Breaching His Defenses (Love Hack #1) (7 page)

“Suddenly, regardless of what you think or believe, someone decides they disagree with you, and they take it out on your business’s online presence. Graffiti on the website, maybe? Or again, stolen customer information. Names, phone numbers, addresses. Do you think they really stop and ask themselves, ‘does this website follow industry standards?’ and then steer clear if the answer is yes?”

Jared’s mouth drew into a thin line, and he half rose from his chair. “But you’re painting the rare scenario. Standardization and certification statistics show those things impact less than one percent of online businesses. These are companies who are paid to verify things work the way the rules say. Time and again, research has proven the chaos hacker is the boogey man in an executive’s closet. It doesn’t happen to the everyday user. Statistically it doesn’t even register on the radar.”

“But that’s what we sell.” The words slipped out without her considering them. “Peace of mind. You’re not buying security because it happens all the time. You’re buying because you don’t ever want to be the person who said, ‘That’ll never happen to me.’ And then it does.”

The corner of his mouth twitched up. It looked like he wanted to reply when the moderator cut in. “Thank you, Ms. Elford. Very enlightening. But I think we’ve gotten off topic. Next question?”

She turned her attention back to the audience, but not before she saw a hint of a smile whisper across Jared’s face. Had she impressed him? She liked the thought of that.

The rest of the panel passed without incident. After, she lingered, shaking hands and accepting business cards, along with a smattering of, “Great insight. We’ll be in touch.”

Part of her wanted to wait for Jared to extract himself from the small pocket of people around him. For professional reasons, of course. So far he’d had some very specific opinions on what did and didn’t work in this business, and she wanted to know how a brain like that crossed the line into innovative.

And maybe she was lingering just a little because every time she looked at him, new images flashed through her mind. Of his lips gliding up her throat. Or his hands on her hips. Or his mouth swallowing her cries in a hungry kiss.

Her skin tingled, reacting to the simple caress of her shirt against her body. She pushed the onslaught of fantasy aside. Too bad she had to get back to work. She made her way toward the exit, still toying with fantasies around the familiar voice fading in the background.

“Michaela.” The sharp word cut into her thoughts, and she spun toward Hayden. He stood on the other side of the hallway, face stretched into a grin. “A minute?”

She crossed the short distance, taking a cue from the fact he’d picked an out-of-the-way spot and keeping her voice low. “What’s up?”

“I caught the end of your performance in there. Absolutely brilliant. Want to run the rest of the show?”

“I—” How was she supposed to answer a question like that? It was tempting, but only if it came with the great view again. “I think tech’s more my thing. I didn’t say anything you wouldn’t have.”

His expression shifted, corners of his mouth tugging down. “Except you did the one thing I really need you to not do.”

She replayed the panel in her head, focusing on the bits that weren’t blurred together. Nope, nothing stood out as “bad.” “Which was?”

“Making waves with Skriddie.”

“Oh.”
This again?
What had he expected? So much for him giving her more excuses to stare at Jared. When she rolled his words around in her thoughts, his request dragged back her nagging question from earlier. Why was he so fixated on this? “You know it was a panel discussion, right?”

He jammed his hands in his pockets. “Just… Please. You’re fantastic at what you do, so I let you do things your way. I only have this one request.”

She bit back a snort at how his idea of doing things her own way contrasted with the tight leash he kept on everything, but she couldn’t suppress her next question. “You’re really kind to worry about my wellbeing. Especially since you already have me on staff, and technically I’m just a grunt. Are all bosses this concerned about how the competition views their employees?”

His jaw clenched. “No. Most of them are assholes. I know you’re new to jobs like this, but I’ll remind you again, making waves in an industry is never a good idea. You’re talented. I’d hate to see you throw your future away because your ego is bigger than your sense.”

She forced a smile onto her face, despite the welt his words left on her thoughts. “Of course. My mistake.” She wasn’t sure which bothered her more. The insult, or the thinly veiled threat about the future of her career.

Jared scanned the dining room, gaze flitting from face to face. Compared to the impromptu brainstorming session at lunch and the intriguing debate with Mikki, the rest of his day had dragged in a way he wasn’t used to.

He didn’t have time for a business dinner tonight. He should be going hands-on with the network again. Getting to the bottom of these rumors. Except he didn’t have any leads beyond what he’d already checked. Any and all digging had come up clean.

So he was taking this chance to learn what people were talking about. Where the concerns were, and if there were any new rumors that might point him in a specific direction.

If only he could focus on the whispers around him. His attention kept drifting back to one face in particular. The way her black hair framed her face, and how her oversized, button-down shirt hinted at her curves without revealing anything. Then there was the fact he couldn’t stop thinking about pushing up her knee-length skirt…

A sharp elbow dug into his ribs, dragging his attention back to his own dinner table. Vivian’s voice faded in. “I’m sure it’s all up to spec, but our tech brain can give you any details you want.”

He smiled at whomever they were talking to—the owner of a small website making polite conversation. The man had indicated when he’d made himself at home at their table an hour ago he had no need of Skriddie’s services. He’d spent the rest of the time trying to convince them to sign up for the same multi-level marketing company he sold candles for.

“Sure.” Candle guy’s smile was thin. “I’m just hearing rumors you’ve got some holes in your security. I wonder, if a big player like Skriddie can’t keep their secrets hush-hush, what chance do I have?”

Something tickled the back of Jared’s memory.
You’re most vulnerable where you’d least expect to look.
Mikki’s words from the presentation this morning. She didn’t know about this, did she? His nerves protested the idea she might be involved, but he couldn’t shake the nagging thought.

He dragged his attention back to the conversation, nodding and smiling as was appropriate, and grateful when it was over.

“What’s up with you, space case?” Vivian hissed in his ear as candle guy turned to someone else at the large table.

Besides non-stop thoughts of stripping Mikki out of whatever she was wearing? A fantasy he really needed to stow until they were back home. This was exactly why kept his attention on work, and order, and making sure everything in his universe lined up the way it was supposed to. Which Mikki didn’t. She didn’t fit into any of his plans or logic. “Do you think NSS really knows something?”

Vivian pushed her salad aside. “I knew you were thinking about her. I just didn’t think you were still dwelling on what she said. It was a sales pitch.”

“A very convincing one.” When Mikki had said in her presentation NSS had something that could trump the competition, he knew she was hyping things up, and probably not of her own accord. At the same time, something in her body language said she believed it, at least to some extent. Mikki slipped out a side door, and he pushed back from the table before he realized what he was doing. “I’m done for the night. I’m going to get some work done.”

Viv and Tate wouldn’t argue. They’d both expected him to step out early anyway. He moved into the hallway and surveyed his surroundings. Now where had she gone?

Something caught his attention, a flash of electric blue like the shoes and shirt she was wearing, and he chased after her.

“Mikki,” he called as he rounded the corner.

She paused, and the smattering of people still in the convention center milled around her. Her back stiffened, and she turned to face him. “Hey.”

Don’t stare.
He forced himself to make eye contact. “Do you have a minute?”

She glanced around her, over his shoulder, pretty much everywhere. “Sure.”

She almost looked like she expected someone to jump out of the shadows at any minute. He stepped closer. His questions were strictly business, but he still didn’t need anyone else eavesdropping. What was was off about her posture? “Are you all right?”

She didn’t keep her attention on him for long. Every few seconds her gaze darted around again. “I’m fine. What’s up?”

He caught sight of a small alcove behind her. He’d noticed spaces like it around the convention center. The spots were set aside to help people keep their phone calls or other conversations more private. As long as it was empty, they wouldn’t have an audience. He nodded toward the hidden spot. “Away from prying eyes?”

She let out a tiny breath, and her expression relaxed. “Good idea.”

Was she terrified of being seen with him? That didn’t fit. Nothing in the last twenty-four hours aligned with that. But the moment they were out of sight, her posture eased further.

“What’s up?” she asked again.

He leaned against a nearby wall. It was tempting to stand closer, just enough to dive into the heady scent of energy and citrus she radiated, but he hadn’t tracked her down to get up close and personal. “Can I ask you something?”

She tilted her head to the side and leaned closer. Her voice dropped until he felt as much as heard the words brushing his cheek. “They don’t match tonight.”

Match…? She means her bra and panties.
His eyes grew wide and he straightened, surprised when she met his gaze. “I wasn’t…”

She blinked back, a tiny smile slipping out.

There was the woman he’d sung with. He resisted the urge to trace a finger along her bottom lip. “You should do more of that. You’re beautiful when you smile.”
Not where I want this conversation to go. Focus on the facts. What does she know? How much can you get from her about her presentation? The verifiable info
.

Pink flooded her cheeks and she ducked her head. “You didn’t pull me aside to flirt, I’m sorry.”

He did need to keep things on track, or risk the conversation sliding into territory he couldn’t have it in—like what color was her underwear if it didn’t match?

He was better off just asking his question. “Do you really know what we’re up to? And do you really have something better?”

She crossed her legs at the ankles and used the wall to support her, putting a few more inches between them. “It’s a demo. It was made to sell products.” Which was what he’d expected. There was no reason to put her on stage just to taunt Skriddie. Still, he wasn’t surprised when she continued. “But.”

Lust and fantasies of stripping her down aside, he wanted to know what came next. “I knew it.”

She laughed, and the carefree note tickled his senses. Damn it, he wished he could ignore his response to her. “It’s all the same old stuff. Things you already know,” she said.

Something about the casual assurance, as if this were shared knowledge between them, triggered another wave of warning bells in his head, but he couldn’t place the source. “Placate me.”

She shrugged and fiddled with the edge of her shirt. “It’s all about the remote machines, right? The ones no one realizes are connected directly to the servers. The machines they wouldn’t expect to have access to their deepest, most important information. They’re a risk for anyone, because no one thinks to check them thoroughly. All it takes is one person giving someone a password who doesn’t deserve it ‘just this once’ and you’re compromised. It happens three times, and if you don’t catch it, you’re screwed.”

Three times was an awfully specific number.
What’s hiding under her explanation?
He scooted closer, irrationally pleased when his hand brushed hers and she didn’t pull away. “They got lucky hiring you, didn’t they? There’s no one there who recognizes how much you know. Or have they just hidden their appreciation of your skill that well?”

“I’m not the best they have, and they gave me a chance.”

She wouldn’t look at him. Every few seconds, she wove the hem of her shirt through her fingers and then released it again. She glanced behind her, and then gave him most of her attention again.

“Am I holding you up?” he asked.

She finally met his gaze again. “Do you work all the time? Like, twenty-four seven all business and professional and company first?”

If he’d guessed a hundred times what she might ask next, that wouldn’t have been anywhere on the list. “I do what’s required of me.”

Her lips twisted, and she ran her tongue along her teeth, metal ball clacking. “What was different about last night?”

Everything.
The question loosed a floodgate of memories, rushing across his skin. He couldn’t hold them back.
Not good.
“Last night was out of character for me. A one-time thing and such.”

Her brow furrowed. “So you wouldn’t do it again? It’s not professional.”

He was missing something; he had to be. When he set the rapid-fire questions aside and studied her face, he didn’t see any irritation or malice there. In fact, the same challenge as the night before stared back. He didn’t know what she was looking for, and trying to make sense of it simultaneously excited and infuriated his brain. “I wouldn’t rule out the possibility, but I don’t spend a lot of time doing things like that.”

“Things like what?” She clucked her tongue along the roof of her mouth. “Having fun, or being impulsive?”

Great, now she was twisting his words. “I can be impulsive. When I’ve got time.”

She rolled her eyes. “Checking your calendar isn’t being impulsive. You need to look up the definition of the word. Before last night, when was the last time you did something out of the blue, without second-guessing yourself? Without planning, without having a step-by-step list of possible outcomes, consequences, and stumbling blocks?”

The question flipped a switch in his head, taunting him. How did she make perfectly reasonable behavior sound so unreasonable? He searched her face, not sure what he was looking for. Then he let instinct take the wheel. He rested his hand at the back of her neck and kissed her.

She leaned in to the gesture, full lips crushing into his, almost imperceptible gasps drifting from her throat. Every sound goaded his pulse, and his lower extremities stirred in response. Jesus, she tasted good.

He let her go but didn’t pull back. “Just now.”

Her cheeks turned pink, and she smirked. “And was it as horrible as you thought it would be?”

Did she have any idea she was fucking with his head, or was she just talking as things occurred to her? “No. It was pretty incredible.” Another flash of inspiration struck, sending electricity through his veins. The idea heightened the heat of her standing so close and brought every nerve ending to life. His gut tightened with the swelling potential. If he was going to do this, it would be under his terms. “Help me be impulsive again tonight.”

Her breathing quickened, and her pupils dilated. “What did you have in mind?”

He pulled the spare room key from his wallet, slipped it into her hand, and gave her his room number. “Meet me upstairs. We can play things by ear from there.”

“You’re on.”

He shouldn’t be doing this. Going a second time with anyone he wasn’t dating, but especially her, was a bad, horrible, terrible idea. Too bad his aching cock disagreed.

Please don’t let him run into anyone between here and the elevator. Not just because he desperately wanted another round with this gorgeous, brilliant woman, but because he was so hard it hurt, and he didn’t know if he could hide his erection if he had to stop and make small talk.