Chapter Thirteen
Cooper was leaving his office as soon as I arrived. “Allie!”
“Cooper!”
A quick glance told me Kimberly had heard, and noted, our casual use of each other’s names. But I was too distracted to really care anymore.
“I need to talk to you.”
He ushered me inside his office and the full story about Clay and his involvement in the hack spilled out as I paced back in forth in front of him, too amped to sit down.
“So, what do you think?” I ventured, when the whole thing had been unpacked.
Cooper stared at me, but it was like he was in another place, his eyes slightly glazed over.
“I don’t know if this was out of revenge for not giving him the job, or if there is something more sinister going on. But, I do know that now, more than ever, I need you to get into their database. We need that information before they wipe it.”
“Oh, shit!” I fumbled in my pocket. I’d been so wrapped up in the Clay mystery that I’d forgotten the most important part.
“Here,” I slid the USB drive across his desk. “That’s everything you should need.”
“You got it?” His face was lit up with wonder and barely contained admiration as he looked over at me.
I nodded and smiled at him. “That drive has all the formula information. It was really quite easy to get once I hacked into their database. It looks like it goes back at least ten years, so it should be enough to get someone poking around over there.”
Cooper jumped up from his seat and rounded the desk. Without hesitation he took me into his arms and fiercely pressed his lips against mine. After a brief moment of panic, I let myself melt into his kiss. It was charged with emotion as he deepened it. He pulled gently at my hair, and tipped my head back as his tongue slid past my lips and entered my mouth. A small moan rumbled through me and Cooper pressed himself against me in response.
So much had happened that it seemed like a homecoming of sorts. A hard-fought battle to get back to this place. I realized that I still didn’t have the answers to all of my questions, but in that moment, it didn’t seem to matter as much.
When he broke away from me, he kept his face inches from mine as we both fought to recover our breath.
“You’re incredible, Allison Rand. I’m on my way out now. I have a meeting that I can’t miss.” He pushed up his sleeve to glance at his watch. “But, I’ll call you as soon as it’s over.” He paused a second, thinking. “I want to see you tonight, Allie.”
I nodded and my heart leaped inside me, both with anticipation of what would follow another kiss like that, and also at the contented feeling that maybe this could work after all. “Tonight,” I repeated.
Cooper dropped another kiss to my lips and I held onto him as long as I could before he stepped back and, with one last, longing look, escorted me out of his office.
Standing in front of Kimberly’s desk, I resisted the urge to grab Cooper’s ass as he walked past, knowing it would only cause issues. But, oh…to see the look on her face.
I went back to my office and forced myself to get back to work. It was difficult while my whole body was still buzzing from Cooper’s kiss and the promise of what was to come. My mind kept drifting to thinking about what panties I wanted to wear for him to tear off of me.
“Allie, focus,” I told myself as I flopped into my chair.
I had successfully completed the job that Cooper had hired me to do. The formulas had been turned over and Cooper would take it from there. But still…even with that tied up, there was something bothering me.
Some of the puzzle pieces didn’t make sense. Why had Clay hacked into the Plush database and tried to destroy it? It was bothersome enough to know that someone had tried to do it in the first place, but the worst part was…knowing that it was someone I technically knew.
Bryce and I had known each other for a while now, and although I wasn’t sure how long he’d been together with Clay, I knew things were serious between them. Did Bryce know about all this? The hacking and being hired to do stuff like this?
I grabbed my phone and dialed his number before I could talk myself out of it.
“Hey, Allie!” His voice sounded happy and carefree.
I felt a little sick, knowing I was probably about to ruin his day.
“Hi, Bryce. Is this a good time? I have a couple questions for you.”
“Sure. How are you?”
“I’m good,” I answered, trying not to let my voice falter. “You?”
“Really good. Major news over here. Do you remember Tessa Greenwood?”
“Yes.” My heart nearly stopped at the mention of her, but I left that part out.
“Well, she and Rita got into it a couple days ago and she quit! She took half her department with her and is launching her own firm! I heard she’s working on getting the Plush account.”
“Holy shit,” I breathed. “So that’s why she was with Cooper in the middle of the night. That must be why he was so hush-hush about their meeting.”
“Oh God! Don’t let that get back to Rita! She’s been working hot and heavy to get Plush and some of the other accounts back that we lost. And she is so busy dealing with the fallout that she finally took her hooks out of me and I have actually been able to get back to how things were before…” He cut off, but I mentally filled in the blanks.
…before you got here and everything went to hell in a hand basket.
“That’s great, Bryce. I’m really happy for you.”
“Thanks. So what’s up? Need another decompress lunch date?”
“Actually, Bryce, there’s something I need to ask you. It’s about Clay.”
Bryce hesitated and I could only imagine the thoughts going through his mind. “All right. What is it?”
Oh, fuck…now what do I say?
“Um, well, this is kind of an odd questions, but do you happen to know what company he is currently working—or consulting, for?”
“I really don’t know. We try not to talk about work too much. Why? What’s going on, Allie?”
“This is really hard to say, but, I found proof that he hacked into Plush and tried to steal our database.”
Silence.
I knew I hadn’t given the most graceful delivery, but then how could something like that ever go smoothly?
“What are you talking about? Clay isn’t a hacker for hire, Allie. And to be frank, I’m more than a little offended that you would call me up and tell me something like that, especially after all the shit you’ve put me through.”
I reared back as if he’d reached through the phone and slapped me. Through everything that had happened at Spotlight, Bryce had always been incredibly supportive, and even afterward, when Rita had made his life hell to punish him for hiring me in the first place, he’d remained gracious.
“I’m sorry, but I have proof. You have to know I wouldn’t have even asked if I wasn’t sure about this. I know these are really serious allegations.”
Bryce scoffed. “Did Cooper put you up to this or something? Is this another game? One of his tests for you?”
“What are you talking about?” My heart rate jumped up again, it sounded like my pulse was ringing in my ears.
“You know he can’t be trusted, Allie. He’s been playing you this whole time.”
I was too stunned to speak. My mouth flopped open, but nothing came out. Bryce’s tone was harsh and vindictive and he continued without waited for me to respond.
“He made me a deal, Allie. If I got you a job at Spotlight, he would hire Clay to work for him at Brighton Enterprises. I didn’t realize that once I got you fired, that he would swoop in and give you Clay’s position.”
Full alarm bells were ringing in my head.
“Got me fired? It was you?”
He let out a cold laugh that scattered goosebumps all over my body. “Yes. Clay was at the party that night, Allie. He was the one who caught you tongue fucking with Cooper in the hallway. I sent the pictures to Rita.”
“But why? What did I ever do to you?”
“You really don’t get it, do you?” he replied. “It’s not personal, Allie. I did it to get back at that conniving Cooper. I held up my end of the bargain, but he backed out of his deal with Clay the moment he saw you at Spotlight. So, when Clay snapped the pictures of you at the party, we knew sending them to Rita would get you fired. He wanted you there, and after he backed out of the deal, I no longer wanted you here.”
I couldn’t think straight. The cold cackle on the other end of the phone filled my mind, leaving no room for anything else. I hung up the phone and backed away as though it were some sort of venomous snake. My hands were shaking and all the blood had drained from my face. I wanted to stand, to run away and never look back, but I didn’t trust my legs to carry me.
Bryce’s confession played over and over in my mind.
He had been the one to send those pictures. He’d gotten me fired from Spotlight.
All for what? So his boyfriend could get some tech job?
I shook my head. Something wasn’t right.
And what had he said about Cooper? Cooper had forced him to get me the job at Spotlight in the first place. But how did he even know who I was? For the life of me, I couldn’t recall ever seeing him at the cafe before and that was the only place I’d ever seen Bryce. Before I started at Spotlight, we only knew each other because he was a regular customer. Had he told Cooper about me? But, even if he had, why would Cooper have made a deal like that?
Nothing made sense. I leaned against the desk, burying my face in my hands, trying to get the room to stop spinning.
When I righted myself, I knew what I had to do.
I grabbed my purse and stalked out of the office.
I went to the parking garage but stopped short when I realized that Cherry Bomb wasn’t sitting in the parking spot where I’d left her.
“What the fuck?” I hissed, looking around to make sure I was on the right level.
Once I confirmed I was in the right place, I fished my phone out of my purse and called Cooper’s cell phone.
“Allie,” he answered on the second ring. “Hold on one second.”
I didn’t respond. I waited until the shuffling sounds on his end cleared.
“Okay, go ahead,” he said.
“Where’s my bike?”
“Are you leaving the office? What time is it?”
“I don’t know and I don’t fucking care. I’m done. Tell me where my bike is so I can go home.”
“Home?”
“I just had a very interesting conversation with your pal, Bryce,” I said. “You know what, I’m not even mad at you. I’m mad at myself for, once again, getting sucked back into your fucked up game. I mean really, I played right into your hands again.”
“Hold on. I’ll be there in ten minutes and we can talk about this.”
“No, Cooper, I’m—”
He hung up.
“Fuck!” I yelled, releasing all my pent-up anger. My outburst echoed around the garage and some businessmen a few stalls away stared at me in disgust. I clenched my fists and starting pacing. I knew that I could call a cab and go home or even hop on a bus, but a part of me wanted to stick around and wait to confront Cooper face to face.
I also wanted my bike.
However, I wasn’t willing to wait in a parking garage all afternoon. I left and went down the stairs to the street level. I walked down a few blocks to the coffee shop I liked, praying I wouldn’t run into anyone from the office, especially Parker. I’d been lucky to avoid him since our awkward date and his even more awkward premature break up email.
For all I knew, Cooper had him stuffed in a closet somewhere.
It wouldn’t surprise me even a little bit.
I stepped inside the—thankfully vacant—coffee shop and ordered a decaf. Lord knew the last thing I needed was caffeine running around my system. I’d probably self-destruct.
My legs were restless, but I knew that pacing around wasn’t an option so I forced myself to sit at one of the tables. I waited, and right at the ten minute mark, a text came through on my phone.
Where are you?
I texted back the name of the coffee shop.
I glanced around again, realizing how inappropriate the venue was for the showdown that was about to unfold. It was an artsy little coffee shop that played delicate, soothing instrumental music in the background. It was not the kind of place for a verbal brawl. And, somehow, with Cooper, I always got loud.
I was staring out the window, watching for his arrival, when I heard the sounds of a motorcycle revving. I turned in the direction of the sound and my mouth dropped open for the second time that afternoon at the scene unfolding along the curb.
Cooper was standing beside Cherry Bomb with a helmet in his hands. There was a white truck pulled up with a trailer and it was obvious that it had been used to transport my bike to the café—the ramp was still lowered out of the back.
I jumped up and threw my cup of coffee in the trash on my way outside.
“Cooper, what the fuck?” I yelled, again drawing scornful stares of passersby.
“You told me I needed a helmet,” he said with a slight smile as he gestured at the helmet in his hands.
“No, no, no.” I started rubbing my temples, trying to hold off the beginnings of a throbbing headache. “What is Cherry Bomb doing here, with you?”
“That was the appointment I had to go to. I was going to surprise you,” Cooper said, gesturing at the bike.
That’s when I realized that the seat was fixed. Brand new leather was stretched over the bike. I stepped closer and ran my fingers along the smooth surface. It was expensive leather and the work looked impeccable. I glared back at Cooper.
“Marx?”
“Won’t be bothering you again.”
“Do I even want to know?” I asked, wincing at the question.
“Marx was arrested this afternoon. He’s going to jail for a long time.”
“What?” My eyes flew open wider as I stared at Cooper.
He paused, stopping to pay the man with the truck and my heart raced as I waited impatiently for him to finish telling me what he was talking about.
Marx, in jail?
I couldn’t say I felt sorry for him. It was exactly what he deserved, but how?
“Turns out that he had a little bit of a drug problem. I had my PI track him down and caught him selling drugs. Pretty hard core stuff. I figured local law enforcement would want to know about something like that. So, Allie, you don’t have to worry about him anymore.”
My mind was spinning with all the new information. Between what Bryce had told me and Cooper getting my bike fixed, and now, Marx arrested—it was all too much. I was practically seeing double as I stared blankly at Cooper.
“Why did you do that? A PI?”
“To protect you, Allie. He only got what he deserved.”
“This is too much,” I said. I turned and started walking away. I didn’t know where I was going, but I had to move. I had to get away to think and process everything that had just come to light.
“Allie, don’t go.”
I reeled around at his touch on my elbow and backed away. “What do you want now?”
“Come on, take me for a ride and I’ll tell you everything you want to know,” he said, holding out his hand to me.
“I’m not taking you anywhere. Thank you for this,” I gestured over at the new seat. “But, we’re done, Cooper. I just had a very enlightening conversation with Bryce. He told me everything.”
I paused, waiting for a reaction, but Cooper’s face remained as passive as ever.
“Ugh! I know, okay? I know about the deal you made with him to get me hired at Spotlight!”
“I see.”
“Seriously! That’s all you’re going to say? I see?”
I turned and paced a few steps away before going back to face him like a boomerang. “Cooper, you don’t get it. This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about. You have been controlling me. Whenever I bring it up, you smoke screen me with sad stories about your fiancée and your dad and now your sister, and I’m sorry about all of those things. Really, I can’t even imagine. But this time, you can’t hide behind that. I deserve the truth, Cooper!”
As soon as my tirade left my mouth, I regretted it. I shouldn’t have brought up the people that Cooper had lost. It wasn’t fair. But then, nothing I’d said was a lie. He’d been using it as a way to avoid telling me the truth. Every time I questioned him, he threw up some new tragedy for me to process and by the time I was done, I’d forgotten the original reason I had been so angry with him.
“Allison, I’m not going to have this conversation with you out here on the sidewalk. Come on, we will go back to the office.”
He reached out for my arm and I jerked away violently. “No! I’m not going anywhere with you. Just leave me alone.”
I pushed past him and grabbed my helmet that was strapped onto the back rest. I revved the engine, secretly loving the smooth seat underneath me. It was a massive improvement from the patched together duct tape job I’d done.
Not that I was going to admit that to Cooper.
He stepped in front, blocking my path. “Allie, I’m going with you.”
I sighed. Of course he was. I was about to tell him off, but then thought better of it as a new thought crossed my mind and I had to bite back an evil grin.
Fine. If he was so insistent, I would give him the ride of his life.
“Get on.”