A Game of Chance

by Emma Shortt

  “Good.”

  “That’s not what I mean.”

  “Then—”

  Meg gestured to the front of the store. To where a man, dressed head-to-toe in black, awaited them. He was holding a handful of electric blue flowers. “He just walked through the door.”

  Chapter Five

  After picking himself up from the floor, Chance had, somehow, managed to limp his way along the lobby and back to his head developer’s office. His code had finished running, had returned pages and pages of search results with documents attached, but Chance didn’t even look at them. He unplugged his flash drive, the ache in his stomach burning, and made his way gingerly back to his own office.

  Once there, he had spent a good half hour breathing deeply, willing the pain in his gut to subside. Only once it had could Chance get back to work. He didn’t look through the search results, even though he’d spent a good ten minutes writing the code necessary to find them. Instead, he logged into an online community that he was a sporadic member of and asked one question and one question only.

  Who is Blue?

  He spent the better part of the night finding out, and with each new snippet of information, each new record found, Chance built a plan.

  That plan found him wandering around the big retail area down by the river the very next morning. It had been a very long time since Chance had done any kind of shopping that didn’t involve a mouse click, and the experience of having to navigate his way between shoppers was not one he enjoyed. But it was necessary, and as midday approached, he arrived at the location he’d Googled and memorized the night before.

  KIT was a computer repair store. Of course it was. It took up a couple of floors of the development that included coffee shops, sandwich bars, and an upmarket travel agent. It was an odd place for such a store. Chance didn’t know a whole lot about property values, but he knew enough to know that KIT sat in prime real estate. He also knew that the development belonged to Will Thornton, a local property millionaire, and the man who was dating Kate Kelly, Blue’s best friend.

  Yep, Chance had been busy, and he was also fucking nervous.

  He clutched a bunch of electric-blue flowers in his hand as he approached the store. It had taken him ages to find them, and it was also the first time he’d ever bought flowers for a woman. He wasn’t entirely sure what that said about him, but he decided not to think about that.

  What he did think about was how important the next few minutes were going to be. He’d scared Blue last night. And, sure, she’d given as good as she’d got, but Chance needed to apologize for that. The flowers were meant to do that. They were also, if he was honest, a way to soften her up. Now that he knew exactly who Blue was, and why she’d snuck her way into X-Tech, it was very important that he get her on his side.

  He took a deep breath as he pushed open the front door of the store. A theme tune sounded. Star Trek. Classic Star Trek. Chance had watched every single episode, more than once. Had Blue watched them?

  He looked around the store. There were only two people inside. Kate Kelly and the woman he’d gone to all this trouble for. Chance swallowed unsteadily as he looked over both women. Kate looked exactly like the pictures he’d found of her online suggested she would look. Skinny jeans, a Space Invaders tee, and bright orange Converse. The uniform of geeks. Pretty much everyone in X-Tech dressed the same way.

  Blue though… Chance swallowed again. How could he not? She looked like she’d just stepped out of a video game. Tight red leggings covered her shapely legs. A tiny, white corset cinched her waist but somehow managed to show off most of her lower stomach and wide hips. Black inkings ran along both sides of those hips and disappeared God-knew-where. Her hair was in some kind of lop-sided electric-blue beehive, with red polka-dot ribbons wrapped round it, and she wore the highest red heels that Chance had ever seen.

  She was stunning.

  There was no other word for it.

  And Chance was hard before he even took another breath.

  “What the hell?”

  “Good afternoon, Blue.”

  The women looked across at him. They both had very different expressions on their faces. Kate was glaring. Blue was simply open-mouthed and wide-eyed.

  Chance moved through the store, his hand clenched around the flowers so tightly that he almost severed their stems. He was ridiculously nervous. He’d known he would be. So much rested on this. But as he looked at Blue, at that corset, at the way she spilled out of it, he knew those nerves were not just about the situation they now found themselves in.

  How far down do those tattoos go?

  Chance gritted his teeth. Willing his thoughts from the direction they seemed intent on taking. Trouble was, Blue was so much prettier in real life than her online images had suggested. Maybe because she’d had so many different hair colors in them, so many different outfits, it was like viewing several different women.

  Which one was real?

  Chance was desperately eager to find out.

  He gave himself an inward shake—that was not what he was here for!—and came to a halt right in front of Blue. She smelled of strawberries. He held the flowers out, smiling in what he hoped was a winning way.

  “For you.”

  Blue looked from the flowers to him—once and then again. “Flowers?”

  “Blue?”

  That came from Kate. She had her hands on her hips, her gaze darting between them.

  “Blue?”

  That one word seemed to shake Blue from whatever state of shock she’d been in. She snatched the flowers from Chance’s hand, shot them a look he couldn’t decipher, before dropping them on the desk beside her.

  “It’s…I…” She glowered at him. “I told you not to call me that.”

  Chance tried to give what he hoped was a nonchalant shrug. It was necessary for the role he was planning on playing here. “I prefer it to Megan.”

  “It’s Meg.” She glowered some more. “And excuse me if I don’t care that you prefer your stupid nickname to the name my parents gave me.” She paused. “And how did you even find out my name?”

  “It’s on the company directory.”

  “How did you find out which company I work for?”

  Another shrug. “I asked around.”

  “Asked around who?”

  “The nerds in this city are fairly close-knit,” Chance said. “And talkative, if they’re animated enough. It didn’t take long to find out who you were…not with the description.”

  “Description?”

  “You’re a very memorable woman, Blue,” Chance said.

  “This is…” Kate’s soft words fell between them. She no longer had her hands on her hips but was pulling an Android from the pocket of her skinny jeans. “This is not good…” She shot him a look. “You’re the burglar. The black hat.”

  Her words only confirmed what Chance had found out about these women the night before, about their expertise. The plan he’d come up with, the ruse, ran through his mind. He had to be very, very careful.

  “Technically,” he said.

  Kate shook her head. “There is no ‘technically’ about it.” She looked across at her friend. “I’m calling Will.”

  “Not yet, Kate,” Blue said. “Not yet.”

  She tilted her head, as if taking him all in. Chance found himself wondering what it was that she could see. No, what she thought about what she could see. Chance wasn’t an idiot. He knew what he looked like. Hell, he’d spent hundreds of hours in the gym so that he could look like this, rather than the skinny nerd he had once been. But what did Blue think about it? Did she prefer skinny nerds? That was her world, after all.

  She shot a look at the electric-blue flowers. Chance followed her gaze. What was she thinking? He was shocked by how badly he wanted to know, but even as those thoughts raced through his mind, Chance knew that they shouldn’t be there. He wasn’t here to ask her out on a date! He was here because he needed her help. He had to remember that.
Focus on it. This was important.

  “What do you want?” she eventually asked, crossing her arms.

  Chance’s resolve weakened as quickly as it had formed. His cock thickened beneath the denim of his pants. He tried his very best to ignore it, but even as he did he couldn’t help wonder: was he doomed for her to make him ache?

  “We need to talk.”

  “We said plenty last night.”

  “You put a stop to our conversation before we got to the part we needed to get to,” Chance said.

  Blue looked down. He cursed inwardly the moment she did. He did not need her looking there. He sat down on the edge of the desk. It was a bad move. Her laptop was open. His own image, his old image, looked back at him. Chance almost sighed even as a trickle of panic ran through him. He missed that gray sweater.

  “And what part would that be?” Blue asked.

  Chance shifted so that he blocked the screen from view, before saying the words that he had come here to say. “The part where we figure out how X-Tech stole your work.”

  Chapter Six

  Meg blinked once and then again, not entirely sure that she had heard him correctly. But then, that was hardly surprising because Meg was half convinced that this whole thing was a really weird dream that she was going to wake up from any moment.

  Her black hat was here.

  In their store.

  And he’d brought flowers.

  She shook her head even as she looked down at the flowers on the desk. Where had he found electric-blue flowers? Had someone dyed them for him? Were they even real? Meg wanted to reach out and finger them, the petals, the blooms, but she dared not, not with him watching her, and he was—Meg could feel his eyes on her.

  She wanted to look back up. She wanted to look at him. But Meg was not an idiot. She knew full well what would happen if she looked into those eyes again.

  Chocolate.

  She almost snapped her fingers. They were the exact same color as her favorite type of chocolate. That was why they were so familiar. Of course, that didn’t explain why her nipples had hardened the moment she’d looked into them, or why she knew they’d harden further if she tried it again.

  “I guess I should introduce myself before we go any further,” he said. He stood back up and held out his hand. “Name’s Jack Chance. I’m a PI.”

  Meg couldn’t help but look up at that. Her arms were crossed, but she tightened them against herself, absolutely positive that she could not take his hand. Hell, her wrist had tingled almost the entire drive home from X-Tech.

  “A PI?”

  “As in, private investigator?” Kate asked.

  Chance nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Do those even exist anymore?” Kate asked, shooting Meg a look.

  Meg shot her a look right back, because they both knew that Meg had a horrible weakness for PI movies and books, specifically Magnum PI, with Tom Selleck being her go-to crush for almost the entire time they were in college. Meg had never been able to find a guy with a moustache to rival his, and already she found herself imagining what Chance would look like if he lost the beard and sported one. As Kate had said, this was not good.

  “If you’re a PI,” she said quickly. “You should have some kind of ID.”

  Chance reached into his pocket and pulled out a wallet. He passed across a card. Meg took it from him, being careful not to touch his hand. He grinned down at her. He had a very attractive smile. Meg so wanted to smile back, despite her reservations, but the next thing she knew an Android was thrust under her nose.

  “He has a website,” Kate said.

  “No social media, though,” Chance said. “It’s more of a hindrance than a help.”

  “But…” Meg shook her head, trying to marshal her racing thoughts into some kind of a coherent direction. “If you’re a PI, what were you doing in X-Tech?”

  “I’ve been hired to find out exactly what X-Tech is up to.”

  “Up to?”

  He shrugged. The action only emphasized the musculature across his chest. Meg clenched her fist around the card. How many hours did this guy spend in the gym? But then, if he was a PI it would make sense that he would need to be physically fit. A PI…dear Lord.

  “You’re not the only person who thinks the company might have stolen their work.”

  Meg gripped the card harder and shot Kate a look. Their eyes met. Meg knew they were both thinking the same thing.

  “You’ve been hired by another nerd?”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  “Who?”

  “That information is confidential.”

  Meg arched a brow at that. Confidential? He had nerve. She gestured toward her laptop. Once again, there was no need for words. That was how it was between Meg and her best friend.

  Kate moved around the table and picked up the laptop. She minimized the browser before opening one of their own custom programs. Chance sighed.

  “You won’t get into my site.”

  Meg spluttered. “How did you…”

  “Part of my payment,” he said. “That site has better security than most government organizations.”

  “Why would you need that level of security?” Kate asked.

  “Nerds,” Chance simply said.

  “Nerds…” Meg dropped his card on the table, right next to the electric-blue flowers. A miniature of his face looked up at her. Meg tore her eyes away. “Well, these nerds don’t know if you’re telling the truth. How can we, if you won’t tell us who hired you?”

  “Why would I be here if I wasn’t telling the truth?”

  Dammit, he had a point. Meg took a step away from him, so that she was right next to Kate. Her friend reached out and touched her back. Her fingers tickled.

  “We’re going to need a minute,” Meg said.

  Chance nodded at that and gestured to the space behind them. “That looks like a coffee machine. I’ll wait in there.”

  He walked, no, he stalked his way across to the little kitchen. Meg watched him go. She watched him until he was inside the other room, and then she watched him some more.

  “Tell me this isn’t happening,” she eventually whispered.

  “He’s way more attractive than you said.”

  “Katie!”

  “He is, Meg,” Kate said. “Like, seriously hot.” She paused. “And he’s weirdly familiar. I swear I’ve seen him somewhere before.”

  “He’s probably been sneaking about the nerd scene for months,” Meg said as Chance poured himself a mug of coffee.

  “We’d have remembered him.”

  “Would we?”

  “You know we would.” Kate poked her in the side. Meg swatted her friend’s hand away. “And don’t pretend otherwise,” Kate added. “You realize you’ve done nothing since he stepped in here but look up at him, mouth slack, eyes wide.”

  “I have not!”

  “You have. You’re doing it now. I’ve never seen you like this.”

  Meg tore her gaze away from Chance. She locked eyes with her friend. Kate looked equal parts concerned and amused.

  “He’s…intimidating,” Meg said.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “I mean, he’s a PI,” she added. “That’s got a dangerous, rakish sort of air about it.”

  “Only in books and movies, Meg,” Kate said. “I’m sure it’s different in real life. If anything, it’s much more boring, maybe even a bit skeezy.”

  “Skeezy?”

  “I’m thinking gathering evidence for divorces and that sort of thing.”

  “He wasn’t doing that last night,” Meg said.

  “True,” Kate said. “But do we believe him?”

  “I don’t know.”

  She turned back so she could look at Chance. He was stirring something into his coffee mug. He was in profile; she could see a slight smile playing around his lips. He was freakishly good looking. But what sort of man was he?

  The Star Trek theme tune rang out again. Meg and Kate both swiveled toward the
store front. A trio of young women entered. They were part of KIT’s Geek Girls club. They waved across the space.

  “Here’s what we’re going to do,” Meg said quickly. “I’m going to get as much information from him as possible. I’ll give him a bit of information in return, as well. Quid pro quo.”

  Kate sighed. “You just said that because you think it sounds like something from a PI movie.”

  “It does.” Meg paused. “While I’m doing that, you get on his site. Break through whatever firewalls he’s got up. There’s no way they’re going to be beyond your abilities. I don’t care what kind of nerd he’s got in his pocket.”

  “I’ll grab everything I can find,” Kate said. “IP address, link to his email, whatever there is.”

  Meg waved back at the girls. “Perfect.”

  “Meg, be careful,” Kate said.

  “You be careful,” Meg said.

  “A private website?” Kate almost smirked. “I’ve got this.”

  Kate strode off in the direction of the Geek Girls. Meg hesitated for only a moment before striding off in the other direction…to the kitchen. Chance was waiting there for her. That same smile playing around his lips. Meg shivered. It was already becoming far too easy to imagine what she could do with those lips. She had to focus!

  “Okay,” she said the moment she was in front of him. “Let’s say that I believe you. Tell me what you’re doing.”

  “Looking for evidence of X-Tech’s theft.”

  “Yeah, I got that, but how are you looking for it?”

  Chance leaned back against the kitchen counter and crossed his arms. His T-shirt rode up a little as he did so. Meg could see a trail of dark hair on the very top of his waistband. She swallowed against the sudden lump in her throat.

  “I started with their local files. It was suggested to me that there might be some evidence there.”

  “Local files?” Meg asked, though the words came out all kinds of croaky.

  “My understanding is that developers store locally before uploading to the data center,” he said.

  “Why?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. An extra security measure, perhaps?”