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“Just…put something on the calendar.”
She nods, sobering as she realizes I’m serious. “Sure thing.”
After she ducks out, I turn back to Ellie. “How did you find out about all of this?”
“S and H keeps records of applications and interviews, as well as salary data.”
My eyes widen. “You hacked into the HR databases?”
“Me? A hacker?” Ellie scoffs. “Now, my friend Gregory in college? That guy could hack his way into the NSA. I’m lucky if I can remember my bank card pin.”
“So how do you know about the hiring data?”
She shrugs. “I made a few friends in a few strategic places.”
I glance at my watch. “In the five hours you’ve been here?”
“This isn’t amateur night, Jack,” she says, sitting up straighter. “It’s my job as a journalist to suss out the facts, and in case you and my brother—and my father, since we’re naming names—haven’t noticed, I’m good at it.”
“I don’t doubt your ability to get the scoop,” I assure her as I rise from my chair to head out for my meeting.
“Then what’s the issue?” She stands, too, folding her arms and cocking out a hip, proving my point.
She’s intelligent, passionate, and completely capable.
But she’snota dude.
“Your cover is the issue,” I say. “This assignment is going to take more digging than either of us anticipated. You’ll be in this office every day for weeks—maybe longer. And each day is another opportunity for someone to figure out Eric isn’t what he seems to be. If that happens, we’re both screwed. And let’s not even talk about what Ryan would do.”
“I don’t like keeping him in the dark any more than you do,” Ellie says softly, placing a hand on my forearm. “But he’s not here. We need to move on this. And I need to stay undercover.”
“That’s why we need to strategize. Maybe over dinner tonight?”
“I have a date tonight. But Saturday and Sunday are open.”
“A date?” Jealousy flares inside my chest. It can’t be a guy from the office—at least not one who knows her as Eric. Did someone on my staff ask her out last week, when she was still wearing skirts and earrings and that sweet, all-too-innocent smile? “Anyone I know?”
Please don’t be Rictor. Please don’t be Rictor…
“I’m not sure this conversation is workplace appropriate.” Ellie smiles, lighting me up from the inside, despite the raging Jealousy Beast clawing through my gut. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”
“So, you’re free tomorrow morning, ten o’clock?”
Ellie narrows her eyes. “What are you plotting, Holt?”
“That’sProfessorHolt to you. Welcome to Dude 101,” I say with a smile, finally regaining some of the control I’ve lost in the last day. Agreeing to her methods may have been a mistake, but I’m not going back on my word. We’re partners in crime now, and I need to make damned sure she’s got what it takes to pass as a man.
Not just once in a while, but every second she’s posing as a card-carrying, dick-swinging member of S&H Investments.
“Class begins at ten a.m. at your place,” I continue, enjoying having the upper hand. “I expect you to be prepared with your dude talk, your dude walk, and a boundless appetite for knowledge of the Y-chromosomal nature.Intimateknowledge.”
Ellie’s looking at me like I’m nuts, but she hasn’t said no. And while there’s a small voice inside me insisting that this Dude 101 bullshit is just an excuse to spend time with her outside of work, the fact remains that I can’t let her go off half-cocked—rather,no-cocked—while I sit back and watch this blow up in our faces. There’s too much at stake to leave it up to her good intentions and a questionable tube of mustache glue.
So while she’s sifting through my company’s dirty laundry, I’ll be doing everything in my power to keep the swish out of her step, the sparkle out of her eyes, and thathighlyunmanly, fantasy-inducing pout off her pretty face. With any luck, we’ll fix whatever’s going on at S&H, she’ll get a killer story, and I’ll nip this ridiculous crush in the bud before I do something we’llbothregret.
“Oh, and Miss Seyfried?” I open the door, gesturing for her to exit in front of me, flashing her a wolfish grin as she brushes past. “Insubordination willnotbe tolerated.”
CHAPTER 6
