“In a dirty, restless kind of way.” Gaige lifted one foot and rested it against the bottom step.
That didn’t sound like a bad thing. Kind of great, actually. “Good to know.”
Gaige didn’t go up the steps. “Do you think fucking you is part of my job?”
Alec didn’t get angry or offended. Gaige hadn’t raised his voice, and really, Alec would ask the same question if their positions were reversed. “I wouldn’t put it past Seth to suggest it. But, no. And even if it were a requirement, the answer is no.”
“Well.” Gaige winced. “That’s definitive.”
“Apparently not.” Since Alec wanted this point to be really damn clear, he broke his usual rule about not explaining himself and did it this one time. “The answer is no to your specific question because I’m not interested in obligatory sex. But if you’re asking on a broader level I’m not ruling out everything.”
Gaige just stared at Alec. “What exactly are you saying?”
He should shut the fuck up. Tighten his tie, grab his briefcase and get to the car. Alec waited for those words to leave his mouth but it never happened. “I insist my partners be engaged and willing. Maybe a bit more on the adventuresome side.”
He shouldn’t be saying any of it because he barely had time to shower, but why pretend. Work should occupy even more of his time now. He carried the regular load plus the issue Seth dumped on his lap and the unwanted babysitting duty. That pile promised to rob what little sleep he did manage to get these days. But he wanted to hear Gaige’s response, so he waited and listened.
“You have an interesting ability to compartmentalize,” Gaige said.
“My work life is different from my personal life. Away from the office and Seth and all this other bullshit, you can decide if my requirements work for you.” Seemed logical to Alec. He didn’t understand why people tangled up the parts of their lives and made themselves miserable.
“A few hours ago you thought I was stealing from you. Now you’re talking about us getting naked.”
Alec still didn’t see the problem. Hell, they could keep their clothes on for all he cared. “Those are also two different things.”
The corner of Gaige’s mouth twitched as if he were trying to hide a smile. “Some people insist on a level of trust before they have sex.”
“Those are people who don’t understand that sex is a need, like eating. Complicating it with emotions is unnecessary.” He spent half his life explaining that truth. Neither of his brothers fully bought it, but Alec had learned the reality early. Being the oldest, he had a front row seat to his parents’ marriage. To the way their father broke their mother. To the lies and the deceit that nearly led to bankruptcy and utter devastation.
Gaige made a low humming sound. “Very romantic.”
“No one has ever accused me of that.” And that was fine with Alec.
“That’s not hard to believe.”
The comment made Alec wonder how much Gaige knew. If he’d heard the stories, some true and some far worse in reality than was ever printed in the press.
The thought reminded Alec that he knew almost nothing about Gaige. He’d rectify that as soon as he got to the office and did a full vetting of Gaige’s history. But until then…“Is there a boyfriend who will be pissed you’re here?”
“No.”
A quick answer. No equivocating. Alec liked that. Maybe too much. “Good.”
This time Gaige did smile. “Is it?”
Yeah, enough of that. Alec shook his head, trying to regain the mental high ground. He pointed to the loft. “I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.”
Gaige followed Alec up the stairs. He didn’t have to pretend not to stare since Alec couldn’t see his face. For those few seconds, Gaige ignored the pounding frustration of being led around instead of being in command of exactly what happened to him next. He let his mind spin. He didn’t hate the idea of getting a peek into Alec’s private world. Really appreciated the view he had right now.
Once at the top, Alec moved to the far side of the bed and stopped. He didn’t show Gaige around, but a tour wasn’t necessary. This space mirrored the one downstairs in terms of style. Clean, spare and modern.
High ceilings and skylights gave the area an open feel. Light bounced off the white walls. The bed sat on a riser of some sort on the floor. A closet anchored the room at one side and bookshelves lined the back wall.
Gaige’s gaze skipped around the room before landing on Alec again.
“This is where Griff stays,” he said. “My other brother.”
“Ah, yes. The third one.” Gaige planned to look up a photo as soon as possible. He couldn’t believe the universe created three Drummond siblings who looked like that, but it was possible.
“The middle, which he hates.” A smile ran across Alec’s lips then faded again. “He runs the operation in the States.”
For all the toughness and all the rumors about how Alec ran his life with an iron fist, his respect for his brothers was obvious. He hadn’t mentioned parents and Gaige didn’t know enough of the backstory to call up a memory of them.
His previous interest in Alec probably mimicked how others viewed him. It started and stopped with seeing that face in a news story about him. The same ones that always included a “no comment” from Alec because he didn’t do interviews. The whole mysterious thing left Gaige intrigued, and that only heightened now that he could see up close the hardness that radiated off Alec.
“Why don’t you run the operation?” The answer didn’t matter, but Gaige wanted to hear more.
A few minutes ago Alec was in a rush and issuing threats. Now he seemed to hesitate over something as simple as showing off his house. Gaige didn’t think it was a flush of pride. It felt more like he wanted to slow time, and Gaige was experiencing the same sensation.
“I do…with my brothers. The international side is newer, larger and harder to control, so I’m wrestling with it.” Alec shrugged. “Plus, Germany suits me.”
“I’m not sure what that means.” Maybe that he was away from the glare of U.S. interest or maybe something else. Either way, when only silence greeted his comment he knew not to expect a reply.
Alec shoved his hands in his pockets. “You don’t need to feel obligated to engage in mindless conversation. I’m fine with silence.”
There it was. The I’m-in-charge behavior and harsh tone to match. “And to think you called Seth an asshole.”
“I don’t care if you don’t like me.”
“That’s probably a good thing.” Because Gaige didn’t know what he felt. He got hit with a new thought every few seconds around this guy. His mind bounced from the job and how to satisfy Seth without getting killed by Alec, to Alec…in this house…in that shower.
Alec’s hands dropped to his sides again. The move didn’t qualify as fidgeting but he’d shifted more in the last few seconds than he had in the few hours since Gaige met him.
Alec started walking. With slow deliberate steps he maneuvered around the bed to stand right in front of Gaige. “As far as I’m concerned my letting you stay on is a benefit to you. Without that, Seth might not need you and you could be in bigger trouble than you are.”
“I’m not sure how you reasoned that out.”
“Basically, you owe me.” Alec closed in.
The move could be an attempt at intimidation or an offer. Gaige wasn’t sure but he didn’t back down. This close, he could feel a brush of Alec’s warm breath across his cheek and he suddenly didn’t want to lose that. “And you intend to collect.”
The energy in the loft changed that fast. It morphed into something wild, almost frantic. Gaige felt every nerve jump. Every cell revved to life.
“As I said before”—Alec’s gaze roamed over Gaige’s face before he spoke—“consent is required.”
He had it. That realization spun through Gaige. He’d had a few meaningless hookups since the man he thought he loved set him up and his personal life imp
loded, but that petered off as he rushed to clear his name. And now here he was in Germany with the potentially perfect no-strings opportunity standing in front of him. “But you won’t say no.”
Alec’s eyebrow rose. “Do you want me to say no?”
The answer to that question proved too easy. It almost slipped right out, which meant he needed air and space and a few minutes to think.
Gaige took a step back and glanced over the half wall separating the edge of the loft from a steep drop. “I’m assuming the only way out is down there, past you. No emergency exit up here?”
Alec smiled then. “Are you planning on running?”
“I don’t run.” Not ever. Not even when his partner in everything—work and life—stole information and left him alone to fight life-ending criminal charges.
“I’ve seen you fight. Impressive as hell.” Alec’s gaze skimmed over Gaige’s arms. “Why does a tech geek have those skills?”
“Survival.” And that was not an understatement.
“That I can appreciate.” Alec nodded and passed by Gaige, just close enough for their arms to touch but nothing else. “We need to head into the office. Sleep or not, I have work to do today.”
That brush of material against material sent a shock through Gaige. No skin. No actual touching. Just the promise that they would be soon had heat sweeping through him and his hands itching to reach out.
Gaige waited until Alec stood at the top of the steps to answer. “The answer is no, by the way.”
Alec froze and glanced up. “What was the question?”
“I don’t want you to say no.” Gaige didn’t add more because he could tell from the flare of heat in Alec’s eyes that he didn’t need to.
“Good to know.”
“Is it?” Gaige asked, parroting their earlier conversation.
“We’ll see.”
Chapter 6
Alec seriously considered working from home until Gaige left town. If the bed wasn’t right there and a constant temptation, he might.
He’d been back in the office for three hours. The first half consisted of gawking by his employees. Walking across the main lobby with Gaige trailing close behind, then through the rows of cubicles in the center of the office floor, resulted in a lot of staring and bouts of whispering.
Alec got it. The boss didn’t escort visitors. He certainly didn’t stop to get coffee for a visitor. He also didn’t drive in with unknown men and then install them in his office suite.
Yeah, he understood the confusion and the curiosity. Gossip sucked people in, even the smart people who worked for him. But they knew about his temper. He’d carefully crafted a take-no-shit reputation. He didn’t yell because he rarely had to. His employees put in long hours, received excellent pay and now they’d waste valuable time talking about his personal life. He fucking hated that.
He leaned back in his chair and glanced through the glass wall separating his office from the small sitting room just outside. He had his people move out a couch and haul in a desk. Gaige sat at it now. The forced proximity made sense in Alec’s mind. Theoretically, he could watch Gaige type…but who the hell knew what he was actually doing out there.
They’d given Gaige a laptop and a desktop computer, neither of which were hooked into the office’s closed network. The idea was to give the illusion of him working. To let the word leak that an outside professional had been brought in for data analysis. If Alec did have a problem within his organization he’d know pretty quickly. If the problem was outside and someone was using Drummond’s name—the only answer that made any sense to Alec—then that person or group would likely panic and go running to the seed vault to cover their tracks. From there, Seth would pounce.
Even knowing, or thinking, that Gaige couldn’t do any real damage, his being out there, an expert with hacking and infiltration skills, had Alec on edge. He had enough enemies without inviting one in the front door, which was why he’d taken precautions.
The keystroke program and whatever else had been installed on Gaige’s computer should provide some insight. Whatever he typed appeared on the extra monitor at Alec’s desk. The lines raced across the screen. Alec spoke four languages fluently and another two pretty well but he had no idea what the code said.
He picked up his phone to call Seth just as Finn showed up. This was the second time he’d checked in already today and this trip he wasn’t alone. His assistant, Anthony Johnson, one of the few other people who could roam around the building and open every door, tagged along. The suite sat at the end of the hall, private and shut off from the rest of the floor by extra layers of security. Finn and Tony had free access, but not many others did.
Alec considered Tony his smartest hire. Loyal, smart and at ease with everyone in the company in a way Alec wasn’t. A sharp manager Alec brought on when he assumed the helm at the company six years ago, after his father almost destroyed it.
Like many Drummond employees, Tony was retired military. In his case, a Marine from Texas. While Alec disagreed with his father on most issues, Tony was the most glaring. The business takeover had resulted in an estrangement that Alec’s father broke only long enough to question Alec’s choice of a black man for such an important position in the company. Alec slammed the door on communication for good after that.
Finn and Tony came directly into Alec’s private space and closed the door behind them. Alec hoped that meant they were about to have a serious work discussion but he sensed something else was headed his way.
He rocked back on the wheels of his desk chair. “Gentlemen.”
“About Gaige,” Finn said as he stopped on the opposite side of the desk with Tony right next to him.
That didn’t take long. “For the record, our unexpected guest is not my favorite topic.”
Alec already thought about the guy far too much. Watched him. Was too intrigued by the way he frowned and squinted as he studied the computer screens in front of him. Experienced a bit of awe at how fast he typed.
None of that said much about who Gaige was, but neither did the intel Alec had gathered from public searches and through private, top-secret back channels. Gaige’s file had that scrubbed-clean look. Bare bones details about college. Nothing negative. A rosy, if bland, picture that suggested he should be living in the suburbs with a golden retriever right now.
“Finn told me Seth gave an order.” Tony nodded in Gaige’s general direction. “He insisted we bring this guy on.”
The gesture had Alec looking out into the outer office again. Seeing Gaige stretch back in the small chair, long arms high above his head as he yawned, sent a new jolt of interest surging through Alec.
He blocked the revving in his gut and the shutdown of his brain as he turned back to his brother and Tony. “It’s a bit more complicated than that.”
Tony’s eyes narrowed as if to suggest he didn’t buy the response. “Since when do we jump for the SAD?”
“Never.” He stepped in when it made sense for him to do so, when it benefitted Drummond or a goal the company set. Alec refused to think of Seth and SAD as anything but useful.
Finn glanced at Tony. “He’s in denial.”
“How do you figure that?” Tony asked.
This was annoying as hell. “He is right here.” Alec sat up straight and leaned his elbows on the desk. “Now, tell me what you two really want.”
“Clarification on how we’re handling this situation. It’s not like you to hire new people directly and bypass human resources and a security check.” Tony shrugged. “People have noticed.”
Alec didn’t need to be told “this situation” was Gaige. And that fast, thinking his name had Alec sneaking a look in his direction again. This time Gaige shifted in his chair and read something on his screen. “He’s an outside auditor hired by me. That’s what we tell people.”
“They’re going to wonder why you have him in your office suite instead of two floors down with the rest of the tech team.” Tony’s eyebrow rose. “Speak
ing of which, Pam is pissed.”
“Not a surprise.” Alec expected that. Pamela Masters headed his tech department. She handled the company’s computer security. Bringing someone in for data analysis would be seen as a direct slam against her. There was no way around that.
Just one more reason to fucking hate Seth Lang.
“Just a warning.” Tony’s shoulders rose and fell on a sigh. “She’s asking questions.”
Alec dropped his hands and let them land with a satisfying smack against the wood top. “She can talk to me.”
Truth was she’d actually scheduled a meeting with him for fifteen minutes from now. By the time that happened Alec hoped to come up with a good explanation. If not, he’d fall back on his usual because I said so reasoning, but Pam deserved better.
He’d hired her away from a Silicon Valley start-up. She was sharp, not just smart but savvy. She understood how business worked and how the rules others followed didn’t always make a perfect fit with what needed to be done. She managed her team with strict rules but they were deadly loyal to her. She didn’t have his reputation, even though Alec viewed her style as similar to his.
She’d been with Drummond for three years and she, along with Tony and Finn, made up the top management team in the European division. He trusted them as much as he trusted anyone. Together they were the four who knew about the business’s inner-workings, from the contracts to the strategies to the clients. They all possessed the requisite security clearances and access to vital proprietary information. So having to hide the truth about Gaige and his connection to Seth from Pam pissed Alec off.
“You act like she’s not trying to get in here to see you.” Tony shook his head. Looked like he’d been verbally beaten down already this morning. “I’ve held her off.”
“She managed to schedule a meeting without bothering to ask me.” Which was exactly the sort of thing Alec expected from her and admired. “I’ll deal with her.”
Tony nodded. “Fine.”
But from the way Tony shifted his weight around, Alec sensed Tony had another problem on his hands. “Or are you worried I’m going to screw up your dating life?”
Dirty Deeds Page 5