“Come in, Katherine. Close the door behind you.”
I walked in the room and coughed. The heavy scent of sex hung in the air.
“Who was that?” I asked when I regained my breath.
Nick smirked, the face of a man who’d just had all his cares relieved. “That’s Tatiana. She’s the new intern.”
“Intern? She looks like she should shoot covers for playboy. And it smells like you’re turning ARCANE into a porn company.”
Nick didn’t even shrug; there was no shame in his demeanor. “She’s good at what she does. Since you aren’t filling the role I intended for you, I had to make another hire who would. And she knows exactly how to fill every position I need.”
“Gross. I’m glad you sorted that out. Does that mean I can do my job like a normal person, now?”
Nick eyed me in that dispassionate way he had, like he was trying to figure out all possible ways I could be of use to him. “Just because Tatiana has filled in where you disappointed me doesn’t give you a free pass. You still have to get me results this quarter with this harebrained charity bullshit of yours. The only difference is that now I have Tatiana, I don’t need your mouth or your pussy. If you fail, then you’re fired no matter what.”
The thought of submitting to him to keep my job made my skin crawl—but somehow, the guarantee of being fired was still chilling, even if I had no intention of ever lowering myself to being his office whore.
Never had I met a man who begged to be slapped hard in the face like Nick.
“Can we please discuss work? I have the initial campaign partners here. Fourteen of them, and there are a good mix of big and small companies. The majority of them offer financial services to donors and NGOs in third world countries, so this will triple the number of people using our services regularly.”
“Triple?” Nick held out his hand for the folders. “That’s impressive. All these people will use our servers for free, however. That’s a lot of added overhead that will need more revenue to offset.”
I nodded. “We’ve calculated the additional number of subscriptions necessary to pay for the campaign, and it’s reasonable. Based on our conversion statistics and the reach we’ll gain, I’m confident in saying we will have our best quarter ever.”
“Is that right?” Nick flipped through the folders and tossed them on his desk. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
He won’t give me a single scrap of credit, will he?
I firmed my jaw. “We’ve also gotten complaints from clients about potential hacks.”
Nick froze. “What are you talking about?”
“My team says there have been reports coming in from six different clients so far of incidents involving fraudulent activity for accounts they insist are under ARCANE encryption. Engineering is looking into it, but I thought you should know in case you hadn’t heard yet.”
His fist crashed into the desk. “I want you to quash all these rumors, Katherine. Not a word is to leave this building, are we clear?”
“Uh, yes? Did you think I was going to go shout it from the rooftops?”
He didn’t look amused. “You’re the head of public relations. ARCANE’s reputation has to be solid, do you understand? If there are any questions about the proficiency of our encryption, we’ll never get off the ground.”
I hadn’t expected this forceful of a reaction. “I’ll look after it. I don’t think there has been anything more than clients reporting to us directly—it’s been contained.”
“Make sure it stays that way. Keep me updated as soon as you hear anything different.”
I took his words as a dismissal, eager to get out of the office that still stank like sex.
16
~ James ~
“James?”
I slid my bookmark into place. “Are you finished?”
“Yes.”
Addison slipped back out of my room, leaving me to follow.
The past week had been her time to shine. After I fetched the data from inside ARCANE, my part of the job had been put on hold until we knew more. Once she’d analyzed everything her device had returned, we could figure out how to complete the con.
The time off had been spent in the pursuit of pleasure and fun—a few trips to the Fort for hang gliding, several dates with Kat to continue to learn each other’s bodies, and catching up on reading.
Now that Addison had finished, leisure time was over.
I found her in her room, the powerful computer under her desk feeding three huge monitors in a ring around her seat.
“Tell me you found what you needed.”
She leaned back in the chair as I sat beside her. “I enjoy hacking. It’s fun to get past other people’s security efforts, and I like reading the code and figuring out the story behind it. I’ve never been malicious with it—you know we only go after assholes who deserve to have their money taken from them.”
“Sure,” I gave Addison a hard look. “Is something wrong? Are you still okay to go ahead with the job?”
She’d worried about my commitment, but this was a weird intro to the briefing—she must have seen something in the ARCANE data to shake her up.
“It’s just that… Nick is such a tremendous piece of shit. I wish we could do more than just take his money. I actively want to cause him harm.”
I blinked. “You… want to hurt him? Jesus, Addy, what did you find in there?”
“The guy is a textbook sociopath. My worm took all his private emails and browsing history in the data dump, and he’s a despicable human being. That’s just the icing on top, though, the full extent of his evilness is built into the very foundation of ARCANE.”
“What did he do?”
She pointed to the middle screen as she highlighted a block of text. “Do you see this section of code here? It comes up over and over again in ARCANE’s encryption algorithms.”
I peered at it. A meaningless porridge of characters and symbols. “Yes, but you’ll have to explain what it is and what it does. You know I’m no good at the computer stuff. I do people, not machines.”
Addison rolled her eyes. “It’s not that hard, if you’d just let me teach you.”
“And learning how to manipulate people is easy. Not to mention fun. But we agreed that we’d each stick to our own comfort zones.”
“Whatever. The point is, this entire section is a backdoor. What it does is allow the holder of a master key access to everything ARCANE protects. You see this kind of thing in software written by the major corporations in America, exploits put in at the request of the government so they can spy indiscriminately on anyone who uses the software.”
I tapped my chin. “ARCANE claims they have no agreements with the government and that data protected by them is impossible to hack into, though, right? They were just lying?”
She shook her head. “Not exactly. It’s not a government backdoor. It’s internal. I first thought it might have been a relic left in from the testing phase of the programming, but then I found evidence that it’s been used before. When I scanned Nick’s emails and computer history, I found out the truth—he’s been using the master key to spy on his clients and their data.”
Wow.
The clues that had led us to this point had been correct.
“So the information up for sale on the black market…”
“Was listed there by Nick. I have the emails, the records. I even have the amounts he sold information for and the accounts the money was deposited into. It’s clear that no one else at ARCANE has any idea—that part of the algorithm is locked and not available for anyone else at the company to even view.”
It was fraud on a massive scale. “Let me get this straight: Nick founds a data security company, using a proprietary algorithm he claims is more secure than anything else known to man. But inside the algorithm, he built a backdoor that lets him access his own clients’ data. He then lists it on the black market and sells to criminals and thieves who plan on taking advantage of
that data.”
“That’s exactly it. It’s a wonder he hasn’t been found out yet, but he’s been careful about which clients he targets and what data he sells. Only stuff that could conceivably be blamed on another reason—phishing, social engineering, things like that.”
“This is rich. He’s charging people for the privilege of handing him their data so he can sell it to thieves.”
Addison tilted her head. “You know, we’re thieves. Technically.”
“Technically correct. The best kind of correct.”
We laughed—it was a long-standing inside joke.
“Seriously though, I view us as more of the Robin Hood type of thief. We’ll take down people who deserve to be lowered a few pegs, but I wouldn’t buy an innocent person’s data and use that to steal from them. That’s just wrong.”
She squeezed my hand. “That’s the only reason I agreed to become partners with you. We’re like the karmic payback for the people with ill-gotten gains.”
“Speaking of which, did you get a look at ARCANE’s accounts? Do you think you can drain them?”
She nodded. “It shouldn’t be too difficult. I’ll need you to execute the command from inside the offices again, though. Not sure if it’s the best idea to do this one while Kat’s tied to a table in the nude.”
Her elbow found my side as she nudged me.
“Hey, it was perfectly executed. And it made the sex so much hotter knowing we were slipping past their security at the same time I slipped inside of her.”
Addison rolled her eyes.
“There’s another point to consider,” she said. “If we go through with this, ARCANE will collapse. Forty people will be out of a job, including Kat. Will you be able to live with that?”
I frowned. I didn’t like hurting innocent people when working a gig. “It’s not ideal. But if we don’t do this, Nick will keep gathering clients and selling their data on the black market. Who knows the damage he will cause to people’s lives and livelihoods because of his actions.”
“That’s a good point. It ignores a potential middle ground, though. There’s nothing stopping us from turning this evidence in and letting the authorities take care of Nick. It’s possible the company’s investors will put someone else in charge who could close up the gaps in the software and turn things around.”
“Would they be able to? Turn it around, that is? If Nick goes to jail for this, there’s not a prayer that would fly under the radar. Who in their right mind would trust ARCANE with their data after that happens, even if they hire a new CEO and promise to get rid of the backdoors?”
We thought it over. Addison may be thinking about the employees as a whole, but there was only one at the front of my mind.
Kat, what’s the best thing for you?
When the planning for this job started, I knew it wouldn’t turn out well for Kat. That was half the point of going after her—getting her back for the humiliation I’d suffered ten years ago.
The way we’d meshed perfectly since the first day I saw her again was a warning sign that my objectives were threatened and in danger of changing. Feelings I’d buried long ago resurfaced, swelling my heart and opening my soul. After joining with her in the most exquisite lovemaking I’d ever experienced, I could no longer operate with the goal of hurting her.
I wanted to protect her.
17
~ Kat ~
“Have you got the script?” James asked.
I nodded, holding up the paper. “Right here. Just reading over it one more time.”
“You’ve got another hour before it’s time to go. Did you want to practice one more time?”
I stuck my tongue out in distaste at the thought of reading the words once more. “Only if you promise to do that thing with your tongue if I get through it all flawlessly.”
He winked at me, the roguish expression tugging at my loins the way it always did. “I’m not sure you have the time to spare for that. If I taste you, I won’t stop there.”
It sounded more like a promise than a warning, and if it hadn’t been the most important event of my career to date, I might have taken him up on it.
“No, we can’t. I already did a little more of that than the practicing I should have been doing.”
James grinned, his teeth white and flashing in the bright sunshine streaming through his condo’s windows. “I think we got the mix dead on. You need study breaks, otherwise you’d just burn out.”
“Mmm, you’ve got a point there. Are you sure you want to come to the press release? It’ll be boring.”
“What, miss the live performance after witnessing so much of the rehearsal? I wouldn’t dream of it. Besides, after I want to take you out to celebrate.”
As my first ever press conference, I’d wanted to make sure I knew the script backward and forward. Since James still wanted to see me and wouldn’t be denied, I’d practiced at his place in between bouts of scream-inducing sex.
“You aren’t going like that, are you? I like it, but it might not go over so well with everyone else in attendance.”
He’d been watching me get dressed while reclining in bed. James looked down at his sweatpants, the only article of clothing on his body. His tight, tanned abs made my mouth water.
“I thought this was startup formal? You’re telling me people have to wear more clothing than this? And I thought working for the bank was a tough gig.”
His words earned a laugh. “Just get dressed, scoundrel. Otherwise, I won’t let you go with me.”
“Fine, fine. I’m going.”
I looked at myself in the mirror and smoothed the front of my slacks while James rolled out of bed. It was impossible to keep from ogling his rippling back muscles as he padded to the closet and picked through his things.
I was astonished how quickly and easily we’d fallen into a domestic pattern. After two occasions spending the night at his place, it felt almost natural to get ready in his room and see him get dressed.
Of course, his condo was miles nicer than my small apartment.
James was ready in next to no time—not for the first time I lamented how unfair it was that guys could roll out of bed and be presentable within minutes. I rushed through the final steps of my makeup.
“Ready to go?” He came up behind me and slid his hands down my sides and over the fronts of my hips. “Or do you want to just call in sick and stay in bed all day?
He bit my neck, and I let my eyes close as he held me tight.
“That sounds nice. Too bad this is the most important day of my career.”
“That is a shame,” he murmured against my skin. “We must make up for it, later.”
“Is that right?” I relaxed back against him for one more moment. “I’m looking forward to seeing how you do that. But, for now, we’ve got to go.”
There wasn’t a suitable area to have the press conference in ARCANE’s office building, so we’d booked a venue downtown built for the purpose. It was only a short walk from James’ condo—just like everything else downtown.
We got there half an hour before the event was slated to start. Sean and Todd were to have been there setting up all day, and it showed. Large ARCANE banners and posters plastered the walls, and pamphlets touting the advanced technology backing the encryption algorithms stacked high on every horizontal surface.
A healthy crowd scattered through the lobby of the venue, talking and chatting to each other and the ARCANE employees circulating the room. Based on the invitations sent out, the participants were to be a roughly equal mix of charity partners, industry representatives, and media personnel.
“There’s a lot of people here,” I said to James. It felt like more than I’d prepared myself for, and I had to focus on deep breaths to keep my heart rate down.
“You’ll be great. You know that speech inside out, and there won’t be any surprises. This is your moment, embrace it.”
His encouragement led me to stand up straighter and raise my chin. This was my
moment.
Sean had spotted us and walked over. “Katherine, everything’s ready to go. We had trouble with the sound system earlier, but that’s squared away now. Todd and I briefed the sales team and executives, and they’ve been mingling with the guests and giving them an introduction. We should be ready to go whenever you want to get the conference started.”
“Excellent. Thank you, Sean. The place looks fantastic. Good work on setting up all the banners. We’ll wait until ten after, so that any stragglers can file in—that won’t be a problem, will it?”
He shook his head. “Whatever you want, boss.”
After he walked away, James cocked his head. “Was that one of the employees you mentioned who did no work and disrespected you? Looks like firing his co-worker did a world of wonder, I thought he would bow down and lick your shoe at any moment.”
His comment made me smirk as I held back a laugh. “James! You’re so bad. You’re right, though. After I grew a spine and fired Marcy, my life has been so much easier with those two following orders. I’ve got you to thank for that recommendation—otherwise I probably wouldn’t be here today.”
He winked. “Glad to help. I’d kiss you, but that doesn’t seem professional.”
I bit my lip. “I think you’re right, but that doesn’t mean I’m not tempted.”
Most of the attendees were on the opposite side of the lobby with a large fountain blocking the view. Just then, Nick walked in the front doors. I looked away before he spotted me, but could see him approaching out of the corner of my eye.
The press conference was triumph enough over my boss, but I wanted more. I hooked my arm around James’ neck and pulled him in for a short kiss.
A short kiss turned into a long kiss, and then grew even hotter. As soon as our lips touched, the outside world faded away, and it was impossible to hold onto my train of thought.
Reality intruded with the sound of a throat being cleared right next to us.
“Oh, Nick, there you are.” I pushed back from James and wiped the corner of my lip. “I wondered when you would get here.”
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