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I straightened my spine and held his unwavering gaze. Frankly, he looked like he'd rather be do anything else than talk to me. It wasn't the first time someone had looked at me like that. And every single time, I'd shown them that they were wrong to underestimate me.
"My name is Aaron Pegg, and—"
"I don't care what your name is, boy. You've been sitting outside my office for the past two hours and requesting an audience with me. State your business, or get out."
I refused to be fazed by him. On any other day, I wouldn’t be there, but for some crazy reason, I'd fallen head over heels for a woman who had done nothing but drive me insane for the past five weeks, and I was doing this for her.
"I'm the lead programmer at OceansPlay,” I finished.
He raised a brow.
I took a breath. "As well as the man who's in love with your daughter."
Both brows disappeared into Stephen’s hairline. There was a glint in his eyes, one that had not been there before. I'd caught his attention. That much was evident.
Unlike most people, I was not terrified of Stephen Wiley. Growing up with a crackhead mother whose favorite method of punishing me was to starve me, I'd had to undergo a very severe character development, and I doubted there was anything this man could do that would be worse than that.
At the same time, I recognized that he was the father of the woman I cared about, and I had to tread carefully. No matter the strain between them, his opinion mattered.
Stephen leaned forward, propped his elbows on his shiny leather desk, and intertwined them under his jaw. "Do you have a death wish?"
"Of course not, sir."
He smacked his lips, glaring at me. "Then why would you come all the way to my office to tell me that?"
"I wasn't aware loving Felicity was equivalent to wanting to die."
Going insane, yes. But death? A bit too much, no?
His eyes hardened. "I know who you are. You're the programmer behind Happy Bird—the same one I offered a job to two years ago."
I allowed myself to smile a little. "Yes, sir. The same one who didn't bother to respond to your offer because it was ridiculous."
Two of his brows rose. I could tell I'd shocked him with my response. It probably wasn't every day Stephen Wiley got told to his face that his offer of employment was ridiculous.
"Alright." He leaned back against his chair, unfolded his intertwined fingers, and spread them on the table. His face was full of interest, and I knew I had to keep that look, or this would end rather quickly.
"Tell me what you want," he said. "And make it quick."
This was my chance. "Your daughter is currently facing backlash at work because of a leak, which I'm sure you're aware of. I'll keep it brief: Tell me the name of the person who leaked our project to you, and I'll be on my way."
Stephen scoffed, a hint of a wry smile on his lips. "And how do you know she wasn't the one who leaked it to me? She is my daughter, after all."
I held his mocking gaze. "Because she was with me at the time of the leak. Having sex."
An audible gulp came from him. He opened his mouth as if to say something, looking very red in the face, almost apoplectic, before shutting it.
A very sick rush of satisfaction spread through me. Something told me Stephen was not an easy man to surprise. I mirrored his form, leaning back against the chair and keeping my gaze on him.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, seeming to recover before puffing out a breathy chuckle that was far from humorous.
"You've got balls. I'll give you that." He nodded. "Tell me something, does my daughter know you're here?"
"No. And I'd like to keep it that way."
If Felicity found out that I'd come to see her father, she would probably shit hot bricks. But after our conversation two nights ago, I needed to do something. Anything to convince her that I loved her. Anything to make her trust me.
As she said, word of mouth would not be enough to clear her name. Jeff needed more proof, and only the name of the person who'd leaked the game would be enough.
