by Joyce Jordan
“Who is Zeus?” Gabe asked Nate.
“Cyber-genius,” Nate replied while looking at Ana. Nate went on to fill Gabe in on some of the well known software programmes Ana had worked on, some of the apps currently being used on iPhones and androids that she didn’t sell under her personal name.
“Ana, is that true?” Gabe turned to her.
At first Ana didn’t respond. She thought if she waited him out, he would let it go. But when he asked her a second time, she faintly said, “Yes,” hoping he wouldn’t ask her to say it again. Apparently he heard her. Or maybe it was the nod he saw that she hadn’t been aware she had made.
When the silence got too long, Ana raised her head and found Gabe was looking at her with a huge grin. She looked at Nate and he was smiling at her too. She wasn’t sure what was going on. Had she suddenly grown two heads in the last few minutes or what? Not many people knew her secret. Uncomfortable, she looked at her phone, pretended to read a message, then quickly stood up and said she needed to leave. Said something urgent had come up.
“Ana!” she heard Gabe calling, but she was already at the elevator and as luck would have it, she managed to duck in and close the door before he caught up with her. As soon as she made it to the first floor, she dashed outside and found a cab. She had to give the cab driver her address twice. The adrenaline from that mad dash from Gabe’s office to the cab was still pumping. It slowed down once they passed a few blocks and she knew nobody was following her.
When Ana got home, it was then that she realised, it wasn’t the most professional of getaways. A good thing since they wouldn’t be doing business together then. As promised she wrote a short report and cited some of the issues she had found which would need to be looked into when doing a more in depth analysis. She completed her short report by apologising that she wouldn’t have the time to take such a project at this time, but would be willing to refer Mr. Boyd to a colleague of hers. She was already overbooked for the next several months, she said in her report.Then she sent the e-mail to Rafe.
Just as she concluded her business, Kelly walked in and asked her about her appointment from that morning. But Ana wasn’t sure if Kelly bought the story of why she refused to help Gabe in tracking down the person who could be trying to sabotage his company. Ana quickly changed the subject and asked Kelly about her day. They sat for the next hour, Kelly going through the cases she had dealt with that day. Kelly always had stories to tell about the patients she saw everyday. It was like watching Grey’s Anatomy through someone’s storytelling.
Finally Ana offered to make dinner after she took a quick shower. Ana did most of the cooking – she was the better cook anyway. Ana loved cooking, she never thought of it as a chore. But Kelly always said she felt guilty so delegated herself to keeping their apartment clean. It worked well since Ana worked from home and had more predictable hours. With Kelly being an intern, her crazy hours made it impossible to even have a decent meal at times. If it were not for Ana freezing some of the meals Kelly would probably survive on P&J sandwiches or vending machine food.
∞∞∞
When Ana left, Gabe was angry at himself. He hadn’t seen that one coming. If he had been better prepared he could have stopped her from leaving. He didn’t believe that crap she had spouted as she ran out.
Gabe came back from the elevator and he and Nate discussed the issue at hand. Nate agreed to look into it, but told Gabe that Ana would probably find the culprit sooner than anyone else. There was only so much his company could do. Their main business was not hacking, so they didn’t employ people with that great of hacking skills. They probably could put their best people on it, but this was something that needed a real professional hacker. Someone dedicated to this type of business.
“She is that brilliant,” Nate told him. “She can practically hack into anything, from what Rafe says. And that name Zeus, is well known in the hacker community. She is royalty. We are lucky we found out. Short of her family, I doubt if anyone knows that identity.”
“Can you run a background check on her and e-mail it to me tonight?”
“Tonight?” Nate asked smiling, “Is there any reason for the rush?”
“I need to send a ‘thank you note’. She did after all agree to a preliminary meeting,” Gabe said deadpan.
“Right,” Nate replied laughing. “I will let you know what I find out? I am guessing this is an urgent matter, thus the timeline?”
“Thanks Nate. Yes, it is urgent. I need to nail that sucker before irrepairable damage is done.”
Gabe escorted Nate to the elevator. His assistant had already gone for the day. He looked at his wristwatch and realised it was after six already. As the elevators doors closed, he went back to his office, poured himself a drink and sat back behind his desk. Looking out the Manhattan skyline, he pictured Ana as she had gazed at the view earlier that day. His blood started to sizzle. He couldn’t wait for the background check. He needed to come up with a plan on how to seduce her. Seduce? Was he still thinking of kissing or something more? Somehow, he didn’t think he would be satisfied with just a kiss. He remembered the way she kept trying to dislodge his hand when he placed his hand at her back. She had tried to walk fast – and to the side, but he had just followed her and pretended like he hadn’t noticed. He could remember her alabaster skin, brown eyes with gold flecks in them, her rich gold hair that she had tied into a simple ponytail. He could still smell the strawberry shampoo she had used to wash her hair.
Laughing, Gabe couldn’t remember the last time any female had made him laugh – really laugh – whole heartedly too. Family members excluded. The way she had run out had been so unexpected, it had taken him a moment too long to react, which had given Ana all the advantage she needed. Smiling to himself, Gabe thought that it wasn’t a wonder Nate also seemed to worship her. Genius, he had said. She was a genius in inventing things up too.
He was certainly grateful Rafe hadn’t been interested in her, because he planned on having some type of relationship with Ana. He surely had plans for Ms. Summers alright. Life was certainly looking up.
Three
Gabe decided to wait until the following week to approach Ana. But after his sleepless night, he just couldn’t wait. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. He ordered flowers and asked that they be delivered that morning at six. He knew she would be mad, especially if she was still sleeping, and after that report she had e-mailed Rafe, it would make her even more mad. But he was hoping she would get them before she left, in case she intended on being out that day.
According to the background check Nate had sent him last night, she mostly worked from home, but would occasionally visit her clients. She had skipped a couple of grades in school and although there was nothing to connect her to ‘Zeus’, Gabe could see why Nate had called her a cyber-genius. Gabe wondered how many people knew she was ‘Zeus’. A handful he figured. Probably only family as Nate had guessed. She hadn’t been comfortable with either Nate or himself knowing, and he could bet a million dollars that was the reason why she had run out of his office as if the devil were chasing her. But he wasn’t going to let that deter him from his two missions – personal and business. Laughing, he wondered when he had named the missions. He probably needed to have his head checked.
She and her roomate – Kelly Andersen had been roommates since freshman. After Ana graduated summa cum laude for her double major degrees in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, she went on to pursue an MBA. It was no wonder that she was running her own business. Gabe thought she had probably figured she would get more bang for her buck by having some business knowledge – and had taken the accelarated version of the MBA. Smart girl. Based on her IQ, one could see why she had such high grade point averages.
He couldn’t help but admire her. He wondered what it would take for her to accept a job with his company? He doubted she would ever go for that though, but maybe he could start with this issue at end, and hopefully he could take her on contract ba
sis, or on retainer and who knew, maybe one day she would agree to a full-time job. He doubted that would be challenging enough for her, and thought she probably made more money on her own. She had a healthy bank balance and had made some very wise investments. Gabe wondered if she had picked them herself or had help.
He was glad she had finally agreed to Rafe’s request to come and meet him. He had been sceptical especially when Rafe kept calling her ‘kid’. At twenty two she certainly was still a babe in the woods. But she had surprised him with her initial findings, and he had no doubt that she was the person for the job. He hoped he could encourage her to change her mind and see if she could pin point this person before further damage was done. The best news had been that no personal information seemed to have been taken.
He wondered if it was a competitor trying to learn their secrets or just someone having fun. There was always someone with a twisted mentality or someone willing to be bought for the right amount of money.
∞∞∞
When Ana heard the buzzing, she thought it was her phone. When she answered and nobody was at the other end of the line. She realised it was the intercom which was connected to the home office phone. The only phones were against the wall in the entryway and in her office. She had to get out of bed to walk over to her office to answer. Answering she heard the front desk telling her they had someone who had flowers for delivery for their apartment. Thinking they were for Kelly, Ana agreed that the front desk let the delivery guy through. Their building had a front desk that doubled as a doorman and only operated for twelve hours every night, from six to six. During the day, visitors had to use the intercom to be buzzed in. This feature made it slightly cheaper than apartment buildings that had 24/7 front desk service, and it also gave the residents peace of mind that strangers didn’t end up being buzzed in at all hours of the night. Not that danger didn’t occur during the day.
She opened the door to a boy not more than sixteen years old. He probably is making a delivery on his way to school, Ana thought. She accepted the flowers – a large bouquet of different shades of pink roses. She asked the delivery guy to wait while she got her purse for a tip. He declined and said the tip was already paid. Strange. “Do you always start delivering flowers at this time?” she asked the teenager.
“No. But the sender asked that they be delivered at precisely six. Most deliveries start at eight.”
Kelly’s would be boyfriend was really trying to make sure Kelly got the flowers before she left for work. She had a doctor she worked with who had been asking her our for weeks now, but Kelly wasn’t sure it was a good idea to work with someone whom you dated. Made sense, because if you broke up it could get messy. But these flowers would surely brighten anyone’s day. What a way to start the day. They smelled great.
“Thank you,” she said to him and closed the door. She didn’t even look at the card, but went straight to Kelly’s room because she knew she was already up and getting ready for work.
Kelly looked up and stopped putting on make up. She looked at the flowers and asked who had sent them. Ana said she didn’t know but was thinking maybe it was Brad who had been asking Kelly out for the last two months. Kelly walked over and pulled the card free. She gave it to Ana and said, “It’s for you.”
“Me?” she squeaked. “I don’t know anyone who would want to send me flowers and especially at six in the morning.
“Well open it and let’s see.”
Ana didn’t recognize the handwriting. She opened it and read…
‘Thank you. GB’
“Is that Gabriel Boyd? The guy you went to see yesterday? And did he just put a smiley face?” Kelly asked.
Ana couldn’t answer. She was in total shock. Then she was full of happiness – dread – elation – apprehension – anger – joy and happy tears threatened to fall.
“What happened yesterday and did you tell him where you live?”
“Nothing and No,” Ana answered. “But then a man in his position would be able to get that information easily. He probably asked either Rafe or Nate Sullivan to get it for him,” Ana gulped.
“Are you going to call him?”
“What? Of course not,” Ana retorted. “Why would I do that?”
“You need to thank him for the flowers.”
“To say ‘thank you’ to his ‘thank you’?” she asked Kelly. “I am not going to play tug of war with thank you’s. And besides I have no idea why he is thanking me. I have already declined the job. It’s weird,” Ana said puzzled. “Anyway, I am just going to ignore him, and enjoy the flowers. After the way I ran out of his office yesterday, it would be for the best that I didn’t make any contact.” As Ana lifted the vase and took off she said, over her shoulder to Kelly, “Let me get out of your hair, so you are not late to work.”
She didn’t want Kelly to continue asking questions or encouraging her to call Gabe. She did her good deed by writing a more than detailed report yesterday which would help the person they ended up hiring. And now it was time to move on. She placed the flowers on their dining room table. They really looked beautiful and she almost felt guilty about not even acknowledging the beautiful roses to the sender. He seemed to have some knowledge of flowers, or was this just a lucky guess? Pink roses were given as a sign of ‘thank you’ or gratitude.
She really needed to stop thinking about him. Her fantasies had been bad enough during the rest of the day yesterday. She had tried to control them, slightly succeeded but at night there had been was no stopping them. Last night she had fantasized about how his kiss would feel on her lips, his hands on her body, his hands touching her breasts, moving down, touching her…No this has got to stop, she told herself. She had only met the man yesterday and she had already moved him to her bedroom.
Since she was up, she decided to hit the gym. Twice in two days. Not good. A sure sign of stress. Ana usually hit the gym when she was trying to avoid thinking. She changed into her gym clothes and as Kelly was leaving, she left too. Ana put in an hour at the gym and decided it was enough for the day. She needed to get some work done, especially since she and Kell ywould be going on vacation soon. She didn’t want to have to worry about work while she was trying to enjoy herself. They had been planning on this for a very long time, had put it on hold while finishing their studies and trying to make sure they settled down okay in New York. Now their time was almost near. She could literally smell the Hawaii waters.
Ana spent most of the day on the phone with one of her larger clients giving technical support. She was hoping she could get it resolved without having to fly there. She was almost convinced she would have to make that trip after all, and was online trying to see what flights were available when she got word that the problem was resolved. Thinking she might as well see what to make for dinner, she went to the kitchen and was rummaging through the fridge when she heard Kelly’s key in the door.
She poured Kelly a glass of wine as she came to the kitchen. “Hi Kels. I will have dinner ready in thirty. Why don’t you sit and tell me about your day?”
“Hey Ana. Thanks, I needed that,” she said reaching for the glass.
“Bad day?”
“Ummm.”
“If you are tired, you know we can skip going out and just stay in?”
“Not on your life, Ana. I just need to relax for a short while and I will be good to go. You promised we would go out tonight.” Ana had agreed a few days ago when Kelly had asked if they could join some of the colleagues she worked with at the hospital. Occasionally they went alone, but oftentimes they joined a few nurses and doctors Kelly worked with. It was always fun even though she prefered staying home.
∞∞∞
Gabe was poor company tonight and wondered why he had agreed to meet Nate and Rafe Sullivan tonight, and in a club of all places. He was distracted and couldn’t get Ana out of his mind. Even the sea of beautiful faces that were trying to make eye contact with him were of no use. None of them were Ana. They were supposed to be discussing b
usiness, something that had always held Gabe’s attention, but not tonight.
He wondered if she had liked the flowers. He had expected her to at least have called him and as the day ended he realised he hadn’t done much work, except glance at his phone all day, and check for messages from her. He knew she had received the flowers, signed for them herself according to the teenager who had delivered them this morning. This was a first for him, double checking to see if flowers he sent were delivered. He had never needed to call his florist before. Most of the women he sent flowers to made sure he knew the flowers were appreciated, one way or another. But not Ms. Summers. Was she challenging him? He was just sad that he would have to wait until Monday to make contact. Maybe another delivery of flowers? He could do that all week until she acknowledged his flowers and talked to him. He had never wooed a girl before, and maybe it was time to start, he thought to himself.
“Gabe? Are you even listening to what we are proposing?” he heard Nate ask.
“Sorry, I just have a lot on my mind. And the noise in here is too loud.”
“You need to get out more otherwise you will shrivel and die in your penthouse. Look at all these beautiful girls here tonight. When was the last time you picked a girl at a bar or club? Or got laid for that matter?” Rafe asked him. Rafe and Nate were brothers who had formed Sullivan & Sullivan, a tech company they ran jointly. Rafe always prefered to hold meetings in loud and noisy places. He claimed seeing women brought out his best ideas. Since it was a Friday and he hadn’t been getting any work done either way, he had agreed to join them.
“I don’t have to go to a club or bar to pick up a girl. Or to get laid either.”
“Ofcourse not. They just smell the billions on you and come running,” Rafe snickered.
Nate just laughed and didn’t join the conversation.
“You think they wouldn’t be able to smell them in here?”