CHAPTER THREE
It was a navy blue BMW. Draco figured it was Lanky Harry’s car.
When she told Lanky to wait by the car Draco wondered if he was a chauffeur, but no. It was an expensive model, but several years old.
When they emerged from the alleyway she pointed across the road at the vehicle, then told him to get in the back with her so they could talk.
Lanky drove until he found somewhere to park, pulling in on the forecourt outside a mobile phone shop. Once the engine was off, he half turned in his seat to observe. Draco preferred it when they were alone. “So you’re saying you need a hacker?
She pursed her lips, a habit that amused Draco because she seemed to do it when she was trying to work out what to say but it made her mouth look even more lush and kissable. “I need someone who can quickly understand house software and help me find a—shall we say—source of internal corruption.”
Draco had to laugh. The irony of it was clear. Eighteen months before it was him and Sean and Rory who were causing the company grief by dabbling with their code on a night. Now someone else was at it and she’d come to him. “Someone inside your father’s company is screwing him over?”
She pursed her lips. “In a way, yes. And I want to offer you the chance to help me find out who it is.”
She really did have this all worked out.
It made Draco wonder how long she’d been planning this thing and at what point she thought he was the ideal person to help her with the problem. “You keep saying you’re offering me a chance, like I’m supposed to be some grateful charity case. What you really mean is you need the help of someone who can act outside the law and is willing to do so if you throw him a bone.”
Her eyebrows drew together, which made her look kind of cute.
“Well, not exactly, I want you to work within strict parameters, under my guidance.”
She was beautiful and he wanted her, but he didn’t want to hack, and he didn’t want to be her lapdog. “If I’m working under your ‘guidance’ why the fuck don’t you do it?”
Lanky Harry shook his head. “Lara, you really don’t have to put up with this. It’s not worth it. I warned you he wouldn’t know how to behave.”
That annoyed Draco. “How do we know you’re not the one draining the company’s fuel?”
Lara laughed, briefly. “He has a point, Harry. Now, you agreed this was one way to approach the matter, let me see it through.
Lanky Harry gestured dismissively and faced front. Draco noticed him glaring at them in the rear-view mirror and winked at him.
“Uncivilized,” Harry shot back. “Just as I expected. Doesn’t even have a real name.”
“Draco Vaughn. Pleased to meet you.” He inclined his head at the girl, who was even younger than he’d first thought. Maybe only nineteen or twenty, a similar age to his sister, Sky.
“Draco,” she repeated, staring at him with wide eyes.
He wanted her. “Thanks for the offer, but I don’t hack any more. I’m not going to jail, not for anyone, no matter how gorgeous.”
She ignored his flattery, opened up her laptop bag and pulled out a printed document, gesturing at it. “No one is going to jail. If our mission is exposed before completion, you’ll have a signed contract from me to cover your back, proving you’re acting on my instructions. I’m the one who’ll take the rap”
Draco studied her silently. She did have it all worked out, and if he took her at face value and she was being honest, she could be in big trouble. If it went badly she was the one in the firing line. “Basically, you want to impress your dad?”
“That’s not exactly how I would put it, but yes, I suppose so.” She gave a trite smile. “I prefer to think of it as getting the results for the family company before my brothers do.”
“Ah, so you want to beat your brothers to the prize.”
She looked at him over the edge of her glasses then pushed them up to the bridge of her nose with one finger and tried once again to draw his attention to the document.
“I’ll admit there’s an element of competition in it. I’m the one taking the most risks with a maverick approach to the investigation.” She threw him an accusing glance. “But they have a head start on me. I’m joining the competition late.”
“What happened, weren’t you invited?”
She inhaled deeply and paused before she replied.
Draco smiled himself. He’d hit a nerve there. She may be all fancy, playing the business dude and trying to impress him with her chauffeur driven car and her lanky buddy trailing behind her, but he could see there was more to it.
“In one sense, you’re right. I wasn’t invited. The truth of the matter is my father thinks I’m too young to take part in the business. I don’t agree. I’ve completed one year of my business degree. He’s allowed me on the inside during summer vacation and I want to prove my worth.”
“Now it’s getting interesting.”
Her mouth twitched. “Don’t push your luck, Buddy, I can always offer the job to someone else.”
He leaned forward closing in on her. “You’re ‘investigation’ shall we call it, is more of an undercover job.”
She gave a slight nod, as if in approval. “That’s it exactly. My investigation will be undercover and that’s something you’d have to understand.”
“I still don’t see how this job won’t entail hacking.”
“Well, you’ll be going in through my password or one that you get allocated once I get you a placement in the company.”
This was sounding more interesting by the moment. “Password? Where’s the fun in that?”
“There’ll be plenty of challenges, believe me. If my father hasn’t figured it out already, it’s going to be a tough job to crack.”
“Maybe your father has figured it out already and it’s just a game for his kids.”
She glared at him.
Draco laughed.
“You really don’t want a bonefide job, do you?”
That touched a nerve. “So that’s what you really think, unemployed loser hacker. You’re wrong, Lady. I’ve had plenty of bonefide jobs and I don’t need your help to find one.”
Harry turned around. “Take it easy, both of you. If you’re going to do this you need to work together.”
Lara nodded at him and pressed her lips together while she considered him at length. She took a deep breath. “Seriously, are you interested or not?”
“I’m interested. I’m just watching my back every bit as much as you are, lady.” He paused and smiled. He had no intention of walking away, this was far too interesting. Especially her, she had his total attention. “So tell me, how do you plan to get me on the inside? Smuggle me in?”
“I told my father I had a friend at university who would appreciate the opportunity of a summer placement to gain experience.”
“How did that go down?”
She looked rather awkward, took the glasses off and folded them but then kept shifting them in her hands while she thought about her response. “He agreed, but he seems to think the person is special to me.”
“So not only does this job entail undercover investigation, but I have to pretend to be someone else, someone who’s special to you.” Draco was warming to the idea more by the moment.
Not only would he get to be inside Compton Finance, where he could wreak a little revenge on behalf of Sean, but he got to hang out with Miss Lara here. He wanted to know exactly what she looked like without her fake glasses and her business suit to impress the crowd. Just as she wanted him to play a part, she was playing a part too. Impress daddy, beat the brothers into his favour, be maverick and stand out.
She was a royal princess who’d created a summer vacation adventure for herself. It just so happened Draco didn’t have anything else on right then. All he had to do was have fun, stir up some internal trouble, and make sure he didn’t leave a trail.
“What if I get caught? It wouldn’t look good. My stepbrother is currently incarcerated and you want me to do what’s, in effect, a similar crime, no matter how much you pretty it up.”
“As I already indicated I’ve had a contract drawn up, entirely legal. It states you’re working for me and that I’ll take full responsibility for all eventualities.”
That was some burden she was willing to shoulder, by taking him aboard.
Was she crazy?
Draco reached for the contract and scanned it. An impressive fee was stated at the end. Money clearly wasn’t an issue for her.
Weighing it up, he knew it was a crazy risk. He really didn’t want a police record, but if he had the contract why not seek a little revenge, especially if he got to spend time with pretty miss daddy’s girl. “Aren’t you worried I’ll help myself, once I get access to the company software?”
“I’d be stupid not to be aware of that risk.”
Something about the way she said “risk” triggered a reaction in Draco, as if in saying it, heavily weighted with meaning, she was calling to something inside him.
She was a risk taker. This really was her summer vacation adventure.
“However,” she continued, “I figure you’re being offered a decent fee, seventy five percent of which is on closure, and the other path open to you, while tempting, would lead you to prosecution and no fee.”
He nodded.
“Any other concerns?”
“Tell me what you know about the fraud.”
She arched eyebrows slightly. “Does that mean you’re going to take on the task?”
He gave a noncommittal shrug. What did he have to lose? His liberty, if it went wrong. He’d have to tread carefully, watch his back. This job might just fill time before he moved on to something long term.
Miss Lara was waiting for his reply. She leaned toward him, obviously anxious. What would be like to kiss those lush lips of hers? He wanted to know.
“Let’s just say I’m warming to the idea.” He gave her a long lingering look so she had no doubt what he meant he was warming to. It was almost imperceptible, but the reaction was there. She inhaled sharply. He half expected her to draw away, but she met his stare levelly.
“I’m glad to hear it. I’m risking a lot here.”
She certainly was. Especially daddy’s disapproval if he found out she’d let a hacker into his inner sanctum, a hacker with revenge on his mind. Getting his hands on their precious software would open plenty of opportunities to cause chaos. Could it get any more enticing? Draco looked her up and down, and smiled.
She returned his smile.
“We’re both taking a risk,” he replied. “Tell me about your brothers. I need to know about the competition before I make my final decision.”
“You’ll meet them soon enough, if you accept my challenge.” Her eyes brightened, her lips parting.
You’re the challenge, not the job, he mused to himself.
Draco looked at her soft, open mouth, and he knew he couldn’t walk away. “When do we start?”