"So you're a flying virgin?" he teases gently.
I snort. "Sure. Whatever." I wave a hand. "Yeah. And I have this memory burned into my brain from when I was real little, of a helicopter bursting into flames and crashing to the ground." I shut my eyes, still seeing it. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to... back there." Another wave of my hand. I suck in a huge breath. "It won't happen again."
He lays a hand on my shoulder. "You won't have to fly again if you don't want to." He holds my gaze a second too long, and I like it far too much.
I drag my eyes away, and instead focus on the butter-soft leather underneath my hand. "How many cows did you sacrifice for this?"
"How many chemical factories did you knock over to get your hair that color?"
His quick retort pulls a snicker from me. I sneak a glance his direction. His mouth is still twitching at the corner. But in a blink of an eye, the hardness returns. "Now that you're feeling better, I want to know what in the hell you meant back there about Steele Conglomerate's breaches not being North Korea."
I gulp, suddenly wishing I could ask for more of the yucky strong stuff. Heat creeps up my face and I let out a shaky breath. I guess I need to come clean with my new boss. "Soooo," I start, stretching out the word, because I'm not used to talking about this in person. I know people, but we all have aliases and we're strictly online. Discussing this with another human face to face feels... illicit. "I started probing your defenses about a week ago."
Stockton goes still, then reaches for his briefcase and pulls out his laptop. "Dare I ask why?" he asks in clipped tones, the softer sexier side of him vanishing.
I remind myself this is why he hired me. I could tell him everything, and I'd still be safe. But he's not a priest and this isn't confession, so I shrug, playing it off as no big deal. "I was bored." Truth. I also wanted to put an online asshole in his place.
"You were bored," he repeats flatly. "Tell me, if this is what you do when you're bored, what do you do for fun?"
"Hack the Social Security Department," I say with an impish smile.
His nostrils flare and I catch the barest twitch of a smile. It's enough encouragement that I risk a little more honesty. "It was only supposed to be one time, but your defenses intrigued me, and then you kept changing them."
He hands over his laptop - the one I hacked. "Show me."
"Really?" I don't mean for it to, but my voice rises in anticipation. This is like winning one of Willy Wonka's golden tickets, and I can barely contain myself.
He rolls his eyes. "Yes. Show me how you managed in less than a week to slither past defenses it took a team of us months to build."
Chapter Five
Stockton
Four Years Earlier
By the time we land at the top of Steele Conglomerate in Kansas City, Penny's laid out exactly how vulnerable we are. I'm rattled. And pissed as fuck-all. The cybersquad and I designed our defenses to be impenetrable. Beyond that, I added counteroffensives that could disable entire countries' systems with a wrong keystroke, and she slipped by all of it with the stealth of a night shadow. I'd throttle her if I wasn't so impressed.
But seriously, how can I trust her? And more importantly, how can we get her to assimilate? She's a walking time-bomb. If she were to ever go rogue, she'd either go to the highest bidder, or she'd be an assassination target. No doubt about it.
Harrison's waiting for us at the edge of the helipad. He greets her with a broad smile and an outstretched hand. "You must be Penny. I'm so pleased you've joined us."
She cocks an eyebrow, forgoing his hand. "Really?"
"Hell, yes," he enthuses. "I'm sure you can teach the cybersquad a thing or two."
I hold back a scoff. "Don't tell them that."
Penny's brows pull tight. "Who're they?"
"Stockton's crew. You'll meet them once we've onboarded you."
She grimaces. "That sounds as pleasant as waterboarding."
Harrison is nonplussed. "My assistant Andrew will get your paperwork processed and give you a tour, and then we'll take you down to meet the team."
She slides a glance my way, as if she's looking for reassurance. It pulls at something deep inside me I don't want to examine. I brush off the feeling and her, with a wave of my hand. "Drew will take care of you."
I turn to Harrison as soon as they're out of sight. "Are you out of your fucking mind?"
His eyebrows shoot skyward. "Are you? Did you look at her file? She's a genius."
"First of all, she is a girl. Where in the hell are we going to put her? She can't live with the squad. Second of all," I tick off, "she is the one responsible for this week's security breaches."
"Really?" Harrison grins. "I fucking love it."
"Seriously? You fucking love it?" My neck heats. "Do you understand she could bring all this crashing down from the inside if she decides?"
"Then it's up to you to keep her happy."
The amusement in his eyes just pisses me off. "She's a kid, Harrison. A kid."
"With a helluva lot of potential. So don't fuck this up."
"So you're saying I'm going to be her minder?"
Harrison's eyes narrow. "You're sounding dangerously close to a sexist asshole. If this was a nineteen-year-old dude, you'd have no problem taking him under your wing. You'd be salivating at the chance to help mold a brilliant young mind. You'd have him working right next to you learning the company from the inside out. What gives?"
What gives is that I have a boner for her brain. But there's no way I'll ever let my best friend know that. I'm twelve years her senior which makes me a dirty old man. "What gives is that our program works because the newcomers live with the veterans, and they're assimilated into the tribe. But we can't let a nineteen-year-old girl live with a house full of guys ten years her senior."
"You're right, and I've got Andrew working on that. But that means you're going to have to take on that role with her. If she's invested in you, in the team, she'll flourish. You've seen her history. She'll stay if we become her family. Think of her like Maureen."
I fight back a sigh. Harrison's right. I need to pull my brain out of my pants and treat her like she's just another one of the guys. Or like Harrison's kid sister. Maureen is just as smart as he is, and we begged her to come work for us. She interned with me her senior year in college, but fell in love with a winemaker and decided to use her tech skill to improve winemaking. But as smart as Maureen is, Penny dances circles around her, which apparently, is my kryptonite.
Two hours later, Andrew returns Penny to the C-floor. She's got that same glazed look most new employees get when they see the vast reach of Steele Conglomerate. I remind myself her day didn't start that easily, either. "Have you eaten?" I ask, taking pity on her. The way her eyes go a little wild, I know she hasn't. And who knows when was the last time she ate a square meal? "C'mon, let's go." I pop my head inside Harrison's office, across the hall. "Lunch?"