AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Laura did as instructed and he nodded. “Good. Okay. There’s nothing to worry about right now, okay? Why don’t you take the rest of the day off?” He was hoping that a few hours to let it sink in would help her composure.
She nodded. “I just can’t believe it. Who would do such a thing?”
He stared blankly at the presentation still displaying on the large television across the room as Laura’s words needled him. That was the very same question that plagued him at every turn.
* * *
Frustrated at Cole’s assumption that he was invited, Joey considered not going to BTS headquarters after work at Zia. In the end, the allure of the equipment and her cave won out. If she needed to, she could just have Tank escort him out.
When he’d called her in the middle of the day, it had sent her day into a bit of a tailspin. Patrick had chosen that inconvenient moment to lean on the edge of her cubicle door. He must have eagle eyes because he’d spotted Kensington’s name on her phone from across the space. Hopefully, her quick recovery had doused any suspicions.
Patrick didn’t look especially impressed that the CEO was calling to check in on her first week. Perhaps it seemed a bit out of character. From what Joey had been able to gather, Kensington was all business, all the time. Most of her coworkers seemed equally intimidated and impressed by him. Only Patrick seemed unaffected. Was that simply because he worked more closely with the CEO? Or was it scorn or disrespect hidden by an overly casual demeanor?
Throughout the day, Joey created a list of things she needed to do once she was back at BTS. The system was simply too locked down at Zia for her to do things, like dig into the lives of people she came into contact with or decipher the maze of data she’d pulled off the server. And she still had to figure out who Cole was paying through the trust.
For that, she needed her arsenal of computers behind the secure network that would conceal her tracks. Which meant, once again, she was pulling into the parking lot of BTS long after most of the team had gone home. Not that business hours were much of a concept here. Depending on the job, it wasn’t uncommon to work nights, weekends, or even a week straight traveling across the desert.
After skipping lunch to avoid passing the security office more than necessary lest she see her friend with the vise grips for hands, she’d been smart enough to grab herself dinner on the way. Unwrapping her sandwich, she settled into her computer gaming chair. She flipped on the built-in massage feature for good measure and sighed with relief, resting the sandwich on her lap as she shut her eyes for a moment. Maybe she should just start sleeping here.
“You look comfortable.”
The voice made her jolt, and the sandwich toppled from her knees. She grabbed for it, fumbling for a grip on the paper. The sandwich landed with a splat on the floor below her feet. Joey stared at it for a moment, considering whether crying over a sandwich was reasonable.
She turned to glare at the interruption. “How did you even get in here?”
Cole shrugged and stepped inside, not waiting for an invitation. “Sorry to scare you. And about your sandwich.”
She eyed him balefully.
He held up a paper bag. “Good thing I brought dinner.” He began to unpack the contents onto the corner of her desk.
She sniffed, and her mouth started to water at the scent of garlic. “Is that…”
“Napoli’s,” he confirmed.
She stared at the scattered remains of her drive-thru deli sandwich. “Sorry. You’ve been replaced.”
She looked up to find Cole watching her with amusement.
“Were you just talking to the sandwich?”
“Just hand me a breadstick, big shot.”
He quirked an eyebrow at her, but mercifully, a breadstick appeared in front of her. She snatched it from him and took a glorious bite. Closing her eyes, she let everything disappear except salt and garlic and butter and carbs.
The sound of Cole clearing his throat interrupted her momentary bliss. Jerk.
“Sorry,” she said, embarrassed. “I didn’t get a chance to eat lunch today.”
He frowned. “Why not? Is Patrick overworking you?”
She shook her head. “No, nothing like that. It was my choice.”
He pushed a container of food toward her. “You need to take care of yourself.” Then he grabbed napkins and bent over to clean the mess off the floor. Her heart lurched at the sight of the billionaire CEO wiping lettuce and mayo off her chair mat.
“I’m fine. But thanks for this. I love Napoli’s.” The hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant was a well-kept secret in Old Town Alexandria. She was surprised Kensington knew about it. “I would have pegged you as more of a Chez Celesti kind of guy.” She looked up from her takeout just in time to see him shovel a fork loaded with noodles into his mouth.
His sheepish smile made her laugh as he grabbed a napkin and covered his mouth while he chewed. “Chez Celesti is fine. A little snooty if you ask me. Their sommelier is seriously the most pretentious guy. Plus, fifty bucks for a piece of lasagna? Come on. I’ll take Nonna Ada’s red sauce over a cloth napkin any day.”
