Steal: A Bad Boy Romance (13 page)

CHAPTER 18

~ J
AMES
~

“And that is how ARCANE will
protect the vulnerable from exploitation and help elevate those in need from
poverty to their rightful place in the global community.”

An
animation of the ARCANE logo swirled onto the screen to punctuate the end of
Kat’s presentation, the usual circle surrounded by thorns replaced by a globe.

A
smattering of applause grew into a low rumble. It wasn’t deafening, but then,
it had been a marketing presentation, not a solution to global warming. For a
crowd of business people and media, the response was great.

The
lights, dimmed for the presentation, came up to full.

“Thank
you for being here today,” Kat said. “We’ll now take questions for the next ten
minutes, and after that each of us will be available in the lobby for
discussion. Food and drinks are laid out.”

Half
the questions were about the technical aspects of the ARCANE encryption system,
which Kat passed on to the head of the engineering department. When a question
about the charity plan was directed to her, her face lit up as she expanded on
her vision for the campaign and the help they could offer through the program.

She’s so beautiful when she’s
this passionate about something.

The
thought stressed my resolve to the breaking point. This con was intended to
investigate the signs of Nick being a menace to his clients and relieve him and
his company of as much cash as possible. The past ten years of my life had been
spent in an analytical, detached state where the only thing that mattered about
people was their use to me. That wasn’t supposed to change with Kat.

But
it had.

“That’s
it for questions. Thank you for coming, and I hope to talk with most of you
before you leave. Come and ask me or my colleagues anything.” Kat wrapped up
the official press conference, beaming at the room.

The
attendees milled around, talking to each other and picking their way out to the
lobby, where several staff had been busy setting up the refreshments during the
presentation. I fought my way against the crowd to approach the podium, where
Kat spoke with the other department heads.

“That
was a great answer to the encryption questions, Greg. You may have scored us a
few contracts on the spot with that one,” Kat said to the imposing head of
engineering. “I saw a few eyes light up in the audience—it wouldn’t
surprise me if you had a few
headhunters
coming your
way after this.”

Greg
chuckled. “Oh, they’ve been at my door for years. Once you get to a certain
level of infamy in the field, they never go away.”

Kat
laughed. “I hope I get to that point someday. It would be nice to be at the top
of everyone’s wish list. I’ll see you guys out there. I need to talk to my
team, first.”

She
turned to me as the men walked away. “Well? What did you think?”

“You
did great,” I told her. “And it sounded like it was well-received. I think you
did it!”

A
wide grin split her face, white teeth dazzling in the bright press room lights.
“I know, right? That felt amazing. I’m so glad I rehearsed as much as I did, it
made it so much easier to get it all out exactly how I wanted it.”

“The
sales team will have their hands full after this. Your enthusiasm came across
when you answered questions—it made me want to buy in.”

Kat
flushed, and she gave me a hug. She whispered in my ear, “Thank you for helping
me so much.”

I
hugged her back, enjoying her presence in my arms even as my mind screamed
about the massive deceit I hid. She still didn’t know who I really was. She
didn’t know that I planned to destroy her company. Even worse, I kept the truth
about ARCANE from her—that all the charities she wanted to help so badly
were far more vulnerable to criminal harm under ARCANE’s protection than they
were before.

The
secrets whirled inside, tearing at my mind like a hurricane, but I couldn’t
think to do anything other than squeeze her closer.

“I’ve
got to get back out there,” she said, breaking off the hug. “I can’t wait for
later. I want to celebrate!”

I
smiled. “Shoo, woman. Get this over with, and then I’ll take you out for a big
reward.”

Kat
winked and turned to leave, speaking with Sean for a minute on the way.

How the hell will I protect her
from what’s coming?

Kat
wasn’t the only one who would be affected by ARCANE’s demise. There were dozens
of regular employees, people who would be left without a job and paying
ridiculous San Franciscan rents with no income.

Sean
and Todd stayed in the conference room, walking along the periphery and taking
down the ARCANE promotional materials they’d strung up that morning. I
meandered over as casually as I could fake it.

“Hey
there, guys. You’re on Kat’s team, right?”

The
man on the right turned to answer. “Katherine? Yeah, we’re her marketing
specialists. I’m Todd, this is Sean.”

I
shook their hands. “I’ve been dating Kat—sorry, Katherine—for the
past few weeks. Don’t want to be underfoot out there while they are mingling
with the press and corporate types, so I figured I’d keep you two company in
here while you take things down, if you don’t mind.”

“Sure,”
Sean said. “We’re just shooting the shit.”

“Cool.
What’s it like working for ARCANE? I know Katherine’s perspective, but there
can be a huge difference between how management sees things and the way it is
for the rest of the employees.”

The
two men looked at each other. Sean shrugged and nodded at Todd, who turned.
“It’s good, mostly. Your girlfriend is turning out to be a decent boss. I don’t
want to say anything too incriminating, but since I know she hates Nick, I feel
safe in saying that he’s a huge dick. He really makes it a shittier place to
work than it has to be.”

I
nodded and gave a little laugh. “Isn’t that always the case? Sometimes you luck
out with a good boss, but there’s always someone up the line who’s an
egotistical asshole.”

The
key to communicating with people was to speak their language. I adjusted my
stance slightly to mimic Todd’s posture, giving him a nonverbal signal that I
was part of his group, one of his peers. He could relax and be honest with me.

We
shared another laugh.

“
Ain’t
that the truth? Still, it’s the
startup
life. You do it hoping to hit it big, right?”

They’ll be sorely disappointed
if they expect anything of the sort out of ARCANE.

“Have
you ever thought about leaving? How hard would it be to find something else?”

Todd
shrugged. “It’s not really too difficult out here. There are always new
companies popping up, looking for eager young minds to form the next Google or
Uber
. It’s more a matter of inertia than anything else.
Once you’ve been with a company for a while and you’re accumulating options and
it feels like they’ve got good momentum, you don’t want to leave and start new
elsewhere unless something better comes along.”

That
made sense. “That’s true. I should leave you guys to this, though. Sorry for
distracting you.”

“Don’t
worry about it,” Sean said. “Maybe we’ll see you around, if you and Katherine
hit it off.”

I wouldn’t count on that.

“Maybe
you will. Cheers.”

It
was decision time, and talking to Kat’s team had solidified my choice. I sent a
text to Addison to activate Candy. The escort would track Nick down and show
him the time of his life tonight. After a mountain of blow, bottles of liquor,
and more top tier pussy than he’d ever
had,Nick
would
be out of commission for the entire weekend.

The
crowd in the lobby had thinned a touch while I spoke with the two marketers,
but it was still bustling. It took some work to locate Kat, surrounded as she
was by people. I edged my way into the crowd.

“What
made you decide to donate ARCANE resources to these charities? How did you come
up with the idea?”

Kat
didn’t need any time to think of an answer to the question. “I’ve always been
passionate about charitable work, and in fact I almost took a position with one
of the charities we’re partnering with in this campaign. It was a natural
connection to make, and I am happy that I can help even if I’m not working for
them directly.”

A
tall man spoke, wearing a turtleneck and jeans as if trying to emulate the
beloved founder of a major technology firm.

“That
is a very impressive campaign you put together, Katherine. A series of
partnerships that looks like it benefits everyone involved. Very smart
thinking.” He handed Kat a card. “Call me if you’re ever interested in pursuing
an opportunity at Google.”

“Wow,
thank you!” Kat said, taking the card with a broad smile. “If things don’t work
out at ARCANE for any reason, I’ll let you know.”

That
cued several more people to pass her their business cards, until she had a
small stack.

The
crowd dispersed a little, those who simply wanted to give Kat their cards
leaving the circle.

“I’m
the head of security at a large credit union in the area,” another man said,
tapping Kat on the elbow. “Is it possible to set up a consult to discuss what
would be involved in a switch to ARCANE?”

She
nodded. “Of course! If you see Dave over there, in the blue shirt, he’s our
head of sales. He’ll set you up with all the information you need.”

The
man sauntered off, replaced by another. Kat handled each question with ease and
grace. If she was still nervous, it didn’t show.

Finally,
she’d depleted the questions of those waiting to speak with her, and we stood
alone.

“Wow,”
I said. “You were popular.”

She
laughed. “You’ve got that right. I thought there might be one or two questions,
not that gigantic flood. And look at these!” She fanned out the business cards.
“Can you believe it? One presentation about one campaign, and these people are
actually interested in me. Me!”

I
looked at the flush in her cheeks—she rode an emotional high, and it made
her that much more attractive.

The
lobby had mostly cleared out, only a few people still hanging around besides
the ARCANE employees.

“Think
I can steal you away for a nice dinner?” I asked Kat.

She
smiled. “I’d like that. Just let me go check in with the team, and if
everything’s good, then we can go.”

I
let her go by herself, giving me more time with my thoughts.

She’ll be devastated if I follow
through with the plan.

I’d
counted on that in the initial planning. It was supposed to be a good thing. I
hadn’t planned on caring.

Kat
only spent a moment with the other executives before coming back my way. There
was a bounce in her step and she flashed a brilliant smile and a wink as she
caught me looking.

“Why,
hello there, handsome,” she said. “Care to show a lady a good time?”

“Always.”

We
left the building, and I guided our walk down to the Embarcadero. The sun hung
low in the west, the brilliant rays glinting against the waters of the bay.
Kat’s hand found mine and our fingers interlaced as we strolled down the road.

“What
a perfect day,” Kat said. “I needed this.”

“You
were incredible. I liked watching you up there, so passionate.”

She
blushed. “It’s something I really care about, and I’m glad I could help those
in need.”

She
didn’t know that she might have hurt those charities by convincing them to let
Nick and ARCANE protect their data. I burned to tell her, but that would
jeopardize everything—the con, and the budding relationship that had
grown between us.

“I’m
sure they’ll be thankful for a long time. And now you’ll have your pick of
companies you could work at after you’re done with ARCANE.”

“I
don’t know, James. I feel good about this campaign—confident. I think I
might pull it off. If this quarter is good enough, then I could just stay at
ARCANE, and keep building on this. It will be a great legacy, and give me even
more experience.”

You might not have a choice.
I didn’t want to say it.

“This
is us,” I said instead, guiding her to a restaurant on the water.

Dinner
was a long, luxurious affair. Despite my internal struggles, I kept my thoughts
bottled deep inside and concentrated on making Kat happy. She deserved a night
of pleasure before her world blew up around her.