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Joe didn’t mind that, he thought as he watched her work on the side-monitor. It would let her figure out her own way of handling things, which he thought was always best for administrators, and it would let him see how she handled such independent work. The more of it she was able to take over entirely, he figured, the more time he could spend in the field—just the way he wanted it.
But as the minutes passed and Joe glanced over to the screen periodically, he paused, noting some unusual activity. One of his old case files was open on her screen, and she seemed to be reading over the contents.
I thought I encrypted that file…
> Turning his full attention to the monitor, he watched her finish perusing the documents and close it and sort it away into the filing system she was apparently developing. He started to dismiss the peculiarity and look away when he noticed her drag out another encrypted file. His eyes widened as he realized what she was doing after a moment of strange activity on her end.
My God, she’s decrypting the files…and quickly.
In a matter of minutes, Joe had watched his new secretary crack his own security codes in half and start reading over the contents.
Who the hell did I just hire? He was starting to become truly concerned. What else had she seen? What was she doing with all that information? His face paled at the thought of what he’d have to do if she started poking her nose too far down his various rabbit holes.
Had he been too sloppy in hiring Rose? Had his instincts betrayed him for once? Maybe he was just acting on his lust after all, hiring her for those gorgeous looks that made him want to pull up the security camera on the front office as well. He let out a quiet sigh as he reached for his pistol, laying a hand on it and holding it there for a long time as he considered how to approach this security breach.
Then he found himself surprised for the second time that day.
As he watched Rose hack through his encryption as though they were child’s play, he started to notice what, exactly, she was doing with all the information on the files.
She wasn’t randomly picking out files and reading them. Each time Rose would crack into a file and read the case information in it, the next file she would pick out had something to do with the investigation Joe had conducted. First she’d crack into the email logs between him and a client, and her next move would be to the leads he followed, going so far as to browse the personal notes he had made. She’d peruse each one, and there would be a brief pause before she moved to the next step he had made in the case.
She was following Joe’s every step, yet there was no indication that the files were correlated in the information she was pulling up—she was connecting the dots on her own. And after she’d essentially re-solved one of his past cases, she would sort the files from the same cases into the same folders.
Joe nearly laughed aloud as he realized what was happening.
She’s hacking through my codes and reading incredibly valuable information… all just to sort them by case file. She isn’t even downloading them.
Joe hadn’t hired a rival spy; he’d hired someone who could be a world-class security analyst as a personal secretary.
Joe put his gun away, folding his hands behind his head and wondering what he was to make of this remarkable woman.
What an agile mind she has, he mused. It seems that I’ve made the terrible mistake of underestimating her.
A smile spread across his face as he reflected on her. In all his years, he had never encountered someone who was so easily able to follow his own thoughts in investigations—not even his former… associates. To meet someone who was able to keep pace with him was, well, refreshing.
In a very exciting way.
It didn’t take much dwelling on that for his thoughts to drift to her body. He’d never seen a person whose looks had that effect on him, either. That full, curvy body was exactly his type. And that strawberry-blonde hair…the thought of having a handful of that in his grasp while feeling up those curves didn’t sound bad at all.
And her scent…
Stop it. What you’re fantasizing about is grounds for a sexual harassment suit, he thought with a shake of his head.
Seeing where Rose’s current path of files was taking her, Joe opened the file he predicted she’d be cracking into next. In it, above everything else in the file, he wrote a short message:
You’re more talented than I thought, Rose.
He re-sealed the file and smiled, waiting for her to reach it. As she started to crack into the file, he stood up and strode towards the door, sliding it open just in time to see Rose’s face blanching at the sight of the note he left her.
“Oh!” she gasped, turning around. “Joe, I-I’m not snooping, I was just—”
“I’ll see you in the morning, Rose,” he said cheerfully. As he headed out the door, he turned to add, “I believe I’m rather glad to have you here. More so than I thought I would be.”
With a wink, he disappeared out the doorway, leaving Rose dumbfounded at her desk.
Chapter Three
It had been three weeks since Rose began working for Sandford Private Investigation and each morning, she found herself looking forward to go to office and to see her boss. Having an extremely hot boss was a nice motivation to go to work every day, she thought with a smile. Because of Joe, she also found herself paying more attention to her appearance than she normally did. It had been years since she had felt this, she had a crush on Joe. Then again, any woman would too if they were in her shoes. Joe was quick with his smile, he always complimented her and her work, and was also very attentive. He listened with genuine interest when Rose bragged about her girls. He was kind of rare … for a single guy.
