Page 22 of Tempt My Heart

ChapterTwelve

Tugging at the hem of her dress uncomfortably, Ali stood and made her way to her boss' office after receiving his message asking for her.

She never should have let Jesse talk her into this dress. It was black, tight, and fell to mid-thigh. The only saving grace was that it was a high-turtle-neck style on the top, with full sleeves that at least made it feel a little less exposed. Her skinny-heeled boots had been a bitch to walk to the office in, but she had to admit she did look good. Really good.

There was another man in Christopher's office when she walked in, and the greeting on her boss' mouth cut off in a choked sound as he looked at her.

There was a tense moment of silence where the man at Christopher's side looked between them, a small smirk playing on his full lips.

"You called?" she said, clearing her throat to get rid of the breathy quality to her voice.

"I—yes," Christopher said, his eyes still intent on her as they dropped to her legs and jerked back up again quickly. "This is the friend I was telling you about. Denver, this is Alison."

"A pleasure, I'm sure," the man, Denver, said and Christopher shot him a look that would have made lesser men cower, but Denver's smirk only deepened. It was strange really, he was shockingly handsome and yet Ali couldn’t say she felt any particular attraction towards him. Unlike Christopher, who had classic good looks and could have been a James Bond hopeful if the character wasn't such a misogynistic ass, Denver looked like a model. Sharp. Striking. He was all cheekbones and keen eyes.

"Denver runs a software company. They have an app coming out later this year."

She nodded slightly as she approached the desk where Denver was making himself at home. "And you’re going to…?"

Denver raised a nearly translucent eyebrow as he shot Christopher a look. "Hack into his accounts remotely, with your help. I might also be able to follow his internet footprint to let us know where he’s holed up. Christopher already checked his place out a few days ago after he saw him bothering you and found nobody there—but he could have just missed him I guess."

Brickham her ass.Thatwas where he’d gone the day he’d taken off early? Why? To warn Jared away from her after Christopher had seen him grab her? She shot him a look and he shrugged, unrepentant.

"How long will it take?"

"Depends on his security," he muttered, typing away on a brick of a laptop while Christopher seemed to be doing everything he could to avoid looking at her.

She glanced at Denver before moving away from him to approach Christopher by the window that overlooked the city. "I'm sorry. About the dress. My roommates talked me into it, they said I needed to look the part if I was supposed to be seducing you."

He finally turned away from the view to look down at her, wetting his lips as he considered her words. "No, it makes sense."

Did his voice sound a little hoarse?

She opened her mouth but he beat her to it, talking again before she could get another word out.

"Have dinner with me tomorrow."

She raised an eyebrow. "Dinner?"

"It's the third meal of the day."

A low laugh surprised her and she fought the twitching of her lips. "Don't you think it's too soon for me to have won you over?"

Christopher bent lower so his mouth was next to her ear, the tickle of his breath on her skin making her nerves thrum with anticipation. "Nobody who has seen you in that dress today would be surprised that you’d won me over so quickly. So. Dinner tomorrow. Seven?"

Her knees felt a little wobbly as she replayed the low rumble of his voice in her ear before she shook herself and nodded. "Sure. Seven's good."

"Alison," Denver called over to them, "I need some information about Jared."

"Sure," she said, walking back over to him. "Whatever you need."

He peppered her with questions about Jared's hobbies, his pets, his parents, his birthday and interests, and Ali began to realize it was the exact information you might need to answer someone's security questions.

After about an hour or so Denver blew out a long breath. "Fuck."

"What is it?" A muscle ticked in Christopher's jaw and Ali found herself staring at it for longer than was rational.

"He has an authenticator installed. I can duplicate his access key but it’s going to take some time.”

---