Hannah pounced on me as soon as Gabe left. “He’s quite the admirer. What the hell did you do to him, anyway?”

I shook my head. “Nothing.”

“Have you even kissed him?”

I shook my head again, too exhausted to object to her prying.

“He’s a believer.” She nodded while she brought the dishes into the kitchen. “A convert.”

“What does that mean?”

“He’s a Lauren Taylor acolyte. You do this to people—your employees, your board of directors, your investors. People believe in you with this fervency. I can already tell. You haven’t even kissed this guy yet, and he’d do almost anything for you.”

“He’d do almost anything for Paragon to partner with his company,” I corrected her. “He wants to profit from my technology. It’s business.”

Hannah rolled her eyes at me as she finished cleaning up. “Whatever.”

I stood and stretched. I felt physically and emotionally beat up. “It’s not whatever. It’s that I can’t trust him.”

She came back around the corner, her hands on her hips. “Why not?”

“Because he showed up right when all this started. And he wants something from me. I can’t rely on him for any sort of protection…or anything else, for that matter. I have to do it myself.”

“You always do it yourself, and you don’t trust anyone. Not ever.”

I shook my head, irritated. “That’s not true.”

She stepped toward me. “Yes, it is. You started this company six years ago and wrapped yourself up in it. It’s been your whole life since Mom and Dad died. Gabe is the first guy you’ve been out on a date with, Lauren. Ever. You’re twenty-five, for Christ’s sake. Do you understand that’s not normal?”

“I’m not normal.” She was striking a nerve in me, but it was a nerve worth protecting. “I wasn’t put on this earth to go on dates and go to wine tastings. I was put here for a reason. A purpose. Don’t you understand that I believe in that? That belief is the only thing that’s gotten me through.”

The truth of my statement suddenly weighed on me. The exhaustion was winning, as were my fears about whatever Clive was up to. Tears streamed down my face.

Hannah looked at me, her eyes wide. I never cried. Not even after our parents died. She wrapped me in a tight hug, rocking me back and forth. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

I hugged her back. “It’s not you.” She was the one constant in my life, and I loved her more than anyone. “It’s the fact that Paragon’s been made vulnerable. I can’t stand it. I won’t tolerate it.” I pulled back and wiped my face. Rage still coursed through me, all mixed up with the crying and the exhaustion.

Hannah brushed the hair back from my face. “You need to go to bed. But think about it—Gabe’s offer. If you’re stronger with him next to you, this might be the right time to take a chance.”

“I don’t take chances.” I smiled at her ruefully, making fun of myself.

She smiled back. “Then take a calculated risk. Seriously, just think about it.”

* * *

I did think about it, the entire next day. I made a mental list of the pros and cons of partnering with Dynamica and also of accepting Gabe’s offer of increased technology help and personal security. I thought about it as I prepared for the board of directors meeting I’d called. They needed to know about the successful trial we’d run on the prototype, which seemed as if it had taken place a million years ago.

I also needed to present them with Gabe’s distribution offer. I wouldn’t tell them everything, however—I’d decided to keep the security breach to myself, at least for the time being. This directly violated my duty to disclose, and I knew it. But I needed to handle the situation before it got any more out of control. The small circle of people who knew about the breach included me, Hannah, Gabe, my tech team, and my security personnel.

And Clive. Clive knew. There was nothing I could do about that. Not yet.

I didn’t want anyone else to know what had happened. Clive had been on our board, and he could still have friends there. On top of that, I had meetings scheduled with our investors next week. Bad news and paranoia could compromise my plans to bring the patch to market, which could compromise my company, which would ruin everything.

I wasn’t about to let that happen—my fiduciary duty to disclose the breach be damned.

As I’d told Hannah yesterday, I trusted no one but myself.

I presented the trial results to the board. They were ecstatic, as expected. I explained that I would be presenting my findings to the FDA, to continue our pre-market approval process, and that I would continue clinical trials to amass a strong foundation of successful tests. Finally, I’d meet with our investors to ask for additional funds to bring the technology to market. I had the board’s enthusiastic support.

I outlined the terms of Gabe’s offer to them. They believed it was a great international partnership opportunity. They voted to approve it once our legal team vetted and approved Dynamica’s offer and financials. I agreed that it was an opportunity for Paragon to reach a global market much more quickly than we could on our own.

The vote to partner with Dynamica was unanimous.

Gabe would be thrilled, but he didn’t know I planned to keep the relationship strictly business. I felt something for him, but I didn’t have room in my life for any more excitement.

What I had planned for Clive Warren would provide enough excitement to last me a lifetime.

* * *

I called Gabe to tell him about the board’s decision.

“That’s great news, Lauren,” he said.

I could hear the smile in his voice. I could picture his dimple. I tightly scrunched my eyes closed as if that could make the mental image disappear.

“Would you like to get dinner to celebrate?” he asked.

I felt a yearning to see him. It was real, and it almost hurt, like an ache. I pushed it aside viciously, steeling myself against him. “I can’t. I have to work late.”

“I have to work late too,” Gabe said.

“Sorry. Tonight’s not good. But I’ll be in touch soon.”

“Lauren, don’t hang up yet. What about the other items we discussed?”

I knew he meant his technology guy and his offer for additional security. He was being careful choosing his words because he was probably just as paranoid as me, which made me feel even more of a yearning for him. “I’m still thinking about it. I’ll let you know. Okay?”

“Okay.” But he didn’t sound as if it were really okay with him.

“And the other stuff we’ve been discussing…” My voice trailed off. I didn’t want to mention Clive by name.

“Yes?”

“That’s between you and me, okay? Let’s keep the circle small.”

“That at least sounds like a good idea. Not having dinner with me sounds like a tragic mistake.”

“Good—at least to the first part,” I said. “I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

It sounded as if he started to ask exactly when later was, but I hung up on him, still shutting my eyes tight.

* * *

I decided not to work late after all. I felt as though I were hungover or something, and I’d never been hungover in my life. It must have been an emotional hangover…from a week filled with two dates, a very gorgeous billionaire seeming to pursue me, another billionaire trying to break into my company and screw me, and the fact that I’d bald-faced lied to my board.

I planned to go home and put on my pajamas. I might even have a glass of wine and eat leftover Indian food.

You’re going rogue, Lauren. Gabe’s voice was in my head, and I smiled in spite of myself. I was leaving work at six o’clock on a Monday while it was still light outside. Going rogue, indeed.

I headed toward my car when Clive Warren hopped out of his luxury sedan and waved to me from the middle of the parking lot. My heart stopped, then started pounding.

Clive. Fucking. Warren.

“Lauren.” He had the audacity to smile and look as if everything were normal.

I stalked over to him, trying to keep a neutral look on my face. At this time of day, a lot of people were leaving the building, including some members of the board. I couldn’t let on that anything was wrong between Clive and me. I wondered if he somehow knew that.

“What’re you doing here, Clive? Leave something behind?”

His eyes scanned my face, looking for any acknowledgment that I knew what he’d done. Satisfied that he’d found it, he smiled again. “I was hoping that you’d want to reconsider the offer I presented you with the other night. In light of…circumstances.”

“Which circumstances?” I could feel my blood start to run hot.

He pushed his glasses up on his nose, and I had to clench my hands into fists so I didn’t tear them off his fussy little face and stomp them into pieces on the ground.

“You should probably get in the car so we can discuss this privately. I’m sure you don’t want to involve the hired help.” Clive motioned toward my security agent, who was standing at the ready nearby.

“I don’t have time for this—” I started.

“Hey, Bob!” Clive cut me off out of the blue, smiling and waving across the parking lot to one of our board members, making sure he was seen with me.

“You have one minute,” I said through gritted teeth, waving at Bob also, trying to appear normal. I stalked around to the passenger side of Clive’s car before he could cause more of a scene. Once inside, I immediately texted Timmy and my driver. One minute. Am okay.

I turned to Clive as he settled behind the wheel. “So, you were waiting in my parking lot for me to come out? That’s not very professional. Not that I’m surprised in the least by that.”

“I was going to call you from here and insist that you have dinner with me since we didn’t get to finish the other night. I didn’t expect you to be leaving this early, actually.” He looked relaxed and happy, which for some reason made me feel as though I wanted to throw up.

“I don’t want to grab dinner. I have plans.” To wear my pajamas, print out pictures of you from the Internet, and burn them while I curse you. My ambitions for the evening were evolving. “You have exactly one minute before my security guard comes over. Tell me what you want.”

“I want to buy a majority stake of Paragon,” Clive said, completely deadpan.

That was so ridiculous, I actually laughed.

“I’m serious. I have your technology now. I have everything.” He licked his lips, and it made my stomach lurch. “I designed my new deliverable system with Paragon in mind. I’d been planning on working with you since I left the board. It was all I could think about in China while I was building my system.”

“Your system has flaws.”

“I know. That’s why I need your technology. I can test it with your prototype and figure out what I need to do to make it finally work. I have all sorts of plans, Lauren.”

I took a deep breath, trying to keep myself from either screaming at him or beating him in the face. Both would feel really good, but neither would help me at the moment. “I won’t sell you my company. And I’m not going to partner with you either. It’s not my job to help you fix your technology’s flaws in order for you to profit from my years of hard work.”

Clive smiled at me, chilling me. “But you will sell. If you don’t agree to, I’m going to move forward with the rapid testing and development of your technology. And then I’m going to bring it to market. Before you do.”

I felt the blood drain from my face. “You can’t do that. You can’t just bring my technology to market—it’d take years.”

“I disagree.”

“Then you’re an idiot. You don’t have the means to rapid test and produce my technology. Only I have that. You also don’t have any sort of government approvals. The FDA’s not just going to let you slap a ‘for sale’ sticker on a medical device and sell it as you please.”

That same easy smile crossed Clive’s face again, making me feel ill. “You’re wrong. I absolutely have the means. I got to the Valley before you, you know. I’ve been here a while, setting up shop. And as for the government approvals…let’s just say that I have a workaround.”

What the hell is he talking about? “Even if that’s true—and I don’t think it is—you’ve broken state and federal laws by hacking into my system and stealing my technology. I have all the proof I need. I’ll have you prosecuted.”

“That’s going to take a while—especially because you don’t have a patent. Trade secrets can seem like a good idea, but you can run into trouble if someone else independently develops similar technology. Especially someone who’s on foreign soil.”

“You didn’t independently develop it. You stole it, and I have the chip you left behind.” I tried to keep my voice even. “You can absolutely be prosecuted for that.”

Clive smiled at me again. “You’re missing part of the picture, Lauren. And it’s an important part.”

“I don’t have time for this. I’m going to the authorities.” I put my hand on the door, ready to sprint out of there, away from him and directly to the FBI.

“Don’t. Think it through,” Clive said. He didn’t sound afraid at all, which scared the hell out of me. “If you turn me into the FBI, I will sell what I stole from you. I will hit Send on a draft email I have waiting—one that contains all your documents—to someone who’s very eager to profit from your loss. And that buyer will go to market, and your technology will be loose in the wild, while you and I sic our intellectual property lawyers on each other in federal court for the next five years. But there won’t be anything left to fight over, except sloppy seconds of a product that’s already on the market. That’s a lose-lose proposition.”

My stomach sank with fear, but I shook my head. “I’d vastly prefer that scenario to being blackmailed by you, thank you very much.”

“I know Paragon’s your baby, Lauren. I know you don’t want to lose everything.”

“I’m not going to.” I wanted to wave Timmy over, so he could crack Clive’s head open before he could email anyone, but I didn’t know what Clive would do.

“I am holding the cards here. You need to see this clearly so you don’t make a mistake. Let me buy into Paragon, and I’ll make that other scenario go away. If you don’t agree, I’ll have to work with that buyer. A foreign buyer, one who won’t be hampered by such mundane things as our arduous FDA process. And that would be to your direct detriment, trust me.” Clive leaned forward and tucked my hair behind my ear. I winced at his touch, a fact that did not escape him. A sour look crept over his features. “You used to like me, Lauren. You used to be much friendlier.”

“That was before I knew what a prick you were.”

He looked mildly shocked by my language, then he smiled, raising gooseflesh on my arms. “I’ve never seen this part of you before—all riled up. I like it.”

I wanted to throw up, but I tried to calm down. I should turn him in immediately, but if he had a foreign buyer lined up…this could be disastrous. I needed to think it through. “Don’t come near me again, Clive. It won’t go well for you.” I thought briefly of Gabe, of what he would do if he were here right now.

“But do we have a deal?”

“I’ll get back to you,” I said tightly, feeling sick.

Before he could say another slimy word, I got out, slammed the door, and stomped to my car, all pretenses of “normal” long gone.

My guard Timmy looked at me worriedly. “Is everything okay, Ms. Taylor? I don’t like to pry, but I know that was Mr. Warren, and you look upset.”

“Everything is not okay, Timmy.” I practiced yoga breathing in the backseat of the car. “But it’s going to be.”