Me And Mr. I.T. (Kupid's Cove Book 2) (19 page)

He lowered his lips to mine and kissed them, the taste of wine still on his lips. He pulled back and looked into my eyes, his hooded with something I couldn’t decipher. “I hope that every day I love you, you’ll become more secure in my love, and care less about what anyone else thinks. I love you, Ellie, more than I ever thought possible when I started working here a year ago. So you say it’s been a short time, but the truth is, we’ve been dating, beckoning, connecting, and learning about each other for almost a year. While it was subtle, the outcome was the same. We knew we were each other’s soulmate.”

I looked down at my hands braced on his strong chest. “While that might be true, I’m still scared about a lifetime of tomorrows. Sharing this short period of time with you has been wonderful, but…”

He kissed my forehead, his hands still holding my head. “But nothing. When this assignment is over and we leave here, we don’t have to leave each other,” he promised.

I looked up at him, desperate to believe what he said was true, and thankful I had made memories with him that I could cherish forever if things didn’t work out that way. I raised myself enough to reach his lips, starting a kiss that would only lead to one place, home.

Mr. I.T.

I leaned on the balcony railing, watching the waves roll into the beach. The clouds had cleared and the moon shone brightly against the bluish green waters, making them seem almost luminescent in color. A few hours ago, I stood in that water, wondering if the woman next to me would ever let her guard down long enough for me to love her. Now I stand here with an answer. She let me in and let me love her. Now, she slept in the bed that wasn’t ours, but in my mind would forever be ours. I closed my eyes, the weight of knowing I now held her heart in my hand heavy against my shoulders.

“Dear Father, I am sorry. Please forgive me. I love you and I thank you,” I chanted into the quiet of the night. “Dear Father, I am sorry. Please forgive me. I love you and I thank you.”

“Dear Father, I am sorry. Please forgive me. I love you and I thank you,” she said from behind me and I spun around, surprised by the intrusion on my prayer.

She reached out and took my hand, nodding to me, and we said the prayer together one last time. “Breaking out the Ho’oponopono tonight? I’m not sure if that should make me secure or scared.”

I held her hand in mine to the side and caressed her face with my other. “I always recite Ho’oponopono when there are big changes in my life. It centers me and reminds me that our Creator has this all figured out. If I listen to the words of the ocean and the songs of the sky, I never have to question if I’m alone. The Creator has given us each other, and now I must thank him, and make the promise to always love you, forgive you and thank you until our Creator calls us home.”

“I didn’t know you were religious,” she whispered, her body shivering when a cool wind blew.

“I’m religious in that our Creator remains in the sky and the water, the birds and the sand. Honesty, hard work, love, peacefulness, and joy are what we are here for, to feel it and to share it.”

“Ke’aloha. Love is all around,” she said, tucking her nearly naked form into my chest.

I kissed the top of her head and rested my chin there. “Love is all around, and when I start to feel my grip on that slipping, Ho’oponopono brings me back to the peace within me. It took a lot of chanting after what happened with my father. I’ve forgiven him, because he and my mother are back with their Creator, so I no longer have to be eaten alive by it.”

She turned, so she could look out over the water, but stay in my arms. “Living on the islands has always been a religious experience for me,” she explained. “My parents came from the mainland and were Catholic there, but after living here for a few months, they could no longer worship inside a building. So, growing up my church was sitting under a palm tree, watching the ocean, and chanting Ho’oponopono. My parents allowed me the freedom to worship the way I wanted to, considering my island heritage was so different from theirs. Now, even though I’m no longer at home, they still go to church every Sunday under a palm tree.”

I smiled, slipping my arms around her waist from behind. “Our Creator is so good. I felt the need to thank Him for making you for me, and only me. I hope you realize in my heart you’re mine forever, and no piece of paper, or lack of piece of paper, will change that.”

She turned in my arms and looked up at me, her face telling me she wasn’t as secure in that knowledge as I had hoped. “We will have to face a new situation when this ends and we go back to Maui, Maltrand.”

I leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. “One day at a time, sweetheart, that’s all we can do. Each day we face together is another day closer to knowing the right way to deal with the situation when we get back to Maui. Please don’t stress about it; we’ll face it together.”

She didn’t answer, just leaned in and wrapped her arms around my chest, her head resting comfortably below my chin.

“I love you, my Frisbee warrior. I don’t want to go back to the way it was before, both of us fighting our feelings for each other just because we work together.”

“I don’t either,” she whispered, kissing my bare chest. “I would rather make love not war.”

I leaned down and scooped her up, carrying her back in the door and pushing it closed with my heel. I laid her on the bed, her barely there nightgown bunched up around her waist. I pulled it over her head and tossed it behind me. “Me, too,” I whispered, kissing her neck and working my way down her chest.

She squirmed under me and I fought against taking her as fast as I had in the Jacuzzi. “I don’t want to wait,” she whispered and I ran my hands up her legs and held her waist.

“Sex is easy, making love is not,” I whispered, my heart smiling when she laughed under my lips. I kissed down the inside of her left leg to her ankle, leaving my mark on her skin, nipping and sucking. “Making love is an art form that requires skill and passion,” I reminded her as I moved to her right ankle and lay my lips on her leg. She pulled back instantly, her knee catching my forehead in her haste to get away.

I sat rubbing my head, and watching her shaking her head back and forth, her legs held tight to her chest. “Don’t do that. Don’t kiss that leg.”

I sat up, and reached for her, but she wouldn’t budge from the corner where she sat. “Has anyone ever made love to you before, Ellie?” I asked gently, hoping she would recognize the difference.

She shook her head slightly. “Sex only, lights off, preferably the other side of sober. Keep their eyes focused on your chest, and their hands occupied with holding themselves up as they went for the satisfaction they sought. Always be gone by daybreak and never get so drunk you forget any of the above rules.”

I let out a heavy breath. I felt like I had been sucker punched by her honesty. “My God, Ellie, I’ve never heard anything sadder come from a woman’s mouth. Did Bain make you feel inferior because of your leg?”

“Every single man I’ve ever been with has made me feel inferior. Eventually, you get used to it. Whether we had already been intimate or not, they could not see past my leg once they found out. Sometimes I let them discover it on purpose as a way out of a relationship that wasn’t working, but usually it was after I had started to think that maybe they wouldn’t judge me for it. I was always wrong.”

I scooted forward and rubbed her shoulders. “You’re not wrong this time. How can I judge you for something that’s beyond your control? That would be like you judging me because I have a scar that someone else gave me. I’m not that superficial.” I reached out and let my hand rest on her right leg. “Am I hurting you?” I asked and she shook her head again, her eyes darting around looking for a way out. She reminded me of a scared dog, ready to bolt at the slightest twinge of pain from a human being. I kept my hand moving from her ankle to her knee, and kept my eyes locked with hers. “I’m never going to hurt you, Ellie,” I promised, keeping my touch gentle. “I’m never going to abandon you. I love you,” I assured her, hoping the gentleness of my touch, and honesty of my words would relax her.

She looked up to the ceiling and let go of her legs, stretching them in front of her and leaning back on the pillows. She was still rigid, and trembled under my lips when I brought them to her leg, but she didn’t pull back. Trying to keep my need for her in check, I kissed the leg from the ankle to her groin while my hands twined in hers. When I felt her stiffening under me, I squeezed her hands and held the kisses until she relaxed again. I didn’t know how much time had passed when I got to her waist, but I felt it in my groin when she moaned with satisfaction as I kissed my way back down. Her hands let go of mine and moved into my hair, her fingers tugging on the strands. I moved over her and rested on my elbows, letting my lips fall to hers, our bodies more than ready to be one, again.

“I love you, Ellie,” I said out the side of my lips without ending the kiss.

She arched under me, her arm hooked around my neck so I couldn’t move away from her. “I love you, too, Mr. I.T.,” she moaned, unaware that she had called me that in the throes of such great pleasure. In that moment I knew it would be what she called me forever. She called me what her heart wanted and it was a name of love and true happiness.

“I’m not sure how much longer I can wait to be part of you again,” I said, my voice strained as I suckled her left nipple. “You are the only one I will love from this day forward.”

I held her eyes, my hands holding her face as I pushed forward, parting her and joining with her again for the second time in as many hours. As we moved together as one, I knew one thing would never change, my love for her.

Chapter Sixteen

Ellie

I hugged my friend tightly, happy to see her and know she was okay. “I’m glad you’re doing better,” I said as we ended the hug and sized each other up.

She reached up and touched my cheekbone, a frown on her face. “I can’t say the same about you. Is it still painful?”

“A little, but it has improved a lot. Hasn’t it, Mr. I.T.?” I asked my husband.

He smiled a smile that told me he was still feeling the effects of last night’s lovemaking. “It looks much better than it did, but now the ugliness of the bruising is taking over and making it look worse than it is.” He winked at me, knowing I would be thankful for his attempt to quell Katie’s uneasiness about the situation.

We were waiting in the penthouse for Lei to arrive. Never one to be too careful, Gideon had the penthouse swept for listening devices and cameras before he arrived. When they didn’t find any I breathed a sigh of relief. I had been staying there for days, and didn’t want the thief to hear the things we said.

Gideon came over and put his arms around Katie, steering her toward the couch to sit. “Remember, the doctor okayed you to come, but said you still have to take it easy for a few more days,” he scolded her.

She tried hard not to roll her eyes, but I saw them tip up a little bit. “I can stand in one place and take it easy, Gideon,” she laughed, but I heard a little bit of frustration in her tone. I couldn’t blame her, but at the same time, I couldn’t blame Gideon. He was a nervous wreck with everything he had on his plate at the current time. At least Katie finally knew about the thief and why we were here.

I sat next to Katie and addressed Gideon. “I’ve brought Lei up-to-date about the thefts, and she gave me some great insight into possible suspects. I’ve had time to go through their online profiles, and while I don’t see a pattern of spending beyond their income, I also can’t see most of their profiles. They use the security settings well, which means I can only see what they publish on their profile as public. Anything they share only with friends I can’t see.”

Gideon took a sip of wine and set it down on the coffee table. “I figured we would run in that particular situation. There’s no way around it legally?” he asked and I shook my head.

“Technically I could friend them, but that might make them suspicious as to why the marketing director was friending only them, when I’m not friends with anyone else from this hotel. To avoid raising suspicions I would have to friend everyone and wait for them to accept the request. It could take days. You know what I mean?”

He tapped his chin. “I suppose so.”

Kate interjected. “We can’t use anything found on those profiles in a court of law anyway, so it is probably not worth tipping them off for very little return.”

“What does Lei think?” Gideon asked, leaning back and sipping the red wine sent up by the restaurant. Once Lei arrived, they would be delivering dinner as well.

“She thinks we can smoke them out at the party tomorrow night as well, simply by giving them an opportunity to flash around some cash.”

Katie leaned forward. “High end liquor is pricey, but not pricey enough for me to accuse someone of theft because they can afford to buy a few drinks.”

I nodded, putting my own glass to my lips. After a swallow, I answered her, “I agree with you, Katie. We’ve decided to run a contest to win an all expense paid trip to Napa Wine Valley. Highest bidder wins.”

Gideon almost choked on his wine. “Uh, I didn’t approve that.”

“Not to worry, this will be a fake contest. If no one comes forward and bids in an over the top manner, we’ll say that no one met the reserve bid. We’ll be the only ones who see the bids, so if we get one that is off the charts, they will be the first one we investigate. In regards to the trip, I’ll make something up about why the prize fell through and that will be that. Unless the thief is there, no one will have that kind of money to throw around.”

“I don’t know, Ellie. It sounds sketchy to me. We may be tipping the person off instead of them tipping us off,” Gideon said.

A voice from the hallway answered. “I’m afraid I have to agree with Gideon. The more I think about it, the less I think it will work.”

I turned. “Aloha, Lei,” I said, standing and giving her a hug. My own excitement for her promotion bubbled up within me and I had to bite back my congratulations.

Gideon stood and came over to her, holding up a sign. He had made it earlier, showing it to Me and Mr. I.T. when we arrived as well. It said, “Turn your phones off and give them to me.”

She didn’t even question the reason. She just took them from her pocket, powered them down and handed them to Gideon. He removed the batteries, checking for any bugs and when he found none, left the batteries out and set them in the box with ours.

“Sorry, we can’t be too careful. There are plenty of ways to lay malware in a phone so someone can remotely connect to the camera and microphone,” Gideon explained. “I’ve had the penthouse swept for bugs, so it’s safe to talk here.”

She shook her head a little. “It makes me so sad when I think about what’s happening to you,” she said, her face in a frown.

Katie stood and joined her husband, but Lei enveloped her in a hug. “Hi, Katie, I’m glad you’re doing better.”

Katie patted her back a couple of times and smiled up at her husband. “I’m feeling okay, Lei. Thank you for the flowers. They are beautiful.”

Gideon asked us all to take a seat around the large dining room table. “While we wait for dinner, I want to hear the plans for the party.”

He held out Katie’s, then Lei’s chair, while Mr. I.T. helped me with mine. He leaned down and kissed me, appropriate enough for a gathering with our boss, but sexy enough for me to remember exactly what he could do with that tongue.

“Look at the newlyweds,” Lei laughed. “They can’t keep their hands, or lips, off each other.”

I refused to blush and took his hand when he sat down. “Must be this island, the romance is always breathtaking when you look outside.”

I took the stack of papers I had printed off earlier today and passed them out around the table. It was a fully laid out plan for the party–who was coming, who was working, and what to be on the lookout for during the event. I gave everyone a few minutes to look it over, glad I had the foresight to make paper copies, since he wouldn’t let me use a computer or phone in the room.

Gideon looked up from the papers. “Looks like you’ve thought of everything. I’m praying we find whoever this is. They have been siphoning money every day. We’ve lost half a million dollars now.”

I looked up sharply. “It’s only been two weeks since you told us about this. How can they get nearly a quarter million in that short amount of time?”

“I don’t know, but I will tell you, however they’re doing it is sophisticated. I’ve changed all the passwords and they still managed to figure them out.”

“They have to be using password cracking software,” Mr. I.T. said. “That’s a program that will break any password and allow the user into the account. Does the bank have any additional way to track the IP address of the users?”

Gideon shook his head. “No, because it’s coming from within our business center, so there is no way for them to know if it’s me or a thief. I’ve moved all but a few hundred thousand dollars from that account into a new one. I might as well tell you I have the cyber department of the police involved now as well. They are monitoring the activity in hopes of catching someone red handed, but they agree that what we are going to try tomorrow night is smart. There will be several undercover police officers at the party, dressed as bouncers we hired from a temp agency.”

I nodded. “Good, I’m glad you finally brought them in to help us. This employee needs to be caught before they go underground and we lose them forever. It’s imperative that these instructions are followed to a T tomorrow night, any deviation could muddy the results we get.” I turned to Lei. “If you can’t get these specific liquors mentioned here, do not substitute until you come and talk to me. I’ve researched the alcohols that the high rollers drink in casinos and other high stakes type games. I want those liquors there for that very reason. If someone has a taste for hundred dollar glasses of cognac, I’m going to want to look long and hard at their finances.”

Lei agreed with a head nod. “From what I’m seeing on the list, there are only a few we don’t carry. You and I will have to see what we can do about getting them tomorrow at the liquor store.” She turned and addressed Gideon next. “I have the plaque arranged for the new GM, but I will need a name before I can have it engraved. I understand if you don’t want to tell me who it will be before the party tomorrow night, so I have the number for you to call and give them the name and spelling. If we do that right away in the morning they’ll have it ready for me by noon.”

Gideon shook his finger at her. “You’re good. Usually turnaround time on engraved special orders is a couple of weeks.”

“I knew we didn’t have a couple of weeks if we want to present the plaque, so I sweet talked them into going with a generic plaque until after the event. Then I’ll have one burned with our logo.”

Gideon held up a finger and stood, going to his bag leaning against the wall and lifting something out. Maltrand, Katie, and I were all trying to hide our smiles, because we knew what he was about to do.

He walked back to the table and set the padded envelope down on the table in front of him. “It just so happens, I had the plaque made already. It’s right here.”

Lei looked surprised. “Oh, well, great then. I guess I should have figured out if you were going to announce the new GM you would have had the plaque made. It’s habit to be the one always on the ball around here.”

Gideon nodded, his hands folded on the padded envelope. “I know, and I’m sorry that Marcus hasn’t been around more the last few months to carry the kind of weight he should as GM. To be honest, I haven’t been happy with his work for quite some time, which is why I put him on the business center project. It was a way to keep a close eye on his performance. He didn’t perform well, so I’m glad he’s found a new position, hopefully one that will fit his personality better.”

“I don’t think it’s anything against you, Gideon. There have been a lot of changes in his personal life, and he can’t seem to pull himself out of them.”

Gideon nodded. “I know, that’s why I’m not overly upset about his lack of work ethic. However, as owner, I couldn’t let one man run a very profitable hotel into the ground. So, I will give you this plaque and you can be the one to present it to the new GM tomorrow night. I think you deserve that considering how much slack you’ve been picking up.”

She reached out and took the envelope from his hand, a confused look in her eye, even though she wouldn’t let it show on her face. “I’d be honored. Thanks, Mr. Armstrong.”

“Gideon, please, you know how that Mr. thing makes me feel old,” he joked.

She laughed a little, but gave a nod as she set the plaque to the side and held the paper, waiting for someone to say something.

“Aren’t you going to look to see who the new GM is?” Gideon asked, his chin in his hand.

“It’s none of my business, Gideon. I’ll find out tomorrow night along with everyone else,” she answered, shifting uncomfortably in her chair.

Gideon laughed, shaking his head at the girl who was flipping the papers around in her hands. We were trying, but not succeeding, at hiding our grins.

“You’re going to be announcing the name, you’ll have to know who it is ahead of time,” Gideon explained. “It’s not a secret from anyone in this room, take a look. I know you want to.”

Lei laughed and took hold of the envelope. “Secretly, I’m dying inside not knowing who it is. Is it someone I know?” she asked, slipping her finger under the lip of the brown flap.

“Someone you know very well,” he assured her.

She pulled the wood block from the envelope and turned it around, her eyes running over the plaque that held her picture, and her name inscribed above the words ‘General Manager of Orchid Reef Resort’. The wood thudded back onto the table and her hands shook as she looked between the four of us. Her mouth was opening and closing like a groper in the sea.

“Wait, what?” she finally whispered, her eyes going from the plaque to Gideon. “Is this a joke? I don’t have any experience as a general manager.”

Gideon shook his head. “Nope, not a joke. You took charge for me when Katie got sick, and I watched you learn everything about my business and the hotel itself. Your current position is manager of reception, yet you carry the house phone on you at all times, because no one else would step up and do it, not even the general manager. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve been the general manager here for the last six months. If you want the job, it’s yours.”

She shook her head a little bit, still disbelieving. “I don’t know what to say. Did you know about this, Ellie? Is that why you told me about the thefts?”

I nodded as Katie rubbed her shoulder, the shock still evident on her face. “I talked to Gideon about it once we arrived here. I had to have someone I could trust within the hotel and he immediately told me that he was offering you the position. That’s why I put the party idea together. It serves multiple purposes, it gets your name out as the new GM, lets us see who might have more money to spend than they should, and I will get pictures for the new business center brochure. That is if you’re going to take the position.”