Page 48 of The Honeymoon Hack
“Obviously, you’ve never been in the gym at the same time as Moss,” Sandy-Sarah said, fanning herself. “The man’s built like the cover model for a silver fox romance.”
I needed to redirect this before it devolved completely. “What did you really mean by special arrangement?”
“Internal security?” Sandy-Sarah lowered her voice. “Think about it—BumbleHive background, security obsession, systematic questioning of new employees. Plus, she has access to pretty much everything here.”
“The perfect inside job,” Mr. Glasses said. “Good thing she’s on our side.”
“Is she, though?” Jake asked, and the casual way he said it made everyone pause.
“What do you mean?” Sandy-Sarah asked.
“I mean, how would we know? She has all the access, all the skills, and she asks more questions than HR. If someone wanted to infiltrate this place, they’d look exactly like Claire.”
It was a joke, and everyone laughed, but what if he was right?
The way she treated new employees wasn’t normal. Her competitive analysis of every situation, from racing games to security protocols, her casual mention of classified government work and military-style language? It was intelligence gathering.
And her specific interest in Redoubt Systems. Her pointed questions about our technical backgrounds and previous work experience.
“You’re so paranoid,” Sandy-Sarah said.
“Sometimes,” Jake said. “But you have to admit, she’s not exactly an open book.”
The conversation moved on to speculation about whether Claire had ever actually dated anyone or if she was too focused on work for relationships, but I found myself only half-listening. My mind was racing through my limited interactions withClaire, the questions she’d asked, the way she’d probed at our cover story.
“I should probably head back, too,” I said, standing and gathering my trash.
“Get a good sleep,” Ken said, pretending to yawn. “Tomorrow, you’re covering incident response protocols.”
“Sounds thrilling,” I managed, forcing a smile despite the tightness building in my chest.
Claire was my team lead at Mnemis, but she was also a walking red flag.
I needed to tell Will.
Chapter 19
Will
Ronnie had askedme the same question three times before I realized he was talking to me.
“Sorry, what?” I looked up from the drink selection I’d been staring at without actually seeing.
“I asked if you’re planning to pick something or just admire the selection?” He opened the refrigerator door and pulled out a can of iced coffee. “You left the server room so fast, I figured you’d be back in your room by now.”
“Right. Sorry.” I grabbed an orange juice, instinct taking over where my distracted brain failed. My mind kept drifting back to the beach—Brie’s fingers in my hair, her leg around me, the sound she’d made when I’d shifted against her.
And then how she’d fled the moment it was over.
“Everything okay?” Ronnie asked.
“Just tired.” I glanced around, looking for Brie. “I thought my wife was going to meet me here, but I must be out before she is.”
He nodded, apparently satisfied, and patted me on the shoulder before heading toward the dessert display.
Had I pushed her too far? Read signals that weren’t there? The kiss had felt real—intensely, undeniably real. But maybe forher, it had been mission protocol, and I was the idiot projecting my own feelings onto it.
I needed to see her, to talk to her, to figure out what the hell was happening between us. This had been the most logical place for her to go after her shift, given she hadn’t messaged me in hours. Or did she go to the room looking for me instead?
