Plush Book 3: A Billionaire Romance (8 page)

I pushed all of the evening’s events out of my mind and pulled up the virus data that I’d captured from the night before. I wanted a chance to study it. Alone. No Cooper hanging over my shoulder, making my brain fuzzy and mushy.

It took me awhile, but then a pattern emerged and I noticed something I hadn’t seen the night before.

I printed off pages and studied the hard copies, confirming what I’d seen. After every chunk of malicious coding, there was a symbol. One I hadn’t seen before in any type of code. I sat back down at my desk and logged into the hacking group I was a member of online. Within minutes, I had uploaded a screen capture of the symbol and had my answer.

The symbol was a signature. It belonged to the hacker who had infiltrated our system.

Apparently, some hackers created symbolic signatures to identify their work and garner respect in the hacking community. I started a new thread, asking if anyone knew the identity of this particular signature, but didn’t receive any immediate responses.

It seemed odd to me. I knew hacks and could find my way around the cyber world with relative ease, but I would never dream of using my skills for anything evil. Even the task Cooper had set before me, to gather information, was pushing my moral boundaries. However, now that I’d seen first-hand the damage the competition was willing to do, to take out Plush and hurt Brighton Enterprises, I was less upset about the whole thing and more eager to get the information Plush needed.

Not for him. But because someone needed to punish these hackers.

I tapped into their database and started compiling data. Soon, my screen was filled with bars of information that was downloading to my computer. Once everything was up and running, there wasn’t much for me to do besides wait. Unfortunately, waiting left my brain too much room to roam and my mind became engulfed with thoughts of Cooper again.

Since meeting him, my world had become turned upside down. I was beginning to wonder if I would ever find a way to return to normal. Whatever that looked like, anymore. I’d never felt normal. I’d always been the odd one out, the misfit, the rebel. I’d never been able to blend into society and lead a normal, everyday life. I supposed that moving back to Kansas would be a step towards normalcy. It was becoming painfully clear that the longer I stayed here, trapped in Cooper’s intricate web, the farther from normal I was getting. And at some point, it would be too far and I wouldn’t be able to get back if I wanted to.

Something on my computer beeped and drew me from my spiraling thoughts. I leaned over the keyboard and reviewed the progress.

Everything looked good and I’d made quite a step in retrieving the information Cooper wanted. Satisfied, I unplugged my USB and carefully closed everything down.

I went back to the parking garage. My head was down, focusing on the steps in front of me, and when I looked up, I gasped.

Cooper was standing right next to Cherry Bomb.

Chapter Ten

“Cooper, what the hell are you doing?” I demanded as my steps turned to strides as I crossed the parking garage.

“It should be pretty obvious,” he said. “I’m waiting for you.”

I rolled my eyes. I planted myself three feet from him, knowing that my brain would go on the fritz if I got even one inch closer. No matter how furious I was with him, he seemed to always manage to get me right where he wanted me. Which, most of the time, meant on a flat surface that he could fuck me against.

I shook the stars from my eyes, not wanting to even dwell on those memories.

It would only make things more complicated than they already were.

“Why? What could we possibly have left to say to each other?” I asked, crossing my arms.

He looked completely unshaken as he watched me. “I figured by now you would have cooled off, but I can see that was the wrong conclusion.”

He was still talking like some kind of Rico Suave robot and I wanted to knock him on his ass. “Cooper, I have nothing to say. I have played this game too many times and I give up. I am not yours—you can fuck whoever you want. You win.” My voice faltered at the last part of my speech and I kicked myself for letting my emotions seep through. I needed to keep it together long enough to get away from him. Then, I would allow myself one more long, ugly cry session and then, that would be the end of it.

I was over Cooper Brighton.

To think that morning I’d been laying in his arms, feeling like the center of his universe.

What an idiot.

Stupid, stupid girl. Didn’t Marx teach you not to fall in love?

“Ugh!” I groaned, more to myself than at Cooper.

“What?” he asked. “What is this all about?”

My fingernails pinched into my bare arms. “Just tell me why, Cooper? Why did you have to get me involved in any of this? I could have grown to be happy at Spotlight. Maybe, someday.” I winced, even as I said it. I knew it was bullshit. “But no, you had to swoop in and take over my whole life. I know how you did it, even though you deny it, but what I don’t understand is why. Why did you do it? Why did you get me fired? Or, haul me out of Marco’s? Why did you take me to your lake house? Why go out of your way to make me feel special and significant, only to bring me down less than a week later?”

Tears were freely rolling down my cheeks and I did nothing to stop them.

Cooper stood still, watching me come undone, without any movement. Even as my emotional walls were clearly crumbling in front of him, he refused to let even one layer peel back on his own barricade.

Something snapped and I had to get away. Even though there was tons of fresh air all around me, I felt like I was suffocating. Cooper’s very presence was sucking all the oxygen and leaving me desperate to breathe.

I roughly wiped my cheeks and pushed past Cooper to get my helmet. He grabbed my wrist as I reached out. His fingers locked around tight and I couldn’t move. My eyes flashed to his and I tugged my arm back, but it barely moved a centimeter in his grasp.

“Let me go,” I snarled through gritted teeth.

“I thought we had established the fact that I didn’t get you fired from Spotlight? As for all the other things you are accusing me of, I guess we have a different perspective on recent events.”

A hollow laugh erupted from my lips. “Are you serious?”

The look in his eyes assured me that he was, but it didn’t matter. He was too late.

“Cooper, everything you’ve told me has been a lie, designed to manipulate me and keep me in your control. Even right now, look at what you’re doing,” I said, dropping my gaze to my arm for emphasis.

He released me and quickly stuffed his hand into his pocket. “What have I lied to you about?”

“Everything!” I said, tossing my hands into the air. “I still don’t know who sent those pictures to Rita, if it wasn’t you. No one else has a motive! You do. You wanted me here, at Brighton Enterprises. That was your goal from day one. At least, that’s how it looks now. Every time I strayed from your
master plan,
you would intervene.”

“Because I care about you, Allie! Why won’t you listen to me?” He exploded, taking two short steps away and then coming right back to me.

His words hit me like a nine-pound hammer to the heart. It was what I’d been waiting for him to say all alone, and yet, in light of everything, it seemed so pointless. If this was the best Cooper could do, it wasn’t going to be enough. He had to know that. Right?

He turned away and raked his hand through his hair.

“Then what about Tessa! Why are you sneaking around in the office at night with her? Telling her she has to be discreet?”

“I—I can’t say. But it’s work-related,” he said.

“That’s more bullshit! Cooper, Spotlight doesn’t have the Plush account anymore. So, tell me the truth! What was she doing here?”

I searched his face as he processed my demand.

“See, exactly! This, this is why I can’t do any of this anymore.”

I shoved the helmet on and tried to fling my leg over the bike but stopped midway and spun back to him, as a fresh batch of angry thoughts filled my mind.

“And, even if that wasn’t a lie, if meeting with Tessa in your office after hours isn’t some sort of scandal, then what about Angela? Hmm? You still haven’t told me what that’s all about. As soon as I brought it up this morning, you shut me out.”

Cooper released a slow sigh. “You want to know who Angela is? Fine, come on.”

He gestured towards his car, which I hadn’t noticed was parked two rows over from where I’d parked Cherry Bomb.

I laughed again. “You are out of your mind if you think I am going anywhere with you. And, if you even think to haul me over your shoulder and cart me off like last time, I’ll call the fucking cops.”

“Then we’ll take your bike,” he said, gesturing to Cherry Bomb.

This time, I threw my head back and laughed. The idea of Cooper on my bike made quite the mental picture. “Right. Cooper, it doesn’t matter. I’m going home. Alone.”

“This is a one-time offer, Allison.”

I hesitated, hovering over the seat on my bike. I knew I should just start the engine, peel out of the garage, and never look back. My brain was practically screaming inside my head, urging me to do just that. But then there was my heart. That thumping, life-giving force inside my chest that couldn’t seem to let Cooper go, no matter how infuriating he was or what tricks he pulled from his sleeves.

“You don’t have a helmet,” I said.

Cooper was visibly jarred by my observation. He looked down at his empty hands, as if suddenly proper riding gear would materialize. It was almost comical to watch Mr. Control be so stumped.

“Looks like we’re taking my ride, then,” he said, his face snapping back to his normal cool, collected, slightly mischievous grin. It happened so fast, like a set of pictures taken seconds apart.

I eyed his car across the lot. I desperately wanted to know who Angela McKinnon was, and why Cooper had been spending so much time at her residence. If she wasn’t a lover—which seemed safe to assume, since he was willing to introduce the two of us—then who was she?

I looked back to Cooper and his “still waiting” expression. He held out a hand and I swear I heard my internal voice of reason sigh loudly in the back of my mind as I took his hand and hoisted myself off of my bike.

My poor brain. I never listen.

Cooper led me to the car and opened the door.

I removed my helmet and slid into the passenger seat. A slight flicker of deja vu came over me as I pressed against the cool, leather seat. I’d been in this vehicle on two other occasions and both times, the end destination had something to do with Cooper and me fucking each other like wild animals.

I closed my eyes and waited for Cooper to get into the driver’s seat.

Not tonight, I chanted in my mind. The only reason I am here is to see who Angela is and what she has to do with Cooper. I don’t even know why I care…but I do.

We rode in silence for awhile. Cooper’s hands gripped the steering wheel tightly as we sped through downtown. Cooper drove like an expert, handling the curves of the road with the ease of a seasoned driver. Obviously, his expensive car helped. I was sure there was a whole mass of computers under the hood assisting him as he snaked up into the hills.

I knew the route and I could tell we were getting closer to Angela’s house. Nearly half an hour had passed and neither Cooper nor I had said anything once the car doors had closed. I snuck a sidelong glance at him and could tell he wasn’t in a conversation mood. Even though he was technically doing what I wanted, indulging my curiosity, I could tell he wasn’t happy about it.

We parked on the opposite side of the street from Angela’s house, around the same spot I’d parked Cherry Bomb when I’d been out spying on him. I looked past him, out the driver’s side window, and stared at the huge mansion.

“Let’s go.”

Now that we were here, my insides starting reacting. My heart raced and my palms felt slick with sweat as I grabbed the interior car door handle. I opened the door on the second try and stood along the curb for a moment. My mind was racing with all the possibilities of who could be waiting inside. Was she an ex-girlfriend? But then why would they still be in touch? Did they have a child together?

My hand flew to my mouth.

I’d never asked Cooper about children before. I’d always assumed that he didn’t have any, since he had no pictures in his office or home, and he’d never mentioned having a child. But…maybe it was a secret.

My stomach flipped over, sending a wave of nausea through me.

It wasn’t that I didn’t like kids…I did. I just didn’t want him to already have one.

That was perfectly normal, wasn’t it?

My internal ramblings came screeching to a halt as Cooper beckoned for me over the top of the car. “Allison, let’s go. You want to know who Angela is, right?”

Did I?

“Yeah,” I answered, although my voice sounded very unsteady.

“Okay, then what’s the hold up? You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something.”

He looked over at the house and then back to me.

He was right, I was acting crazy. Whatever—or whoever—was waiting inside, I’d come too far to back away now.

I circled the front of the car and followed two steps behind Cooper as he led the way across the street and up the front walk. He paused on the porch, his finger hovering over the doorbell. “Allison, if I take you inside and explain everything, you have to agree to stop questioning me at every turn and trust that what I tell you is the truth. Understood?”

I balked slightly at his words. It seemed an unfair trade. He introduces me to one person in exchange for my unwavering trust? For how long?

My curiosity seemed to be searing a hole through me and the longer we stood there, inches away from the answer to so many of my questions, I couldn’t help but agree to his terms.

“Fine, whatever. Can we go in now?”

He gave me one last look, as if he knew I was only saying what he wanted. But, he pressed the small silver button and I heard a chime ring through the house. I avoided his eyes as we waited for someone to answer.