by S. E. Lund
"What's the upshot, James?" Trent asked, and I glanced back down to my document, turning to the last page, still unable to make out what the final conclusion was.
"We had an informant who suggested we look down a particular avenue for information that might lead to those responsible for the hack and for planting evidence," McBride said. "We were able to trace the original funding to a law office in Concord, New Hampshire."
"Concord?" I said, frowning. "What law office?"
"Apparently, a small corporate law office, Sinclair, Thompson and Monroe. We traced some of the activity to a man connected to your fiancée, Ella Carlson," McBride replied. "Derek Marshall works there as a corporate lawyer. Apparently, he hired someone off 4Chan to hack into MBS and put incriminating evidence on the servers."
"Oh, God," I said and rubbed my forehead. "That's Ella's ex-fiancé. They were going to get married and she called off the wedding when she discovered him cheating with his secretary. He lost his job working for the Governor of New Hampshire, Ella's father. It must have been an attempt to sabotage MBS to get back at her through me."
"That was our thinking as well," McBride said. On the screen, we saw McBride check his watch. "And as of right about now, he's being served with a warrant for his arrest on a number of charges relating to the hack and false report to the FBI."
I leaned back in my chair, shaking my head in amazement at the lengths some people would go to for revenge.
"Unbelievable," I said and turned to Trent. "I never even met the man, but he must have learned that I'd taken over MBS and wanted to hurt me in order to hurt Ella."
"That's what we concluded. No charges will be forthcoming against MBS or Keith Johnson. However, our techies would advise your techies to get better security protection in place. Apparently, a dozen admin personnel were targeted with a phishing attempt and one succeeded. A new staff member who maybe didn't have proper training in avoiding scams."
I nodded. "You can guarantee we won't make that mistake again. We've already hired an IT security expert to come into MBS and provide training in cyber security."
"That's good to hear," McBride said. "Well, gentlemen, unless you have other questions, I have another conference call to attend and have to say goodbye."
"Thanks," I said and nodded to McBride. "I seriously appreciate how helpful you have been through all this."
"Don't mention it."
The conference call ended, and I was left sitting with Trent, shaking my head once more at the audacity of Derek Marshall.
"Ella will be horrified when she finds out this was Derek."
"I'll bet she will be," Trent replied and gathered up his papers. "I'm just glad whoever it was tipped the Feds off about Marshall or you might be getting the warrant instead of him."
"I wonder who tipped him off? Someone in his office? Maybe the girlfriend?"
"That's for the FBI to know and us to never find out, I'm afraid. They keep their sources and methods very tightly protected."
"Of course, but I'd love to know who ratted him out. Whoever it was, I owe them a bottle of expensive Scotch."
"That you do," Trent said.
We finished up and I glanced at my watch. "Well, I better be going. I have my own meetings to attend. Thanks again for your fine work on this, Trent. I really appreciate it."
"That's why you pay me the big bucks," Trent said and reached out for a shake.
I shook Trent's hand and grabbed my coat and scarf, then took the elevator down to the lobby.
I nodded to the security guard sitting at the front desk and headed and out into the bright March morning. Outside, the cars drove by, horns blared, and pedestrians pushed past me, but I didn't care about the noise and smells of exhaust that filled the air.
Life was good.
It was really damn good. Ella and I were moving into the penthouse and in three weeks, I’d be married to the love of my life.
* * *
I arrived back at the building and went right up to my office, needing to cancel my next meeting so I could go and visit Ella and give her the news. My meeting with one of the IT people could wait. I had more important things to do.
Namely, celebrate with my fiancée.
I removed my coat and scarf and then went down the elevator to Ella's floor. I said hello to the receptionist and wound my way through the halls to her office. Her door was cracked open, and when I glanced in, I saw that she was bent over a manuscript, her brow furrowed as she read. Behind her was the huge picture window that looked out on the building beside ours. She looked totally absorbed in her work, which made me happy.
She truly loved what she was doing, even though it was a lowly unpaid position reading manuscripts we would likely never consider for publication.
I knocked on the door and opened it more, poking my head in. I felt bad about interrupting her when she was so intent on her work, but I knew she would want to know right away.
"Hey," I said, and she glanced up, blinking. When she saw me, she smiled.
"Josh," she said and pointed to the chair in front of her desk. "Come in. I was just reading."
I came in and closed the door and then went right over to her, bending down and kissing her warmly.
"Mmm," she said and rubbed my lips to wipe off her lipstick. "That was nice. I take it you had a good meeting with the DOJ?"
"I did," I said and sat down in the chair across from her.
"Well?" she said and leaned forward, her hands clasped in front of her on the desk. "Spill. What happened? Are they going to charge MBS? Keith?"
"Nope, and nope. No charges against MBS or Keith."
She let out a huge sigh. "Phew!" she said and wiped her brow dramatically. "I was hoping that would be the outcome but wasn't sure. What did the DOJ say about the hack and all the evidence of tax evasion and money laundering?"
"They said there was none and that the hack was an attempt to get MBS in trouble."
"Was it someone out to get Keith?" she asked.
"No, actually, it was someone out to get me." I wagged my eyebrows dramatically.
She made a face at that. "That's no good. Who would want to hurt you and why?"
I leaned forward, my hands clasped and leaning on the desk so that our faces were only a couple of feet apart.
"Derek Marshall, that's who."
Her jaw dropped open. "What?"
"Yes, Mr. Marshall hired some hacker and planted evidence, then turned in false accusations against me in order to hurt MBS. I guess he was unhappy with losing his job with your father and this was his attempt at revenge."
"Oh, my God," she said and sat staring off into space for a moment. "I would never have imagined he would do something like this."
"Me, either but who knows what evil lurks, right?"
"Who indeed," she said and sat quiet for a moment. "How did they learn that he did this?"
"Someone tipped the FBI off and they checked him out and voila. They found evidence that he was responsible."
"I'd like to thank whoever that was," Ella said.
"Me, too, but right now, I'd like to celebrate with my beautiful and loving fiancée. How about we go get some pastrami on rye?"
"With Matzo Ball Soup?" she asked hopefully.
I stood and held out my hand and she took it.
"With Matzo Ball Soup," I replied. "Anything for my ladylove."
23
Ella
We moved into the penthouse and slowly, over the next week, we settled in, unpacking our personal possessions and getting the place set up for use. Both of us were busy trying to wrap up as much of our work as possible, getting the wedding plans finalized and our honeymoon plans finished so we could take the two weeks around the date off and not worry about work.
When the first week in April came around and then the second, my excitement rose as our wedding date neared. My dress arrived back from the seamstress a week before we were scheduled to fly out to LA, and I was excited to try it on and see how it fit. I
went by myself to the bridal shop, and met with the seamstress, trying on the dress to make sure everything was perfect.
It was, and so she packaged it up and off I went, back to the penthouse. Josh greeted me at the door and pretended to try to see the dress, but I fought him.
"You are not going to see this until our wedding day," I said and hung the dress in the front closet. I went to the desk in my office and took a sticky note pad, writing DO NOT PEEK on it. Then, I placed the sticky on the garment bag to remind Josh that he was forbidden to look at it. He teased me that he was going to look before the wedding day, but I insisted he waited to see it.
"Steph thinks I look really good in it," I said to him when he came up behind me that day when I got back from the bridal shop. "That has to be good enough for you until Saturday."
"Saturday," Josh said and turned me around, pulling me into his arms. "I can't believe it's already almost here. Are you as excited as I am?"
"More," I said and kissed him.
We embraced and he squeezed my buttocks. "I'm very excited," he said and thrust his hips against mine so I could feel his erection. That sent a jolt of lust through my body and I closed my eyes.
"I'll be just as excited as you if you keep that up," I said and smiled as he kissed my throat. "Don't start anything you don't intend to finish."
"Oh, trust me. I intend to finish."
He smiled and kissed me passionately, pulling me to the bedroom, passion in his eyes.
I didn't fight.
He kissed me and I groaned when his hand reached up to squeeze my breast. He buried his face in my neck, kissing my ear, my throat and then the swell of my breast.
"I have a meeting in half an hour," he said. "So, I don't have much time."
"The way you're touching me, I won't need it," I said, my eyes closed as he pulled off my sweater dress, so I was standing in my bra and lace thong. His touch made my body swollen and ready just from the touch of his lips on my skin.
"Me, too," he murmured against my throat. He thumbed my nipple through the fabric of my lace bra, and I groaned, pressing my breast against his hand.
He squeezed my buttock greedily, and it made my core throb, because I couldn't wait for him to fill me up completely, pounding into me hard. He pulled down the fabric of my bra so that my breasts spilled out and buried his face between them, squeezing and sucking my nipples, making me squirm in need.
He removed his shirt while I unzipped his jeans, letting them fall to the ground. Beneath them, he wore boxer boxer-briefs, and his erection was outlined clearly through the fabric.
He pushed me back onto the bed, and when I lay down, my thighs spread wide, he stood and admired me.
"You are so luscious. I'm going to lick every inch of you."
He pulled off his boxer briefs and stood naked before me, his thick erection jutting out, dripping wet. The sight of him makes my breath catch in my throat. I wanted him to fill me up with his cock, I wanted to ride him. I didn't care how. I just wanted him inside of me.
I reached down to remove my thong, but he stopped me.
"Stop," he said, his breath ragged. "Let me undress you."
He licked me over the fabric of my thong, his tongue pressing over my clit. The sensation drove me almost mad, for it was both teasing and not quite enough. Finally, he pulled them off and spread my thighs wider before licking a trail from my navel to my clit, his fingers spreading me wide.
"Oh, God," I gasped when he thrust his tongue inside of me. I shuddered and closed my eyes as he licked and sucked my clit.
"You're ready," he murmured.
"I am," I said, barely able to speak. He swirled his tongue over my entire slit, before slipping a finger inside me.
Then, he rubbed the head of his cock over my clit and it felt so good, but I wanted him inside of me.
"Fuck me now," I managed.
"You want it?" he asked, his movements on my clit agonizingly pleasurable.
"Please," I said, and he slipped inside of me, filling me up slowly. I gasped at the sensation, and when his thumb circled my clit, I knew it wouldn't take long.
It was then I realized he didn't put on a condom.
"A condom," I said, my eyes flying open.
"Crap," he said and leaned over, searching through the side table drawer. "We're out."
I glanced at him and shook my head. "We don't need one. I'm safe. I know you're safe, too."
"You sure?"
I nodded. "I've been religious taking the pill."
"Okay," he said and began thrusting and it felt so damn good without a condom. I realized that it was the very first time we'd had sex without one.
"I'm going to fuck you now," he said in a husky voice. "I'm going to make you come."
I didn't respond because I knew he would.
* * *
Hours later, after he returned from his meeting, we lay on the sofa together in front of our new gas fireplace and watched the night sky outside our huge picture windows. I thought about our first session of bareback intercourse earlier in the day.
It had been great, and I was surprised how much it excited me to think of having Josh inside of me without him wearing a condom.
"I found it incredibly sexy," I said and glanced up into his eyes.
"What? The way I moved my tongue?" he said, a gleam in his eyes. He knew exactly what I meant but was teasing me.
"No," I said and pushed his shoulder playfully. "You being inside of me with no protection."
"Ohh," he said and nodded knowingly. He leaned down and kissed me. "Whenever you want it, you can have it that way. We're getting married in a couple of weeks. We're both clean and you're on the pill, so I don't see why we can't have sex without a condom from now on."
"I agree," I said and rolled over on top of him. "In fact, like, right now."
His eyes widened but I felt his body respond beneath me and I knew that he found the prospect just as sexy as I did. We kissed and removed each other's clothes as rapidly as possible so that soon, we were both naked, only the light from the fireplace to illuminate us. It was more than enough to see him and soon he pushed me back on the sofa and knelt down between my thighs, his mouth finding me in the darkness.
That was my last conscious thought until much much later…
* * *
The week of our wedding arrived, and I was so excited, I had a hard time concentrating at work and sleeping at night. While I tried to read manuscripts, my mind kept returning to the wedding and the to-do list I had with everything that needed to be done. I had it tucked beside my desk calendar, and periodically, I pulled it out and looked it over, noting what I had left to do and what I had already done. Luckily, Steph had taken care of her side of things and had picked out a dress that she was happy to wear. I glanced at it in the catalog and then at the picture of her wearing it and was pleased. She looked wonderful.
I had my luggage open on my dresser and had been adding to it each day, planning what I’d need for the stay in LA at David’s mansion and then at the all-inclusive resort where we were staying in Bora Bora. I kept the brochure open on the suitcase so I could look at it and imagine our week of peace and quiet in the luxurious house we’d rented right on the water.
I finished up all my work on Tuesday, and it was a good thing, because I had Wednesday off, so Josh and I could finalize all our plans. We were leaving for LA on Thursday, and would arrive late that afternoon, driving to David’s mansion and spending Friday getting last-minute preparations for the wedding and dinner ready. My parents and Steph were flying together and would arrive in LA late on Thursday night. All of us would spend Friday together, and then have the wedding party dinner that night with the brothers. The wedding was Saturday.
We stayed in LA overnight and then would fly to Bora Bora on Sunday, arriving back the following Saturday night. We had that Sunday off and then it was back to work on Monday morning for us both.
My mother might have dreamed of a big wedding with hundreds of
relatives, but after Josh and my previous experiences, a small wedding was pretty much all we could consider. There would be no announcement in any paper, and no big venue, no bridal shower, no gift registry.
All in all, it would be a very casual, very intimate wedding and short honeymoon, but that was the way Josh and I both wanted it.
* * *
Thursday arrived and I barely slept, waking up several times, my mind going over what was left to do, but everything seemed well under control. All we had to do now was finish packing, grab our tickets and passports, and head to the airport.
We’d arrive at LAX, get a rental car, and drive to David’s place in the hills. Unpack, and then greet my parents and Steph, spend some time together with the Macintyre brothers getting to know one another. Friday, we’d pick up the last-minute items we needed for the wedding – ribbons, flowers, folding chairs, small gifts for the wedding party. We’d go over the menu for the wedding party dinner, which David insisted on grilling. Then, we’d confirm everything with the caterer for our wedding dinner.
We had our tickets for Bora Bora and our second suitcases packed for it.
Sunscreen, a tiny bikini, and not much else.
I touched everything, ticking it off the list I had in my hand with a big red checkmark to note it had been done and was ready.
Then I turned to Josh.
“I’m all set. How about you?”
He shrugged and counted the suitcases. “Ready.” Then he came over to me and slipped his arms around my waist, pulling me against his body. “Are you excited, my almost-future wife and love of my life?”
“I am, my almost-future husband and love of my life.”
“Then, let’s go.”
We did.
Josh and I carried the suitcases down to the lobby, where a limo was waiting for us to take us to JFK. The limo driver helped with the luggage while I climbed into the back seat and waited for Josh to join me. He finally slid in beside me and we fastened our seat belts.