by Joyce Jordan
“As you speak, I am going to try and get into your network. Walk around a little and see if anything jumps at me. I’ll probably be able to confirm some of the things you tell me, and let you know if there are more issues I find. But please know that what I find today is not conclusive. I would need more time to do a thorough diagnostic check, but this will give me an idea of how big a job we have in front of us.”
Gabe went over his findings. Usually she didn’t have a problem concerntrating on someone speaking, while she was typing away, but today she wanted to stop and just listen. She had a few false starts before the geek in her overtook and her fingers flew on her keyboard. She made notes on her notepad as she went. When he was done, she faltered because suddenly she felt him staring intently at her. Ana got the feeling that something else was going on here. There was some kind of shift in the air that had been building since she entered the room. Could be just her imagination. But then her intuition had never failed her so far.
When Ana said she would need at least an hour for her findings to complete running on her laptop, Rafe claimed he had another meeting to get to. “I’ll leave the two of you to finish without me. Let me know how it goes.” Rafe stood and went over to Ana. “Ana. You’ll e-mail me your initial findings? And hopefully accept the job?”
“Sure to the first. Later this afternoon when I get back. But I can’t promise to the second.” Ana looked up to meet his eyes. Rafe nodded and left.
Ana saw Gabe following him to the door and saw them standing outside talking. She took the freedom to admire the office, something she hadn’t had a chance to do when she had arrived. The office was long with two glass walls running lengthwise. One glass wall separated Gabe’s office from Andrea’s, and the other looked over a street, a busy street for that matter. Part of it had low cabinets running against the glass windows and interesting sculptures scattered on top. One of the shorter walls had a huge piece of thought provoking artwork and on the forth wall hung three thirty two inch flat screens that were running silently with three different news channels.
Ana stood to get a closer look at the piece of art. He must have a great interior decorator and must have cost a fortune too, she thought. The room was very tastefully decorated. As soon as she reached it, she came to a complete stop. Something else had caught her attention.
Gabe saw Ana stand and walk towards the art on the wall. She was fascinated by the hanging, but instead of looking at it, she had turned slightly to look outside. He heard her catch her breath when she first caught sight of the view. As if in a trance she walked closer to the wall of windows and just looked, a tiny smile on her lips. Not many people in New York took the time to appreciate the view. Everyone was always in such a hurry. She seemed to have all the time in the world. She didn’t look like someone who had grown up in New York, he thought.
Gabe wasn’t sure how much time to give her to admire his view. But then again, whatever she was doing would last at the least an hour. There was something about her that called to him. He had felt an instant attraction when he had seen her walk in. His cock had twitched, something that had never happened to him before. She was beautiful but seemed to hide her face behind the huge glasses on her face. He wasn’t sure what it was but maybe it was time to find out. He cleared his throat to call her attention.
Ana didn’t hear Gabe when he cleared his throat to get her attention. So lost was she in the view, seeing other tall buildings and looking at the people below. She could hardly make them out but just seeing the rush of color of people hurrying along and the traffic moving in opposite directions was enough to keep her entertained.
“Ana.” She jumped and turned and seemed to realise where she was. Embarrassed she apologized, “I am sorry, but you have such a lovely view.”
The ringing of her phone interrupted Gabe from saying anything. It was her cell phone. Ana walked over to her phone sitting on the conference table beside her laptop. She saw Kelly’s name and face on her screen.
“I’m sorry, but I have to take this,” she said to him before accepting the call. Kelly wanted to find out how her meeting had gone. After telling her she would be done in an hour tops, she hung up.
Gabe looked at his wrist watch as Ana concluded her call. “How about I feed you while your laptop is doing whatever it is doing?”
She wasn’t sure about lunch with him – about spending time in his company alone – especially over a meal. It was bad enough without Rafe to act as some kind of buffer while in the office. But a meal? The food would probably go down the wrong way. Gabe walked over to her and held her coat. Stammering she said, “It’s not necessary, sir. I don’t mind staying. If you are not back by the time I am done, I can write a report and leave it with your assistant?”
“Ana, Please use my name. It’s Gabe. And do you have something against food?”
“No, I but I can make do with a sandwich which I can get around the corner,” she answered.
“Okay, you can still have the sandwich. Let’s go.”
Before Ana could contemplate her next words or course of action, Gabe had her coat around her body. How could she refuse without making him suspicious that she wasn’t very comfortable in his company? He was so intimidating and she was just glad that she had managed to go through what she had gone through this morning without stammering. Ana just hoped this would be over soon and she could leave. She could try to see if her other hacker friend, Damien could take the job instead.
“Your laptop will be safe in here,” he told her when she seemed to pause with indecision.
She took her wallet from the side pocket of the laptop bag, picked her phone then walked over to the door. After wearing his own coat, he came around her and opened the door. As she walked through, he placed his hand on the small of her back and escorted her to the elevator. There is it again, that static electricity. But this time Ana realised that it was not static electricity, but something more dangerous. Attraction? No, couldn’t be. She was not his type and neither was he her type too. She just hoped she did not get burned by the sizzle. She felt so embarrassed and afraid that Gabe would find out that she was attracted to him. She was sure he was used to it, but she wasn’t about act on it and be one of many. And as soon as they entered the elevator Ana went to stand on the opposite corner from the panel. He used his key card and the door shut taking them all the way to the ground floor.
“Tell me about yourself,” she heard Gabe saying to her when the elevator started to move.
“There is nothing to tell. I lead a boring life.”
“Okay, how about you tell me about your boring life?” he smiled at her.
“No, I wouldn’t want to put you to sleep,” she replied. Ana didn’t think they needed to exchange life stories, especially since they would not be seeing each other after today. And she certainly didn’t think that he would be sharing his life story.
As if he could read her thoughts he asked, “How about I start?”
The elevator pinged signaling that it had reached the ground floor.
“I don’t think it’s necessary that we share life stories.” The doors opened and she walked out.
Gabe laughed. She looked up and it seemed everybody in the lobby was looking at them. But Gabe didn’t seem to either notice or care. Once again he placed his hand on the small of her back and directed her outside to a limo waiting by the curbside. It was a Bentley limousine. The driver was standing close by, expecting Gabe’s arrival from the looks of it. They stepped in when he opened the door for them.
As she got in, she slided to the other end and took out her cellphone. She quickly typed a message to Kelly telling her she was going for lunch with Gabriel Boyd, so it would be more than an hour before she got back with her. She saw Gabe talking to the driver and she took that time to admire the interior. Ana had been in a few limousines in her short stay in LA. With Kelly’s parents in the entertainment industry, limousines were the normal type of transportation, especially when they joined them for
award ceremonies or some Hollywood party. But this was pure luxury. Plush leather seats - white, soft beautiful carpet, flat screen tv, dark privacy window that was already up, side cabinet she suspected held drinks and glasses. It was like a little lounge area, with all the bells and whistles fit for a king.
When Gabe got in, he sat right next to her. Ana felt a little uncomfortable with that, but didn’t think she could move without drawing attention. And besides she was right next to the door, and there was no space to move to on her other side.
“Would you like a drink?” Gabe asked her.
She didn’t think she could hold a glass without spilling, so she declined. A good thing because the zing was back and Ana had to hold her hands together to avoid the shaking from showing.
They didn’t speak after that but thankfully it was a short ride. During that short ride she got the feeling that he was staring at her all the way. She just didn’t have the nerve to look up and make sure, so she pretended to check her e-mails and text messages, holding her phone with both hands afraid she would drop it.
His driver opened her door and she quickly got out. Ana was pleasantly surprised he had chosen a laid back place. This didn’t seem like the usual place for billionaires to hang out at. She looked around. It was a lovely tiny place. Intimate.
As they walked in, they were met by an older gentleman who seemed to know Gabe very well.
Gabe introduced him as the owner of the place who had served in the war with his dad. His name was Toni Black. Ana liked him, he was a funny character, although where he got the misconception that she and Gabe were dating, she had no idea. He held Ana’s hand a little longer than usual seeming to read something in her face. Finally he let go telling Gabe that he liked her.
Why were they passing all the empty tables only to be shown to one at the back of the room? Ana wasn’t going to say anything about it. It seemed like Toni thought they were a couple even after she had set him straight. Not sure why because she didn’t resemble any of the women Gabe dated.
When they got to the table, Gabe held a chair for her to sit. A gentlemen. She didn’t think many men still held chairs for women. Nor opened doors for that matter. She started smiling. Seems you didn’t have to live in the south for any of that to happen. You could also find it in New York.
Their waitress came to their table and took their order of drinks and left them looking at their menus. She had taken an awfully long time taking their drinks order, spending most of that time fawning over Gabe. Ana just shook her head amused at the whole thing.
When she came back, they were both ready to order. She hardly paid Ana any attention when she ordered a club sandwich. Gabe went for the chicken Alfredo to which their waitress found questions to ask and other offers to include if he so wanted. He declined and she was forced to leave when he didn’t pay her the attention she was looking for. And giving Ana the dirty look as she left.
“So you were serious about the sandwich?” he asked her.
“Yes. That’s what I usually have. Guess it’s what was easier to make during college and I just stuck with it.”
“Where did you go to college?”
“California,” Ana replied.
“What did you study?”
“Computer Science.” She took a sip of the lemonade she had ordered, wanting to keep her hands busy.
“You are a woman of a few words, aren’t you Ana?” he asked her.
“Not really. I’m just not comfortable talking about myself.”
He looked at her for a long time, until Ana looked down and took another sip of her lemonade.
“Okay, we could switch to business. So how are you going to help me find out who is the person who has been hacking into my business.”
“Me?” she squeeked while shaking her head.
“Can’t you do it? Rafe said you could.”
“I’m sorry, I have a full plate right now. But I am sure Rafe’s company can do it for you. Or I can refer you to someone I sometimes work with.” It wasn’t that she could not do the job for him, or that it would take that long. The initial stuff Ana had already seen showed her that she could possibly push things around and fit him in and still manage to finish her current work before they went on their vacation. But that ‘something else’ she thought had been going on while at his office, made her think that this wouldn’t be such a good idea. Being in his proximity spelt trouble with a capital T.
“I will pay whatever fee you want.”
“It’s not about the money.”
“Maybe not. Or maybe you are not up to the challenge?”
Sighing, Ana grabbed that as a lifeline. “You are probably right.”
The look he gave her made her suspect he didn’t believe her, but he didn’t press it. When their waitress brought over their lunch Ana was glad he didn’t press and they both ate without any further conversation. However, she thought she saw Gabe glancing her way several times, but Ana didn’t look his way, preferring not to call attention to it.
Gabe kept thinking of any reason out there why he was attracted to Ana. As soon as she had walked into his office he had smelled a whiff of strawberries. When he escorted her into the elevator, he thought it was her shampoo. She was still wearing those dreadful nerd glasses which he still thought she didn’t need for reading or eyesight. More like a prop. Her hair was in a pony tail. Her short dress and knee high boots didn’t fit in with the image she was trying to portray. Those were clearly fuck me heels which he couldn’t picture on most nerds he knew. Her poloneck hugged her small body and breasts to perfection. She really seemed like an intelligent person who seemed to be downplaying a lot of things. Even if he ended up hiring someone else to do the job, he wanted to find out what she came up with. The excitement in Rafe’s voice when he talked about her capabilities was enough for him to hire her on the spot. He would let her think she had won that round, but he would come back to her with a proposal. He just had to find a way to relay that proposal to her so she would have no option but to agree. Everybody had a price.
The day that had started gloomy was suddenly looking up. He wouldn’t mind kissing that delectable mouth. ‘Huh? Where did that come from?’ Gabe asked himself. When was the last time he had been with a woman? Well, no harm in just kissing her, was there? But did he want to stop at kissing? Maybe if he slept with her one time, he would satisfy his curiosity and move on. Besides Gabe didn’t have time for relationships. Those things were messy. He liked women who knew the score and didn’t expect any long term commitments from him. Somehow, he didn’t think Ms. Summers was that type of girl. But there was nothing Gabe was better at than persuasion. He was sure he could make Ana see things his way. He was willing to put the time on the personal side with Ana as long as he got what he wanted, but he wasn’t sure how much time he had to persuade her on the business front. He was hoping Rafe would help him on that side too.
Their lunch over, Gabe paid the bill and helped her with her coat. He guided her back outside to the waiting Bentley limousine.
When they arrived back at Boyd Industries, Gabe escorted her back to his office where Nate was waiting for him.
Ana saw the gentleman as soon as they entered Gabe’s office. He was watching the CNN channel on one of the flat screens, but as soon as Gabe closed his office door, he turned around and greeted Gabe.
“Gabe, Rafe said he had to leave early. He thought I would be able to catch Ms. Summers before she left.” The gentleman stood and Ana thought he looked vaguely familiar.
“Yes,” Gabe responded and walked over to shake his hand. “Ana, this is Nate Sullivan, Rafe’s brother. Nate, this is Ana Summers.”
Nate came forward and shook Ana’s hand, “Ms. Summers, please call me Nate.”
To which she replied, “Thanks. And please call me Ana. Are you the other Sullivan in Sullivan & Sullivan?”
He chuckled then said, “Yes, I am. You have always dealt with my brother in the past. He speaks very highly of you.”
“Thank you.”
Gabe who handn’t removed his hand from the small of her back, gently pushed her towards the conference table. He helped her with her coat and sat her down. “Do you still need more time? There’s no rush if you do.” Gabe went to sit beside Nate, where they both faced Ana as she checked her laptop.
Ana’s pulse started racing, as she told them some of the things she could see. A lot of them were minor, but grouped together were monumental. It didn’t seem like any personal information had been compromised but would need to do a more indepth analysis to confirm. When she was finished, Nate asked her a few questions which she answered. Nate seemed to take his time, deep in thought, then asked, “How can you tell?”
“There were some things that didn’t add up when I hacked in and so I did some little digging in most places that people wouldn’t think to check into. Besides, the software that I use isn’t something that’s cheap or readily available. It can do things that you can only dream of. Depending on how often you use it, you should probably try and install it. I’m sure your company would benefit from it. It literally does the work for you, very easy to use.” She looked at him and when she saw the slight frown, she went on to say, “Let me show you.”
Ana turned her laptop so they could see the screen and pointed out to a few items then explained what she had meant earlier.
Nate looked at her, smiled and said, “So you are Zeus.” It wasn’t a question – more like a statement.
She wasn’t sure how he had figured that out. She looked at him not breathing, trying to find out if she could deny it. “Why would you ask that?”
And that was when she realised her login name was showing on the chat screen that had popped up. Crap. Double crap. Why had she done that? She should have known her chat screen would be one of the windows showing. She chose to ignore the Zeus issue and hoped he would let it go too.