Chapter Eight
Blah, blah, blah was what Cassie absorbed as Drew stood at the front of the room. A full wall of the latest technology in screens displayed his presentation behind him. He was saying real words. Important words. “…based on those findings, we recommend you…”
But she only listened with half an ear as he presented to the Malhurst execs. This was his account primarily, but Kevin insisted she attend. It appeared her reputation and name were becoming well known enough among their clientele that he deemed her presence necessary, despite not having much to do with the analysis.
Giving up a little control and letting Drew take over projects felt…good.
Drew didn’t need her help. He had a commanding presence, an excellent speaking voice, and his analysis and recommendations were spot on. His gaze swept the room, and she could practically hear his brain ticking over as he assessed the response to his presentation real time, adjusting to the input and tweaking his spiel as he went. But he didn’t look at her. Those blue eyes passed over the spot where she sat like she was a hole in the water.
He’s avoiding eye contact.
For a brief, crazy moment, she considered removing one of the pencils from her hair and chucking it at his head. But rejected the move as childish and unprofessional.
A week after that scorching kiss and suddenly he could hardly take the time to ask for a quick opinion. He’d managed to find excuses not to be alone with her. No more hours together in one or the other of their cubes.
Why? They could keep their hands off if they wanted.
Be honest, the little voice inside her head insisted. The one that all too often sounded like her mother.
Okay, so maybe they couldn’t keep their hands off. Maybe touching Drew was a temptation—a stirring, heart-tripping temptation—and one she couldn’t resist. Correction, one she hadn’t been able to resist yet. She’d thought about their kiss in the server room more often than was decent. Or conducive to work, sleep, or the price of beans.
He’d caught her staring sometimes, but then, she’d caught him doing the same, with a look that sent heat to every corner of her body.
“That’s exactly what we were looking for, Drew,” the CEO from Malhurst said, interrupting Cassie’s meandering thoughts. “I think your recommendations fit perfectly with the business plan we’ve been working on for our ten-year plan.”
Cassie smiled, a little glow of—what, pride?—in his achievements warming her.
No, she corrected. Not pride in him, pride in their company. Pride in Drew indicated a connection that didn’t exist. One where she got to be proud of him and call him things like hers. She might be over her initial anger and anxiety at his being hired, and she might be hot for the guy, but that didn’t mean she trusted—
“Thanks, John. I can’t take all the credit. Without Marnie’s diagnostic work, I wouldn’t have seen the connection with your Sunshine line and the gap in the market which presents you with that unique opportunity.” Drew pointed to Marnie whose cheeks pinkened as she nodded her thanks for his acknowledgment.
Every cell inside Cassie froze. Had Drew just shared the credit? With a woman? Cassie bit her lip and tried not to sink to the carpet in a highly impressed, overemotional, and strangely turned-on puddle. The cleaning crew would never forgive her.
Still, she hung back as the room emptied. Kevin walked the Malhurst execs out while Drew gathered up his things. She made her way up to where he had his back turned toward her, and cleared her throat.
Drew jumped before he turned, gaze wary in a way that hurt in a spot just under the left side of her ribs. What’d he think? That she was going to jump him right there and demand sex?
Wait? Did I say that one out loud?
It was certainly something that would usually bypass the broken filter. Cassie paused and waited to see if he showed any reaction, relaxing only when he continued to stare at her, unspeaking.
“Great presentation,” she said.
“Thanks.”
She wanted to say more, but, for once in her overtalkative life, she couldn’t find the right words. So, instead, she stepped into him. Drew stiffened as she placed a hand on his chest, went up on tiptoe, and kissed his cheek.
The man could’ve been hewn from cut glass, he was so still and tense. Disappointment settled over her like a blanket woven out of lead. Message received. She forced a little smile that she hoped appeared the opposite of how she felt. “That’s for sharing the credit with Marnie. Not many in our industry do.”
Not a word, a blink, or a muscle twitch in response.
So she walked away.
…
It took Cassie all of five steps away from him for Drew to move.
He was crossing a dangerous line, or on a slippery slope, or whatever other cliché you wanted to throw at the situation. He could’ve held on. After a week of ignoring every instinct he had that screamed at him to spend time with Cassie, get to know her better, and—hell, yes—kiss her a lot more, he’d thought he could make it through the investigation. After everything was over, then he could approach her.
But no way could he watch her walk away after every spark of hope in her stunning eyes had died. Stealing candy from a baby while kicking puppies and burning a hole in the ozone layer couldn’t even feel this horrible.
“Cassie.” Her name tumbled off his lips even before he’d made a final decision, or maybe his heart made it for him. No brain required.
She glanced over her shoulder, her hand on the doorknob, and raised her eyebrows.
Words failed sometimes.
Instead, Drew stalked across the room, enjoying how her eyes widened with every purposeful step he took. She turned to face him fully just as he invaded her space. Drew stepped close enough to feel her heat, relishing the faint gasp that parted her lips. He leaned into her, hand on the door behind her to ensure it stayed closed.
He gazed down into bright blue-green eyes, where a wary spark of hope had ignited, and scoured his brain for a smooth, suck-the-breath-out-of-her-lungs, thing to say. Inspiration struck and he smiled even as he spoke the words. “I’d like to unzip your files.”
She froze and blinked up at him so long Drew started to worry she didn’t get it. They hadn’t had any word play all week. Well, she’d tried, and he’d ignored. But this one was out of context, right out of the blue. Maybe…
Cassie burst out laughing, deep belly laughs that he couldn’t resist chuckling along with, even though he wasn’t quite sure yet if she was laughing at him or with him.
“That has to be the nerdiest pickup line in history.”
Drew grinned back like a moron, and relief whooshed through him as two things became evident. First, she got it. Second, she seemed receptive given the big smile and sparkly eyes, along with the fact that she wasn’t running away screaming.
“Did it work?”
They both sobered. Longing swept away any urge to laugh, and Drew swam through those eyes of hers. His body tightened in anticipation. Their breath mingled as he dipped his head, unable to wait a second longer to taste her lips again.
“Drew, are you still in here?”
Kevin’s attempt to open the door stopped short when it bumped up against Drew’s hand and Cassie’s backside.
In sync, he and Cassie jumped and moved out of the way. He wasn’t sure about her, but he was also working on suppressing every ounce of the sexual tension that hummed between them like a guitar string.
Kevin stuck his head inside the door. “Oh, there you are.” If he noticed anything odd, he didn’t give it away, thank God. “I wanted to tell you…the Malhurst people were impressed, and they want to hire Data Minds for another five projects.”
Smile you idiot. Only he couldn’t make his face do it because he was still in the moment with the woman beside him. “Sounds good,” he settled for.
Kevin glanced at Cassie who shrugged. “Well, go gather up your stuff. We’re taking anyone in the office that can make it out for celebratory drinks. First round is on the company.”
“We’re leaving right now?” Cassie asked, a squeak to her voice.
Was she thinking the same thing as him? Something along the lines of, damn it all to hell and back up again. They exchanged a swift glance, and he’d guess she was using some other term, given her use of the most unusual swear words he’d come across, but the same general sentiment.
Kevin waited expectantly, seemingly oblivious to the undercurrents, and obviously assuming they’d want to jump on this fabulous plan right away.
Like being swept up in a riptide, Drew and Cassie followed their boss out of the conference room and got busy shutting down for the day. Kevin couldn’t have picked a local bar. No, he picked the hottest bar in town, smack dab in the middle of the busiest restaurant district. They’d have to take a cab and hope they didn’t get stuck in traffic.
“I think the universe is against me,” Cassie muttered in the elevator.
“Yeah,” he agreed. “It had a meeting about both of us.”
Standing on the sidewalk outside, Drew counted heads, then grabbed Cassie’s arm and scooted them back to be amongst the last to leave. If his calculations were correct…
“No more room you two,” Marnie said as she stuffed herself into the cab with two other Data Minds employees.
“We’ll get the next one,” Drew said.
Less than a minute later they were strapping into the back of a taxi. “Hudson and 10th,” Drew instructed the driver.
He and Cassie sat in palpable silence for a block.
She took a deep breath. “I guess we’ll just have to wait—”
Drew turned and took her face between his hands, knocking her glasses wonky. Not that either of them really noticed with his mouth over hers, swallowing her words before she could finish speaking. Then she licked his lower lip with the tip of her tongue and it was all over.
Vaguely, he heard the cabbie mutter something like, “Awesome.”
Nothing could’ve stopped them. If her seat belt would’ve allowed her to crawl onto his lap, he would’ve had her there in a heartbeat, rubbing against the part of him that ached and strained for her with every sweep of their tongues, every press of their lips, every sexy little sigh or moan that escaped her throat.
“Is the corner good?”
Drew distantly registered the cabbie’s question, the fact that the car had stopped moving, and their position at the curb, surrounded by streams of pedestrians and unending traffic. He blinked, staring down at Cassie. He’d been 100 percent focused on the woman in his arms and the sexual haze that had taken over his body and mind.
Suddenly the door swung open behind her. “Cassandra Elaine Howard,” a woman’s voice exclaimed on a gasp.
He and Cassie sprang apart, sucking in air while they adjusted to the fact that they’d arrived, and someone recognized her.
Cassie buried her face in his shirt. “Oh my God,” she muttered.
“Are you…making out in the back of a cab?”
“Who is she?” he asked.
Cassie lifted her gaze to his, her body shaking with suppressed laughter. “My mom,” she half-whispered, half-groaned.
He didn’t say anything, but his expression must’ve said it all, because she snorted a laugh.
“Get out of that cab this instant,” the woman demanded.
Every instinct in Drew’s body had him curling a protective arm around her shoulders. He could tell the words came from shock—and maybe a bit of horror—so he kept quiet.
“Cassandra.”
She winced. “We’d better get moving.”
They scooted out of the car and stood before a woman who was a taller, more angular version of her daughter, with the same pale hair, worn short, but dark eyes rather than blue.
Cassie drew herself up to her full five-foot height. “What are you doing here, Mother?”
Older-Cassie glanced between them. “Having dinner with friends. Are you going to introduce me to your…associate?”
Cassie’s shoulders slumped a bit. “Sorry. Mother, this is Drew Kerrigan. Drew, my mother, Susan Howard.”
Drew held out a hand. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Howard. You must be proud of your daughter.”
She gave his hand a delicate shake. “I usually am.” She glanced at Cassie. “Maybe not as much at the moment.”
What could one say to that? Especially when her disapproving stare had the effect of reducing him to a teenager.
“Mother—”
Drew cleared his throat. No way was he letting Cassie take the fall. “I’m afraid that was mostly my fault, Mrs. Howard.”
“Oh?” Susan Howard stared at him. This woman must be who taught Cassie her bug-under-a-microscope skills.
“Oh?” Cassie echoed her mother.
What did he say now? He’d already blown any shot he had of impressing Cassie’s parent. “Cassie and I work together.”
Why that made a difference, he had no idea, but Mrs. Howard’s eyebrows flew up. She glanced at Cassie whose cheeks pinkened.
After what he could only describe as the longest awkward silence in the history of awkward silences, Mrs. Howard sighed and glanced at her watch. “I’d love to hear more about how working together ended up with you kissing my daughter in a taxi, but I’m running late.”
She pinned Cassie with a meaningful look, “We’ll talk later.” Then gave him a nod. “Nice to meet you.”
“You, too,” he called after her departing form.
What the heck just happened? He turned to find Cassie staring after her mother with a frustrated expression.
“Why do I get the impression you’re in trouble?” he asked.
Cassie blushed again, ignored his question, and started walking down the street. “I can’t believe my mother caught us making out.”
Neither could Drew.
The problem was, apparently even that embarrassing interruption had done nothing to cool his libido. He eyed a small alleyway as they passed it, picturing pulling her into the shadowed space and taking back up where they left off before being interrupted.
“I want to hold your hand.” The words escaped unbidden.
She glanced up, eyes wide. “We can’t.”
He gave a self-deprecating smile. “I know. But I want to.”
She grinned and cocked her head. “You don’t seem like the hand-holding type,” she teased.
“I’m not, normally.”
“But I’m special.” She gave a little wiggle, so he knew she was just joking.
“Yes.” Drew mentally smacked himself in the head. Apparently knowing she was joking didn’t stop him from making an ass of himself.
Cassie sobered. “Thanks. No one’s called me special before. Brilliant or quirky maybe, but not special.”
The vulnerability behind her eyes was his undoing. “Then they were idiots.”
“I always thought so.” They shared a smile. “For the record, I think you’re pretty special, too, Drew Kerrigan.”
“Thanks,” he accepted gruffly. What had he gotten himself into?
“And a damn good kisser.”
The tension snapped and Drew tossed his head back and laughed.
Luckily, the bar where they were headed sat farther down the block, so at least the incident with her mother hadn’t played out in front of the entire Data Minds team. He placed his hand at the small of her back, ostensibly escorting her through the crowds, the need to touch her his true motivation. She stiffened at first, but then sort of melted into his touch in a way that told him she liked his hands on her.
Before he was ready to let her go, they arrived at the bar. Cassie beat him to the door and swung it open.
“Maybe later we can talk about that penetration testing that needs to happen,” she flung over her shoulder, barely breaking stride to deliver the line as she walked inside.
Drew stopped walking and smothered a groan, not only at the goofy line, but at the not-remotely-goofy, X-rated images it produced for him. He shoved his hands in his pockets and forced his feet to move, keeping Cassie’s body directly in front of him until he could calm the hell down.
Loaded lines like that did not help.
A vibrating in his pocket alerted him to an incoming message. He pulled out the phone and checked the screen. The field office. This couldn’t be good. His boss wanted to talk to the team, which could only mean one thing.
He texted back the current situation, setting a time for later that night, shoved the phone back in his pocket, and glanced up. Right in time to catch Cassie staring his way with an expression that had him hot and hard and gritting his teeth.
Drew wasn’t sure which he was more frustrated about…the progress on his investigation or having to cancel all thoughts of taking Cassie home after drinks.
…
Drew did his best to appear confident and purposeful as he stared his boss down over a TV screen.
“What you’re saying is you’ve found nothing to substantiate the concerns that led us to this point?” his director asked.
“No. I’m saying we need more time to collect the necessary evidence.”
“You’re the best hacker I’ve ever come across, Kerrigan. If you haven’t found it by now, the evidence doesn’t exist.”
Drew leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “I think that’s a possibility we have to consider. However, there are enough odd things in their systems that I feel it’s worth a little more time to be sure.”
“And what about Cassie Howard? Are these odd things pointing to her, as you suspected?”
“No. Not yet.” He hid a grimace. Even conceding the possibility still existed made him feel disloyal to her. The woman intrigued him, frustrated him, played along with him, and understood him like no one else did. He could be entirely himself with her, which was…nice.
“Any other suspects?” his director asked.
“We’ve been taking a closer look at the three partners.”
“Why?”
“Call it a gut feeling, sir. If they are using competitor information, it’s highly unlikely they’d be doing so without knowledge.”
He received a long, hard stare but refused to shift in his seat like an errant schoolboy being brought to task by the principal. Besides, his director had nothing on Cassie’s mother in the assessing looks department.
“What does the rest of your team think?”
“They trust my judgment.” If his boss had to ask, that wasn’t a good sign. “I’ve had the team following the partners in their off hours.”
Mild curiosity stared back at him. “And?”
“We have nothing concrete, but some of their behavior is raising a red flag.”
“Like what?” their director asked.
Drew shrugged. “Meetings in hotels, which could be clients, or could be something else. We’re working to identify the other parties. Use of computers in places like libraries, that one is more concerning.”
“Work with the library and apply those hacking skills. Do what you can.”
“Yes, sir.” Drew nodded.
“A few more weeks, Kerrigan. That’s all I’m giving you before I pull the plug and we call this one a dead end.”
“Yes, sir,” he repeated, doing his best to imbue his response with confidence.
They hung up on the call, and Drew sat for a long while, working through next steps. With only two weeks to do it, he needed to decide where to focus the teams’ efforts. Obviously, he’d continue to search the Data Minds systems. He hadn’t ruled Cassie out, but he now had major doubts that she was the mastermind. A pawn maybe, but that didn’t add up, either.
He was navigating a dogfight in this situation. No matter where he flew, the air was full of missiles ready to blast him. Decision made—and God, he hoped it was the right one—he left the conference room to talk to his team.
“I suggest we focus our investigation away from Ms. Howard and on the partners,” he said. “Particularly on Lou Markinson. If you have a major objection or concern, or a better idea, now’s the time to raise it.”
No one spoke. At least his team still had faith in him.
“Investigate all three partners, but dig on Lou.”
“Have we ruled Cassie Howard out?” his surveillance specialist asked.
“Not until we have hard data that says this is all someone else.”
“If we do rule her out, why don’t we ask her for help?”
Not a bad idea—the more his gut unclenched the more he was sure Cassie wasn’t the bad guy here, so having her help was feasible—except the second he told Cassie about the investigation, it’d be over between them. Maybe if he broke it to her gently? “Give me a few more days to be doubly sure. Then we’ll see about bringing her in.”
Plan in place, they broke up for the night and he headed back to his apartment, mind turning over his two assignments: finish the mission, win Cassie over.