I am so excited to have Kimberly Dean here at Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Spotlight and Excerpt.
Thanks Kimberly and Pump Up Your Book Promotions for allowing me to join your Love Hack Blog Tour!
Please take it away, Kimberly!
About the Author When
taking the Myers-Briggs personality test in high school, Kimberly Dean
was rated as an INFJ (Introverted-Intuitive-Feeling-Judging). This
result sent her into a panic, because there were no career paths
recommended for the personality type. Fortunately, it turned out to be
well suited to a writing career. Since receiving that dismal outlook,
Kimberly has become an award-winning author of romance and erotica. She
enjoys the freedom and creativity allowed in writing romance, especially
with all the interesting cross-genres that have been exploding on the
scene. When not writing, she enjoys movies, sports, traveling, music,
and sunshine.
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About the Book
Title: LOVE HACK
Author: Kimberly Dean
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 180
Genre: Romantic Suspense
BOOK BLURB Security
analyst Spencer Weiler is excited when he lands a job at Afire
Industries. The responsibility is daunting, but nowhere near as
exhilarating as working with Josie Johnson, the pretty program manager
in charge. Spencer lusts after her, but knows that she only sees him as a
work friend. He needs to make himself over if he’s going to have a shot
with her.
Josie is all too aware of the cute computer geek
watching over her. He was tempting before, but with his newfound muscles
and sexy haircut, he’s suddenly an irresistible stud. She makes the
first move and is stunned to learn that her hot IT guy is just as
studious in the sack. Their affair turns hot and heavy, but Josie has
broken her rule about dating coworkers once before. It didn’t end well.
When her ex returns and posts scandalous pictures of her on the
Internet, it’s not Spencer’s muscles that she needs. She needs a hacker.
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Barnes & Noble Excerpt Chapter One As
far as work settings went, Spencer supposed the place would do. Yeah,
understatement of the year. He looked around the open bay of Afire
Industries and tried not to drool. It was a developer’s dream: pods of
desks for teams, comfy seating areas for private thinking, top-notch
equipment, and cool technology on which to work. The downtown location
in Seattle was prime, within walking distance of restaurants, bars, the
waterfront, and even the Space Needle. Not that he was geeking out about
the opportunity or anything…
Okay, he was geeking out, but it was only natural. He was a software geek. Hell, he was the King of Software Geeks.
“We’re
glad to have you onboard,” his new boss, Luke McAllister, said. “Your
background in software security is just what we need.”
No
kidding. Afire was recovering from a major hack. It had been all over
the news. From what Spencer knew about the situation, it hadn’t been a
sophisticated attack. The hackers had come through the Internet of
Things, which had been left unsecured. A total oversight and totally
preventable. “I think I can help you guys out.”
A company this
big and this advanced in the tech field? Heads had rolled as a result of
the breach, but it had also opened up an opportunity for him to do what
he did best. Security was Spencer’s game. What had impressed him most
about the situation had been Afire’s response. Contrary to prevailing
advice from government and law enforcement officials, Afire had not only
closed the hole, they’d gone after their attackers—and they’d taken
them down.
This was the kind of place where he wanted to work.
“We’re not ‘you guys’ anymore,” Luke said. “You’re one of us now, ‘a fireman.’ Come on. Let me show you around the place.”
Spencer
hopped to his feet, automatically swiping up the MacBook he’d been
assigned. He liked this guy, Luke. He wasn’t a normal software guy. In
fact, he was pretty up-front about the fact that he was just learning
the basics of coding. What McAllister did know, inside and out, was
security in general: defensive measures, weakness analysis, perpetrator
psychology… Rumor was that he’d worked for the Secret Service before
turning to the private sector. What Spencer liked most, though, was that
his new boss seemed to let people play to their strengths.
And he was cool as hell: tough, muscled, and badass.
“These
three pods are where the security group is located.” Luke nodded, and
the developers who weren’t heads-down coding nodded back.
Spencer recognized a few people from his interview and gave a wave.
“We
have flexible hours, and you’re free to work from home when you feel
the need. If things get hot, though, I’d prefer everyone be onsite so we
can ‘war room’ the situation.”
“Not a problem,” Spencer said.
That was pretty normal in the industry. He’d be working onsite until he
got up to speed on everything.
He followed Luke when he turned
down a hallway. The layout of the converted fish cannery was open and
airy, but the security team was somewhat secluded around a corner. He
was okay with that. Managers thought open-bay setups encouraged
collaboration, but to Spencer, they just got loud. He preferred to work
on his own when possible. As he’d often been told, he was a “deep
thinker.”
“The restrooms are down there on the left. Here’s the
grab ’n go area. Take whatever you want to eat or drink. The Green Team
just prefers you use the recyclable bowl you were given. It should be on
your desk.”
Recycled bowls for snacking, a T-shirt with the
company fire emblem, plus a baseball hat, a mousepad, and a backpack to
match. Afire didn’t skimp on the swag—although Spencer knew it was free
advertising to have the company’s employees going around Seattle
dressed like walking Afire billboards.
But shoot, they could dress him up and send him down the runway if this was what he got in return.
He
tried not to smile too broadly as they continued their tour. He’d come
from a company that specialized in security, but he felt like he’d just
made it to the big leagues. It wasn’t just the perks. He was excited to
get out on the front lines. The security firm’s customers had been other
software companies. Here, he’d be protecting consumers directly. It was
a challenge he looked forward to, because, honestly, he needed some new
challenges. Things had been getting too easy for him at his old job.
Easy and boring.
“Our customer success team is over there. They
work with clients directly, helping them through any problems they might
encounter. If you need someone who knows our applications inside and
out, talk to them.” Luke kept moving until they were at the back of the
building. “Down here is the gym.”
Spencer gave it a cursory
glance. The assortment of workout machines looked shiny and top of the
line, but what did he know? It wasn’t a perk he was likely to use.
“Towel service is provided. I can show you how to use the programmable locks on the lockers, if you’d like.”
“I think I can figure that out,” Spencer said dryly.
Luke sent him a sidelong look and laughed. “Yeah, I suppose you can.”
Clapping
a heavy hand on his shoulder, Spencer’s boss turned him back in the
direction they’d come. “The cafeteria is open for breakfast and lunch.
The team is planning to eat as a group today to welcome you.”
“Cool,”
Spencer said. He liked Christopher Chen, the guy who sat at the desk
next to him, but he hadn’t gotten to spend much time with anyone else.
Not
that he was a social butterfly, but those were his people. Luke was a
bit intimidating. He was the kind of guy who probably knew all about
working out in gyms, fishing, football, and women. Spencer suspected
he’d have more things to talk about with Christopher and the other
developers.
“Okay, this is really where I want to take you,”
Luke said as he opened a door to a covered walkway leading out of the
main Afire building. “This is the way to our small business accelerator.
It’s managed by Afire, but space is rented by entrepreneurs trying to
get new tech companies off the ground.”
“Sounds interesting.”
Spencer followed his boss to the smaller building next door, but stopped when Luke turned with his hand on the door’s push-bar.
“It’s also where the hack came in.”
Okay, now Spencer’s interest was piqued. “One of the entrepreneurs let them in?”
“No,
we let them in. We own and manage the facilities and shared equipment.
The small companies here just rent space. The hack came in through the
Internet of Things, which we should have secured for everyone. The
hacker was then able to breach the firewall between Start ’er Up and
Afire’s networks. That’s top-secret info that nobody outside of our team
needs to know.”
Spencer nodded. That little tidbit hadn’t been
in any of the news reports. It also made it more understandable how such
an infiltration had occurred.
Luke pushed open the glass door
at the end of the walkway, and the hydraulic closer let out a whoosh.
Soft chatter filtered through the air.
“Welcome to Start ’er Up,” Luke said.
Spencer
looked around the place with interest. The tech world and startups went
hand in hand, although he’d always worked in established businesses.
Along with being a deep thinker, he was an old soul. The idea of going
out on his own was tempting, but he knew the risks involved with that.
Perks were one thing, but he wasn’t blinded by them. Company stability,
health insurance, and a 401(k) match were more important to him.
Although this could be a cool way to keep tabs on cutting-edge stuff…
“I’m assigning this place to you,” Luke said.
What? Spencer stood a little straighter. Wow. Talk about a shot in the arm. “Okay.”
“I
had a consultant go through everything. She assures me that everything
is secure now, but I’d like a second opinion. I’d also like to bring the
responsibility in house.”
“Yes, sir. I can do that.” Spencer
nodded with confidence as he looked around the space. He spotted
printers, routers, and even an old fax machine… all potential
infiltration points if somebody wanted to get in via the Internet of
Things, much less the Wi-Fi that all these companies no doubt shared.
His
brain began churning. Damn, he was getting more and more excited about
this job, but he didn’t want to come off like a goober.
Luke
turned into one of the few offices in the smaller building. “First
things first, I’d like to introduce you to Josie. She manages Start ’er
Up. You two will be working closely.”
Spencer took one step in
the room, and his brain jammed.
Crumpled-paper-in-the-bowels-of-a-printer kind of jam. One moment his
brain was firing on all cylinders, excited about the new assignment, and
the next, it froze and his body went a little haywire. Girl. Beautiful
girl. Strawberry blonde. Green eyes. Pretty smile. Pink lips… And a
tight body. Oh, hell. Don’t look there.
“Josie, this is Spencer
Weiler, our new security hire. He’s the one who’s going to take point on
Start ’er Up’s security situation from here on out.”
The girl… woman… gorgeous woman looked at him and blinked those big green eyes. “Oh! Hi there. It’s nice to meet you.”
She
looked at him expectantly, but that paper jam was in there good,
gunking up any thought processes Spencer might have once had. “Hi-lo,”
he said.
Oh, crap. That wasn’t right.
“Hell. I mean
hell-o.” One of her eyebrows rose, and he thought he saw a dimple in her
cheek deepen. Damn, this should not be that difficult. “Hi,” he said on
a rough exhale.
“Hi, Spencer.” Okay, she was smiling at him.
Laughing, really. No, not laughing. There was empathy there. “First days
are tough, aren’t they?”
He nodded, his tongue feeling twice
its size inside his mouth. Yeah, first day. They’d go with that. She did
not need to know about the boner that he was suddenly sporting. She
didn’t need to know that was why no blood or oxygen was making it to the
head atop his neck.
She held out a hand. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Not as glad as he was. Not even close.
He
took her hand and shifted the Mac he was still carrying so it hid the
front of his jeans. Her skin felt like silk. Warm, smooth silk.
He couldn’t stop staring at her. Honest to God, she was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen.
“I still feel so bad about the hack,” she said. “I didn’t even know you could hack equipment like that.”
“Josie,” Luke said. “We’ve talked about this.”
“I
know,” she said, sighing heavily, “but I’m responsible for this place. I
should have done something to stop it from happening.”
Spencer frowned. “You know how to change the password on a R-4200 router?”
“Uh…
no,” she said with a blush. Her gaze went quickly to her desk, where
he’d seen the piece of equipment. “But I should know that’s something
that needs to be done.”
“It’s not even in the owner’s manual.” He shrugged, hoping the gesture showed reassurance.
Was
it hot in here? He stuck his hand in his front jeans pocket to keep
from fanning himself like a ninny, but winced. Tight. Jeans too tight.
He pulled his hand back out quickly and wrapped his fingers around the
shield of his Mac.
“Really?” The lines on the angel’s face
smoothed. “Oh, that makes me feel better. I’m the program manager around
here. There’s a lot to keep track of.”
“The rock star manager of all managers,” another female inserted.
Spencer
glanced to the door. Okay, smoking-hot brunette at nine o’clock. Was
there something in the water over here? His glance bounced off her right
back to Josie.
“This the newb?” the visitor asked.
Luke nodded. “Spencer, this is Kylie Grant. Kylie, this is Spencer Weiler.”
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
The brunette looked at Luke. “I got this place locked down, you know.”
He
sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. The guy’s forearms bulged
like Popeye’s, and the woman took notice. Spencer caught the reaction
and quickly let his gaze skim over Josie. She wasn’t eyeing his manly
boss, so much as fighting a smile watching the other two people in the
room squabble.
“Security over here is Afire’s responsibility,” Luke said.
“Uh huh.” Kylie pushed her hair over her shoulder and cocked her head.
“Now,” Luke said in resignation. “We’re watching it more closely now, and Spencer is in charge of that.”
Spencer
felt the brunette’s gaze rake over him. Her brow furrowed when she
noticed the way he was clutching his Mac. He forced his fingers to
relax, but he didn’t move it. No way, no how.
“Where did you work before this?” she asked.
“Samson Security.”
“Nice.” She drummed her fingers against her thigh. “What do you think of facial-recognition authentication?”
“Not dependable enough.”
“Pattern recognition?”
He
shook his head. “Better than alphanumeric, but still a pain.
Fingerprints are the way to go for top-level security and ease of use.”
“Hm,”
she muttered. She swung her hand out, gesturing like Vanna White. “What
do you think of the place? From a developer’s point of view?”
“Good
space, a little loud.” He squinted at the sunlight bouncing off Elliott
Bay through the front windows. That was something to mark on the
calendar. The sun was out in Seattle, and he’d met the most beautiful
girl in the world. Whom he’d like to get back to… if he could
communicate with her… Hell, why was his brain connecting to his mouth
with this brunette bombshell but not the redhead?
“It’s nice, although a bit bright,” he said.
Kylie straightened as if he’d jabbed her with a stick. “He’ll do.”
“Nice to have your approval,” Luke said dryly.
She lifted an eyebrow. “You know you want it.”
Josie cleared her throat. “They date,” she said.
Good.
That meant one less guy Spencer had to be concerned about. A scary
thought hit him, and his gaze snapped to her desk. He was relieved when
he didn’t see photographs of a husband or boyfriend.
“Are we still going to Ivar’s for dinner tonight?” Kylie asked.
“Yeah,” Luke said. “How late are you going to be?”
“I can go anytime. Just pick me up when you’re ready.”
Was
that a gleam in his boss’s steely gaze? Spencer watched for hints,
pointers even. The guy obviously had game, and he could use some help in
that area. Like, pronto.
Spencer shot another glance at Josie.
He knew he was staring, but he couldn’t help it. That paper jam in his
head just wasn’t letting loose. Did he even have a shot? She seemed so
normal—no, so outstanding—and he was a computer geek. His kind didn’t
have the best track records with women. What was his next step? Was he
going to make a play? How did one do that?
He didn’t even know what a play was, not with someone like her.
“Anyway,”
Luke said. “Now that we have approval from the boss, I’d like you two
to work together to map out a plan. Spencer, you know the security
piece. Josie, you know how Start ’er Up works. We can’t lock it down too
tightly, because we have a lot of small businesses and entrepreneurs
using this place. We’re here to help them, not shut them out.”
Spencer nodded. “Got it.”
“Josie can introduce you around and get you situated.”
Spencer
nodded again. It was the one form of communication he had that seemed
to be working. His brain was now stuck on the fact that he’d be spending
a lot of time with her. It thrilled him and terrified him all at once.
“Any questions?” Luke said.
So, so many. Spencer shook his head.
Josie walked to her desk and opened a day planner the size of War and Peace. “When would you like to start, Spencer?”
Oh, God. He was even turned on by the way she said his name.
“Nuuhhhh.” He cleared his throat. “Now?”
She blinked. “Uh, okay.”
She moved some papers aside on her desk, but Luke stepped forward. “Whoa, boy. Slow ’er down.”
Josie giggled, and Spencer nearly died.
“I thought we were supposed to Start ’er Up,” she teased.
Spencer snorted. Literally, the most ungraceful sound in the world came out of his mouth, and Josie laughed harder.
Luke looked back and forth between the two of them. “Geek humor. Great.”
He
tilted his head toward the door. “We’re not finished with his
onboarding,” he said. “Put something on his calendar for tomorrow or
later. Whatever works for you.”
“Okay.” Josie trailed her finger down the open page. “If you don’t need me now, I guess I’ll head down to the gym.”
Heat washed through Spencer when she turned toward him and laced her fingers together. “See you tomorrow.”
He nodded roughly. “Tmrro.”
Damn it.
“All right. Sounds like a plan.” Luke started out the door. “Let’s go back to my office.”
Spencer
somehow managed to put one foot in front of the other to follow him.
Looking over his shoulder, he caught Josie’s green gaze one last time.
“Buh.”
Oh, hell and tarnation.
“Bye,” she said with a little wave that made his erection nearly burst right through the zipper of his jeans.
Spencer
hoped to God he wasn’t walking funny as he followed Luke back through
the walkway into Afire. Once the door closed behind them, some of his
brain function returned. It was a proximity affliction, apparently.
This was a problem.
The
woman put his brain on the fritz. He liked her. One step inside that
door, and he’d wanted her. At the very least, he had to work with her,
but she wasn’t a typical tech female. Luke’s girlfriend, Kylie, wasn’t
either, but he could talk to her. But Josie?
Spencer narrowed
his eyes on Luke as he sank down into the chair behind his desk. Wait a
minute. Luke had somehow made the crossover from normal guy to geek
girl—although Kylie was unlike any geek girl Spencer had ever met.
Surely, he could take hints from their relationship and reverse-engineer
it.
His brain started to whir; he was onto something here. He could hack this.
“So…
that’s the gist of the job. Now, for your development plan.” Luke
swiveled in his chair toward his laptop. “Everybody hates coming up with
these, but Afire likes to keep its employees learning. You don’t have
to come up with a full-blown plan now, but start thinking about an area
where you’d like to develop more skills.”
“You mean in security?”
Luke
shrugged, his heavy shoulders bunching. “Not necessarily. It can be
pretty much anything. Rafi is taking some public-speaking courses to
help with his presentations. Christopher is shadowing our customer
success people to learn how our customers approach things. So think
about it. What’s something you’re interested in learning more about?”
That was easy—the redhead next door.
Although when Luke said “anything,” Spencer doubted she was included.
He tapped his fingers against the arm of his chair. There was more than one way to hack a password.
“Stress
can be a problem for me,” he said. It was the truth. “Sometimes I can
get too deep in a problem and forget to take care of myself.”
Honesty there.
“Okay,” Luke said.
“And not to brag or anything, but I could teach most of the courses on security.”
Luke’s
chair squeaked when he sat back. An evaluating look had settled onto
his face. It was all jagged corners and tough-guy handsome. Spencer
tried not to squirm as Luke looked him over. He could afford to put on
some muscle like McAllister.
“The gym,” he said. It came to him
like the flash of a light bulb. “I’d like to get more comfortable there,
maybe establish a workout routine. You know, to get out of my head.”
Luke’s
eyes narrowed, and Spencer rushed to make sense of the request before
Luke made it to the truth. Although with the way his mouth started to
tug at the corners, it might already be too late.
“Would you be open to training me?” Spencer asked.
Luke’s chin snapped up a fraction of an inch. Okay, he hadn’t been expecting that.
“Well,
I am down there usually once a day,” Luke said, “and I wouldn’t mind a
training partner. What’s your normal workout routine now?”
Routine? “I play a lot of disc golf in the summer. Does that count?”
The frown he got in return didn’t help.
“What’s that?” Luke asked.
Spencer ran a hand through his hair. “Frisbee golf.”
Damn, that didn’t sound tough at all.
But Luke nodded in approval. “There’s cardio with that.”
“Yeah, and I can run.” Spencer flexed. “I just need to… you know… beef up.”
Women were into that, from what he’d heard.
He
flinched when Luke leaned forward and braced his elbows against the
desk. “Let me get this straight. One of my security guys wants to enter…
the gym.”
Spencer swallowed hard. He might as well have said
the Twilight Zone. Did he want to become a gym rat? No. But did he want a
shot with Josie? “Yes.”
He fought to hold his ground as Luke
watched him. The guy could read the truth. He had eyes like lasers and a
brain that was nearly as sharp.
“Okay, strength training it
is.” Luke turned to his computer and filled out the development form.
“We’ll start tomorrow morning before you go over to help Josie with
Start ’er Up.”
“Tomorrow,” Spencer agreed. Before his brain went wonky again.
Man, he hoped this worked.
* * *
“So what did you think of him?”
Josie
glanced up from her gym bag to the door. Shoot, Kylie was back. Josie
returned her attention to her bag and zipped the compartment shut. She
should have just run to the locker room and checked to see if she’d
remembered to bring shampoo. “Who? Spencer?”
“No, Luke,” her friend said dryly.
Josie sighed. “I don’t know. He’ll be fine, I’m sure.”
“That’s a ringing endorsement.”
Okay,
that hadn’t been fair. The new guy was better than fine—and maybe he
had the security chops, too. “If you and Luke feel he’s the right guy,
I’m sure he is.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
Giving up,
Josie dropped the strap of the bag and slumped down into her chair. “I
just can’t help feeling like it’s punishment for screwing up, like he’s
being assigned to watch over my shoulder.”
“Screwing up?” Kylie closed the door behind her and walked over to settle her hip against the desk. “What did you do wrong?”
Oh,
just about everything. Josie had gone over the whole cycle of events in
her head so many times, it was like it was on constant replay. “I
should have noticed the change in the lighting. I missed that
completely. Even when you told me, I didn’t dig into it.”
Kylie
frowned. “But you let me. And how would you have known that was evidence
of a hack? I didn’t until I started poking around in the smart building
control system, which you gave me access to, following proper protocol.
Have I thanked you for that, by the way? If you hadn’t added me as an
administrator, Luke never would have listened to me. I’d probably still
be talking with lawyers today.”
“Yes, but that was a security
violation, in and of itself. You weren’t officially associated with
Afire. I should have been fired for that alone.”
“Hey, I’m a consultant. I’ve even got a badge to show it.”
Josie hit her friend with a look. “After the fact.”
“You just beat Luke to the paperwork.”
Josie
fiddled with the pen holder on her desk. Afire liked to promote itself
as a paperless company, but there was just something about pen and paper
that made her feel more organized. She had pens in every color under
the sun, and her day planner was jammed with Post-it notes to expand on
the rainbow. That was her strength—organization and communication. She
kept this place running as its program manager. She helped people
network and find collaborators. She put together training sessions for
new businesses on how to keep their books, market their products, and
find venture capital. She kept metrics on their member companies’
progress, she reviewed startup applications for membership, and she even
made the coffee.
But with all that she did, she knew that the
Start ’er Up program was not key to Afire’s success. It didn’t make
money. Every once in a while, a technology company might have something
her bosses would be interested in licensing or even outright purchasing,
but Start ’er Up’s mission was to support the entrepreneurship culture
in Seattle. It was a community service.
Yet that community service had nearly brought Afire down.
She banged her pen holder against her desk, and two pens jumped out. “Why did that hack have to come through this place?”
Kylie frowned. “Did you ever stop to think how lucky we were that it did?”
“Excuse
me?” Another pen, a purple one, fell out when Josie tried to shove the
other two back in. She rarely got angry. She was an upbeat person, but
she didn’t need coddling.
“Do you think something like that ever
would have been noticed or investigated over in Afire? A lighting
glitch? Especially with Steven Ayers at the security helm?”
Josie
winced. She hadn’t realized how self-centered she was being. Steven
Ayers had been the top security guy on Luke’s team. Smug, misogynistic,
and highly overrated, he’d been fired for not detecting the hack of
Afire’s network—and he’d come after Kylie for revenge.
Reaching past her growing pile of spilled pens, Josie caught her friend’s hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even think of that.”
“Those
hackers could have done a lot more damage if we hadn’t caught them when
we did. Luke isn’t assigning Spencer to Start ’er Up because he doesn’t
trust you. He’s giving you the support you’ve always needed.” Kylie
pushed her hair back and gave a little sniff. “Even if I had it
handled.”
Josie rolled her eyes. Okay, they both had some
personal hang-ups with the new situation. “You’ve got enough on your
plate with your web design company and… whatever else it is that you
do.”
Her friend clammed up real quick at that.
Kylie leaned forward and changed the subject. “So, give me the truth. What did you think of Mr. Chatty Cat?”
Talk
about turning the tables. The direct look in her friend’s eyes made
Josie blush, but she pretended not to know what Kylie was talking about.
“The two of you communicated just fine.”
“Yes, but I’m one of his kind. You aren’t.”
Josie busied herself with straightening up her pens. “I understood what he was trying to say.”
Kylie’s grin turned into a smile. “I bet you did.”
“We’ll know better tomorrow if we can work together.”
“Josie, the words he managed to get out around you weren’t even English.”
“So
he’s a little shy.” Shy, observant, tall, and sexy, in an awkward sort
of way. Those dark puppy-dog eyes had made Josie melt when she’d first
locked gazes with him. She pointed a pen at the brunette interrogating
her. Enough of this. “What did you think?”
Kylie shrugged. “He’s kinda cute, if you go for that type of thing.”
“I meant for the security job!”
She laughed. “He’s solid. Technically, he’s really good. I checked him out before Luke made the offer.”
Josie’s jaw dropped. “Then why are you asking me?”
“Because
it’s what you think that matters. He can be a security genius, but if
you don’t like working with him, just say the word.”
“Oh, come on. Give him a chance.”
“So you like him?”
Josie
began fiddling with her gym bag again. Kylie just wasn’t going to let
up on this. “He is kind of cute, I guess, with that shaggy hair and dark
eyes.”
“Too wiry for my taste.”
“Lanky,” Josie said. In
a Ramones T-shirt, he’d been like all the other tech guys walking
around, but his backside had been rather nice as she’d watched him walk
out the door. He was tall, too. She’d had to tilt her head back a little
to talk to him. She’d kind of liked that. And he had shoulders to
match, even if he didn’t fill out the T-shirt as well as the jeans.
“I guess he is at the opposite side of the spectrum from Nolan,” Kylie said. “That’s a plus.”
Nolan.
At the mention of her ex-boyfriend, Josie’s stomach went from buoyant
to a ball of lead. Okay, it was her turn to clam up. She looped the long
strap of her gym bag over her shoulder and stood. “I just agreed that
Spencer is cute. That doesn’t mean I’m going to date him.”
She wasn’t ready to get back into that scene yet.
The humor left Kylie’s eyes. “Is Nolan still giving you problems?”
“No.
Just a late-night text here and there.” Josie rounded her desk. She
really did need to get to the gym if she was going to get a workout in.
Kylie put her arm over the doorway. “What does he want?”
Josie ducked underneath the barrier and scooted through. “To get back together.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
Kylie followed her down the hallway. “You’re not —”
“No.” Absolutely not.
“Good.” Kylie’s fists relaxed at her sides. “Cute and lanky might be a good thing after all.”
“Spencer’s
just for work.” They were in the covered walkway now, leading over to
Afire. Josie swiped her badge through the reader at the door to the main
building. Kylie didn’t have her consultant’s badge on her, so this was
where Josie could make her great escape. When the reader’s light turned
green, she put her shoulder into the door and pushed it open. “I’m too
busy for another boyfriend right now.”
Busy trying to make sure Afire was still invested in Start ’er Up and her job was secure.
The
door clanked shut behind her, ending the conversation and making the
lead ball inside Josie’s stomach heavier. Maybe Spencer could help her
understand security better, but anything beyond that was out of the
question. She needed to concentrate on her career while she still had
it.
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