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He nodded and exhaled. “Yeah, probably.”
CHAPTERSIXTEEN
When Joey walkedinto work on Monday morning, Will was already at the security desk. He gave her an imperceptible head nod as she met his eyes. Then he was looking elsewhere, nodding to something the other guard said.
When she got off on the fourth floor, she tried to hide her surprise at Tank’s presence in the cubicle next to hers. Unlike her own first day, he already had a computer and an ID badge.
“Good morning. I’m Travis,” he said. “From the internal audit team. Don’t mind me at all. I’m just observing.” She could tell Tank was trying to put on a friendly demeanor, but he was still gruff and intimidating.
Joey tried to stifle a laugh. “Nice to meet you, Travis. I’m Joey.”
She knew that Tank couldn’t tell anyone what an auditor did, but she felt so much better knowing that he was sitting next to her.
With Ryder downstairs monitoring the cameras and Tank sitting nearby, she felt as safe as she had during the weekend—first at Cole’s house and then behind the technologically fortified walls of Black Tower.
The memory of staying with Cole made her heart flutter. Cole had been a perfect gentleman as they worked on the false documents from her office. Somewhat to Joey’s dismay, actually. She’d been hoping for a repeat performance of the kiss that had rocked her to her core. But Cole had apparently shifted back into business-mode. It was fine. She knew it was better that way. But she couldn’t help but get distracted by the way the stubble on his chin had grown by Sunday afternoon, replacing his clean-cut workaholic billionaire vibe with a slightly disheveled version she wanted to lay on the beach with.
Which was a foolish fantasy, she knew. Cole Kensington didn’t lay on the beach. He didn’t even take vacations, despite the house in Florida waiting for him whenever he could want it.
She settled in at her desk and tucked the flash drive with the false documents into her sleeve. “I’m going to do a quick monitoring review on the server room,” she announced to Ben, with a glance to Tank.
He stood. “Uh, Joey. I think that’s something I’d like to observe. For the audit.” He cleared his throat.
“Is that really necessary?” Ben looked up from his computer after he spoke, and his eyes widened as he took in Tank’s size.
Tank crossed his arms. “I’m the auditor, right?”
Ben nodded, shrinking back into his chair. “Uh, yes, sir. Enjoy your audit.”
“Let’s go then. Server room is this way.”
She held back her laughter until the server room door was closed behind them. She used Tank as a support as she doubled over in laughter. “Oh man. His face. It never gets old.”
Tank chuckled, though there was no smile behind it. “He seems like a real winner,” he said.
Joey finished laughing. “Yeah. He’s too caught up in his own stuff to worry about anyone else. He’s already forgotten we’re in here.”
She grabbed the flash drive and quickly uploaded the false reports. They’d be distributed through the same automated systems as any normal results. Except this set was specially created to make it look like the drug had even better results than predicted. Joey was hoping that whoever was altering tests wouldn’t be able to resist trying to mess with these ones.
“How’s your house coming along?” she asked Tank to fill the silence.
He shrugged. “Not bad. Still more painting to do. But it’s coming along.”
Joey smirked. He’d shown her pictures of the paint colors in the house he purchased. Apparently, the previous owners had teenage daughters and let them choose their own colors. It resulted in a lime-green bedroom with zebra print painted on one wall and another room that was hot pink and orange. The rest of the house wasn’t much better, with dark-maroon walls and floral wallpaper in every bathroom.
She shook her head. “I know you got a good deal on the place, but I don’t know how you haven’t just hired someone by now.” It had been six months.
“I don’t want anyone in my house,” he growled. “It’s bad enough that I let you talk me into a housekeeper.”
Joey laughed. “I’ve seen your locker at work. Trust me, she’s worth the money. How’s the new girl working out? What was her name again?”
Tank shrugged. “Katie? Something like that.”
Joey remembered the background check she ran. “That’s right. Kaylie. Kaylie Richards.”
“Sure. That sounds right. I pretty much never see her. But I come home on Tuesdays and the house is clean, so that works for me.”
Joey rolled her eyes. “That sounds nice. I wish I could afford someone. My apartment is a wreck.” Not to mention that every spare dollar from her paycheck was already accounted for. She was still literally paying the price for some poor choices and innocent people she’d hurt before Flint found her.
