Page 19 of Boss Me

That was my dad. Always seeing the best in people. Even me. I was glad he couldn’t see the real reason I didn’t find David attractive. That was my highly inappropriate crush on my unavailable boss.

Who was currently missing.

7

BEN

Cooper wasn’t back on Monday.

Worse, Weston himself called me into his office to ask me for Cooper’s network password. I’d hoped he’d forget about it, but I should’ve known better. Our intense CEO didn’t forget anything.

“I’ll submit an IT ticket today,” I promised.

He frowned. “We have to involve IT? You don’t know it?”

“No.” Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell him. It was hard to get fired at Synergy, but fucking with security? If Cooper found out, I’d be back in the unemployment line.

“Check his desk. Maybe he’s written it down.”

I could’ve cataloged the items on Cooper’s immaculate desk from memory, and there was no way he’d written his password on a sticky note and taped it under his phone like some Boomer. But to get out of Weston’s office, I said, “Sure, I’ll check now.”

I bypassed Cooper’s office and went straight to Marlee’s desk. Glancing over my shoulder to ensure Weston wasn’t watching, I hauled her into a nearby conference room and told her what Weston had asked me to do.

Marlee blinked her big, brown eyes. “You didn’t give him the password, did you?”

“No, I don’t even know it. Do you know Jackson’s?”

“Not anymore. Though I did when he was”—she winced—“going through his less responsible phase. He needed a lot of help back then. I used to set them for him. I always used the titles of my favorite romance books.”

“You—never mind.” Cooper had never asked that of me. Did it mean he didn’t trust me? Or that he could get his own shit done, unlike Jackson? “I guess I’ll ask the IT guys.”

“Don’t.”

It felt good to have Marlee confirm the itchy feeling Weston’s request had wedged under my skin. “I shouldn’t, should I? It’s weird.”

“No one should share passwords. I wouldn’t have done it for Jackson back then if it wasn’t a dire situation. Cooper would put your head on a stake and use it as a visual aid in his next cybersecurity speech.”

“Right.” God, I wished he were there to explain what was going on. Even if he yelled at me for not instantly refusing Weston’s request. “Any luck with your Jackson-tracking techniques?”

“Not yet.” She lowered her voice. “Did you check the phone-tracking app?”

“Yeah, every day, but no pings.”

“He probably turned it off. He built it, you know.”

I winced. “Ah.” I should’ve remembered Cooper was a business genius and a decent programmer. “Now what?”

“Now we move to Phase Two of the plan.”

“Phase Two?”

“Weston knows he’s gone. And if he’s asking you for Cooper’s password, he’s up to something. We need to escalate. Find out what Weston knows.”

I didn’t know Weston all that well. He was gorgeous in a silver-fox kind of way, but the cruel twist to his lush mouth turned me right off. And those sapphire-blue eyes of his were always watching. Creepy. I looked back over my shoulder, but no one hovered outside the conference room’s glass door.

“What do you think he’s up to?”

“No idea, but it can’t be good. Jackson doesn’t trust him.”

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