HACKING THE BILLIONAIRE: Part 2 (6 page)

Dirk put food in front of Riley. Whatever it was, it looked amazing. Smelled pretty good, too. She could get used to this, but she shouldn’t. He was only playing at this relationship thing. He would be gone when the job was over.

He sat down next to her at her kitchen table. He’d said he wanted to talk? What were they going to talk about? Other than sex and this case, they had nothing in common.

Riley tasted her food. This was good. He really could cook.

“So tell me something about yourself that you want me to know,” Dirk said finally.

Riley eyed him, having no idea what he was talking about. “Uh, I don’t think I have anything like that.”

“There’s nothing you want me to know about you?”

This wasn’t long-term. She didn’t want to be rude and point that out, but she wasn’t going to marry Dirk. He was Mr. Right Now. She knew this. Why get involved further? It would be tough enough to extricate herself from his life.

Why get even more personal? “No, there isn’t.”

“I know everything there is to know about you?”

“I didn’t say that. I just don’t know that there is anything else to share.”

“What’s your favorite color?”

“Blue,” she said. “That isn’t earth-shattering.”

“But I wanted to know it.”

She shrugged and went back to eating. She had no idea what had gotten into him. She wanted to talk business. That would keep the distance between them. She needed that distance between them.

It might save her heart from shattering when this was all over.

She wasn’t sure why he was doing this. “What’s with you today?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re acting like a boyfriend,” she said.

He put down his fork, then wiped his mouth. He turned his gaze to her full on. “What’s wrong with that?”

“We both know this has a sell-by date. Let’s just go with that.”

He blinked. “A sell-by date?”

“An expiration date. We both know it. Let’s just talk some business.”

He ate a few more bites, and she’d have given anything to know what he was thinking. Instead, she just devoured her food then put her plate in the dishwasher. She looked at her laptop again as he finished eating.

“I think I have good news,” she said.

“Other than our expiration date?”

She ignored his comment. He would be just as eager to be rid of her when the time came. He could go back to his models and socialites. She could go back to her mundane, but safe, life.

“Zeke can’t be the leak.”

“Did you think he was?”

Shit. She hadn’t told them that part. “I had him as one of my suspects. For obvious reasons, I didn’t tell you.”

“You thought that my best friend was doing something to my company and you didn’t tell me?”

She crossed her arms. “Seriously? What would you have done? Me, a stranger, was going to tell you that your best friend might be sabotaging your company. Would you have believed me? No, you would have fired me on the spot.”

He seemed to mull that over, chewing his food before he answered her. “I don’t know what I would have done.”

“And I couldn’t risk that. I had to be free to complete this job how I saw fit,” she said.

She stood on the other side of the counter, her laptop between them. He seemed even larger in her place. His had so much room, hers being a much more modest size. He was larger than life here. Didn’t fit. At least, she didn’t think he did.

Her furnishings were simple. Mostly garage sale items. His were sleek and new, as if they’d never been used.

“Okay. Fair enough. You didn’t want me interfering with what you were doing.”

“So you’re okay now?”

He smiled, put his plate in the sink, then captured her in his arms. “I am more than okay. Do you have any other suspects?”

“I do, but I’m not ready to tell yet,” she said.

She rested her chin on his chest. He’d been all mushy this afternoon.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” he said.

“You’re being boyfriend-like.”

“Is that so bad?”

She shrugged. The day had been long, and she was too tired to argue.

“Good. Because tonight, I’d like to be your lover as you sleep in your own bed.”

“Slumming it?”

He laughed. “I guess so.” He kissed her to seal the deal. “Can we agree on one thing?”

“What’s that?”

What did he want now?

“We go to the cops. I think we need some bigger guns to help us with this.”

“I’m okay with that,” she said.

She’d been feeling out of her depth, but pride had made her stay silent.

He smiled. “Good. Now show me this bedroom of yours.”

Riley was suddenly shy about her space, but there was no reason. He would be gone soon, and she’d have lovely memories of tonight.

She took his hand and led him down her short hallway. Her whole apartment fit into his living room. She opened the door and turned on the light. Dirk stepped into the room, and she tried to see it from his eyes.

The room reflected her more whimsical side, with cows all over the place and the wall below the chair rail panted in white and black stripes. To some it might be juvenile, but she liked it.

He smiled. “Cute, but I know nothing about this side of you. Cows?”

“They have such soulful eyes.”

“But you’ll eat steak?”

“Yep. Doesn’t make sense, I know, but it’s me.”

His smile broadened. “Thank you for sharing it with me.”

“You don’t want to run screaming from here?”

He chuckled. “No, not at all.” He led her closer to the bed. “Now let’s get naked.”

***

Not in a million years would Dirk have suspected that Riley had a whimsical side. This room was fabulous, and if it reflected her, it was a side he wanted to know better. Cows?

How sweet and cute and adorable and all the things she might chafe at being called. Holy shit. For a moment, he wondered what he was doing. Was she going to break his heart? Or was he going to break hers?

As if they were on a collision course for an iceberg, could they steer away in time? He didn’t know.

But for one night, he wanted to be in her world. In her apartment. In her bed. Not his shiny, sleek, big bed. No, they were going to make love and sleep in her double bed. It looked soft, but he doubted his large frame would fit.

He’d do his best. For her. For himself.

He took her in his arms. “I love your bedroom.”

She smiled as if she were relieved. Did she think he would hate it? He thought he knew more about her from seeing this room than she’d revealed to him the whole time they’d been together. Made him sad that she thought she had to hide this from him.

He kissed her warm, soft lips, walking her backwards to her bed. He sat her down then removed his shirt. She stood and ran her hands down his chest.

Just her touch could send him to the stratosphere. She pulled off her clothes as if they itched her. She was suddenly naked in front of him. He held her breast, taking the other one in his mouth as he knelt in front of her.

He loved her skin, her smell, her presence. She was strong and feminine at the same time. And to make love to her in her bed was beyond amazing. She made mewling sounds as he continued to lick and suck her breasts.

They were beautiful. She was beautiful. He wanted her as he’d wanted no other woman in his life.

“Dirk.”

The way she said his name, the way it sounded in her mouth, aroused him even further. He could never get enough of her. What was he going to do when she was gone?

He couldn’t think about that. Now was now. He was here. She was naked.

Her hands rested on his shoulders, but he wanted those hands fisted in desperate need of her release. “Lay down.”

She did, with her legs hanging over the side of the bed. Opened for him. “You are beautiful. Every part of you.”

He crawled over to her. He licked everywhere he could. Her body responded. She jerked and was wet. And then she was rigid with her climax. Her teeth gritted. Her hands fisted and her back arched.

A high keening noise came out of her. He smiled in triumph, then removed his pants. He was already hard. Anytime she was around he was hard. He almost couldn’t think because all of his blood was in one spot.

Not in his brain.

He rolled the condom on as her body jerked with the aftershocks. He scooped up her legs, placed her feet against his shoulders, then entered her.

She gasped. He stopped.

“Don’t stop,” she said.

Her words came out husky. She was as aroused as he was. So he stroked, but knew this wasn’t going to last. No matter how much he thought about stocks, bonds, and annuities.

He wanted this to go on all night. Even if his legs fell asleep, he wanted to keep that aroused look on her face. But he couldn’t.

Instead he brought her to orgasm again and then let himself follow her over the cliff. He didn’t want to lose contact, but he had to get rid of the condom. She hadn’t moved when he returned.

Her face held a small smile.

“Let’s get under the covers,” he said.

She nodded and helped him then slide in beside her.

He snugged her up against him, enjoying the softness of her curves. Not a gym rat, but he was tired of women that concerned with their appearances. He’d had enough.

Riley was a real woman. Could he even handle her long-term? He knew so little about her.

“Your brow is furrowed. What’s going on in that head?” she said.

He kissed her nose. “Way too much. I should just forget about it while I’m here.”

“I am a little insulted that we just made love and I’m not the center of your universe for this moment.”

He eyed her, but she laughed. “You’re teasing me?”

“Yes.”

He hugged her close, her face resting on his chest. Her breath wafted across him. He could stay here forever. Maybe longer.

“I’m sorry.”

“You have a lot on your mind. I get it, Dirk. You run a company. It’s not a big deal.”

“Still. I’m here with you. I should be here with you completely.”

She looked up at him and smiled. “I’d like that.”

“When is your doctor appointment?”

“Tomorrow. I feel really good. Back to normal,” she said. “I’m hoping he clears me.”

“About involving the cops.”

“What?”

“We do need to do it.”

“I’ll cooperate with them, Dirk. This is bigger than we originally thought. Usually the case is done by now.”

A part of him was glad it wasn’t over. When it was, Riley would be gone. Could he get her to stay around? What did he have to offer her? He wasn’t going to marry. He knew that already.

He had a good job. He had lots of money, though that didn’t seem to impress her. He didn’t want children. What would he offer her to stay? Move in with him permanently?

He was at a loss. He was never at a loss, but he’d been off his game ever since she’d walked in his door. Damn her.

Maybe it was for the best. He could get back to his life. Get back to running his business. Get back to normal, which was something he hadn’t felt in ages.

All because of Riley.

With the doctor’s clearance, Riley was able to go back to work. Dirk set her up in an office on his floor. This way she could work discreetly. Zeke hadn’t completely blown her cover, but they knew it would be soon.

He was awake, and Dirk hadn’t talked to him yet. Riley wanted to be there when it happened.

Today was a meeting with the FBI, who specialized in cybercrimes. Which this was one since the person had used the computer system and the firewall. She waited anxiously, as these guys were rock stars of sorts in her line of work.

She wished she could spend the day picking their brains.

Dirk entered her office, which had a view almost as good as his.

“What do you normally use this space for?”

“Meetings,” he said before leaning down to kiss her cheek.

He’d been very affectionate lately. Almost like a boyfriend, but she wasn’t getting her hopes up. Dirk was still Dirk. She suspected that as soon as this was all over he’d go back to his skinny models.

She’d have fond memories of what they’d done, but that’s all they would be. Memories. A scrapbook in her mind.

“So this stays empty most of the time?”

She looked around the plush office with its buttery leather furniture and sighed. What a waste.

“Yes, it does. I have a little more office space than I need presently, but I want to be able to expand at some point,” Dirk said.

He settled on the chair opposite her desk. Her laptop was on the conference table, ready for the FBI guys. She’d just been admiring the whole space when he walked in. Admiring it from the big, comfortable chair behind the desk.

Dirk had given her an amused smile.

“You have designs on it now?”

She laughed. As if. “It’s a great space. Love the view, but the commute might be a little longer than I have now.”

“I’m sure I could rent it to you.”

She laughed even harder. “At two thousand a square foot. Out of my price range.”

“I’m sure we could work a trade,” he said in his best bedroom voice.

She’d heard that voice. Most recently in her bedroom. “Mm.”

Before she could say anything more, Dirk’s secretary led two gray-suited men into the room.

Dirk stood and shook their hands. “I’m Dirk Trent. This is Riley Adams.”

Riley moved around the massive desk to shake their hands.

The taller one identified himself as Special Agent Magnum. She thought that an interesting name for a cop.

“I’m Special Agent Louis,” the shorter one said.

She’d expected it to be Glock or Colt.

“Nice to meet you,” she said.

“Let’s sit at the table, and we’ll show you what’s been done so far,” Dirk said.

Of course he would take charge. Even though she was the expert here. Didn’t matter. She had the information, and she didn’t have enough of an ego to be insulted. Dirk might have.

“Ms. Adams, here is our computer expert.”

“I was hired to find a leak. I put a tracing program in the back door of the firewall,” she said.

She showed them her code. They shared a glance then nodded.

“Impressive,” Magnum said.

She beamed a little, but tried not to show it. How unprofessional. “I had notifications sent to me each time someone used this back door to enter the system or used it to send something out of the door,” she said.

“Okay. Sounds good. How about you redirect those e-mails to both of us,” Agent Louis said. “We can take it from here.”

“You don’t need my help?” Riley said.

“Not really. It’s pretty clear what you’ve done. We just need to catch the person in the act.” Magnum turned to Dirk. “We’ll need access to your system.”

“I can give you that,” Riley said. “I hacked into it.”

Dirk looked surprised. Guess she’d forgotten to tell him that information. Oh well. She had to keep some secrets.

The two FBI guys pressed their lips together. “Okay. Just send us everything you’ve done.”

She was dismissed. Weeks of work, and she was supposed to hand it over. That would mean the job was done.

Maybe this was better, but part of her was not willing to relinquish anything. She was close. She could feel it.

“Uh, okay.”

“From what Mr. Trent has said, your cover has been blown, so you are no longer an asset to the investigation,” Louis said.

He stood, as did Magnum. So she was off the case officially. Dirk didn’t say anything. Of course he wouldn’t. This was business. Not personal, and she’d mixed the two.

Damn her. Damn him for not defending her and her work.

“I’ll have it all to you by the end of the day.”

Maybe this was all for the better. The sooner she was done, the sooner she was out of Dirk’s life. And he was out of hers. No bodyguard.

She could resume normal life.

And lick her wounds. Heal her inevitably broken heart. She sighed as the men left.

“Okay. Guess I better get to work compiling all that they need.”

“I’ll leave you to it then,” Dirk said.

He left her. Like a rat leaving a sinking ship. Fine. Now she really knew where she stood. Her heart hurt, even though she should have been prepared for this. She wasn’t, and she sniffed back tears.

She had work to do, and then she could put Dirk Trent and his damned company behind her. Never to be thought of again. She sighed. Like that would happen.

She shook herself. She had to put on her big girl panties and get on with life. She’d miss him, and that had her throwing herself into her project. Two hours later, she was done. Hopefully she could sneak out.

She didn’t see Dirk in the hallway, Kent was sitting there. “I don’t think I need you anymore, as I’m off the case.”

“I just hung out to say goodbye.”

She kissed his cheek. “Don’t hurt my friend, okay?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

He rode the elevator down with her then said goodbye again. She suspected she would see him with Joan at some point.

Then Dirk’s voice brought her out of her musings.

Damn.

***

Dirk stood in the lobby, waving at Riley. He had the phone pressed to his ear, as his step-brother was giving him bad news. Their mother was in the hospital.

His heart ached. He loved his step-mother as much as any son could.

Riley turned to him and seemed to look disappointed. He’d been planning on taking her to lunch. When he’d found her office empty he hurried to the lobby.

Then his phone rang.

“Riley.”

She didn’t approach him. She just stood there as if she had no idea why he was calling her. Chad told him what hospital, and Dirk disconnected.

He reached Riley, but she still didn’t look pleased. He didn’t have time to worry about it.

“My mother has been rushed to the hospital.”

“I’m sorry.”

She didn’t hug him. She didn’t comfort him. Even if she hadn’t been here, he would have called her. “I have to go see her.” He took up her hand. “Please come with me.”

She eyed their hands, and then her gaze rocketed back up to his face. He was sure he looked desperate. That was how he felt. She cleared her throat and smiled a little.

“Sure.”

“We need to take the helicopter. There’s a car we can drive from the house. We might be gone a few days. Let’s go pack.”

She bit her lip, then followed him. What was her problem? He needed her to be Riley right now, and she was so quiet.

The driver took them to his penthouse, where they both threw some clothes into suitcases. Then they rode up to the roof of his penthouse, where his helicopter waited.

“I had someone bring it here so we didn’t need to go back to the office.”

He shook hands with the pilot. He didn’t often let anyone else fly it, but today he was too upset. He might crash. Riley had been quiet the whole time they’d been packing. Now she just stared out the window.

Was she upset about the agents? They had come in and taken over her job.

He shrugged. He had to worry about his mother first. He took Riley’s hand. She squeezed his, not looking his way.

At least she was here for him. He needed that right now.

“I don’t have many details,” he said when they had landed at his parents’ house. “Chad didn’t know much.”

“Is everyone at the hospital?” she said.

They’d dropped their stuff in a bedroom and walked out to the garage. Here Dirk had a Tesla stashed.

“Yes.”

“Should I go with you? I mean, I’m not family. Should I even be there?”

He looked at her over the car. Was that her issue? She didn’t think she belonged? “I need you with me, Riley.”

She nodded then climbed into the car. “I’ll go then.”

He held her hand the whole way to the hospital. Her touch gave him strength. What would he be doing if she weren’t here? He’d be stressed and fretting more than he was.

His whole family was in the waiting room when he arrived. His mother had been admitted, and she was in the Intensive Care Unit. Their faces were grim.

His dad hugged him, then when he saw Riley, hugged her too. Guess he’d liked Riley. That was good.

“Any news?” Dirk said.

Riley stayed in the background. She hovered at the door. She really did not feel comfortable, did she?

“Nothing yet,” Carl, his step-father said.

“What happened?” Dirk asked.

His father motioned for him to sit. He couldn’t. He was too keyed up.

“She had some chest pains and some difficulty breathing. They assessed her in emergency, then admitted her right away. She may have had a heart attack.”

“Have you seen her?” Dirk said.

“I went in briefly, but she was unconscious. They aren’t concerned about that. The nurse said it was better that she rested.”

Dirk nodded. “So nothing else?”

“No, but I called a specialist from the city and he’s on his way out. You know I’ll do anything for Eliza.”

“Of course, Dad.”

Chad sat in sullen silence. Luzy was next to him. He hadn’t seen his siblings since the picnic, but now was not the time to bring up Chad’s behavior. Dirk had been wrong about Riley. He hoped she wouldn’t remember that right now.

“Does anyone need coffee or food?” Riley said from behind him.

“I could use some coffee,” Carl said. He looked around, but no one else responded.

Riley nodded then left.

“She’s a good girl, Dirk.”

“I know, Dad.”

“You shouldn’t lose her.”

Dirk nodded, but he really didn’t have anything to offer her. He had no need to discuss that with his dad right now. Their focus was his mother. Riley would have to wait.

She was gone for a while and then finally came back with his dad’s coffee. She sat away from them, but Dirk sat next to her. He took her hand in his. He needed the strength she could give.

“Thanks for being here,” Dirk said.

“You’re welcome.”

That was the most she’d spoken this whole trip. He really needed her here, but she seemed reluctant. He didn’t understand. He leaned back in the chair, resting his head. “I’m not good at feeling powerless. I wish there was more that I could do.”

“Of course you would. You always get things done, but you can’t do anything here. You have to let the doctors do what they can,” she said.

“You’re right.”

“Your father has a specialist coming, so that’s good.”

He nodded. “I know. It’s just tough. She did raise me.”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine.”