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“We’re not waiting for you outside, regardless of what you say,” Flynn warned.
“No, okay? It’s as dangerous as walking into any building is. It’s more dangerous to drive over the speed limit. Which you’ll be doing if you don’t get this car moving in zero point five seconds flat.”
She sighed and added, “It’s not your job to protect me, Ry.”
She was dead wrong there.
Eighteen
Zali
R
y pulled up at the front entrance of the address I’d given him and into the loading zone usually used by couriers. The building was shrouded in scaffolding, the sandstone undergoing repair work and the interior getting a major overhaul too. The only thing untouched was the server room, the place where I needed to be.
Undetected.
My heart was beating at a frenetic pace, and I was sweating up a storm in my leather pants. They were hot, literally and figuratively. But I was hoping that they worked to my advantage. As a general rule, construction workers were happier to see a woman in a suit than a man—men usually meant supervisors coming to check on them—especially if said woman looked fuckable. And I looked fuckable.
I pulled myself back into the moment, slowing my breathing and checking out where we were parked. The busy street wasn’t ideal, but at least the construction workers surrounding the place were all entering and exiting along the back. Staff, on the other hand, would enter in the front doors where security was usually set up.
Not that there was any. Would you believe that they disengaged all the building’s security systems when the builders were on site? The building’s HVAC system was turned off and its fire prevention system was suspended. It made sense with all the dust, but they should have moved the server room out while the renovations were taking place. It was actually hilarious how little thought had been put into what would happen if there was a physical attack on the building. Their incompetence was my good luck.
Right, I could do this. Pulling my shoulders back, straightening my spine, and forcing the fear down, I stepped out of the car.
Pausing, I blew out a breath and made sure I was steady on my feet. My Manolos were high even for me, but they were a necessary part of my uniform. Lifting my chin, I didn’t bother checking to see whether Ry and Flynn were following. I had no doubt they’d be hot on my tail, but this boss lady wasn’t waiting for them.
After all, I had an emergency with the servers I needed to deal with.
I marched through the front doors like I owned the place. I did have a high rise or two in my portfolio, so who knew, I might. Looking around, I assessed the lobby as I would if it were my own project. High ceilings and open windows would let the light in. There were two separate entrances into the heart of the building, delineating the public and more private areas. I nodded appreciatively and picked my way between toolboxes, stacks of gyprock, and buckets of glue over to the bank of elevators.
I really hoped I could pull this off. If Ryder, or more likely Flynn, gave off any kind of vibe that alerted the sole security guard wandering the site to the fact that I lacked credentials, I’d never get the information I wanted. I’d also likely get arrested.
The dude in a set of coveralls open to his chest with a thatch of hair peeking through frightened the shit out of me. I jumped, stumbling on a piece of plastic strapping. He whirled around, removing his earbud. It explained why he hadn’t heard the click of my heels before.
Shooting him a seductive smile and taking my time to look him up and down, I stepped over to the lifts and pressed the button to summon the carriage. I resisted the urge to check my hair or adjust my shirt. Act confident, be confident.
“You right there, li’l darlin’? Access is restricted to this building.”
“Yes, thank you. I head up IT. We got an alert on the server room, so I’m training my staff—” I gestured over my shoulder to Flynn and Ryder who were striding after me. “—how to check that the cooling system is still working optimally.”
“No worries. Go on up. I’ll call the foreman if you want.”
“No need.” I licked my lips slowly, my tongue running over the blood-red lipstick I’d applied. “But write down your number for me so I can grab it on the way out.”
“Abso-fuckin-lutely.”
His grin lit up the room, and I touched my chest, then squeezed my elbows together, before biting down on my lip. Flynn tensed, and Ryder shot him a glare, but neither dimmed the man’s happy.
The doors opened, and Flynn held them while Ry waited for me to make a move.
I looked the tradie up and down again before playing with my imaginary necklace, opening the collar of my shirt a little more. “We’ll be back in about twenty minutes.”
“See you then, darlin’.”
The lift doors closed behind us, and they rounded on me the minute they did. Eyes hard, Ryder snarled at me. I rolled my eyes, laughing at him. So growly.
I smoothed Flynn’s frown with my thumb and dropped a kiss on the corner of his lips, my tongue sneaking out and teasing at the seam. “I’ll make it up to you later,” I assured him. I patted Ry’s chest and added, “Relax. Purely fake it until you make it.”
