chapter twenty-one
Max
“WE’RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME.” I settle into the chair beside my friend—and computer expert—Levi Cates. He’s hunched over Lily’s laptop, his own laptop hooked up to it, endless streams of code filling the screen. “Got anything yet?”
“Quite a bit, actually. I’ve been saving it up so I can dump it on you all at once,” Levi says, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms behind his head. He’s a big motherfucker. I met him when we served in the army together and now he assists me on the complex computer jobs. I know plenty about code and getting into a system and I discovered a few things, but there were encrypted sections deep inside Lily’s laptop that were impenetrable. That’s when I called in Levi.
“Like what?” I crack open the water bottle I brought with me and take a few swallows, trying to calm my nerves. My forty-eight hours are up, as Pilar so kindly let me know via a nasty voicemail message she left a few hours ago. She plans on dropping by my office by the end of the day.
I never let her know I had the laptop, just informed her that the job was done. I wanted to find out what the hell was on that computer before I just handed it over.
“First, the owner of this laptop is an expert at infiltrating other people’s systems. As in, she’s a well-trained hacker,” Levi says as he continues to tap the keyboard, his gaze never leaving the laptop’s screen.
“I figured that out already.” And the realization shocked the hell out of me. I had no idea Lily had the skills in her. Though I’m sure I’m not the first person to underestimate the woman.
“Uh-huh.” Levi hits the enter key a few times and then turns to look at me, his dark brown eyes laser sharp behind his glasses. “She broke into multiple email accounts of one Pilar Vasquez.”
“Right. My client.” I nod, glad I didn’t give Levi any information before he started digging. That’s how it usually goes. I want him to find out the info on his own unless he asks me about it. “Wait a minute. Multiple accounts? I only saw one.”
“So Pilar Vasquez is your client? Interesting.” Levi returns his attention to the laptop. He hits a few more keys and brings up an in-box. “She works for Fleur, right? That’s the in-box you found? Not much to note on the surface—a few flirtatious emails between her and Forrest Fowler, who I looked up. He’s the CEO of Fleur.”
“Yeah, and he’s involved with Pilar,” I add.
“Got that from the tone of their correspondence. But here’s what’s interesting.” Levi skims his index finger across the track pad, opening a folder entitled Home Design. Most of the emails that pop up are older, but there are a couple of recent ones, including an email from a few weeks ago. “She’s been chatting up a Zachary Lawrence, who from what it looks like travels all over Europe for work—he’s also a Fleur employee—but his current home base is in France. And he’s engaging in rather explicit emails with Pilar.”
“You gotta be kidding me.” I grab my phone out of my pocket and bring up one of my old web searches, one that involves Violet Fowler. Just as I thought. “That’s Violet’s ex-boyfriend.” I feel like a complete idiot for ignoring the folders saved within Pilar’s in-box, figuring they weren’t anything important. And I was in a hurry to find out any details I could to help Lily. I should have dug deeper.
“And that is … one of Forrest’s daughters.” Levi cocks a brow.
“The daughter who’s set to run Fleur one day,” I tell him.
“Yeah, well she’s not with this Zachary guy anymore, right? Because he’s chatting up your client every chance he gets, describing in lurid detail exactly what he’s going to do to her naked body the minute he gets near it. Here’s an example.” He clicks open one of the emails.
I miss the taste of your skin, the way your nipples feel between my lips, the way you scream my name and pull my hair when I make you squirt in my mouth.
Squirt? Shit. That’s not sexy. “Uh, I didn’t really need to see that,” I say with a grimace.
Levi closes out the email. “Yeah, well I thought since I had to suffer through it, you should, too. Considering you didn’t find it in the first place.”
Way to make me feel like a loser. I can beat my own self up, thank you very much. “Great. Appreciate it,” I mutter. “I’m sure her old man, Fowler, would be pissed to discover this interesting bit of information.”
“Well, this is just the tip of the iceberg.” Levi practically bounces in his chair he’s so excited. He lives for this sort of thing. Closing out of the Fleur in-box, he clicks on a few links, taps a couple of keys, and another in-box appears. “This is Pilar’s personal Gmail account. And let me tell you, this one is full of the goods.”
“Like what?” I lean in closer, peering at the screen, reading the endless list of emails that clutter up the in-box. “Doesn’t she ever clean this thing out?”
“From what I can tell, no, and that’s what makes it such a gold mine of information. I’m sure your little hacker had a field day when she discovered it.”
“And how do you know I took it from a woman?” I ask, turning to glare at Levi.
He laughs. “Give me a break. I know for a fact this laptop belongs to Lily Fowler, asshole. Forrest Fowler’s oldest daughter.”
“That obvious, huh?” We’ve run into computers in the past where Levi was never able to figure out exactly who owned it, they were that good at hiding their personal information. There are a lot of paranoid people out there.
Looks like Lily Fowler isn’t one of them.
“Yeah, there was no hiding for this chick. She’s as bold as she pleases.” Levi’s description of Lily is apt, making me miss her. It’s more than that. My entire body aches for her, and not just because of the sex, though it’s so damn good between us, I can’t deny it.
I just flat-out miss her. The sound of her voice, her sweet and sexy laugh. The way she looked at me, the things she said. How she so easily trusted me. And I screwed her over like a callous asshole.
An asshole who’s halfway in love with her, truth be told. I barely know her, but I know enough. I care for her, making what I did to her that much worse.
I felt like a shit the entire flight home, that laptop in the new backpack I purchased at the airport before the plane left sitting right at my feet. Mocking me, making me feel like the world’s biggest asshole.
I tried to sleep on that long-ass flight but I couldn’t. Was too wracked with guilt over what I did to Lily. Leaving her in her bed alone was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Taking the fucking laptop from her scored right up there as well.
She must hate me. And I can’t blame her. I wronged her. Stole from her.
She should hate me. I hate myself for what I did. But did I really steal from her? Or do her a damn favor?
“And there’s no hiding for Pilar Vasquez, either.” Levi shakes his head, a faint smile curling his lips—a rare sight. The dude is beyond intense, serious all the time. “I was blown away reading a lot of this shit, and you know me. I don’t get embarrassed easily.”
The stuff Levi has stumbled upon while thoroughly investigating someone’s hard drive has shocked even me, but he’s usually as cool as they come. Completely unruffled and always composed—that’s why I enjoy working with him so much. He gets the job done and he knows how to handle himself.
“Nasty shit or what, bro?” I ask, curiosity filling me.
“More like evil stuff. She’s mean as fuck. Like, makes me feel uneasy and afraid she’s lurking around the corner ready to jump me type shit.” Levi runs a hand through his dark hair, mussing it up further. The guy looks like he hasn’t slept or shaved for days and he probably hasn’t. He’s been too intent working on this case for me. I handed the laptop to him within a few hours of arriving back in New York after my search became stalled and he hasn’t let up since. “I’ll tell you this. I wouldn’t fuck with this chick. Lily Fowler’s got balls.”
Hell, and I’m seriously considering fucking with this chick. But I got balls, too. “So break it down for me. I need details.” We’re talking all around it and I need to know exactly what Lily did to Pilar—and what Pilar, in turn, did to Lily.
“All right, this is what I’ve come up with so far. Let’s focus on Fleur.” Levi holds out his splayed hand and starts counting down. “Let’s call your client PV. PV is a management employee at Fleur. She also happens to be fucking the CEO of Fleur. Looks to me like she has another Fleur employee on the side, but he’s in another country, so I don’t know if he really counts.”
“She used to be involved with yet another Fleur employee,” I point out, needing Levi to know this bit of information as well. “Ryder McKay. Violet Fowler’s current fiancé.”
“Well, hot shit. PV definitely gets around. Okay, so that adds an interesting twist. Explains a few things.” Levi strokes his stubble-covered chin, like he’s some sort of old-world professor. “She hates the Fowler sisters, that much is clear. Specifically Violet, and now I understand why. She’s with Ryder, who used to be with PV.”
“Soap opera shit, right?” I ask, shaking my head.
“Definitely twisted. Okay, here’s where it gets … bad. Besides PV messing around via email with Violet’s ex, who seems like a real slime ball from the communication I read between them, and probably having a hate-on for Violet because she’s with PV’s ex … there’s another element to the story.” Levi pauses, returning his attention to the laptop and opening up another email. “Pilar has become recent friends with one Felicity Winston, who is president of Jayne Cosmetics, which is a company similar to Fleur. The company was named after Felicity’s mother, Jayne, who died many years ago of breast cancer. Her aunt Laura Winston recently retired and handed over the reins. Felicity has a younger sister and brother, and they both work at Jayne Cosmetics, too.” Impatience rolls through me, making me feel twitchy. Levi’s giving me a bunch of information as if he’s leading to the buildup, when I want him to just get to the point.
“So?” I ask. “Friendly competition is normal, right?” I’m acquaintances with plenty of guys who run private investigation companies in the city. So is Levi.
“This goes beyond that,” Levi tells me. “It starts out innocent enough. Read this email.”
You are such a doll. Thank you again for inviting me to your party last Saturday night. It was such a delight to spend more time with you and your sister. I loved talking shop. Perhaps we can get together again soon.
Kisses,
Pilar
“This is the first email she sent to Felicity after she went to Felicity’s party, dated four months ago. They continued to chat each other up via email, nothing serious. Casual gossipy correspondence that’s boring as shit. But then about two months ago, things got interesting,” Levi explains.
I hate it there so much. Forrest is so cloying and tries to control my every move and he’s so fixated on Violet’s opinion on everything, it’s like I can’t make a decision on my own. Ever. Dahlia totters in on occasion and pontificates as if what she has to say matters, the old hag. I’m sick of it. Forrest is undermining my authority, as is Violet, and she’s in London for fuck’s sake! I know you have no openings at the moment for someone of my expertise but the second you know of something, please let me know.
xoxo
P
The venom in that one short email is telling. She wants out of Fleur. And she blames Violet for all of her problems.
“Pilar’s emails to Felicity go on in a similar vein for a few weeks, until everything changes,” Levi continues, his mouth settling in a grim line.
“What do you mean, everything changes?” I ask. “So she was trying to get the hell out of Fleur. So what? Wouldn’t Lily want that to happen?”
“I don’t know if Lily read the remaining emails. I can tell what was opened and what wasn’t; there’s a history that’s left behind and if you’re smart like me, you can figure it out.” Levi grins and I shove his shoulder, muttering under my breath. Show-off. “Lily stopped reading emails at the one you just read. No others were opened until me.”
“And what did those emails say?”
“It’s this one in particular that you need to read. It’s probably what’s pushing Pilar to get this laptop from Lily so damn bad,” Levi explains as he opens another email.
Felicity,
I understand you’re nervous, but trust me. I swear no one will find out about this. Please confirm you received the information I sent you, as promised.
xoxo
P
“Attached to this email is information about Fleur’s new line. The colors of the cosmetics, the names, the new perfumes named after the sisters. Everything,” Levi says.
Jesus. I take a drink of water, then run a hand over my face, my throat immediately going dry again. Pilar blames Lily for causing family turmoil and is giving away Fleur corporate secrets to their direct competition on the side, all while having an affair with Zachary Lawrence, Violet’s ex-boyfriend.
This is some seriously fucked-up shit.
“She must really hate Violet,” I say, blowing out a harsh breath. “All of the Fowlers, really.”
“No shit, Sherlock.” Levi snickers. “Though this isn’t funny, not at all. Your client PV? She is one conniving bitch.”
A conniving bitch I need to keep away from Lily. I should call her. Text her, though she probably won’t answer me. Would she? I doubt it. She’d probably tell me to go to hell and not believe a word I said, not that I can blame her.
“The Fowlers need to know about this, stat. Felicity Winston never responded to Pilar’s email and that went down a few weeks ago. Pilar’s probably freaking the fuck out, especially since she thinks Lily knows all and Felicity is ignoring her. Shit is about to hit the fan my, friend,” Levi continues.
“I need to talk to Lily first,” I mutter, rubbing my hand over my mouth, along my jaw, my mind spinning with all the possibilities. I want to tell her. I need to see her. But how do I approach her? She must be furious with me.
Levi turns in his chair to look at me, shaking his head. “This is a mess, bro. You’re working for the wrong person, you know.”
I sigh and lean forward, propping my elbows on the edge of the desk, and bend my head so I can run my hands through my hair. “I know. But how can I get out of it now? Pilar is going to be here any minute. She’ll want the laptop.” I narrow my eyes, trying to think of an alternative.
“Don’t give it to her.”
He makes it sound so easy. As if I can just tell Pilar to fuck off. It’s not even the laptop that Pilar should be concerned about. It’s the fact that Lily dug into her private information and knows what she’s done in the last couple of years, including some damning details. All the bullshit, all the lies, all the conniving and plotting and planning to fuck the entire company over by giving away information in the hopes of getting get a new position.
Taking that laptop will not solve all of Pilar’s problems. Ruining Lily is what’s going to give her any sort of satisfaction.
“What else is on it?” At Levi’s questioning glance, I continue. “The laptop. Anything … incriminating?”
“Nothing much else, with the exception of one thing.” Levi sighs. “Hey, I know Lily Fowler is a public figure. I’ve seen her on that TMZ TV show or whatever. I don’t get why everyone’s fascinated with her. I mean, she’s hot. But what does she do? I lump her in with the Kardashians and the Hiltons, useless celebrities who look pretty and cause trouble.”
I press my lips together to keep from blurting out that there’s so much more to Lily than looking good and causing trouble. She’s sweet and easygoing. She never acted like she wanted a lick of attention from anyone but me. When I was with her, she was nothing like the party-girl persona I saw in the media. But he doesn’t know that I actually spent time with her, got to know her, got naked with her.
It’s best that he doesn’t know. He’s my friend, but I don’t want to look like a complete failure in his eyes.
And fucking around with the person I’m supposed to be trailing after? That’s definitely failing.
“What’s that got to do with anything?” I ask, keeping my voice even, trying my damnedest to appear neutral. That Lily doesn’t matter to me.
“You wanted to know if there’s anything incriminating on this laptop? Well, there is—against its owner. I found other encrypted files, ones that Lily put on the laptop over a year ago. I broke into them.” Levi studies me, his gaze narrowed. “What exactly did she do when she was in Maui, anyway? ’Cause she sure wasn’t trying to gather up evidence against Pilar. She totally missed those last emails between her and Felicity, which blows my mind. But maybe that was enough for her? Before the actual dirty dealing started to happen, Felicity would hint that she wanted to know the latest happenings with the Fleur product lines, but Pilar always blew her off. It read like they were circling around each other, trying to see who’d cave in first and offer up the goods.”
“Lily spent a lot of time outside,” I lie. More like she spent a lot of time with me.
“Huh.” Levi rubs his chin again. “There’s naked pictures on it.”
“What?” The word blasts out of me like a shot. “Of Lily?”
Levi nods. “Lots of them. Topless shots, ass pics, and one full nude—the girl is crazy for leaving them on her laptop, but they’re there. Some of them I can tell were transferred from an old cell phone. Most of them are old. I thought they might all be on her cloud storage, but I think she only saved them to her Time Capsule at home. No one else would be able to access them unless she has another computer in her apartment that has access to the Time Capsule.”
Ah, Lily. Keeping naked photos on her laptop? What the hell is wrong with her? At least they’re not in the cloud, like all those other celebrity photos that were recently exposed. “Pilar would love to have them.”
“She’d probably blast them all over the internet,” Levi says.
“I can’t let her have this laptop.” I exhale loudly and hang my head.
“Nope, you absolutely cannot,” Levi agrees cheerfully.