“All I’m saying is, be careful. Don’t let your emotions overrule your good judgment, baby.”
“I understand, Mama.”
“Good. I’ll talk to you soon.”
Disconnecting the call and tucking her phone away, Joi didn’t dare turn Marco’s way. She could feel the heat burning her cheeks, and she knew they must be beet red. Emma Lewis loved her daughters fiercely, and protected them accordingly. Little did she know that Joi had already crossed the boundary with Marco, and that they were now lovers. No matter how she tried, Joi couldn’t shake the feelings of attraction she held for him. She’d thought making love with him would cleanse her of her urges, but now she’d discovered the hard way that giving in to her desire had only served to intensify it.
In the front seat, Chloe chatted amicably with the driver, but the backseat remained as quiet as a tomb. Settling into her seat, she went back to regarding the passing scenery. The sky was crystal blue and cloudless, and the warm sun shone down over the lush green land. It was beautiful, and she vowed to take some time to sightsee once the security breach was rectified.
And as the vehicle rolled on, she tried her best to ignore the handsome, cologne-scented, but stubborn man sharing the seat with her.
* * *
From his seat behind Chloe in the truck, Marco spent the entire ride to Limón looking at the screen of his phone. He had dual reasons for doing so. He was searching through stories of banks taken down by serious security breaches, and trying to figure out how to keep his branch from becoming the subject of such a story. He sensed that Joi was probably put off by his stoic manner, but he would have to deal with that later. Right now, his main concern was preventing the downfall of his bank, and his career in finance.
When they arrived in town, the driver first took them to their hotel to check in. Once they’d done that, and deposited their bags in their respective rooms, they returned to the car for the short ride to bank headquarters. During the drive, Marco felt a smile spread across his face in spite of his worries. Seeing the old familiar sights of the city he called home comforted him like a balm.
Soon the building housing Royal Bank and Trust’s international headquarters came into view. The seven-story steel-and-glass structure was octagonal in shape, making it stand out against the other more traditional buildings situated around it. The driver pulled into the lot, driving up to the roundabout in front of the building and parking at the curb. As the driver opened their doors to let them out of the vehicle, Marco passed him a twenty-dollar bill as a tip.
As Marco, Chloe and Joi approached the building, he held open the glass-and-metal door and gestured for his traveling companions to go in ahead of him. “After you, ladies.”
Joi gave him a look that held a mixture of annoyance and confusion, but went inside as he’d instructed.
Seeing her expression made him realize he’d likely have a great deal of explaining to do later. But for now, he entered the building and led the way to the elevator bank.
Their steps echoed on the stone floors as they moved farther into the interior of Royal’s headquarters. The high ceilings were accented with steel crossbeams, as well as several spherical modern art pieces, suspended at intervals and held up by thin steel cables of varying lengths. The walls were painted a muted shade of gray. Instead of hanging paintings on the wall, square-shaped chunks of quartz and granite had been set into it, forming a straight border halfway between the ceiling and the floor. He’d always loved the unique design of the building, which had been created and executed by a premier local architectural firm.
“Wow. This place is amazing.” The comment came from Chloe, who was busy taking in the sights as they walked. “Never seen anything like it.”
Marco waved at the desk clerk as they passed through the reception area. “Trust me, it’s very reflective of the personality of the chief executive.” Sal was a visionary, and he ran his bank in a way that few other financial executives would ever dare to attempt. Most of his board members and branch presidents were his close personal friends, and he never tried to bully, railroad or otherwise disrespect them.
He reached out to tap the call button for one of the three elevator cars, then stepped back. After a few moments, the center car arrived, and again, he waved the ladies ahead of him. As the two women moved past him to enter the elevator, he let his eyes drop to Joi’s backside, clad in a professional but close-fitting black pencil skirt. The way the fabric skimmed over her curves made him recall the silken feel of her hips filling his hands as he made love to her. Her body was built for pleasure, and he wanted no other man to experience her splendor. As the blood rushed to fill his manhood, he recognized the mistake of letting his eyes linger there. Drawing his gaze up, he entered the car with them and pressed number seven on the keypad.
They stepped out on the seventh floor and into the corridor that led to Sal’s penthouse office suite. In the vestibule waiting area of the space, Marco stopped briefly to chat with Elena, Sal’s administrative assistant. After he’d introduced Elena to Joi and Chloe, Elena escorted the three of them to Sal’s private office, then left.
As they entered, Sal stood from the humongous leather throne behind the equally gigantic mahogany desk. “Marco. Good to see you, man.”
Marco moved over to shake hands with his friend and boss. “Hey, Sal. Sorry it had to be under these circumstances.”
Sal gave a dismissive shake of his head. “I have the utmost faith in the team. We’ll straighten it out. Besides, the other branches haven’t been affected, so this is apparently an isolated incident.”
A smile touched Marco’s lips. This was what he loved most about working for Sal: his optimism. Any other bank executive in this predicament would likely be having a nervous breakdown, but Sal somehow managed to keep things in proper perspective.
Sal slapped Marco on the back before strolling past him to greet the ladies. “You must be Ms. Lewis. Salvatore Perez, at your service.” Sal stuck his hand out.
Joi offered him a small smile. “Yes, I’m Joi Lewis, owner of Citadel Security. I’m happy to meet you.” She gestured to the young woman standing next to her. “This is my tech assistant, Chloe Ramsey.”
His brow knitting with confusion, Sal shook Chloe’s hand. “The pleasure is mine, but I thought your name was Karen Russell.”
Joi’s eyes widened, and she glared at Marco.
Suddenly every pair of eyes in the room landed on Marco’s sheepish face.
Knowing the time to come clean had arrived, Marco spoke up. “Sorry, Sal, I should have clarified. Ms. Russell couldn’t travel because she’s recovering from a fall. Miss Ramsey is her second in command.”
Sal turned back toward the ladies. “Well, whatever the case, welcome to Limón. Join me, won’t you?” He gestured to the small sitting area centering the office.
The sitting area consisted of a brown leather love seat and two matching armchairs, all situated around a stout mahogany coffee table.
As the four of them took up seats. Marco sat with Sal on the love seat, and Joi and Chloe each occupied one of the chairs. Both women pulled out something to take notes. The technically inclined young assistant took out her phone and a stylus, while Joi produced a small legal pad and pen from her purse. Marco watched as Joi slung one long black hose-encased leg over the other, presumably to form a solid base of support for the legal pad. Whatever her motivation, the action enticed Marco, tightening his groin so much that he pressed his own legs together.
Elena appeared again, carrying a tray containing four glasses of ice water, complete with lemon wedges. After setting the tray down on the short-legged table, the assistant disappeared from the room.
For the next hour, Marco participated in a candid discussion about their options for remedying the security breach. The entire time, he stole glances at Joi’s slender legs, and at the way she purse
d her glossy lips when she was thinking about something.
Suddenly, she looked up from the legal pad, and her gaze met his. Her brown eyes sparkled with amusement, and he realized she’d caught him staring. Straightening in his chair, he turned to Sal. “When are we going to start the process of searching the server for the source of the problem?”
Sal glanced at his gold wristwatch. “It’s late, almost six. The tech team will start leaving for the night pretty soon, so I suppose we’ll tackle the heavy work tomorrow.”
Joi raised her hand. “Mr. Perez, if I may.”
“Yes?”
“Citadel is dedicated to providing the best service for our client. Our motto is ‘Always on Guard,’ and we strive to live up to that. So if any members on your team are willing to stay, my technologist and I are willing to start work tonight.”
Marco’s brow hitched. They’d been traveling all day, and he knew she must be hungry and tired, yet here she was offering to work late.
Sal looked similarly surprised. “Ms. Lewis, are you certain? I’m sure you’ve had a long day.”
She tucked her legal pad away. “Yes, Mr. Perez, I have, and yes, I’m certain. I want to make sure Royal gets the very best service, and as owner, that starts with me.”
His expression betraying the good impression Joi had made on him, Sal nodded. “All right, Ms. Lewis. I must say I’m impressed by your dedication.”
Marco had to agree.
“Thank you, sir.” Joi stood, smoothing out her skirt. “Just show me to the place I’ll be working.”
Sal chuckled. “Not so fast. I insist that you all take an hour for dinner first. Then feel free to begin.”
She nodded. “Fair enough.”
Now Chloe was on her feet, as well. “Please tell me there’s a cafeteria in this building.”
Marco got up from his seat. “There is. Follow me and I’ll show you the way.”
As they left Sal’s office, Marco watched Joi walk the corridor in front of him. She hadn’t been in the building for very long, but already her strides communicated her confidence in her ability to handle the job she’d been assigned.
He smiled, knowing his valiant lady was in her element.
And when she finally set aside work, he’d show her just how much he appreciated her unique capabilities.
Chapter 14
When ten o’clock rolled around that night, Joi was still slumped over one of Royal’s laptop computers, with Chloe and one of Royal’s IT guys looking over her shoulder. She reached up to stifle a yawn, then used the back of her hand to swipe at her bleary eyes. “Take over, Chloe. I think I’ve been staring at this screen entirely too long.”
“Got it.”
As Joi moved out of the way, the young assistant slid smoothly onto the stool she’d been occupying.
Standing for the first time in the past ninety minutes, Joi extended her arms over her head, hoping to stretch the kinks and tension out of her shoulders. She’d tossed aside her blazer a while ago, and rolled up the sleeves of her lemon-yellow button-down. Her discarded pumps were on the carpeted floor beneath the desk where Chloe now sat, typing away on the laptop’s keyboard.
She glanced across the large room, and saw that Marco was still present, as well. He looked pretty disheveled, but she supposed that was to be expected at this time of night. He’d taken off his sport coat and tie, and loosened the top three buttons of the crisp white shirt he wore. His attention was currently focused on the screen of another computer, and as she watched him, he raked one large hand through the dark riches of his hair. Mmm. I kind of like this unkempt look. Her lips curved up into a smile. It only took a few more seconds of staring at him before she remembered why he looked so appealing. If memory served her, he’d looked similarly unkempt after their passionate night of lovemaking. That thought sent a tremor through her body, tightening her nipples. She took a few deep breaths, thankful for the modesty inserts she always wore in her bra when she was working. It had only taken one business meeting in a chilly conference room to teach her that valuable lesson.
Watching Marco work, head down and a look of determination etched on his handsome face, Joi couldn’t help staring at him. She knew she should get back to the task at hand, but right now, all her energies were being employed just to keep her from drooling. How can a man be so fine and so maddening all at once?
“Ms. Lewis. Ms. Lewis?”
Joi snapped out of her trance at the sound of Chloe’s voice. Jerking her head around to face the young assistant, she blinked a couple of times to clear her bleary eyes. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
Chloe grinned. “The night shift starting to get to you, boss lady?”
She nodded. That explanation was serviceable for the moment. “My apologies. I wasn’t paying attention. Now tell me what you were saying again.”
“I was saying that it looks like a worm attacked Ms. Russell’s program, and that’s what took down the firewall protecting the branch systems.”
Joi could feel her face scrunch in confusion. “A worm? But Karen’s program is unique. She designed that thing from the bottom up. How did someone even know to send a worm to attack that specific program?” Now the gears of her mind were turning again. She’d reached out to Karen a couple of times over the last few days, but Karen’s medicine had her sleeping almost around the clock.
The flaxen-haired Royal technologist working with them shook his head. In a voice thick with the local Spanish accent, the man commented, “This seems very suspicious. Almost like...”
Joi stood, completing his sentence. “Sabotage.”
By now, Chloe’s eyes had gone completely round. She swiveled around on the stool she was sitting on. “Holy crap.”
“Holy crap is right.” Joi rested her chin in her hand for a moment, feeling the synapses firing inside her brain. “We’ve got some digging to do.” She pulled out her phone. It was late back home, but at this point she had no choice but to call Karen, and pray she was awake.
The phone rang a couple of times before Gabe answered. “Hey, Joi. You’re in luck. Karen’s just waking up.”
A smile spread over her face. “Great, Gabe. Put her on, please.”
A few moments later, Karen’s voice came on the line. “Hello? Gabe says you and Chloe are in Costa Rica?”
“Yes, yes. I’ll explain that in a minute. First, how are you feeling?”
“Still sore, and in and out of sleep, but I’m okay. Man, only I would take a fall and end up being out of work when I could have gotten a free international trip.” Based on Karen’s tone, she was genuinely disappointed to have missed it.
Joi knew that there was little time for banter, so she moved on. “Karen, the reason Chloe and I are here is because your security firewall for the bank was taken down by a worm yesterday morning. Shut down the ATMs and all the teller computer terminals in the building.”
A small shriek came from Karen’s end of the line. “What? How in the world did this happen? My program is custom-built and impervious to this kind of stuff.”
“Unfortunately it’s not quite as impervious as we thought. Chloe and I are with Royal’s tech team right now, and we need you to tell us what we have to do to straighten this out. After all, Virtual Lockdown is your baby.”
Karen sighed. “I can’t believe a worm came after my baby. It will be easier for me to explain to Chloe, so put her on the phone.”
Joi passed the phone to Chloe. “It’s Karen. Take notes.”
Chloe nodded as she accepted the phone, pulling out her own smartphone and a stylus. Balancing Joi’s phone in the crook of her shoulder, she listened to Karen’s instructions and transcribed them onto her device using the stylus. Joi looked on, amazed at the seemingly natural technical inclinations of the younger generation.
Once Chloe discon
nected the call with Karen, she returned Joi’s phone. “Basically, we’re going to have to access Karen’s cloud, get the backup copy of the software and make a modification to it. The hardware folks will have to come in and replace the hard drives on the teller terminals and the ATMs at the branch, and then we can reinstall the improved software.”
Joi nodded, thinking of how the cost of all those new machines would likely not be a point in her favor. She could only hope Citadel wouldn’t be kicked to the curb over it. “What about the worm?”
“We can delete the malicious program, but Karen says that the only way it could have been compromised in the first place is from within.”
Joi’s brow hitched. “You mean someone who works in the branch?”
Chloe nodded. “She was about to tell me what staff members had direct access, but then I heard snoring on the line. Her husband says her medicine put her back to sleep.”
“That means we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to get the names.” Joi scratched her chin. “Anyway, do what you can to take down the worm for now, and we’ll deal with the rest later.”
“Got it.” Chloe and the Royal technologist turned their focus back to the laptop they were working on.
By now, it was just after eleven thirty. Joi, noticing how dry her mouth felt, was about to take a sip from her plastic water bottle when she saw Marco walking in her direction. He’d buttoned his shirt, and his sport coat was slung over his forearm. The closer he came to her, the more she felt an entirely different type of thirst rising within her.
When he reached her, he asked, “How are things going? Any new discoveries?”
Joi recounted what she and Chloe had just learned from their long evening of strip-searching the software files, and their conversation with Karen. While she spoke, Marco listened with intent.
“Sounds like you’re done for the night.” Marco fixed her with a direct gaze as he spoke.
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