her, huh?”

  East shook his head. “He claims he didn’t. But considering how well fit she is, I’m surprised. Watch. Give it a week. He’ll be begging her to shag.”

  “Dream on.” I took a sip of my scotch. “I beg to no one.”

  Bridge and East just exchanged glances, and then Bridge laughed. “How much?”

  East sized me up with a long glance. “A hundred grand. I say before all of this is over, he’ll beg her and shag her.”

  Bridge whistled low. “That’s your opening salvo? Okay, I’ll bite. I know my mate. She’s pussy. He can get that anywhere.”

  I nodded. “Yes, I can get that anywhere. Olivia Ashong isn’t anything special.” Even as I said the words, something within the very core of my cells rebelled against them, shying away from that statement and wanting to expel it from my body. But I wasn’t saying a damn thing. Neither one of them needed to know. Mostly because they’d give me shit for the rest of my life, and I wasn’t in the mood for that.

  “So, what’s the plan?” Bridge asked.

  East nodded at his laptop. “Now we wait. We decrypt this and find out what information we have. It’s two months until the next voting meeting, one month until the next members’ meeting where Van Linsted will likely start calling in all his chips, so we have to be ready. We’ll reach out a hand to every member we can get on our side. He’ll be doing the same. We need to figure out who’s got the most weight and how to sway them. Emma is counting on us.”

  Just those words, ‘Emma is counting on us,’ reminded us who else had counted on us and who we’d failed. We wouldn’t fail again. We owed that much and more to Toby.

  Ben

  “Toby. Toby!” Cold hands ripped me from my friend as I kicked and fought. I awoke from my recurring nightmare with sweat coating my skin and my breath coming in sharp, rugged pants. I glanced around, expecting to see my new brothers holding me back from the scene of Toby’s death, but they weren’t. I was in my room in my massive bed. The view of London open to me on three sides. I was safe.

  Unlike Toby.

  I scrubbed a hand over my face, scratching at the stubble on my jaw. “Fuck.”

  I threw off the covers and then stripped the bed. I had soaked the sheets. Quickly, I dropped them on the hamper before grabbing a fresh set from the closet and remaking the bed. I dragged my ass into the bathroom and turned on the hot water. I stripped out of my boxers and climbed in, not caring that I was basically searing my skin. As I scrubbed off the sweat and tried to shake the vestiges of the dream that clung to me like slime, it didn’t matter how much soap I used. There was a smudge of dirt on my soul that I couldn’t get at.

  I had failed him. We all had. And now it was time to fix it. Emma was right. We were the ones in the position to do something about it.

  After I turned off the water, I grabbed my towel and quickly ran it through my hair and over my body. I grabbed a pair of boxers and a T-shirt. I knew there was no way I’d get back to sleep. I checked the time and groaned. It was only 1:30. If it was closer to five, it would make sense to get up and go on my run, get some exercise, and start the day early, but this was ridiculous.

  I climbed back in bed and grabbed my laptop.

  I knew what I shouldn’t do. What I shouldn’t do was think about Olivia Ashong or the way she’d outmaneuvered me. I wasn’t supposed to think about those dark eyes and the way she looked when she smiled or about the curve of her ass fitting against my palm.

  Stop thinking about her.

  There were rules to this. Rules I was breaking. But I couldn’t help myself. For some reason, she was like a tether to this world that I didn’t know I needed. I had no idea why the fuck I felt that way. I didn’t know her. She didn’t know me. But still, everything about her made me feel solidly planted, which was ridiculous because she had me by the balls.

  I still had a favor, or favors, to do for her, and I had no idea what they were. I just knew they were coming. And she knew about the flash drive. Not necessarily what was on it but that I was implying its importance, and that was dangerous enough. I opened the images that East had pulled off CCTV from the fundraiser.

  She looked regal. Elegant. But I almost liked her dirty secretary look better. The bun, the glasses, the buttoned-up vibe with a spark of mischief in her eyes and the hint of anger. I zoomed in on the photo and frowned when I saw her pin. Was that what she’d been looking for? Like the dick that I was, I hadn’t stopped to think about it or to help her. When I zoomed in, I frowned. Was that a Batman pin? That’s what she’d been looking for in the closet?

  She must really like the caped crusader. And then I had another flash of memory. The photo on her desk. In it, her mother had worn a pin just like it.

  Jesus. You are a wanker.

  I absolutely was a wanker. What the fuck had I done? I had broken it and then left her to pick up the pieces.

  I’d broken it, so I needed to replace it.

  Looked like I had more than a few debts to pay.

  9

  Livy

  “Happy first day of work!” Telly’s voice carried through the restaurant and several people turned to look. She blew in like a storm, her dark hair fanning out behind her like she traveled with a personal wind machine.

  I grinned as I stood. “Hey, Tell.”

  She gave me a tight hug. “We need wine, immediately.”

  I laughed. “I already ordered. And remember, I still have to go back to work.”

  “Ugh. God, killjoy. It’s five o’clock somewhere.”

  “Well, in that case, I’ll drink to that.” The waiter arrived then with the wine, and Telly sagged in her seat. “Oh my God, yes, pour.”

  “What’s wrong with you? Everything okay with Carme
n?” The two of them had been dating for several months, and they were coming up to the six-month is-this-moving-forward term. I could practically see Telly’s feet turning into blocks of ice.

  “She’s good. She’s coming down from Bristol at the weekend.”

  “I have to say, Tells, I’m proud of you for stepping into relationship-hood. I, for one, think she’s good for you.”

  “I like her a lot. But how are you supposed to know if someone is right for you?”

  “I don’t know. Faith in fate, I guess.” Since when did I believe in faith or fate?

  She took a big sip. “Do you really think Dexter is it for you? I mean, it’s been two years.”

  “Oh no, you’re not deflecting with me. This is not about me. Besides, part of those years was long distance before he moved us to the States and back again. Lots of transition. Our situation is different.” Even Telly didn’t know how far things had disintegrated.

  I dragged my attention back to Telly. “I mean I like her; I just don’t know if it’s a love thing.”

  “Wouldn’t it be so helpful if there were a sign people could wear that said, Yes, great love potential. I’m not an asshole.”

  “Yes! Where is this invention in my life?” Telly said as she snorted a laugh.

  “You just gotta build it, Tell.”

  “Speaking of my complete badassery, that flash drive you gave me, it’s heavily encrypted.”

  “You mean you can’t do it?”

  She lifted a brow. “Oh, I can do it, but I might need some help. I’ve got a call out to this bloke called Matthias. He lives in New York, but he has more experience with stuff like this. I have to wonder… If it has this level of encryption, should we be messing with it?”

  I chewed my bottom lip. I wasn’t ready to let it go yet. “I need to know.”

  “Okay, then rest easy. I’m on the case. Enough about my boring hacking attempts. How did Dexter take the news about the big job?”

  I wrinkled my nose, remembering the thirty-second conversation in passing. “Okay, I guess. He was worried about my time commitment.”