Devotion (The Seductors Series Book 3) (14 page)

“Stop changing the subject!”

“I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m about to start a new top mission for fucks sake! Doesn’t that tell you something? I’m over him. I’ve moved on.”  

“It’s for the best, you know. You couldn’t have lived that lie for the rest of your life.”

“He hates me now. None of that matters,” I muttered, not even looking up at her while I read my notes. I was heading out to San Francisco tomorrow to get ready for the first contact with my new target.

On paper, Adam Stone looked like an upstanding businessman. He’d made his money thanks to his bar chain,
Stone’s Cocktail Bars
. The man behind the company, however, was
very
different. He funded several large criminal organizations and leaders, and was blackmailing a crime lord who didn’t want to do business with him. I’d been hired to infiltrate Mr. Stone’s home and gain access to his safe that held the gun that was being used to blackmail my client.    

The mission looked easier than it was. Mr. Stone was known for his womanizing ways, so I’d have to work hard to make him want me for more than one night. Apparently, he got bored very easily.

Miles had set up an interview for me in one of Mr. Stone’s bars in San Francisco, which was what I was currently researching. I knew absolutely nothing about cocktails.

“Are you good with cocktails?” I suddenly asked Georgie.

“I’m the queen of cocktails. What do you want to know?” she grinned, slumping down on the bed next to me.

“I need to know everything.”

“Get a pen and paper. It’s going to be a long night.” Sometimes even
I
was surprised at how awesome Georgie was.

 
“You have some talent, Jade,” Gabby mused, watching me pour the seventh cocktail she’d asked me to make. “I love the twist of lime you added to the Woo Woo.” She was an attractive brunette, and also the bar manager here.

“Does that mean I have the job?” I pleaded.

“I’ll give you a one week trial, but I think you’ll fit in here just fine,” she smiled, handing me an apron. “Welcome to Stone’s. Can you start right away?”

“Sure,” I beamed. Now all I needed to do was get Mr. Stone to notice me when he came into work later.

I kept myself busy by wiping down tables and clearing glasses. There were a few other waitresses working, but none of them introduced themselves to me.

“You’re new here,” a voice called from behind me. I turned to see a tall, dark, burly man looking down at me. “I’m Carl. I’m with security.”

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Jade.”

“Watch out for the guy in the blue suit at the bar. He likes to grope the waitresses. If you get into any trouble, just give me a shout.”

“Thanks,” I smiled, collecting a few more glasses as he walked back over to the doorway.  

“I see you’ve made a friend already,” Gabby chuckled as I stepped behind the bar. I frowned at her. “Carl is a teddy bear. It’s Simon and Tim you need to watch out for. They see all you waitresses as conquests and then make bets as it who will nail you first.”

“That’s horrible.”

“That’s life here, Jade. Make sure you’re on your guard at all times, and if Mr. Stone takes a liking to you, make sure you reciprocate if you want to keep your job.”

“Mr. Stone?” I relied. “Who is that?”

“Adam Stone. He owns the chain. He lives in San Francisco and often brings his friends here to share the wealth.”

“Oh, wow.” I acted flustered.

“Just don’t drop any glasses while he’s here. That’s the one thing he hates the most. Clumsiness.”

“I won’t, Gabby. I promise.”

“You’ve done well this afternoon. You can head home in an hour. I’ll put you on the evening shift tomorrow.” I nodded, going to collect more glasses. “Oh, and Jade? Wear something low cut tomorrow night. It’s standard uniform for evening shifts.”
Great, I was working for a sexist asshole!

I was staying in a small apartment a few blocks from the bar. It was a little on the shabby side, but I was playing a penniless waitress this time. I sent a progress report to headquarters the moment I got back.
Having secured my job, I knew it would only be a matter of days until I made first contact with my target.

I was reading through the new case notes that Miles had sent me when the system suddenly shut down. That had
never
happened to me before. I reached for my phone, wondering if maybe my laptop had crashed. The secure network for my cell was down, too. Holy shit! The Seductors had
never
had a system blackout before. What the fuck was going on? There wasn’t even have an emergency protocol to follow for a situation like this.

I don’t know why, but while I sat staring at my empty screen, Oliver crossed my mind.
No, that was impossible. Okay, he was a nerd, but he couldn’t breach The Seductors system. There were too many firewalls in place.

My panic was quickly lifted when the system came back online again. Was it an energy surge? Why had it never happened before?

An update was sent from Miles a few moments later.

Virus detected. Had to do an immediate shutdown. No further threats. No Breach. Nothing compromised. Will test all signals. Please respond to this message.

Miles

A virus? I didn’t even realize that was possible with our level of technology. I responded to his email, then waited an hour before calling him. I wanted to know what was going on.

“Is now a good time to talk?” I asked when Miles answered right away.

“Yes. Everything is running fine. I’m just doing a clean up on the system now.”

“What happened?”

“Somehow, when I was accessing the US Government servers through the trapdoor I installed, I unintentionally downloaded a virus. I’m still trying to work out if it came from NASA or the US Army.”

“How is that even possible?”

“Someone may have been trying to breach the US government’s firewall. We’re the only company who has hidden access to their system. No one else has our level of technology. They may have tried using a virus to break through the government’s defenses. It’s been tried before.”

“Okay, I just wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

“You’re safe, Jade. Mr. Kirkham can’t touch you. I’ll make sure of that. Stop worrying. The mission ended months ago.”

“I wasn’t thinking that…”

“Sure you weren’t. Stop worrying, he can’t find you,” he snorted. “I’ve just seen your progress report, too. Sonia will be pleased.”

“I’m hoping to get my first meet with my target tomorrow.”

“I’ll let Sonia know. Take care and stop worrying. I’ve got this covered.” Was it wrong that I was a little disappointed? Secretly, I was hoping Oliver
was
behind the virus.
Jade, you wouldn’t be that lucky. All of that is over. You need to move on.
I could still dream, though, right?

“Where is my Singapore Sling?” a guy slurred over the bar at me.

“It’s almost done,” I called over the noise of the crowd, adding the last shot of gin. Remembering all these cocktails was tough even for me.

“Jade!” Gabby shouted from the other end of the bar. “We need more Vodka. Can you get some from the cellar?” I nodded, handing the guy his drink before making my way downstairs.
  

I was bent over in the cellar when I heard male voices behind me.

“Now that is a luscious ass. Lean over a bit more, Baby.” I stood up, turning to see two security guys ogling me.  Tim and Simon, I gathered. I knew Carl was working the front door.

“Don’t you boys have work to do?” I glared.

“You’re the new chick, Jade, right?” Wow, these guys were
really
clever.  

“Yes, and you’re Tim and Simon.”

“How do you know that?” one of them asked.

“I’ve been warned about you two already,” I smirked, trying to get past them. I was pinned against the wall as I tried to move.

“You find something funny?” the creep chuckled darkly.

“Tim, man, come on. If the Boss sees us, we’re in so much trouble.” The other guy was trying to pull his friend off me.

“I’m going to be watching you carefully, Jade. I’ve already taken quite a shine to you. I like your attitude.” Great! Another fucking asshole to look out for.  

“What the hell is going on in here?” a firm voice called. Tim and Simon quickly released me. Their sudden action caused me to drop the two bottles of vodka I was holding.

“M…Mr.…Mr. Stone…we were just…”

“Harassing the waitresses again. I can see,” Mr. Stone seethed, moving his eyes to me. I pretended to tremble, clutching my waist. “Look at the poor girl. Go and do some work! I’ll be having words with the two of you later!” Both men scurried off.

“Mr. Stone I…I’m sorry about the vodka, please don’t fire me. I
need
this job!”

“You’re the new girl, am I right?” he mused, walking into the cellar. Mr. Stone wasn’t a bad looking guy. He was lean with mousy brown hair and deep blue eyes. Getting physical with this guy wouldn’t have bothered me before I’d met Oliver, but I was still repulsed when I thought about another man touching me. I’d have to get over that, though. I had a mission to complete. This wasn’t the last target I’d have to sleep with, either. I still had four years of my contract to complete. This was just the beginning.

“Y…yes,” I muttered, looking down at the floor. I needed to work out what kind of man he was. Insecure Jade was always a good character to start with.

“Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

“No, they just scared me a little.”

“They’re harmless, really. Their bark is worse than their bite. I’ll speak to them later and tell them to leave you alone.”

“You’d do that for me?”

“I don’t have many blonde waitresses, and Gabby tells me you’re a quick learner.”
  

“Thank you, Mr. Stone.”

“Call me Adam,” he grinned. “And don’t worry about the vodka. I’ll take it out of Tim and Simon’s wages.” I nodded with a little giggle. “You better get back to work. Friday is a busy night here.”

“Of course,” I stressed, moving quickly to grab two more bottles of vodka. Purposely, I bent over right in front of him, giving him a good view of my ass. I was wearing my denim shorts and a low cut top. I heard a sharp intake of breath behind me.
 “You can leave you know, I don’t think I'll get into any more trouble tonight,” I called over my shoulder.