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She was staring at him innocently, querying how long it would take.
Draco nodded quickly. For a moment there he thought she could read his mind. “I’m not too impressed with the security, but I already knew it wasn’t great.” He winked at her, aiming for a joke.
Shadows of insecurity lurked at the back of her eyes.
She gave a fake smile, but he knew she was uncertain.
“Look, this database isn’t the challenge,” he offered, in an effort to reassure her, “but we need to plan our cover work carefully to make sure it pans out and fills the time appropriately.”
She nodded, brightening.
“For today and tomorrow I suggest we just familiarize ourselves with what’s there, and I’ll make a list of what we need to do.”
“Sounds good.”
“If I decide to code a new database, it could work well. When we’re inputting the individual data, it’ll also be a chance to scan each employee’s computer use for anything obviously out of the ordinary.”
She looked relieved, as if having a plan settled her doubts. “Can we send my dad updates at the end of each day, just so he knows we’ve got our heads down and doesn’t bother us?”
Draco quelled his instinctive reaction. “Sure, once we get stuck in.”
She wanted to impress her dad. No big deal, he didn’t blame her for that. But she wanted to impress him on all levels. How would Compton Senior react when he knew his daughter had gone behind his back? Lara seemed to think he’d be so dazzled by her efforts and the ability to outdo her brothers, he wouldn’t think about how she’d gone about it. If her father found out her college buddy was more than he seemed, she’d most likely be cast out for good.
The possibility shouldn’t have bothered him, but it did. She was a nice girl, he didn’t want her to end up in trouble. She’d set this up though, which meant—whatever happened—it was trouble she’d brought on herself. And it was her father who’d suffer when his software systems were hacked and viruses ran wild.
If Lara wasn’t implicated, she’d be safe from retribution.
The task was to find out what he needed to know then do it from afar, after both he and Lara had gone, and without leaving a trail. Especially not to Lara.
Draco stared at the screen in front of him trying to figure it out.
With a quick side glance, he looked at her again. She noticed, and smiled, glancing at him from under her long eyelashes. Sweet girl, hot and strangely innocent of her own appeal at the same time. The instinct for self preservation warned him to watch his own back. However, he knew if he walked away and left her in deep shit, it would haunt him forever. He’d just have to make sure it didn’t happen.
Now they were here, integrated into the Compton business, it was obvious just how complicated this project was going to be. What had appeared to be a straight forward to begin with—design a database while enabling Lara to expose the source of the in house fraud, waving goodbye while setting a little revenge loose in the system—suddenly seemed fraught with complications, traps and potholes. Why?
Because he liked her and he wanted her.
If he didn’t, there wouldn’t be an issue.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Lara sighed with relief when they left the building at the end of the first day. It’d been exhilarating to begin with, walking in with danger in tow. That’s how she secretly thought of Draco. Dangerous. And he was. Just as well she was in charge.
“Day one, done,” she commented as they stepped out onto the busy London pavement.
“We were pretty much ignored.” Draco glanced at her as they walked side by side to the tube station.
Was he bored? “No, no, we weren’t.”
“What were you expecting?”
“I’m just glad it went smoothly. Like you said, we’ll be part of the furniture by day two. They won’t notice what we’re up to.”
“You liked the idea of the risk though, didn’t you?”
Startled, she stared at him unable to think of a response.
He smiled. “Don’t fret, the level of risk is set to get even higher, soon...”
