Chapter Six
Abel
My phone vibrates and a rush of excitement bursts through me. I’m hoping it’s Adam. Maybe a little too much. I check the text and it’s from Angie. My heart sinks but I answer her. She wants to know if I want to have lunch.
I’ve got to make a delivery today. Tomorrow? - Abel
Sure. Call you later <3 - Angie
Fortunately, the universe isn’t completely awful and my phone buzzes again a few minutes later. This time, it’s Adam, and I jump out of my chair.
Loading dock ;-) - Adam
His timing is perfect because both my secretary and Tom are out to lunch. Tom’s secretary is at her desk but she’s on the other side of the floor so I can slip past her without having to stop for a conversation.
I don’t go down to the loading dock often but I know taking the service elevator will get me there faster and with less hassle. I don’t want to leave Adam standing outside waiting for me for too long because someone might call security.
When I get outside, I see Adam standing next to his bike, scuffing his foot against the asphalt. It’s the same thing he was doing while he waited for me outside the church. I wonder if it’s a nervous habit? Could he be worried about seeing me? It’s probably just the job. I shouldn’t get so far ahead of myself.
“I hope these help.” He’s a bit startled when I hand him the folder. He must have been lost in thought. A broad smile spreads across his face for just a moment before he goes back to looking serious and worried.
A huge part of me wishes we’d met under different circumstances.
“They will. Thank you so much, Abel. This means a lot to me. You’re putting your career on the line to save people you don’t even know. It says a lot about you.” His words are genuine and they make me feel bad for being excited about being a spy. According to Adam, there are people whose livelihoods and life savings are on the line, and I’m acting like a giddy teenager with a crush.
“You’re most welcome, Adam. Anything I can do, you just have to ask.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.” Uh-oh. “Is Tom’s phone in a case?”
“Huh,” That was unexpected.
“Does he use a cell phone case or does he just carry his phone around unprotected?” he asks and winks at me. I catch his dirty joke and it makes me blush.
“It’s in a case. A pretty hefty one. Tom brags about how expensive it is and how far underwater you can take the phone because of it. Not that he’s ever taken his phone underwater, but I guess it would survive if he dropped it off the side of his yacht,” I say and roll my eyes.
“Good. Good,” Adam says with a laugh.
“Why?”
“Because I need you to put this on the back of his phone,” he says and pulls out a small thick black sticker. “If he didn’t use a phone case, it would be too obvious, but since he does, you can slip in, take his phone out of the case, place the bug, and put his phone back. He’ll never know it’s there. Can you do that?”
“I think so. He wanders off and leaves his phone on his desk frequently. I’ll have to wait until he gets back from his lunch meeting.”
“You think so? Or you can do it? It’s important,” he says forcefully. It takes me by surprise, but it also makes me swoon a little.
“I will do it. I’ll find a way, Adam,” I say and take the bug.
“Thank you, Abel. Sorry to be so short with you, Dumpling. This is just more important than you can possibly know,” he says and his eyes gloss over like he’s thinking about something critical again.
“The money is that important? I mean, it is just money after all,” I say, and regret it. Of course it’s just money to me. I’m not the one about to lose my entire life savings. “I’m sorry. Of course it’s important to these families. Sometimes I let myself forget how privileged I am.”
“It’s okay. Like I said, you’ve got a good heart. I think you know by now that this is about more than just the investment funds. You’re smart enough to pick up on my urgency. I’ll tell you more soon. I promise. Right now, I need you to get that bug in place as soon as you can, and I need to get this schedule back to Becks so she can cross-reference it with her information. I’ll be in touch soon,” he says and strokes my cheek before putting his helmet on.
I watch him ride off and touch the spot on my cheek where his fingers made contact with my skin. It tingles, and that prickly heat makes its way into my chest. My breath catches.
If only we’d met under different circumstances.
Back upstairs, I focus on waiting for the right time to sneak into Tom’s office and plant the bug on his phone. Frustratingly, his phone is in his hand every time he comes out of his office.
It’s time to try something else. I pull up an account I’ve been working on and come up with a question I can ask Tom. Then, I ring his office.
“What is it, Abe?” he asks in a distracted voice.
“I have a question about the Martin account.”
“Why don’t you just come to my office and ask then.” He sounds annoyed.
“I’ve got the file up here. Could you just hop over to my office for a second. I promise I won’t make it a regular thing,” I say in a pleading and syrupy voice.
“Fine,” he huffs and hangs up the phone without saying goodbye.
Tom walks into my office a few minutes later without knocking. I know I asked him to come down here, but he could at least be polite. The longer I know Adam, the more I wonder what I ever saw in Tom. He’s handsome, but Adam’s got a sexy, dangerous edge to him that I never expected to like. I guess Tom has the billionaire thing going for him but he’s miserable and rude. Money doesn’t make up for that. At least not in my opinion it doesn’t.
I’m in luck, because instead of putting his cell in his pocket, he tosses it carelessly down on my desk. I’ve seen him do this when he goes into offices and the conference room before, and I was counting on him doing it again. It’s his way of claiming any space he’s occupying.
“Can you come around here and look at this?” I ask, and another exasperated huff escapes him.
Before he got to my office, I unbuttoned my white dress shirt an extra two buttons. I know if he looks at just the right angle, he can see all the way to my happy trail. I’ve laid the perfect trap to distract him. I only need a moment.
When he comes around to look at my screen, I roll my chair towards the desk so that he has to position himself between me and the wall. I don’t have to try to pull his attention to my body because the perv is already leering down my shirt.
I point out the issue I’m having and ask him a few inane questions. Tom just nods his head and keeps looking down my shirt. When he licks his lips, I know he’s distracted enough, so I slip his phone off my desk and hide it under my leg.
“So what do you think?” I ask and break his concentration away from my open shirt.
“Uh. Oh, I think you can handle this on your own, Abel. I’ll let it go this time, but don’t call me in here for this stuff again,” he says and starts to leave my office. Before he makes it out, Tom pats his pockets. “Where’s my phone?”
“I didn’t see you bring it in. Maybe you left it in your office or the executive conference room,” I say and hope he doesn’t catch me in a lie. I’d lose my job and I wouldn’t be able to help Adam anymore.
“Huh. Okay. Let me know if you find it,” he says and practically storms out of the room.
I know I may only have minutes before he gets ticked off at not being able to find it. He’ll probably come back and rifle through the stuff on top of my desk and then demand I drop what I’m doing and look for it. I pop the case off, stick the bug to the back of the phone like Adam instructed, and then put the case back on.
In the hallway, I can hear him cursing in the executive conference room. I slip down the hall, into his office, and then sneak into his executive washroom. After I leave the phone on the counter next to the sink, I move back out while he’s drilling his secretary about his phone’s whereabouts.
He must find it in the washroom and figure he left it there by accident because I don’t hear from him about it again. He also doesn’t come in and demand to know what the black sticker is that’s stuck to the back so I know he probably didn’t find the bug.
I send Adam a text that the bug is in place.
- Adam
Meet me for dinner tonight? – Abel
I’ve never been bold enough to invite a man out to dinner. I typed the message and hit send before I had time to think about it. I regret sending the message when he doesn’t respond.
“Good job, Abel,” I whisper to myself.
When it’s almost time for me to leave for the day, my phone goes off again.
That’s actually a good idea. Call me. - Adam
I grab my things and hurry out to my car. I don’t know what he wants to discuss but I figure it’s better if I do it outside of Tom’s building.
“Hey, Dumpling. About dinner,” Adam says when he picks up. “I’d go with you anyway, but it’ll have to be a working dinner tonight. The bug logged some information that could help us a lot. Tom is meeting a potential buyer tonight at a restaurant. I want you to go with me and pretend to be my date so we can get some more info.”
“Pretend?” I say, crestfallen.
“Well, I can take Becks if you don’t want to go,” he teases.
“Not what I meant. Yes, I’ll help.”
“Good. I’ll pick you up at seven. Wear something fancy.” I can hear his smile in his voice.
“Will do.”