by Carol Caiton
But this shadowy path he'd chosen wasn't going to be the relaxed, companionable relationship he had anticipated. The logical, like-minded paragon he'd envisioned was nothing more than wishful thinking. Because Nina Millering had not only turned his well-ordered life upside down before he even knew her name, but based on what he'd read, it was likely she'd be shaking things up on a regular basis.
Certainly, he could withdraw from the link. But he hadn't invested millions of dollars in RUSH only to spend the next six months of his life celibate, waiting for his file to become active again. And Miss Nina Millering had joined RUSH because she wanted sex—a lot of sex—and he fully intended to accommodate her.
He glanced over at Ethan. Then he shifted his gaze back to Michael. "I accepted the link because it's a status-2 blue. That's probably as close to a lifetime guarantee as I'll ever see."
Once again, eyebrows raised. Anything in the blue range would demand respect, but a status-2 raised the bar even higher. A man could invest years of himself in a relationship only to end up with a woman who walked away, uprooting his life, his home, and taking half his earnings with her. What were the chances of finding someone on his own who would meet the guarantee of a blue? The odds weren't worth the time it would take to come up with an answer, and no one in this room would argue with that. They might not care to trade places with him, but each of them had the same deep-rooted confidence in the linking system as he.
Malcolm turned the silver pen between his fingers, then placed it down on the legal pad in front of him. "You've taken us by surprise."
"Hmmph," someone else murmured, and a vague rumble of agreement sounded around the table.
Simon waited for it to die down then said, "There's more."
Malcolm gave a short, dry laugh. "I'm not sure we can bear up under the shock." Then he sat back in his seat, raised a brow, and waited.
Simon braced himself. "There are complications."
"Already?" Elliott laughed, breaking through the sober mood.
"You have no idea," Simon answered. He drew a breath. "I have a request. The vacant area above Checkpoint 2 . . . I'd like to turn it into an apartment. Temporarily. I'll cover the expense, of course."
Silence.
Again.
A curious gleam entered Malcolm's eyes. "An odd location for a flat, don't you think?"
Simon cursed beneath his breath. He looked across the table and found the same expression in Mason's eyes while Michael leaned back, folded his hands behind his head and grinned an I'm-with-them-so-don't-expect-any-help-from-me grin. Already they were playing him and there wasn't a thing he could do about it.
"I'm not going to get that space without shedding blood, am I"?
"Not a chance."
He considered how to proceed and chose his words with care. "The woman at the other end of my blue . . . didn't actually apply for the link."
Michael's grin disappeared in a heartbeat. "Whaddaya mean, she didn't apply for it?"
"What I mean is, she had something else in mind when she filled out the application."
"She clicked on blue by accident?"
"No, that's not it."
"Simon," Malcolm interrupted, "you do realize the longer you prevaricate, the more riveting this becomes for the rest of us."
"Yeah, Simon, it's not like you to pre-vari-cate," Michael agreed. "Just tell us what she did mean, then get to the good stuff."
Beside him, Elliott chuckled. "Does she have a name, Simon?"
Hell, here it was.
Avoiding Ethan's eyes, he turned to Elliott and said, "Her name is Nina. Nina Millering."
Almost immediately, a loud bark of laughter erupted from the other side of the table. "You've gotta be kidding!"
The roar of Ethan's hilarity filled the room, cutting off everything else. "This . . . is . . . too much!" he howled between breaths.
Seconds passed. Everyone waited. Eventually Malcolm raised that expressive brow and cleared his throat. "Thank you for your insight, Ethan."
"Sorry," Ethan managed, struggling for control. "Sorry." But his apology was cancelled out by another bout of laughter.
"Ethan," Oliver grumbled.
Simon said nothing. He was more than willing to let Ethan make an ass of himself for as long as he wanted. It would draw sympathy to his cause if nothing else.
"Sorry," Ethan repeated, and finally the room grew quiet.
Simon waited another few seconds. Then he picked up where he'd left off. "The woman at the other end of my link didn't apply for it," he said again. "She didn't apply for any link at all. It was initiated because of a mix-up at Medical Services."
Mason, always the silent observer but one who struck like a deadly asp when it came to legal matters, put his pen to paper and began taking notes. Malcolm, as well, lifted his pen, slashed a dividing line across the center of his pad, and scribbled something beneath it. "What was the mix-up?" he wanted to know.
Getting to the root of that question was the primary reason Simon had been late.
"Dan Zeman wrote a note to himself to speak with the young woman—Nina—about applying for a link. He attached a reminder to her file folder before adding it to a stack he'd been reviewing. Apparently though, something dislodged the note. The dayshift receptionist at Medical Services spotted it on the floor and assumed it had been meant for Meredith. —To initiate a link." He looked over at Michael. "It took some time, but the receptionist figured out how to get into the system and keyed it in herself."
Michael slapped a palm down onto the table. "Like hell."
Simon held up a hand. "She's a programmer, Michael. She does it on the side."
Mason looked up from his legal pad. "Do you know, specifically, how the note was worded?"
"Yes. Just Nina's name and the word link. Doubly underlined."
"Well, that seems easy enough to make a mistake over," Oliver commented.
Michael harrumphed.
"The receptionist says she didn't make any changes to the system," Simon added. "In her words, she sort of probed around until she figured it out."
"You talked to her?"
"This morning."
"Well, I wanna know how the hell she sort of probed around," Michael said. "I'll check it out and make sure she didn't screw anything up. What's her name?"
"Holly. Holly McGarvey."
Michael scowled while writing her name on a miniature spiral notepad that looked as though he'd pulled it out of someone's trash. "Got it."
"Good," Malcolm said. He turned toward Mason. "Do we have a legal issue here?"
Mason, however, was noncommittal. "Let's finish hearing what Simon has to say, then ask me again."
"I'll do that."
Malcolm aimed his next question at Simon. "How did you learn that Dan's note was a reminder to himself and not a note for Meredith to initiate a link?"
"I phoned him."
"In Australia?" Oliver asked. "I'll bet he liked that."
"We pay the guy a small fortune," Elliott remarked. "I'm sure one phone call didn't ruin his vacation."
"Let's get back to the area above Checkpoint 2," Malcolm said. "What does all of this have to do with turning that space into a flat?"
In as deadpan a tone as he could manage, Simon answered. "I'd like to provide alternate living accommodations for Nina."
"Why?" Elliott turned toward him with a puzzled frown.
At the same time, Michael asked, "Does she live out of state or something? And why did Zeman have her file in the first place?"
Sending a warning glance toward Ethan, Simon braced himself to deliver the next shock of the morning. "The problem I'm faced with," he said, "is that Nina Millering applied for an R-link membership and passed all the markers."
Silence fell once again. And once again he knew what they were thinking. How could a woman with the potential to become his wife, for God's sake, have passed all the markers for an R-link position? How could she have been singled out for a monogamous relationship if s
he met the qualifications to engage in sexual activity with well over a hundred men during the next year? And why would he want a relationship with a woman who, apparently, didn't want one herself?
"I want the chance to change her mind," he said, knowing he'd have to convince them to let him have her. The acquisition of an R-link was something to be celebrated. Nina Millering would not only fill the gap for a number of men who had gone too long without, but those two hours spent with her would be the most euphoric, satiated hours a man would ever share with a woman. RUSH's prized R-links all but guaranteed a source of revolving income because that single experience would lead to renewed memberships. Year after year, the men with whom she came in contact would pay a high fee, hoping for a repeat encounter.
He expected the men at the table to ask him to leave the room so they could discuss what it would cost the corporation to give him what he wanted. So it came as a surprise when Malcolm merely looked over at Mason and said, "Legal?"
And again, instead of hesitating, Mason simply looked across the table and said, "Does your Nina Millering know the system has set her up with a blue? Has she accessed her account?"
Simon gazed at the curious faces staring back at him, perplexed. Not one of them had objected. Not one mention of the perpetual loss.
He cleared his throat. "No, she hasn't accessed her account. According to Security she hasn't been on property since last Friday."
"Is she scheduled to move into the R-link complex?"
"Yes. This weekend."
"And Psych reopens next Monday?"
"Yes," several voices murmured.
Mason thought for a moment. "We're dealing with more than one issue here. First, we have an employee of the corporation who acted in an unauthorized capacity that resulted in Simon gaining access to a client's file. —Just because there was no intent doesn't mean RUSH isn't culpable." He flipped back a page of his legal pad. "Then we have Nina Millering. She hasn't spoken with Dan yet, so she's not aware of the fact that he's going to recommend a link. Maybe she barely passed all the markers, so he wants to see how she handles a few amber matches before she's enrolled in R-link training." He shrugged. "And then we have Simon. He wants this blue link, but Nina didn't apply for it, so we can't hold her to the rules that govern a match."
Simon straightened. "What rules can we hold her to?"
Mason smiled. He paused for a moment then said, "I think we should be flexible here. Women in particular like to be accommodating, so let's turn this around."
"We're listening," Malcolm said.
Mason tapped his pen against his legal pad. "If Holly McGarvey went about this correctly, Nina's account will have received a verification icon, letting her know the blue has been accepted." He turned toward Michael. "We need to remove that icon from her file."
"Why?"
"Because she didn't apply for it. What we need to do is reverse the process."
"Ooookay."
"We need to initiate a blue that originates from Simon's file instead of hers . . . as though he applied for it. Can you do that and send it to her?"
"Sure. But it'll take a while."
"That's fine. But while you're at it, remove the forty-eight-hour time limit, as well. Leave it open-ended. We're going to give Miss Millering as much time as she wants to decide whether or not to accept it."
"Gotcha."
Michael made a note of it on his spiral pad and Mason looked across the table. "Simon, you're going to have to meet with Nina and tell her what happened—but choose your words carefully. Then explain the significance of a status-2 blue and how the system works. Let her know that the board is making adjustments to our normal operating procedure in order to accommodate an exceptional opportunity."
"How is all of this to our advantage?" Elliott asked.
Mason smiled, but it held a hint of grimness. "From a legal standpoint, it doesn't do much. It doesn't alter accountability, but it shows that RUSH acted promptly and in good faith to remedy the situation. Instead of burying the evidence, we recognized the significance of a match in this range and in response, we've altered procedure to give Miss Millering the chance to take advantage of circumstances she wouldn't have known existed otherwise. Things like that—acting in good faith—don't absolve culpability, but they do win points."
"Hmmph."
Mason turned back to Simon. "You've still got obstacles in your path. The fact that her file made it over to Dan's office means she did pass all the markers to qualify for R-link membership. But her first week here will be filled with orientation classes, so that gives you seven or eight days before training begins. If she still wants to pursue an R-link membership after that, there's nothing we can do."
"I understand."
Yes, he understood. But he had a full week and that was a heck of a lot more to work with than he'd expected walking into this meeting. Nina Millering wasn't meant to be an R-link. Dan Zeman had suspected that before even meeting her, and the linking system had picked up on it in a monogamous blue match.
"Uh, I have a question," Michael said, flicking his small spiral tablet with the pad of his thumb.
"What's your question?" Mason asked.
"Well, if Nina Millering passed all the application markers and there's an apartment on reserve for her in the R-link complex," he turned to look at Simon, "why do you want that space above Checkpoint 2?"
"Thank you, Michael," Malcolm said.
CHAPTER 4
He didn't like this feeling of exposure. Imparting Nina Millering's lack of experience would be just as uncomfortable as announcing she wanted a free-style, licentious sex life. Still, her virginity was an issue they needed to address. It was another application entry that should have been flagged as soon as she'd clicked on it. But no one had considered virginity an issue that needed attention. They shouldn't have to consider it now.
Still, he hedged around it. "I want to isolate Nina from the other R-links. I don't want her to be influenced by them."
"By the lifestyle, you mean?" Oliver asked, craning his neck to see around Elliott.
"Yes. The lifestyle, the gossip—by whatever it is women talk about at the end of the day. I don't want her to know anything about being an R-link."
Michael snorted. "Well, she already knows something, or she wouldn't have applied for it."
"Logically, Michael, you're right. But the rules don't apply this time."
Michael scowled. "How the hell could she not know what membership she was applying for?"
Simon paused, again considering his words. He was making her out to be simple-minded. Flighty. But he was grasping, trying to explain something he didn't understand himself. "She's young," he said in response. "She's . . . inexperienced."
At the head of the table Malcolm's gaze sharpened. Mason raised one brow while beside him, Elliott grew still. His words hadn't fooled anyone.
Carefully setting down his pen, Mason asked, "How inexperienced is she, Simon?"
"Yo," Michael cut in, "maybe she's a virgin."
It was meant as an easygoing joke. But no one laughed. No one ran with it. And silence once again weighted the air.
"You're kidding," Elliott breathed.
Because it was absurd. It was beyond absurd. What untouched woman in her right mind would join an organization like RUSH? What woman with any mind at all would apply for an R-link membership when she'd never experienced intercourse? Maybe she was simple-minded. Maybe this was the universe getting back at him for something in his past. If he didn't know she had a college education and had held a responsible job for two years, he might believe that was possible.
Michael, realizing his jab was more than a pithy wisecrack, went quiet. His pencil dropped onto the tabletop with a faint click-clack. Then, nudging his chair away, he folded his arms across his chest and leaned back, uncharacteristically solemn.
Simon felt his pulse thump in his temples. The soothing release of cool air drifted across his neck from the air conditioner vent in the ceiling.
"Indeed," Malcolm finally said.
Simon shut his eyes.
"Sorry if I'm stepping on some toes here, but I'd like to know what possessed a woman with no sexual experience to join RUSH and then apply for an R-link membership."
Simon opened his eyes. "So would I."
"You don't know?"
"I don't have the first idea."
"What about the download file? Didn't it—"
Without warning the door flew open, cutting off Elliott's question. It bounced sharply off the rubber stop and Dalton Cooper stretched out a hand to prevent it from closing again in his face. He stood just over the threshold, dark eyes scanning the conference room until they landed on Ethan.
Simon tensed. He knew Ethan expected this, but Simon doubted he expected it in the middle of a board meeting.
Glancing quickly across the table, he met Ethan's eyes and received a silent message in return. Let it play out.
"Dalton—" Malcolm began.
But Ethan pushed up from his chair and raised one hand in a gesture that told Malcolm he'd handle it. Then he waited as Dalton made his way around the perimeter of the room.
Cautious, Simon rose to his feet as well. But short of diving across the table, there was nothing he could do if the situation sped out of control. Michael and Mason, however, were in position to step in.
"Stay away from my sister," the instructor told Ethan, stopping short of Michael's chair. Both men stood equal in height and equal in breadth. They were well matched. Still, insomuch as Ethan was prepared, Simon tensed for the violence to follow.
Energy vibrated between the two and rose up from around the table.
The charm Ethan wore so effortlessly gave way to the tough chief of security. "That's a private matter between Denny and me, Dalton," he answered just as softly, just as lethally.
Dalton's eyes narrowed. "If it was a different link with a different female, then yes, I'd agree. But not with my sister. Don't cause unnecessary trouble, Ethan. Just move on to the next link. You're not going to be fucking my sister. It's that simple."