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What’s wrong with you, Hailey? Stop acting like a silly teenager and pull yourself together.
“Yes, Mr. Payne,” I reply and hurry forward, but I hit my shoe against the chair and wince. As if that isn’t bad enough, my notepad falls from my slightly shaky hand. By the time I pick it up and look at him, I can read the impatience in his demeanor.
“We’ll be working closely together for the next few months, so I think we should be on a first-name basis,” he utters as he puts away a copy of the New York Times on his gleaming table.
I can’t argue with that, even though calling him Gareth makes me want to blush because I remember screaming his name in my dream. However, I put on a professional front.
“I jotted some things last night while pondering the approach and…” I trail off as my eyes enlarge in disbelief when I try to scribble on my notepad—the pen isn’t working. I glare at it, shake it a little and try to write again, all to no avail. I groan inwardly with frustration. How is this possible? I got a new one yesterday. What do pens have against me?
Oh, lord, it will be a miracle if he doesn’t fire me right now. I’m ready to fall on my knees to beg him not to fire me. Heck, I’ll even tell him why I need the job so badly.
My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, and we haven’t paid all the bills for her treatment yet. Melissa gained admission into Yale, and despite the hefty scholarships, it still cost me all my savings to make up the difference. I don’t want her doing odd jobs or asking for money from Mom, who is living on a teacher’s salary. I also don’t want her to take out loans that would take forever to pay off. She should focus on her studies, graduate with remarkable grades, and get a good job.
With a small sigh, Mr. Payne—Gareth—pulls out a drawer in his desk and brings out a golden ballpoint pen. Smiling gratefully but shyly at him, I reach for it. Our fingers brush as I take it, and the effect is like a shock of electricity. Is it my imagination, or did his eyes widen a little? Had he felt it, too?
“Continue,” he orders into the tense silence between us.
Drawing strength from my knowledge of the job, I suppress the sputters in my body and tell him about my idea. As I discuss the project with him and he responds accordingly, I see the irritation leave his eyes, even though he remains formal. Fortunately, others involved in the assignment join us, and I don’t feel as tense anymore.
When I head back to my office with the software developer, I’m happy with my conduct at the meeting. I believe I’ll enjoy working with Gareth and his company.
CHAPTER4
GARETH
Surreptitiously observing Hailey as she speaks with authority to the representatives of the voting equipment manufacturer, all I see is a gorgeous and sexy woman who knows her job. I try my best to see her as my very young employee, but when she smiles at the man seated next to her, my body tightens. She doesn’t smile at me like that. Instead, she’s always bumping into tables and chairs, dropping things, and blushing. I can’t deny the lust she stirs in me. Only my ironclad control keeps me from dragging her into my arms and satiating my lust.
That would be crazy. Even if she weren’t my employee and way younger than me, we are opposites. I’ve never seen a clumsier and more disorganized person. I pride myself as someone who loves an impeccable workplace, but that isn’t the case with Hailey. The more immersed she is in her work, the untidier she becomes. And certain etiquettes don’t seem to matter to her. A little while ago, she’d used the wrong spoon for her soup. When Susan subtly corrected her, she’d joked that as long as the dessert spoon she was using served the same purpose, she didn’t see what the fuss was all about. Shockingly, or probably because of her beauty and brains, our dinner guests had laughed over it.
“We’ll identify the vulnerabilities the system could face from hackers and cybercriminals. I’m designing an encryption that is very difficult to breach and will alert us if there’s a single sign of foul play. We’ll monitor and inspect the entire process in real-time before, during, and after the election. It will be designed to prevent access of unauthorized users as well as detect potential threats with a trigger and encryption.”
The men at the table nod, and I wonder if it’s from picking Hailey’s brain all evening or watching how her eyes light up as she’s talking. I decide I must take control of the conversation, or we’ll be here all night.
“Hailey and the rest of my team will do our best to see to the security of the votes.”
Is it my imagination, or are the three men reluctantly shifting their focus to me? One of them glances at Hailey as she’s taking a sip from her glass of wine, and I hastily stop the frown creasing my forehead.
“We’ve heard cases of some machines being outdated. They don’t offer options for cyber security because of backdated software. Can we know more about your machines?” I question the representative from the company.
“We use direct recording electronic machines. We use paper ballots for verification and comparison in case of any discrepancies or breaches in the system, which we hope won’t be the case given your security software.” He sends an admiring glance at Hailey before carrying on. “Our machines are state of the art.”
“Physical security for the machines is also required,” I continue. “We can protect the voting software. But when the machines are physically tampered with, which is possible through inserting external devices containing malware or a pre-loaded program to influence the results, it’s a different ballgame.”
I nod to Hailey to go on, not wanting to steal her shine. She smiles with a nod and carries on from where I stopped.
“The election officials must also be careful and security conscious about their personal devices and information. Through phishing, hackers could easily get their access credentials. And finally, the government is responsible for reassuring the electorate that the votes are secure and will count despite the messages they receive through the media and their emails, and to entice them to go out and cast their vote.”
The oldest of the men nods with approval.
Satisfied with their responses, I direct the conversation to other things, and half an hour later, we’re done with the meeting. I shake hands with the men and squelch the urge to grit my teeth when one of them holds on to Hailey’s hand far longer than he should and showers her with praises before leaving with the others. Her smile is dazzling.
Do you expect her to frown?She’s a beautiful and intelligent woman. I grudgingly accept the voice of reasoning in my head.
Even though the meeting is over, I figure we might as well have dessert. I go back to my seat while Susan asks for permission to leave to attend to an emergency at home. A slight frown crosses my face as I’m left with Hailey at the table. I’m undecided whether I want her to stay or to go.
“Pardon me, sir… er… Gareth, would you mind if I let my hair down? I’m beginning to develop a headache from this tight bun.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her to always allow her hair to shine in all its glory and not confine it, but I merely shrug and pick up the cellphone that I muted during the meeting. I flip through it for messages, but I get distracted when Hailey unties her bun and shakes her luxurious waves as if she’s advertising a hair product. As the mass bounces and falls across her shoulders, all I can think of is seeing it spread across my pillow while I gaze into her eyes and fuck her.
