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Spencer was stuck in the “work friend” zone, the purgatory of dating. It wasn’t even the “friends” zone, which was a million miles from where he wanted to get. He’d thought he’d gotten off to a good start with Josie, but after several weeks, he was still just Start ’er Up’s security guy.
“Lat pulldowns,” Luke said, reading from the workout sequence for the day.
Spencer plopped down onto the seat and reached up for the bar. Maybe that was all she wanted, which was her right. If she wasn’t interested, he’d accept it. It wasn’t as if that wasn’t the response all computer geeks were used to getting...
But he was still catching the long looks she gave him when she thought he wasn’t aware. And there had been two more brushes of their hands—one technically just a bumping of the fingers—and one solid run-in in the hallway. She’d come around the corner, and he’d had no chance to get out of the way. Not that a bulldozer could have moved him. They’d ended up with their bodies sealed from chest to stomach. Her breasts had plumped against his ribcage, and his hands had latched on to her trim waist.
“Focus on your form,” Luke said.
Right, like that was going to happen. Her form was all he ever thought about.
Spencer blew out a hard breath. Every time he came into contact with her, it was more electric. For him, definitely, and he thought for her—unless the color in her cheeks was embarrassment.
Which was a sad possibility.
She pulled away every time like it was nothing... like she’d brushed against the ornamental tree that stood by the fireplace, rather than a flesh-and-blood man. And a red-blooded one at that.
“Don’t jerk the bar down,” Luke said. “Keep the motion slow and controlled.”
Spencer tried to ignore the shaking in his muscles.
“Seven, eight, nine...” Luke counted off.
Spencer was so sexually frustrated that he’d even begun looking forward to these torture sessions in the gym. At least they took the edge off.
“Ten,” he said with a grunt. The weight stack dropped back to the bottom with a clank.
“Good,” Luke said. “Real good.” He gestured with his clipboard. “You’re starting to get some definition.”
Spencer was just glad the soreness was gone. He could get through a workout now and only be tired at the end. Although...
He flexed his arm and looked at his reflection in the mirror. Not bad.
“Let’s move to overhead presses,” Luke said.
Spencer let out a grumble. He’d spoken too soon. Those babies burned.
He took the clipboard as he and his trainer switched places.
“Are you okay being on call this weekend?” Luke asked as he began powering through reps.
“I’m good,” Spencer said as he stretched the muscles he’d just worked. It wasn’t his favorite thing, being on call as support for any security issues that might arise, but he was happy to have made the roster. He’d worked hard to get up to speed. He wasn’t an expert by any means, but he’d gotten the lay of the land. More importantly, he’d figured out who the experts were on various parts of the code base and who to call in case of an emergency.
“Remember,” Luke said, “I’m taking a long weekend with Kylie, so I won’t be around.”
Spencer cocked his head. “How did you two get together, if you don’t mind me asking?”
He still had some hacking to do there. He hadn’t gotten enough pointers to even get out of the gate.
“How did you ask her out?” he said. “Where did you take her? What did the two of you do?”
Luke’s exhale faltered, and the weight stack dropped faster than it should have. It clanged loudly before he regained control and pushed the bar back up again. “Uh... We kind of skipped over that part.”
Skipped over? What, like one day they’d just... Oh.
Spencer fumbled the clipboard.
He stared at his boss as Luke stood from the machine and grabbed his water bottle. He drank deeply, but his gaze was telling Spencer to watch how he responded.
A zillion questions ran through Spencer’s head, but he zipped his trap.
The guy was his freaking hero.
“Well, all right,” he said. “If you had asked her out, how would you have gone about it? How would you have approached her?”
Luke held the water bottle halfway to his lips. “Does this have anything to do with a certain strawberry blonde?”
Spencer winced. “What gave it away?”
“The googly eyes and the panting.” Luke took the clipboard and pointed at the machine. “Your turn.”
“Come on,” Spencer said as he climbed aboard. “Help a guy out.”
“Why don’t you start by asking her to lunch?”
“We’ve gone to the cafeteria together a few times.”
“Here?”
“Yeah.”
“Spencer.”
“What?”
“Get off campus.” Luke walked his fingers. “Take her to a restaurant and pay.”
Spencer considered the idea. It had possibilities. He might get a yes, even from the work friend zone, but spending time alone with her away from Afire might help things progress. “That’s good. Real good.”
“What do you two talk about?” Luke asked.
That was tricky. Spencer could talk to her now without tripping over his own tongue, but he worried about keeping her interest. He’d stayed away from superhero movies, video games, and the latest gadgets. He’d tried to take cues from her. One week she’d been reading a romance novel—a paperback, of course—so he’d downloaded the e-book version on the sly. The damn thing had nearly burned his fingertips once he’d started to read it, but then he’d seen an opportunity and had used it as an intense study guide.
But he digressed. “It’s difficult if it’s not work-related.”
“I thought you’d gotten past that.”
“I can talk,” Spencer said, “but finding the right words is tough.”
“You’ll figure it out.”
Finishing on the machine, Spencer leaned forward and rested his elbows against his knees. “I don’t know. She’s kind of been giving me the cold shoulder lately. She’s been tense. Edgy.”
Luke frowned. “That doesn’t sound like Josie. Is she still worried about the hack? Because I thought her presentation went well. I heard that the directors really listened to her.”
“They did,” Spencer said. The lack of distractions and the paper printouts had done the trick. She’d told him so. He dropped his head and rubbed his hands together. They had calluses now. “I don’t think it’s the job.”
Luke passed him another water bottle. “Don’t take it personally. From what I hear, she’s getting over a bad breakup...”
His words trailed off, as if he’d said something he shouldn’t.
Spencer’s head snapped up. “Why? Has Kylie said something? Has Josie said anything about me?”
“Hell.” Luke wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. “Don’t pull me into this.”
Spencer stood. His boss might be bigger, but he was an inch or so taller. And he was just frustrated enough to do something stupid.
He took a step forward. “Just tell me if I have a shot.”
Luke looked away and shook his head.
“Luke.”
His attention swung back. “Yeah, man. You’ve got a shot.”
* * *
It was all Spencer could do to stay away from Start ’er Up after that. He had to play it cool, after all, and he had to process the information. He had to figure out what to do and what to say.
Fortunately, a production issue came up to distract him. Scratch that, production issues were never good. As the security guy on call, he sat in with the team that was assembled to figure out the root cause of the issue. It turned out to be a bug in the release that had gone out the night before. The team who’d written the code was reverting it. There were no security implications that he could see.
Other than the fact that sitting in a conference room for nearly two hours made him want to rip down the walls.
A spring was in his step as he hustled down to Josie’s office. Start ’er Up was alive with activity when he walked in. People were gathered around a whiteboard, noisily collaborating. He didn’t see Josie with the group. She wasn’t in her office, either. He found her sitting alone in the lounge area, away from all the noise. Overcast fall weather had settled in, and the windows behind her were filled with gray. She’d turned on the gas fireplace and was sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed underneath her. Her laptop was open on her lap, but she was staring into the flames leaping before her.
She looked deep in thought... and sad...
His excitement was replaced with concern. “Hi-lo,” he said, cautiously approaching her. “Everything okay?”
She looked up at him blankly, but then snapped out of it. “Spencer.” She rubbed her hands over her face and pushed her hair back. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you come in.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, just tired.”
She did look fatigued. Her hair was still bright and shiny. It hung in loose waves around her shoulders, but her eyes were dull and the set of her mouth was tense.
“Did you need something?” she asked.
Okay, she was out of it. He might not get her day planner system, but he’d never seen her forget about a meeting. “We were going to talk about the dashboard I created for Start ’er Up.”
“Oh, right.” She sat up a bit straighter and plumped the cushions behind her. “Show me.”
“You sure?”
She gestured to the cushion beside her.
She didn’t need to ask twice. He sat down and stretched his legs out onto the low-riding coffee table before them.
Oh yeah, he could get used to this.
He looked at her. They were so close that their shoulders nearly brushed. All he wanted to do was pillow her head against his lap and hold her until the fire put her to sleep.
“You work too hard,” he said. From what he could tell, she was the first one here and one of the last to go home. He was the only help she seemed to have.
“I’m all right. I just haven’t been sleeping well.”
“You’re not still worried about losing your job?”
“No,” she said, a small smile pulling at her lips. “You straightened me out on that.”
“Is there anything I can help with?” A neck massage? Foot massage? Any sort of massage in between?
She shook her head and closed her laptop. “Show me what you’ve got.”
His Mac nearly fell off his lap. “You ask for the most dangerous things.”
A smile dawned on her face. “Chicken?”
The printer jam in his brain was for real this time. Heat that had nothing to do with the fire in front of them suffused his face, and his tongue got all twisted.
Now was the time. Go for it. Ask her.
Suddenly, he couldn’t think straight. The “ifs,” “buts,” and “whys” jumbled together until he couldn’t remember how he’d ever thought this was a good idea. The harder he tried to get out the words, the tighter they crammed into his throat.
He stared at his Mac. “Manotaur strup’s tragic.”
And like the flames in that chimney, his plan to ask her to lunch slowly went up in smoke.
She stared at him, her green eyes finally showing life. “I’m good, but not even I got that.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. Why was it hot if the fire was in front of them? He swallowed hard and took another shot. “It will monitor Start ’er Up’s traffic.”
“Oh, you’re talking about the dashboard.” She looked momentarily disappointed, but then leaned closer to see his screen. “How?”
Their shoulders pressed tight. Spencer remembered that romance novel and had to adjust the Mac on his lap. As always, work was easier to talk about, especially when all he had to do was point and click. He showed her how he could measure the number of logins into their Wi-Fi server and how many attempts were bouncing.
“Because they don’t have the password?”
“Or they mistyped it or they’re trying to hack it by brute force.”
Her expression turned serious.
“I’m also watching other things, like performance and reliability,” he said. He wanted to kick himself. He really did. “It’s still a prototype. I have a couple things I want to add, but I don’t know if I’ll have much time. I’m on call this weekend.”
“On call?” She nudged his shoulder. “Spencer, you’re becoming a real boy.”
His back teeth ground. He’d been working out in the gym for weeks to become a real man. Or at least a he-man.
For a second there, he’d thought she’d noticed.
She picked up her phone from the cushion at her hip. “That reminds me. I don’t have your cell number. I want to be able to contact you.” She stopped herself and tucked her hair behind her ear. “You know, if Start ’er Up has problems or anything.”
She wanted his number? Talk about a boomerang effect. His mood bounced right back, and his words came fast as he gave her his digits.
She put him in her list of contacts and texted him. “There, now you have mine, too.”
He stared at his phone. He hadn’t even had to ask. It had been so natural. So easy. He stored her number in his contacts and tucked the phone away.
He was making this too difficult. She liked him, and he liked her—although it was probably lopsided in one direction. She acted like she needed to get out of here for an hour or so. Who’d say no to a free meal?
He was going to go for it. “So do you have any lunch plans?”
His words were interrupted by a beep from her phone. It was another one of those danged text messages.
“I could eat...” she started. Her words drifted off when she looked at her screen. She started to swipe the message away, but then jerked as if she’d just been stuck with a pin. Spencer felt the flinch go through her, and it was jagged enough to make him go tense, too.
He didn’t want to pry, but he couldn’t help but look at her phone. She had it turned so he couldn’t see, but whatever news she was getting wasn’t good. She’d turned white as snow.
“Josie?”
She jumped away, springing to her feet. Her laptop would have hit the floor if he hadn’t grabbed it. She pressed the phone to her chest, even as it heaved with the heavy breaths she was taking.
“What is it?” he asked. “What’s wrong?”
For once, she was the one without words. Her lips moved, but she didn’t make a sound.
“Is everyone okay?” Had somebody been hurt? Or worse?
“It’s not that.” She looked at her phone again and began swiping through screens. With each subsequent one, she looked more and more like she might pass out. Her chin finally snapped up. “Kylie. I have to talk to Kylie.”
She raced out of the lounge back into Start ’er Up’s main bay. Spencer began to follow, but just as suddenly, she reappeared. She bounced on the balls of her feet. She looked ready to spring in any direction.
“Josie, you’re worrying me.”
“She’s not there. Her bag and jacket are gone, too.”
Spencer remembered Luke’s weekend plans. “She and Luke have probably left already.”
“Friday Harbor. Right.” Josie dragged a hand through her hair. It left it a little wild.
“Is it something I can help with?” he asked.
Her expression turned hopeful, but then she seemed to catch herself. Shaking her head, she took a step back. “No,” she said. “Not with this.”
She turned on her heel. Keds today. Cute pink ones. Spencer knew, because he was right on them as he followed her to her office.
“Josie, what’s going on?”
“I... I have an emergency. I have to take the rest of the day off.” She grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair and her purse from the bottom desk drawer. Her hair flew around her shoulders as she searched for what she might be missing.
“Go,” he said. “I’ll take care of things here.”
“Are you sure?”
“Go.” He followed her to the front door and opened it for her. Their gazes met, but hers skittered away. If confused him. Why would she be embarrassed?
“Call me if you need anything,” he said. “Anything at all.”
He watched her all the way to her car. She got inside, but sat there for the longest time. He was beginning to wonder if he should offer to drive her home when she started up the engine. She pulled out of the parking lot and took a right turn. She hit her brakes hard when she nearly hit a passing car, but then pulled out more gingerly.
Spencer found himself halfway out the door. Maybe he should have offered anyway.
He stood out in the parking lot wearing only a T-shirt and jeans, staring out the way she’d gone. The clouds were heavy overhead, and after the warmth of the fire, the nip in the air was sharp.
What had just happened?
“Everything okay with Josie?” one of the sports app guys asked when Spencer stepped back inside.
“She had to leave for the day.” He didn’t offer any details, because he didn’t have any.
And that bugged the heck out of him.
There was nothing a developer hated more than a bug.
His mind kicked into problem-solving mode, since it was the only thing he could do. She’d been fine. No, she’d been tired. Maybe a little stressed, but she’d said it wasn’t because of work.
He walked back to the fireplace and turned off the flames. He looked at the sofa. They’d exchanged numbers, but then she’d gotten another one of those texts.
They always did seem to bother her. She got quite a few of them, too. He knew from the time he spent with her. Was someone harassing her? Telemarketers? Bill collectors? She was too organized not to pay her bills on time, and she had a good job.
She also had an ex-boyfriend.
Spencer’s jaw set. He’d heard her mention him once, and Luke had said it had been a bad breakup. Those things hadn’t slipped by him. He’d heard them like a dog heard firecrackers.
Who was this guy? What was his name and where could he find him?
Damn. Luke wasn’t around, and neither was Kylie. Spencer had some investigating to do.
He picked up Josie’s laptop from where he’d left it on the coffee table. He opened it, but too much time had passed. The screen had locked. That was good for security, but bad for his needs... although he didn’t know if she kept any personal information on there.
He headed to her office, and his gaze fell on her day planner.
No. Too much like reading her diary. How that was different from her laptop, he couldn’t quite say. He just knew it was. But people put their diaries online these days, or at least a lot of them did... Social media.
He dropped down into what had become “his” chair and began searching the most popular sites. He found Josie’s pages and went back through timelines until he found a picture of her at a picnic. The man she was with had his arm around her shoulder like a hook. Spencer didn’t like him on sight. The guy was that plastic kind of good-looking, with a shiny face and a fraternity ring on his little finger. His frame was sturdy, but just a fraction away from being pudgy.
Spencer could tell he was a butthead just by looking at him.
Nolan.
The ex’s first name was under the picture, but Spencer needed more. He kept hunting. Through three different websites, he pieced together the guy’s details. Nolan Kemp. Salesman for a small software company. Thirty-three years old. Drove a Volvo.
After that, it didn’t take long for Spencer to find out what had upset Josie so much. It nearly knocked him off his chair.
The bastard.
The creep.
The lowlife scum.
Spencer stared at the pictures Nolan Kemp had posted on a photo-sharing site. Josie was naked in all of them.
Spencer exploded out of his chair and took a small circle around the room. He kicked the office door shut as he passed.
His gut was tied in knots. He couldn’t imagine how she felt.
He stared at the screen from across the room and suddenly realized anybody looking in could see it, too. He dove for his Mac and spun it around. He braced his hands on the desktop on either side of it and tried to think of what to do.
He was having trouble thinking at all.
The girl of his dreams was laid bare for all to see. She was beautiful. Stunning. Sensual. She was also asleep.
Spencer sank into her chair and, one by one, flipped through all the photos. The creep had taken naked pictures of her as she’d been sleeping. She’d thrown off the covers, or her photographer had conveniently removed them. Either way, she was bare as the day she was born.
But that was a full-grown woman lying on that bed, and she was breathtaking. Her breasts were full, peaked with soft pink tips. Her stomach was lean, her hips flaring out slightly, the shadow between her legs mysterious. It was only in the pictures at the end of the sequence where she’d started to come awake. Her eyes were soft, deep, and trusting.
Spencer raked a hand through his hair. He hated himself for looking, but he couldn’t stop. His erection jammed against his zipper, and he had to spread his legs to give himself more room. He couldn’t stop his reaction any more than he could stop the churning in his stomach.
The betrayal was sickening.
His brain began clicking fast. Those pictures had been taken without her knowledge, and they’d been posted without her permission. How many people were seeing them? How many were having the same reaction he was?
No.
This had to be stopped.
He sought out the address bar and swore. Nolan had posted the pictures on Say Cheese. The website was notorious for things like this. Celebrities had experienced the same invasion of privacy. Josie was probably contacting the site’s administrators already to demand they take the pictures down, but if a movie star couldn’t get them to budge, she didn’t stand a chance. She was probably out there, panicking... Reaching out to creepy Nolan to beg him to take them down...
Spencer spun out of the chair and gripped the back of it. It was just like the keep-away game kids used to play on him on the playground. Somebody had to do something, because he knew guys like Nolan. They never gave the ball back. They kept the baseball hats.
It was about time someone kicked them in the shins.
He laced his fingers against the back of his neck. Josie didn’t have many options. If she got a lawyer involved, it would be a long, costly affair that she probably wouldn’t win anyway. If she turned to the press, it would only increase the hits to the site. Either way, the solution wouldn’t be quick. The photographs could be out there a long time. Maybe forever.
He chewed on the side of his cheek.
Or she could give in to whatever Nolan wanted.
Oh, hell no. Spencer planted his butt back in the chair. He was a security professional. He played defense to attacks. He stayed away from going on the offensive.
But he knew how it was done.
To keep ahead of the game, he’d dreamt up even more complicated hacking strategies than the black hats had ever considered. He’d always been a white-hat hacker, a security pro who helped companies find their weak spots and reinforce them.
He was a coder with a moral code.
But this was Josie.
He cracked his knuckles and got to work.