by Ann Jensen
“I didn’t h-have an appointment.”
“Well, I can take a message and contact you if he wants to meet.”
Angela’s shoulders slumped. This day was not working out for her. “P-Please tell him Angela Turner would like to s-speak with him.”
The secretary scribbled her information on a memo pad. She looked at Angela squarely. “Have a nice day.”
Angela knew this was as far as she could push it with the secretary. There was no way she was going to speak with Tek today.
Riding down the elevator, Angela rested her head against the cool metal wall. It didn’t feel right to leave, but what else could she do?
Chapter 14
An enemy can’t betray you, only those you trust.
“I’m telling you, it’s too convenient. A world class hacker starts working for us right after we start to have security breaches?” Lisen’s words did nothing to help Tek’s impending headache.
“I know nothing about hacking, but if she was involved, wouldn’t the problems have started after she started not before?” Kane was sprawled on the couch in Tek’s office, having decided he needed to stay in the loop.
Lisen was pacing the floor like a caged tiger, making Tek annoyed while he dug through the evidence while his cyber security team sent him updates on what they were finding.
“Maybe she found something she couldn’t get from the outside and decided working from our own network was easier.”
Tek thought Lisen was taking the whole thing very personally and grabbing at straws. They all were exhausted after pulling an all-nighter. Crappy food and no sleep didn’t have any of them in a good mood.
Kane shook his head. “I’m supposed to be the paranoid one. Right now you are making me sound down right reasonable. We don’t know she is a hacker. All we know is she is a very talented, young, and beautiful programmer.”
Lisen snorted. “Yes, of course. The NSA wants to pay six figures for a few weeks of her time because she is pretty.”
Tek growled, cutting Kane’s comeback off. “Stop it both of you. Lisen, we will investigate Angela, though I think her an unlikely suspect. Kane, stop baiting Lisen.” He read through the latest report, grinding his teeth at the lack of information they held.
“I say we interview her.” Lisen leaned down, placing her hands on his desk. “If it’s not her, then maybe, if she is so talented, she will understand how the hack was done.”
The idea had merit, though Tek didn’t want to talk to her while he was still uncertain about his feelings. He needed to focus on what was best for the company. The only thing his security team had found so far was that the encryption hadn’t been broken but somehow bypassed. It was not in the best interest of the company to avoid uncomfortable situations, so he nodded.
Kane stood as Lisen practically sprinted for the door. “I’m coming with you.”
“Think I can’t handle her on my own?” Lisen glared at Kane.
“No. Trying to save the company a lawsuit if you decide to break out the restraints and your flogger to get her to talk.”
The image of Angela bound and being flogged had his dick jumping to attention. The things he would do to her tied down and at his mercy were almost endless. He shook his head. This was not the time to lose himself in his fantasies. He would use the time they were gone to try to recreate the hack. He was barely into connecting to the network from an outside workstation when Lisen stormed back through his door.
“She’s gone.” At Lisen’s proclamation, he looked at the time. Barely three o’clock.
“What do you mean she’s gone?”
Kane strolled in after the angry woman, an unhappy look on his face. “Rick sent her home early.”
The smug smile on Lisen’s face wasn’t attractive. “She is disruptive, doesn’t respect authority, and apparently can’t code on the level we require here. He asked for permission to fire her.”
Tek had heard enough. He pinched his nose, trying to stay calm. “Lisen. what the fuck crawled up your ass about this girl?”
“Well, that is what he said.” Her response was defensive, there had to be more behind her attitude.
“You didn’t even know who she was yesterday, but today you act as if she is Satan personified. You have flip-flopped between her being a world class hacker to incompetent. We’re dealing with a problem that could cost the company millions and ruin our reputation. If we don’t figure out what happened soon, there won’t be a digital division of Vallier Technologies left. So please just spit it out.”
Tek stared at his longtime friend and waited her out. When she finally spoke, each word was clipped and spoken through gritted teeth. “I can’t stand women who try to sleep their way to the top.”
Tek leaned back in his chair, stunned. Kane’s response was faster. “What the fuck?”
Lisen threw her hands up in the air, finally losing some of her anger. “It’s not so big of a company. Everyone on the third floor is talking about how she lured you into a supply closet on her first day and you left it pissed and obviously turned on.”
Tek groaned, running his hands over his face in frustration. Okay, following her into the supply closet had been stupid. His little head wasn’t the best decision maker. He did not have time for this bullshit.
“I’m going to say this once. She did not lure me anywhere. I followed her after she ran away from me. If she was sleeping her way to the top, I wouldn’t have left the room still visibly turned on.” Kane laughed and Lisen actually looked embarrassed. “Back to the point. If she was a fake who can’t code, the government wouldn’t even know who she was. Rick is a dick who doesn’t like people who don’t fall for his charms.”
Kane cleared his throat. “We should still eliminate her as a suspect. If she is in on this, then Joshua might be too.”
“No way. I would bet my life on his loyalty.” Lisen shook her head.
Kane sat back down on the couch. “She could have fooled him, used his knowledge to start the hack, then used him to get the job here.”
“Now you think she did it?” Tek’s head was spinning from all the quick turns in logic.
“Not really. But someone needs to play devil’s advocate and since Lisen has backed down, that is now my job.”
Kane’s words circled in Tek’s mind for hours. The two had finally left his office. It was nine o’clock before he finally gave up on trying to recreate the hack. It was time to investigate what Angela had been doing on the system to eliminate her from the suspect pool. He pulled up the results from the traces on her system and studied them. The blood drained from his face. She had been in the very databases that had been compromised. Resigned, he called Joshua up to his office.
Joshua strode in with an energy the man shouldn’t have had since he had been called in last night and probably hadn’t slept in over twenty-four hours. “Hey boss man. I don’t have any new news for you. We are working every angle but still don’t know how they bypassed my encryption. We’ve shutdown the servers for now, but the customer won’t be happy if it stays that way for too long.”
“Not why I called you up here.”
Joshua sat down in the chair in front of Tek’s desk and crossed his legs. “Color me intrigued. Why am I here?”
“How well do you know Angela?”
“Better than most. In fact better than I know you.” The man’s defensive tone let Tek know he needed to step carefully.
“You understand talking to her about your work could lose you your clearance. It would take us months to get her cleared and we don’t do that for interns.”
Joshua crossed his arms. “Let me get this straight. You think I might have told her something she isn’t cleared for on this super-secret government trial?”
Tek was tired. Dancing around the fact was a waste of time, so he nodded.
Joshua rolled his eyes. “Honey, I know you just met my girl, but you should do your homework. Angela not only has higher government clearance than my paltry secret, I’m
pretty sure she has higher clearance than most Generals do.” He raised a hand as if cutting Tek off. “But before you get your panties all twisted, no, I’ve never discussed the details of my work with her.”
“I need to talk with her.”
“It’s Thursday night she won’t be home till after midnight.”
What did it being Thursday have to do with anything? It wasn’t like it was a party night. Tek shook his head as he remembered her other job. More caffeine would be necessary if he was going to get through this investigation.
She would be at Darklights. Thoughts of her dancing on stage again had his cock responding before his brain could stop it.
It sucked he was attracted to the woman who could be about to destroy the company he had spent his life creating.
Chapter 15
Sometimes life is like a lemon. So bright and pretty on the outside but bitter and sour on the inside.
She should have called in sick. Hell, she probably should have quit. Angela wasn’t feeling like Cami anymore. Her dances had been lackluster at best, and there was no way she could do the private tonight. She saw Decaf as she was walking down the hall to the dressing room and admitted defeat.
“Hey Decaf?”
“Yeah, Cami?” The tall, well-built biker gave her a friendly smile.
“Can you tell Clean I’m not doing the private tonight?” She’d never realized how strange these men’s names were. It was odd that only when she planned to never see them again was when she considered how they had gotten their nicknames.
“He’s not going to be happy. Most of the men out there came for the chance of getting a private dance with you.” Decaf’s scowl made her waver, but she couldn’t go through with it.
“Sorry.” She shook her head. “I can’t. I’m pretty sure that was my last dance.”
“What’s going on? I know stripping isn’t the most glamorous job in the world, but you’re damn good at it.” Decaf gave her a small smile. “And hey, it pays the bills.”
She appreciated his words but had to laugh. “It doesn’t pay my bills.”
“If you need more cash, Clean would love to have you do more nights.”
“I meant I don’t need the money.” She shook her head, knowing she shouldn’t be revealing so much.
“Okay. I’ll let him know.”
“Thanks. I’m going to go change. If he wants to talk to me, that’s where I’ll be.” Angela turned and headed into the locker room.
Jasmine was sitting at the mirror touching up her makeup when Angela walked in the small room.
“How’s your daughter?”
“Much better.” Jasmine smiled at her. “It was a double ear infection. One day on antibiotics and you wouldn’t even know she had been sick. Thank you so much for the loan. I’ll pay you back as soon as I can. Clean is going to give me some extra shifts, so it shouldn’t be long.”
“About that. I really don’t want you to pay me back. Think of it as paying it forward. You see someone else who needs help, then you help them.”
“Someone did that for you?” The woman didn’t seem to believe her.
She remembered Jojo showing up in all her drag queen glory to drag her out of her mourning every night for months. If it hadn’t been for her friend, she would still be hiding away from the world, living off delivered meals, and afraid of talking to anyone. “Yeah, they did. Changed my life. Besides, you probably won’t see me again. T-tonight was my last performance.”
“You serious?” When Angela nodded, Jasmine sighed. “You always were too classy for this place.”
“You saying my place isn’t classy?” Clean’s mellow midwestern tone had Angela jumping.
“Not what I meant, Boss, and you know it.” Jasmine smirked.
Well, that was fast. Angela bit her lip, not wanting to get in an argument with the manager of Darklights. She knew things about the man that she shouldn’t. When she had researched the club, she had created files on each of the employees. To most people, he was a ghost that had only come into existence a few years ago. The classified information she had found on a CIA server was horrifying and tragic. It needed to stay buried, and she had made sure of that.
She plastered a smile on, sinking into her role as Cami before turning around. “Hey, Clean.”
“Jasmine, can you give us the room?”
“Sure, Boss.” Jasmine stood and hugged her. “In case I don’t get to say it later, goodbye, good luck, and thank you.”
Cami hugged her back, surprised at how sad she felt at saying goodbye. When it was only Clean and her in the room, he gestured for her to sit. She grabbed her robe and wrapped it around herself, not wanting to have a serious conversation in only her bra and panties.
“I got an interesting call from Tek earlier telling me to put him on the list for your private dance.”
Those words shouldn’t have made her happy, but they did. Maybe she hadn’t blown her chance with the disastrous supply closet scene. “Oh?” Brilliant conversationalist, that was her.
“He the reason you’re quitting?”
“No.” Well, probably indirectly, but it didn’t matter. This experiment was done. Discovering what she wanted in a sexual partner wasn’t going to happen here. She needed something real. Someone real.
“I don’t think I believe you. See, he didn’t just say to put him on the list. He said he was to be the only one on the list.”
That shouldn’t be hot, right? “Uhm okay.”
“You’re going to be here and dance for him.” Clean’s words didn’t seem to be a question, but she nodded. His chuckle held no warmth. “Good. He said to tell you that you’re a spy and he is the mark.”
It took a minute for her to realize Tek had requested a specific roleplay. One which sounded like a lot of fun. “Sounds good.”
Clean nodded and patted her knee. “Have fun and this club will miss you.”
“Th-Thanks.” Her nerves danced in her stomach. Was she making a mistake dancing for a man who had run away from her?
The heavy base of the strip club’s music beat against Tek’s exhausted brain. He had stopped at the bar in Darklights before heading back to confront the woman he had let fool him. This was the first time he had ever needed liquid courage to face an enemy. He’d performed many interrogations, both for the military and for his Dark Sons Brothers. None of his experience would help him here. He didn’t think he could physically hurt her. If it came to that, he would have to call in Clean.
His Brother might not be an officer, but his role within the Club was well defined. He cleaned up messes of an inconvenient nature, and he did it without any blowback. Clean’s past before the Dark Sons’ Road Captain, Max had nominated him for membership was a mystery.
It was rumored Clean had been part of operations so black no one alive knew the details. What Tek understood was he was the one you called when you needed information and didn’t want the body of the source of intel ever found.
He signaled the bartender to give him a double of his usual scotch. Drinking on zero sleep and minimal food was not smart, but if he was to follow through with his plan, it was necessary. He sipped the twenty-five-year-old liquor, trying to flesh out his plan.
“Another one bites the dust. First Sharp, then Dragon, guess you are the next fool to fall.” Clean leaned against the bar at Tek’s shoulder.
“It’s not like that.” Tek took the last sip of his drink.
“You get one private dance then call us demanding she dance only for you. I find out she’s planning on quitting. Wasn’t even going to do the private tonight till she found out it was you. So yeah, I think it’s exactly like that.”
“She’s not who you think she is.”
Clean raised an eyebrow. “She’s not a millionaire shut-in who is getting her kicks by taking her clothes off for what she probably considers pocket change?”
“You knew?” Tek was pissed. He was the intelligence guy for the Dark Sons. How was it he knew so little about this
woman?
“I do my homework on all the girls here. I make sure I am familiar with all their problems so they don’t blow back on the club. Had her followed. Every night she takes her way too expensive car and drops her earnings at some women’s shelter before heading home to her exclusive condo in a private development.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I did. Told you the girl on stage wasn’t real.”
Tek clenched his fist around the empty glass. “Did you know she’s a hacker? Who moved into a condo, which happens to be next to my top encryption specialist? That only a few months later some of my customers get hacked. Hacked so well, we don’t even figure it out for almost a year. Then she gets a job here and at my company. Did you know that?”
Clean’s face lost all expression. “You saying she’s been playing us all?”
“I’m saying one coincidence might be chance, but this many is too much.”
Clean leaned forward on his elbow, shaking his head. “I don’t know, man. If this is all an act, she deserves all the fucking Oscars.”
“Can’t risk it.” Tek rubbed his eyes. It had been a long two days. He didn’t like the idea of her being involved either, but this wasn’t a small thing that could be overlooked.
“What’s the play? Max is the only other Brother here tonight.” Tek could see Clean still had reservations, but like a loyal Brother he would back him up.
“Going to ask her some questions and get the answers I need.”
“Fuck, Brother. We are not set up for that kinda shit here. Walls are thin by design. Witnesses everywhere. If this goes sideways, I don’t think even I could clean that mess up.”
“She’s soft. I can break her with mind games alone.”
“And if you can’t?”
Tek took a deep breath, gathering all his emotions and shoving them in a mental box. “Then we relocate and I let you do your thing.”
Chapter 16