Page 103 of In Case You Didn't Know
I stare at my phone but there’s nothing. No typing bubble either. Then it appears.
Jesus, Francie. I’m in a meeting. If I have to stand up anytime soon, I’m going to get arrested. The things I’m gonna do to you when I get back to you. – Asher
Laughter bubbles in my throat. I pad into the bathroom and start the – thankfully spider-free – shower running. The pipes groan, as though they’re as reluctant as I am to start the day. Just as I shuck off my robe, my phone vibrates again.
I need visual confirmation. – Asher
Yep, he’s definitely a boy.
Send me a photo of you first. I can add it to my suit porn collection. – Francie
I wish I could. But Brad just walked in, and we have a system audit going. Later. I promise. – Asher
I twist my hair into a messy bun and step into the shower, groaning as the water mists up my body. Before I close the door, I grab my phone, making sure it doesn’t get wet as I hold it as far out as my arm can reach, turning to the side so there are no full frontals. Just the curve of my waist, the swell of my hip, and water beading against my skin.
Steam curls around me, softening everything, making it look like a still from an adult movie.
A veryadultone.
I take the shot then I check it. It’s cropped just right. Suggestive without giving anything away. It says ‘I want you’, not ‘here’s my annual physical’.
Or at least I hope it does.
Before I can think it through and hesitate, I press send and put my phone on the vanity, stepping back under the spray and letting it soothe every muscle in my body.
And when I get out there’s a message from him.
You’re beautiful. And I’m hard as fucking steel. And I’m supposed to be concentrating on screens full of code. You’re going to pay for this when I see you again. – Asher
Lucky me. I look forward to it. – Francie
I stare at the screen for a second too long, the ache in my chest surprising me. Maybe this is just texting. Maybe it's not. But God, I want him back.
Not as much as I will. Now get to work before I start losing my mind. – Asher
ASHER
“You look way too happy for someone who’s had another breach,” Brad says, looking up from his laptop to find me smiling like a loon at my phone.
I turn the messaging app off. I’ll look at the photograph more carefully later. When I’m alone.
And yeah, maybe I’ll even send her one of me in my suit like she asked. I’m all about quid pro quo.
“Apparently I left my glasses on Liberty,” I murmur. And yeah, it’s a pain because now I’m going to have to either live with my spare pair, which are about two prescriptions-ago too weak, or get my assistant to look into ordering me another pair. I decide on the latter, quickly sending a message to her before I slide my phone in my pocket.
But still, there’s a weird tingling in my body. Like she still has a piece of me, which is way too Hallmark movie-esque for my tastes, but there it is. I push the thought away. Another thing to ponder on later.
“So?” I ask. Brad’s just run the final protocol. He looks like crap, having worked through the night trying to find where the breach came from. And when I arrived this morning, he was still neck deep in code.
“It’s just not there,” he mutters. “We’re watertight. There’s no way somebody can get in.” He looks up at me. “I don’t understand it.”
My stomach twists. There’s a sick taste at the back of my throat. I want there to be another answer. Any other answer.
Because we both know what this means. Even if we don’t want to admit it. But if we’re still going to have a business by the end of this week, somebody has to say it out loud.
“An inside job,” I murmur.
Brad blanches. “It can’t be. I trust every man who works for me with my life.”
