Hardline (4 page)

  
An unexpected series of events, many of them orchestrated by Blake, had brought us here. Vegas had been a turning point among them, and the memory of our first time together still warmed me from head to toe. There had been only lust between us then, but lust had turned to obsession and somewhere in that wild blur, I had fallen in love with him.
 

  
“I’m not sure I should take time away from work right now.” The past few hours had pushed Risa and Max and their whole scheming madness out of my mind, but slowly reality crept back in.
 

  
“I think you’ve earned it. Let me take you away for a few days. There will always be something we need to do and someone who needs us. But there’s nothing that can’t wait an extra day or two.”
 

  
I raised my eyebrows, the compulsive worker in me not entirely believing him. “You sure?”

  
“Positive. In fact, I’ve just decided I’m not giving you a choice. We’ll leave after work tomorrow.”
I grinned, a little thrill working its way through me. “What should I pack?”

  
“I’ll put a bag together for you.”
 

  
“You don’t have to do that.”

  
“I’m not sure you’ll be wearing clothes much anyway, so it doesn’t really matter, does it? Bikini, some thongs. That should do fine.”
 

  
I laughed and playfully swatted his face. He caught my hand and growled, hauling me on top of him.
 

  
“Until then, I think we need to make a little noise of our own.”

  
I laughed again and shook my head. “Not to be outdone, Blake. You are incorrigible.”
 

  
“Trust me, I have no interest in hearing my little brother getting laid. The only way I can send a message is to return the favor. All I need to do is figure out a way to make you scream for me.”
 

  
My smile slipped a little. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight and stoking the fire with every soft graze of his fingertips over my skin.
 

  
“I have a feeling you already know how to do that very well.”

  
* * *

  
A loud knock woke me. Blake stirred behind me but didn’t wake.
 

  
“Erica, are you up?” The muffled voice came from behind the door.

  
I slipped on Blake’s T-shirt and glanced back to make sure Blake was decently covered. I opened the door a bit. Alli was wide-eyed and already dressed for work.
 

  
“What?” I frowned. “What time is it anyway?”

  
“It’s eight o’clock. Get dressed. I need to show you something.”

  
I studied her with tired eyes, not awake enough to comprehend anything beyond wanting to curl up in bed with Blake again. “What is it?”

  
“Just get moving and meet me at the office.”
 

  
“Why—”

  
Before I could finish she’d disappeared down the hallway and the door clicked shut a few seconds later. I turned back into the bedroom and headed to the bathroom. Blake was still sleeping when I finished my shower. I dressed quickly and hovered over him a moment, enjoying the rare peace on his countenance as he slept. Of the two of us, he was typically the early riser, but it had been a long night. Some nights we couldn’t get enough of each other, and last night had turned into the morning before sleep finally found us. I pressed a soft kiss to his cheek and left for work.
 

  
When I walked into the office, the entire team was huddled around James, their eyes glued to something on his display monitor. I joined them, unsure at first of what I was looking at.
 

  
“What’s going on?”

  
“This site, PinDeelz launched last night,” Alli explained. “All our Clozpin users were messaged about the launch, including us. Very discreet.”
 

  
I leaned over James’s shoulder as he navigated through pages of a site that, though different in its branding, displayed very similarly to ours. My stomach fell when each page displayed ads from Bryant’s, one of our major advertisers who had yet to renew their contract with us for the following month.
 

  
Motherfucker.

  
I straightened and disappeared to my office. I whipped open my laptop and investigated the site further. The about page listed Max as its founder and Risa as its chief operating officer. Not surprisingly, Trevor’s role wasn’t mentioned, but I knew damn well that the hacker who’d spent months, maybe years, trying to ruin Blake’s ventures had been pivotal in getting this competing site off the ground. Even if that meant taking a break from relentlessly attacking my and Blake’s businesses.
 

  
Anger surged through me. I could barely process that this was happening. Sid and I had spent months fine-tuning Clozpin, making it what it was today. All our success, all the mistakes and the lessons, had been swiftly copied and enhanced.
 

  
Alli joined me and sat in the chair across from my desk, my concern reflecting in her features. She worried her lip but said nothing. Inside I was flying into a psychotic rage. I wanted to throw the biggest temper tantrum anyone had ever seen. I wanted to curse, and God help me if I could get Max and Risa...and Trevor...in front me, there would be blood.
 

  
“I can’t believe they really did it.”
 

  
“I know,” she said quietly.

  
“I’m in disbelief that someone would harbor so much hatred for me and for Blake that they would do something like this. Total sabotage.”

  
“They won’t last, Erica.”

  
I let out a short laugh. “Why not? What’s keeping them from it? You met Risa. You know how determined she is, and with Max’s money, I see no reason why they can’t completely wipe us out now. This market isn’t big enough to support two sites with such similar offerings.”
 

  
“Don’t think like that. We’re far from doomed. I have been talking to a lot of new prospects since I’ve been back. It’s a process, but we’re close to closing more. We’re established, and we have the track record. I’m shocked they could get Bryant’s to take a risk with them being so new.”
 

  
I was pissed all over again imagining what Risa must have said to lure one of our biggest advertisers away. “What am I supposed to do now?”

  
“We keep going. They want to distract us and scare us. Don’t let them do that.”

  
I shook my head. Nothing she said would improve my present mood. Deep down, I didn’t believe her either. The sky was falling, and I couldn’t sit back and watch them tear down everything I’d worked for.

  
The morning passed, and I didn’t feel any less exasperated by the situation. I’d wasted hours obsessing over every detail of their new site, comparing every bell and whistle to ours. My insecurities were at the wheel, and they were steadily driving me right off the tracks. By lunch, most of my adrenaline rush had worn off and my body reminded me that I’d been up half the night with Blake. I needed coffee.
 

  
I walked down to Mocha and took a small table in the corner. I fidgeted with the paper menu even though I always got the same thing. Simone sauntered up, carrying more than a few stares with her as she moved across the cafe. Her red hair, enviable curves, and saucy smile greeted me a moment later.
 

  
“How’s my favorite techie?”

  
“I’ve had better days,” I said. “Anyway, I thought James was your favorite techie.”
 

  
She smirked and leaned against the table. “Yeah, well, he’s getting there. I’m not completely convinced he’s not still pining over you.”

  
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I really hoped James had moved on, and Simone absolutely had my blessing. From his mop of inky black hair to his muscled sleeve of ink, James was her dream man. The only problem was he’d read all the signs wrong when Blake and I had been apart. Or maybe he’d read them right, knowing I was in desperate need of a friend, of anything or anyone to fill the void that being away from Blake had created. I hadn’t known until too late that nothing would ever fill that void except for the man who shared my bed now.
 

  
“I don’t think you have to worry about that, Simone.”

  
She frowned slightly. “You guys never hooked up did you?”

  
“No.” My eyes went wide at the suggestion. “God, no.”

  
She laughed. “Relax. It was just a question.”
 

  
Except it wasn’t. It was an unwelcome reminder of the indiscretion that James and I had shared. Regret washed over me every time I thought of that weak moment outside the office. At the time, I had been convinced Blake was up to no good with Risa, not to mention his ex-girlfriend Sophia who had been ruthless in her pursuit of him. Everything was mixed up and confused. I didn’t know what the future held until I found myself in James’s arms, swept up in a kiss that quickly faded into the cold reality that if there would be any man in my future, Blake would be that man.
 

  
“What’s wrong, hon? You look wiped out.”

  
I looked up. “I am. Just work stuff. Long story.”
 

  
“Want to give me the cliff notes tonight? You can break it down into layman’s terms for me over a cocktail. You know I only understand half the shit you guys say anyway.”
 

  
I gave a weak laugh. “I’m going out of town with Blake tonight, but maybe we could grab a quick drink before we leave. Do you care if he comes?”

  
“’Course not. Now, what can I get you?”

  
I ordered and took my time with my food. Most days I’d rush through lunch to get back to work, but today I watched unhurried as people passed by the windows of the cafe, carrying on with their lives. A story hid behind every face, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I could ever trust someone outside of our team again. Naively and against Blake’s warnings, I’d trusted Max—enough to consider giving him ownership in my company before Blake funded the business instead. And Risa... she’d been hungry, eager to learn and take on all the responsibility that I desperately needed to delegate, only to use all of it against me today.
 

  
I fought the tears that threatened. If I’d let them free, they’d be full of anger at having let myself learn this lesson the hard way.
 

I scanned the bar for Simone. Not finding her, I chose a seat beside an empty stool. I flagged down the bartender, a little too eager for a cool drink to wash away the bullshit of my day.
 

  
As I waited for my drink, the five o’clock news played out in silence on the screens above the bar. My heart thumped as Mark’s face appeared, followed by footage of Daniel, presumably on the campaign trail. Along the bottom of the screen, the segment was captioned “MacLeod death still under investigation.” A sick feeling writhed in my gut. I wanted that chapter closed maybe as much as Daniel did now. I couldn’t imagine what was still in question after Mark’s apparent suicide. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know either. I was about to ask the bartender to turn up the sound when someone came up beside me.
   

  
“Hey.”

  
I jumped slightly only to find James there offering me a tentative smile. He was wearing one of his graphic T-shirts that seemed to perfectly fit the tattooed man beneath.
 

  
“Oh,” I said. “Hi.”

  
He raised his eyebrows. We hadn’t really been alone, or remotely one-on-one for a long time. Work had carried on as usual, but we hadn’t talked things through the way we should have. Everything that had been left unsaid weighed on me sometimes. I’d been too wiped out from the drama of reuniting with Blake to really make time to sort it all out with James. Instead it lingered awkwardly between us, in the past but also never far from my thoughts when he was around.
 

  
“I wasn’t expecting to see you here, sorry,” I said, trying to excuse my awkwardness.
 

  
“Simone didn’t tell you I was coming?”

  
I shook my head, hiding my surprised expression with a slow sip of my drink. I wondered where this was all going with Simone.
 

  
I shifted uncomfortably, as if I could feel his gaze on me, studying my reaction. Did he want me to be jealous? To show me that he’d moved on? If so, all I wanted to convey was how happy I was that someone amazing like Simone held his interest. I hated to believe I’d led him on in any way, encouraged feelings I had no right to encourage in my completely fucked up state of mind weeks ago.
 

  
“How are things with you two? Getting serious?” I avoided his eyes, as if that could hide the fact that I was clearly fishing for confirmation.

  
He laughed quietly and shoved a hand through his wavy black hair, pushing it back away from his face as he stared down at the beer the bartender had just delivered.
 

  
“Sorry if I’m not really up for talking girls with you, Erica. It just seems a little...strange, I guess, in light of everything.”