Chapter 1
Kathryn Irish’s heels clicked across the lobby floor of the Davis Building as she headed for the bank of elevators. She felt weird being in her ex-boyfriend’s building but the chances of running into Daniel MacArthur here were very small.
Daniel’s company had hired Tony Domínguez, head of the East Coast division for Security Solutions and Analytics, Inc., to do a diagnostics check of their new security system and protocols. And Tony had hired her, since she was one of his preferred contractors. She wasn’t exclusive to him—wasn’t exclusive to anyone, and she liked it that way. It was just dumb luck that this was one of Daniel’s buildings.
Under normal circumstances she wouldn’t have taken a job at her ex’s place, but the money was too good to pass up. He didn’t work out of this building even if he did own it.
So here she was, posing as an engaged woman to talk to Helen Marr, owner of White Sands Event Planning. She just needed to get to the eighth floor so she could work her magical hacking skills. She’d done an analysis of the new security and the building itself, and had deemed this the easiest way to infiltrate and pinpoint any security holes.
As she waited in line at the bank of six elevators, she swore she could feel eyes on her. A little tingle started at the back of her neck and she automatically reached up to rub it. She looked at the others waiting for the elevators, wondering what was wrong with her.
Then she glanced over her shoulder and froze for all of a second before turning back around. Oh, God!
“Kathryn.” That deep voice was nearly too much for her to handle.
She inwardly winced as the big, imposing man slid up next to her. His familiar masculine scent teased her nose. It was a woodsy, citrusy scent that made her think of Daniel and sex. She went weak in the knees, just like that. She couldn’t believe he was here, but she pasted on a smile and turned to look up at sexy Daniel MacArthur. Since he was six foot four, she always had to look up, even though she was wearing heels today. For a moment all she could see were his pale blue eyes, staring down at her with an intensity she felt to her core. “Daniel,” she rasped out, then cleared her throat. “I, ah, didn’t think you came into this office very often.” And never on Fridays. She knew that from simple recon. On Fridays he always, always worked out of the building on Prescott Street—well, apparently not. And planning the job today had hinged on him being gone.
He watched her with an unnerving intensity. “I had some stuff to take care of today. What are you even doing here…” His words trailed off as he glanced down at what she was holding.
Yikes, her stack of bridal magazines. And oh yeah, she was also sporting a huge engagement ring on her left ring finger. It was real too, though it wasn’t hers.
He blinked once when he saw the ring, his expression darkening. Damn, the man was good-looking. It was no wonder he’d been voted one of the top twenty-five sexiest bachelors in the city the last five years in a row. His dark hair was a little longer than the normal close-cropped cut he’d kept when they’d been together. And she didn’t think he’d shaved in a couple days, given the stubble he was sporting. Instead of looking unkempt, however, he simply looked even more delicious. Especially with some of his tattoos peeking out at his wrists. The man was always so buttoned up and professional looking, but underneath that suit? He had a surprising amount of ink and she loved every inch of it.
She hoped he wouldn’t comment on the ring. Maybe he would just let her by without one single word about it. Maybe unicorns were real too. “I’ve got a meeting here on the eighth floor.” She took a small step away from him, finding it easier to breathe with the little bit of distance between them.
He closed the distance in one step, not letting her move even an inch. “You’re getting married?” he demanded as the elevators dinged.
Okay, so he wasn’t letting this go. She was aware of people heading into the elevators, clearing out the whole area, but all she could focus on was him. It was like he was a magnet, pulling her in. She wanted to run away from him, to simply jump into the cluster of people and avoid this whole conversation. But she also didn’t want him to realize that she was here on a job. She needed to be polite for another minute or two before making her escape. “It would appear so.” That wasn’t a lie, exactly. And she hated lying to him. Even if he had broken her heart.
“But…” He cleared his throat. “We’ve only been broken up for two months.”
He seemed absolutely shocked that she’d moved on so fast, which was a little ironic considering she’d seen a picture of him with some svelte blonde wrapped around him on a trashy blog the other day. Okay that was a lie—there had been no wrapping around him, but they had been standing next to each other and smiling pleasantly at the camera. Still, the memory of that picture and the stupid byline that had gone with it rankled Kathryn. Sexy Bachelor and Heiress Caught Canoodling! Ugh. Just remembering that eased her guilt. And what kind of publication used the word canoodling? Even a trashy one? Seriously.
She absolutely wasn’t commenting on that. “Look, I don’t want to be late for my appointment.”
For the first time since she’d known him, he looked completely out of sorts, his pale eyes searching hers for something. When there was a shout from across the lobby, Daniel turned in that direction, his expression growing dark.
She knew exactly what was going on because this was part of the plan with her partner.
“What the hell!” someone shouted. “Stop that!”
She suppressed a smile when she saw a whole bunch of balloons being released. And then…bubbles came out of nowhere, being pumped throughout the lobby. Bubbles were something new and it made her giggle, despite this whole situation. “Looks like you’ve got your hands full,” she said, moving toward an elevator that opened.
“Wait,” he started, then turned back at another annoyed shout from security.
Seeing her opportunity, she slid into the elevator and quickly pressed the close door button while he was distracted. The last thing she saw was his annoyingly sexy, brooding face as he stared at her while the doors swished shut on him.
As soon as they did, she slumped against the back wall and closed her eyes for a long moment as the elevator ascended. Her stomach rolled once and it had nothing to do with the ride.
For a moment she wondered if he would figure out why she was really here today. He knew some of what she did for her contract work, but she’d never shared the details of how she worked jobs—it was confidential and she wouldn’t have given away her trade secrets regardless. Getting her bonus depended on not being discovered during the actual infiltration.
She doubted he would suspect her of being here for anything other than what it appeared she was here for. She was just second-guessing herself and she needed to keep it together.
As she stepped out of the elevator and into the waiting area of White Sands Event Planning, a pretty woman with dark, corkscrew curls smiled at her from behind the reception desk. “Hello, how may I help you today?”
“Hi, I’m Kathryn and I have a meeting with Helen.”
“Of course. My name is Sonya,” she said, standing and smoothing down her gray pencil skirt. “Can I get you a latte, sparkling water, something to eat?”