by Ravenna Tate
As Kane searched for Isabelle’s name, he recognized the pickle he was in right now. Isabelle had fed an outsider company information, but if she discovered that Julianne had named her, Julianne might find herself out of a job. At the very least, her editor wouldn’t be happy. Kane knew he had to find a way to dig around without tipping his or Julianne’s hand.
About a half hour into his search, he brought up the HR site again in another window. It was too odd that he hadn’t found anything online about this woman other than her accomplishments at the university. Had she hidden it for some reason? No one in this day and age had such a sparse presence online.
Her application listed her full name as Isabelle Jane Sharpe, which was the same name she had graduated with. Her birthdates and social security numbers matched, as did her addresses and phone numbers. He scanned the rest of the application, and frowned when he came to one reference near the bottom of her list.
The reference that caught his attention was Olivia Barringer, and she worked in NorthCentral. Isabelle had indicated she was a former classmate who now worked in public relations for a company that Kane had never heard of, and he knew them all.
He was now curious as to whether Isabelle had lied about this as well, or if Olivia had given Isabelle a fake company, so he searched for it. There was no such business in any of the cities underneath the USA. He searched in other countries but knew he wouldn’t find it because it didn’t exist.
There was no home address listed for Olivia, but there was a phone number. He found that easily enough. It was an Internet phone number assigned to NorthCentral. It was also likely Olivia’s personal phone number, not a business number, but why hadn’t that been checked out by their HR department?
He returned to the HR website and scrolled through the pre and post interview notes. References hadn’t been checked until after Isabelle had been interviewed, and they had never tried to contact Olivia. They’d stopped at three references and had likely not bothered with any more, since three were more than sufficient for an administrative assistant.
Kane did a search for Olivia Barringer online, and within seconds he found a marriage license from five years ago, in NorthCentral. He also found evidence she and her husband had bought a home in NorthCentral a year after they were married. Of all the addresses listed for each, they had shared that one for four years now.
Olivia had attended NorthEast University for graduate school, so she had likely known Isabelle in school, but she’d done her undergrad in NorthCentral. While that wasn’t unusual, it put her in the same cities as both Rob Marin and Isabelle, at different times.
His hands shook as he accessed the database listing Rob as one of the suspected hackers. This was the database Liane Peyton had developed for use across their twelve companies. Not only did it list names, but it contained their last known addresses and other information of that sort, as well as other pertinent information … like the fact that Rob had once worked at ACE Communications on Ace’s hacker team.
Rob’s key information from that company’s HR site was in the database as well. Kane made a mental note to call Emmett and tell him to give Liane a very large raise. The foresight to include information like this in the database was worth far more than he was sure Emmett was currently paying her.
He brought up the two pages, side-by-side, and let out a deep sigh. Rob’s address was the same as Olivia’s, and the reason for that soon became apparent as he did a quick search for both names. Olivia no longer went by Olivia Barringer. She was now Olivia Marin, and she was Rob’s wife.
Chapter Ten
Julianne woke before the sun was up, but when she glanced out the window, faint pink tinged the eastern sky. She must have been more tired than she’d thought because she never slept so deeply, especially considering she hadn’t been in a familiar place.
She had brought extra clothes with her so after she cleaned up, she put on fresh clothes and brushed her hair. Then she followed the smell of bacon and coffee down to the kitchen. Julianne grinned and leaned against a post to watch Kane at the cook top. His back was to her, and he wore sweatpants and a t-shirt, but she’d never seen anything so damn sexy. What was it about a man who cooked?
Julianne moved, and Kane whirled around with the frying pan in his hand. For a split second she was afraid he’d drop it, but then he placed it back on the cook top. “You startled me. Did I wake you?”
“No. I can’t believe I slept this late.”
“The sun is barely up.”
“That’s late for me.” She nodded toward the frying pan. “That smells great. What is it?”
He grinned, and if she hadn’t been so hungry, she’d walk over and kiss him. The hell with breakfast. “My specialty. Bacon, potatoes, and grits in one pan. I fry it all in butter, garlic, and onions.”
“Wow.”
He laughed, then proceeded to spoon a generous amount onto two plates each. “Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.”
“The coffee smells good, too. Did you make that as well?”
He gave her a droll look. “Ha-ha. You’re funny in the mornings. I’ll have to entice you to stay over more often.”
“May I pour you a cup as well?”
“Please. I drink it black.”
“So do I.” She poured them each a cup, then took a seat next to Kane at the counter.
He handed her a fork. “Dig in. I want to know how much you love it before I eat my own.”
“Will your ego suffer if I hate it?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Watch it, gorgeous. I’ll lean you over this counter and paddle you with a rubber spatula. That will hurt.”
She had to bite back a moan as images raced through her mind. How did he know exactly what aroused her already? Julianne glanced down at her food and then took a bite. “Oh … oh my. Kane, this is seriously good.”
“I know, right?”
“It’s a good thing you’re so damn cute because that attitude is over the top arrogant.”
He put down his fork and gave her a disconsolate look. “Cute? Cute? You think I’m cute? Puppies are cute. Little girls in pigtails are cute.”
Julianne was laughing so hard she had to stop eating. “It’s the glasses. They’re too adorable, and they really bring out your eyes.” She ran a hand through his soft hair. “And this shaggy mop helps complete the look.”
“Do they teach you how to give backhanded compliments in journalism school?”
“Not until the graduate level.” She picked up her fork again. “It’s a dangerous skill in an amateur’s hands.”
“You’ve perfected it.”
She grinned at him. “I know, right?”
“You’re a brat, but I like you.”
She stared into Kane’s eyes for what felt like long moments. Somewhere close by a clock ticked. “I like you, too. Very much. I really am teasing you about the food. It’s delicious.”
“Thank you. After we eat, I have some things to show you.”
“Oh?”
He pointed toward her plate. “Breakfast first. I never share bad news on an empty stomach.”
“Bad news about what?”
“Isabelle. You were right to be suspicious of her, and I hope you were serious about breaking ties with her.”
“Shit. What did you find?”
“After we eat. Seriously. I’m starving.”
She blew out a breath that ruffled her hair. “What is it with men? If you’re not thinking with your dicks, you’re obsessed with food.”
“Your fault, you know.”
“How do you figure that?”
He gave her a molten look that melted her heart and her panties. “Seriously? You stroll in here with all that curly hair, no makeup but you’re still fucking gorgeous, and you look at me like that … and tease me … and you wonder why I’m hungry and yet still thinking about sex?”
“Touché.” She took another bite and then swallowed it. “Thank you, by the way, for saying I’m gorgeous.”
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“You are.”
“And you’re cute.”
He laughed and reached out to swat at her, but she ducked in time. They ate their breakfast without trading any further barbs, and once they finished, Julianne suddenly didn’t want to know what Kane had found. If she saw it, she’d have to do something about it. “I think I’ll take a quick shower if you don’t mind.”
He raised his brows. “Need some company?”
“Yes. That would be great.”
His gaze softened. “Why are you avoiding this? I thought you’d want to know you were right.”
“I’ve been thinking about everything you and I said last evening. This goes way deeper than a source giving me information she had no business knowing, doesn’t it?”
“Maybe. I honestly don’t know that yet.”
“Then let me rephrase the question. Is what you found enough to make you fire Isabelle?”
“Even if I hadn’t found this, by telling you what she did, she went against company policy. That’s why I searched for more. I can’t fire her and risk having her find out why, because then your job would then be in jeopardy.”
She stared at him as those words sank in. He’d done this to help protect her. “My job might be safe, but my integrity would be in serious trouble.”
“Same thing in your field, but you know that. You made something of yourself after that story five years ago. UTU took a chance on you, and now they trust you. I insisted you name the source, and that placed you in a difficult position. Now I’ve fixed it, but in doing so, I’ve uncovered a potentially serious security breach at my company.”
“When will you fire her?”
“I want to talk to my father first.”
“Why?”
He looked uncomfortable, and for a second Julianne wasn’t sure he’d give her an answer. “If we keep her on, we can watch her. Rob has disappeared, and we’ve all been looking for him. She might lead us there, and she might lead us to others as well.”
Julianne bit her tongue as a sharp retort rose to her lips. She forced herself to count to three before she spoke. “While I admire your morality in making sure my integrity was protected, and I am grateful for it, what you’re considering doing isn’t any more ethical than my revealing what Isabelle told me was.”
“I know that, Julianne.” His voice was quiet, and she could see the struggle on his face. He sighed. “Consider this from my point of view. We have a chance to finally pin down people we’ve been searching for. Dominic Greco has always believed this was an inside job. It’s starting to look like he was right. We’ve never been this close before.”
The hairs on the back of her neck prickled. “Do think Isabelle is one of the hackers?”
“No, but I think she might have been planted inside my company. Let me show you what I found. Then we’ll take that shower together.”
****
Kane would much rather be in his bed with Julianne, but he’d been up most of the night, and she needed to see this. He brought up the general things he’d found online. “One of the references she listed on her application is a woman named Olivia Barringer.”
“Who is she?”
“Hang on. This gets worse. Isabelle listed a company called Optimal Exposure as Olivia’s place of employment. Olivia supposedly did PR work there. Problem is, there is no such company, and that’s what started my search for this woman. I looked everywhere for the company, but it’s fake. Then because I was curious as to who faked it, Olivia or Isabelle, I went looking for Olivia.”
“Did you find her?”
He nodded. “Yes, only she hasn’t gone by ‘Barringer’ for four years. She now goes by Olivia Marin. Do you want to guess whose wife she is?”
“Are you kidding me?”
“I wish I was. Here are the addresses where the two have lived. They’ve shared this particular one for four years. It’s the home they bought a year after they were married. I found their marriage license. I can’t show you the database that our companies now use across the board to keep track of suspected hackers, but I can tell you that this address is also Rob’s.”
Julianne frowned. “Why would Isabelle take a chance like that? Listing Olivia on her references, if she’s in league with her and Rob?”
“I thought of that, too, but she had her near the bottom. It was never checked, and Isabelle likely knew it wouldn’t be. She had three solid references right on top. Once they reach three, they don’t bother with the rest. Not for someone applying for a position like the one she has, anyway. I think she did it to say ‘fuck you’ to us.”
Julianne didn’t look convinced. “It’s still risky. Did you find anything to connect Isabelle and Olivia? Are they really former classmates?”
He grinned. “Yes, they sure are.” He brought up Isabelle’s resume and Olivia’s, and then he clicked on one of the projects he’d found that the two had worked on in graduate school. “Not only were they classmates, but Olivia’s accomplishments are almost as impressive as Isabelle’s.”
Julianne leaned close and studied what he’d put on the screen. “This is telling, but I don’t get it. Why would she take a chance like that?”
“Isabelle or Olivia?”
“Isabelle for using her as a reference in the first place, and both for listing Olivia as working at a fake company.”
“Maybe Olivia isn’t that bright? Her husband sure isn’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“He was caught by trying to frame Harper for hacking into Ace’s work station, and using it to hack into his personal laptop. Only he didn’t count on not being able to change the system logs completely at ACE Communications. He left behind a footprint anyway, but that’s not the best part. The passwords he had been using to log into the company systems to which he had access were too similar to the ones he’d used on the message boards that Harper was cross-checking.”
“That’s not very smart at all, and especially for a hacker. Maybe he’s not behind any of this? Maybe he’s only one of those people who likes to fuck with others on the Internet?”
“Perhaps, but maybe he and Olivia are both involved in this at some level, and planted Isabelle?”
“Did you check her other references for names on your database?”
“I did. Olivia was the only suspicious one.”
“What are you going to do now?”
“Speak to my father.”
“I don’t know, Kane. I realize this makes it look like Isabelle and Olivia are in league, but I’m still having issues with it. I can’t see anyone taking a risk like that, even if it was to pull one over on a potential employer.”
“I understand what you mean. That’s one of the reasons I want to consult the family before I do anything about it.”
“Thank you for showing me this.”
“I thought you had a right to know what you might be dealing with.”
“Even if you find out she’s not directly involved with Rob and Olivia, I’m not using her as a source any longer. Besides, I have a better one for the stories I want to write.”
He raised his brows. “Really? Who is that?”
Her sultry laugh made his dick hard. When she crawled into his lap and closed his laptop, he grinned. “You, silly. It’s time for that shower, don’t you think?”
“Oh, yes. I totally agree.”
Chapter Eleven
Julianne giggled as Kane lifted her into his arms and carried her up the stairs. “How can you do this? I’m not a lightweight.”
“You’re insane, woman. There’s nothing heavy about you.”
“Right.”
“Call yourself fat again and I’ll spank you until you can’t walk.”
“I didn’t call myself fat.”
“You implied it.”
“You’re not human.”
He placed her on her feet and opened the doors to his bedroom. “That’s our secret. Each of the Weathermen. We’re actually aliens who came down here to save the plan
et.”
“Now that I believe. May I quote you on that in my stories?”
Kane laughed, and the sound washed over her like warm water. He took her hand and led her into his bathroom, where he turned on the shower. He kissed her rough and hard, and her pussy was now so wet that Kane amazed her all over again. Hadn’t he been up most of the night doing research? How did he have this much energy?
“Time to get naked.” Kane removed her clothes in a rush, but she found it so damn sexy that shivers ran up and down her body. He gave her no time at all to even try to remove his. Within seconds they were both nude, and he’d placed his glasses on the bathroom counter. “That’s better.”
He took her hand and led her under the water. The shower was large enough to accommodate half of the people she worked with, and featured three jets. A curved entrance to the area that the jets reached negated the need for a shower curtain, and a large window across the top let in plenty of light.
“This is nice.”
“I enjoy it.” He kissed her again, but this time it was slow and lazy. She melted into his embrace as the water cascaded over their bodies. Julianne mentally pushed away her concerns over Isabelle, Olivia, and Rob. She’d think about it later. Right now, it was time to become one with Kane again. The man was seriously sexy, and he had a wonderful streak of humor. He was intelligent and romantic, and he obviously cared deeply for his company and for the state of the planet. What was not to like?
When he finally released her mouth, she was putty in his hands. He smiled at her, and then he reached toward a shelf and plucked a bottle of shampoo off it. He squeezed some into his palms and told her to turn around and close her eyes. “I won’t leave you alone. I’m right here.”
She did as he asked, and then moaned softly as he lathered her hair. His touch was soft and sensual. Shivers ran down her spine as he first washed her hair, and then rinsed it. “Now the rest of you. Stay where you are, but lean against the wall with your arms over your head.”