Page 25 of Suddenly Desired
Because the truth was, work wasn’t the only reason she was heading into town.
Chapter 13
BLAKE
Blake stepped out of the heat into the glorious, air-conditioned interior of the public library. The faint hum of the lights, the smell of the books, the quiet tapping of the librarian’s keyboard — it was like Xanax to Blake’s senses.
No one appeared to be paying him any attention — just a couple of students hunched over laptops, an elderly man thumbing a dog-eared paperback, and a woman stacking shelves. But he kept his head down anyway, his heart racing in case anyone recognised him. He was wearing a white polo shirt and jeans, white Adidas trainers, and a 49ers cap that he’d picked up on the way over. In addition, he’d shaved off his stubble and found a pair of black-rimmed glasses from before he’d had his eyes LASIKed. They made everything wobble like he was underwater, but they completely changed the shape of his face. Even with the disguise he felt like a spy, creeping into a government building to steal secrets and knowing that one wrong move would lead to instant death.
Of course, it wasn’t a life-or-death thing really, not for him anyway. For his company, though, it could well be. David had told him to stay hidden, and after the incident in the bar that seemed like a good idea. But the thought of being imprisoned in a cell — even if that cell was a 4,000-square-foot luxury penthouse — was enough to bring on a panic attack. It was risky being here, but he’d used a driver today, and the car would be waiting right outside in the event he needed to make a quick getaway.
Michelle and the board had locked him out of the Heartbook network completely, so there was nothing he could do from home. Realising he was standing aimlessly in the lobby withmore and more people funnelling past him, Blake set off towards a rotunda where he knew he would be okay to make a call.
A few women were glancing his way, but nobody was scowling at him like they wanted to poke his eyes out with the corner of a hardback. That was something, at least. Like he’d told Ellie, libraries always felt like a sanctuary to him. There was a quiet respect here, a kind of mutual understanding among people who valued ideas and stories.
He couldn’t help thinking about Ellie, and the way her whole face lit up when she talked about books. It wasn’t just a casual interest — shefeltit, the same way he did. That connection had been unexpected and undeniable. For a moment, it had made him forget everything else.
He let out a slow breath, frustration simmering. They’d barely scratched the surface of that conversation before the night had gone to hell. He wished they’d had more time — just a little longer to dig into that shared love of stories, to see where it might lead.
But now, thanks to one angry barmaid and a viral video, any chance of that felt like a long shot.
Blake had no room for distractions now, not with everything that was on the line. Heartbook wasn’t just his legacy — it was the livelihood of thousands of employees, people whose futures depended on the company staying afloat. If it collapsed, it wouldn’t just be his reputation in ruins. It would ripple through countless lives.
However much Ellie lingered in his thoughts, however much she was beginning to mean to him, he couldn’t afford to indulge in what-ifs. He needed to keep his head in the game, to lock his focus on what truly mattered: saving Heartbook.
There was no other option.
But what is truly important?
The voice belonged to his mum, and it made him want to pick up the phone and call her. How many times had she asked him that question when he was setting up his company, when he’d worked twenty-hour days and slept in his office? He’d stopped seeing his friends, he’d stopped dating, he’d even stopped speaking to her. All that had mattered was the company, but his mum had known that you can’t fill your heart with business, and you can’t feed your soul with shares. All she’d truly wanted for him was to be happy, to be loved, and it had made her sad to see him so emotionally devoted to something that gave nothing back.
Except it had given him something back. It had given himeverything, hadn’t it? The money, the houses, the cars, the clothes . . .
He shook his head as he made his way to the reading rooms on the first floor. You couldn’t feed your soul with those things, either.
He weaved past the other library visitors and settled himself into a booth, checking his watch. It was only just nine. His plan was to find a quiet place and log in to Heartbook from a public IP address that hadn’t been blocked. He still wouldn’t be able to access his accounts, but he might be able to check the site for any other signs of hacking.
And, if all else failed, it was better than sitting at home on his own. If he couldn’t do anything then at least he could lie on a window seat in the sun and lose himself in a good book.
But, for now, he needed a little outside help, and he knew exactly who to call.
He pulled out his phone and scrolled to Nathanial Parker’s number. Nate was a founding member of the APEX Billionaire Club and one of the most brilliant coders Blake had ever met. Nate had built a dating empire from the ground up, but Blake knew his proudest moment was when he was twelve and he’dhacked into his high school website to change the photos of all the teachers to cat memes. Nate had helped Blake and David build Heartbook, designing its intricate framework and — more importantly — installing a backdoor. A failsafe in case of emergencies.
And this was definitely an emergency.
Nate had texted Blake outside of the group chat last night and offered his help, and Blake was about to bite his hand off. He just hoped that Nate would have the skills to be able to find out what was going on in the depths of the Heartbook code. Blake hesitated, his thumb hovering over the call button. Then, with a sharp inhale, he pressed it.
The line rang twice before Nate picked up, his deep voice crackling through the speaker. “Blake, I’m glad you called.” His West Coast American accent was like sunshine in a bottle.
“Nate,” Blake said, keeping his voice low. “Thank you.”
There was a pause, followed by the faint sound of typing. “What a mess, Blake. What a mess. I’m not, like, going to ask if you said those things because I know you better, man, but you must have right royally pissed someone off for them to target you so hard.”
“Urgh.” Blake scrubbed a hand down his face. “It’s killing me, Nate. Heartbook is my life. Have you seen the news?”
“Who hasn’t?” Nate replied, his tone laced with dry amusement. “Your name’s trending worldwide. What can I do?”
“Literally no idea,” Blake muttered, glancing around again. “The board’s locked me out of the system. I can’t even see what’s going on. I need access, Nate. You’re the only one who can give it to me.”
