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He chuckled. “I’m supposed to be protecting you, remember? Isn’t that what you just said? Besides… you handled your business in there. I’m proud of you.”
I bit down on my lip as heat rushed to my cheeks. “Seriously?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “I see you worked up a little sweat, with your headband, and your ponytail,” he laughed, reaching behind me to flip my hair, which only made me blush harder. “You looked cute.”
My eyes went wide. “Cute?”
“I didn’t stutter,” he said, crossing his arms over his broad chest, putting those powerful biceps of his on full display. “You showering here, or at ho—at my place?”
“Um… I think I’ll wait until we make it to your place. Maybe I can actually settle in afterward, and get some work done. I have to, before my whole business falls to pieces.”
Wick frowned. “It’s not that bad, is it?”
I scoffed. “Yeah, it only seems that way because Chloe is on the case. She’s managed to keep the attack out of the press, which is helping a lot, but I had to admit fault on sending out a bad batch of product to our core group of influencers, which is just… bad business. Luckily, I’d listened to Chloe and hadn’t issued any nasty responses when the accusations first happened. At the very least, we were able to put out a gracious statement.”
“So you’re good then, right? If Chloe is handling the PR, what is there that’s more important than you taking a few days to get some peace?” he asked, and I shook my head.
“Everything else it takes to keep my business running smoothly, since apparently I can’t count on the people Ihiredfor that purpose.” I took a deep breath after I answered that question, knowing that getting myself worked up didn’t help anything. But I was annoyed –supremelyannoyed – about the problems that had been going on right underneath my nose.
Problems that were exacerbated by Kim’s sudden, unexplained absence.
It was too much of a “coincidence” for me to believe that the inability for anyone to get in touch with her was completely unrelated to my attack and the attempted break-in at my office, but I wasn’t as quick as everyone else seemed to be to jump on the “she had something to do with this” bandwagon. In fact, I was more than a little bit worried about her.
Kim had been with me for years and years – since before the cash infusion that had really takenVivid Vixenover the top. While the details of that – among other things – had been kept private, Kim knew more about my company than anyone else, and haddonemore, money aside, than anyone else. Yes, I was pissed about the oversight that got us to this place, but I wasn’t ready to throw her away. Not withoutproof.
Something that was sorely lacking in way too many categories of my life.
“We’ll figure out what’s going on,” Wick assured, putting a hand on my shoulder just long enough to squeeze before he let it go. I had to immediately cross my arms to hide my beaded nipples – a reaction that had happened instantly when he made contact with those big ass hands.
But… I wasn’t supposed to be thinking about him like that.
Self-imposed when I thought he had a girlfriend or not, I planned to keep the vow I’d made myself about keeping my lust to a minimum. Although I understood where he was coming from, and forgave him without reservation, Wick’s attitude with me that day inTechwas a red flag I had no plans to ignore. The very last thing I needed or wanted was for a man to have me out here looking stupid.
Neveragain.
“You want to let your girls know we’re heading out?” he asked, oblivious to what was going on in my head. But now that my mind had gone there, I couldn’t let it go. Even after I’d said my goodbyes to my friends and climbed in the passenger seat of the sleek Tesla Model X that Wick pulled to the private exit of the gym, I was still turning it over.
“So you’re really just… good now?” I asked, interrupting his boring dialog about the security protocol he needed me to start following.
He pulled to a stop at the next light, and raised an eyebrow at me. “Meaning?”
“Meaning…you werereallypissed at me about the police arresting you, and now you’re just… letting me stay at your house. What changed?”
“The situation,” he said simply, as we started moving again. “For what… two days? I was pissed ateverythingrelated to that whole ordeal. Once I talked to Renata, found out the other things that were happening, it made me step back and look at it differently. So I agreed to help you – before you were attacked, and we talked in the hospital – because everything else aside, I still saw you as a friend in need. I’m sure you’ve been mad at a friend longer, over less.”
I smiled out the window. “Yeah, I definitely have. And I was meaner than you too, but that doesn’t make it sting any less. You hurt my feelings.”
“And I’m sorry for that, truly. I have a question though – have you considered howIfelt?”
“Of course I have,” I said, turning back to him. “I would’ve been pissed about getting arrested too.”
He shook his head. “Nah, I’m talking aboutbeforethat. I’m talking about how you dropped me like a New Year’s resolution after I warned you that you were getting hacked. Now, I understood not hearing from you that particular night, because I know you had to be freaked out. But it wasn’t until I realized it wasyousitting in Renata’s office, playing with that cross necklace, that it dawned on me – you thoughtIhad something to do with that shit. How else would you have ended up in my tech store, after I gave you agreatrecommendation to someone else?”
“Inmycity,” I defended. “We were supposed to be anonymous – why the hell wouldn’t I find it suspicious that you knew where I lived?”
“Because I’djusttold you that whatever virus was on your computer was trying to use the connection to get access to me. I could see where the attempt originated from.”
I sucked my teeth. “But I didn’t know all that!”
