Total D*ck (Bad Bitch #3) Page 3

  We rode the elevator in silence, Carey glancing up at me every so often in the reflective doors. Kennedy, though, made a point to look over every inch of me slowly as we descended. I stared at his reflection, but he didn’t seem concerned that I knew he was checking me out. He was trying to get under my skin. I was just another little game to him, a skirt to chase. He obviously didn’t know me at all.

  I took the opportunity to get another look at him. His suit was cut perfectly to accentuate his broad chest and trim waist. He’d shaved, his jawline smooth. Would it be silky to the touch? A better question was, would the smoothness make a slap sting even more?

  He kept examining my body, scouring me as my traitorous heart raced. Heat bloomed in my chest and mixed with the sensation of falling created by the elevator.

  Stop gawking at him. You are acting like an idiot. I shook my head the slightest bit, drawing his eyes to mine in the reflection. We stared until it was obvious one of us should have looked away. Neither of us did.

  When the elevator stopped, I rushed out first, then schooled my steps to appear nonchalant.

  Get it together, Scarlett. Carey walked at my elbow, Kennedy lagging behind a few paces.

  “So, is it going to be like this all the time?” Carey asked, running a hand over his close-cropped dirty blond hair.

  “What do you mean?” I focused on calming my breathing.

  “Just, the tension. This is worse than when my parents got divorced.”

  “No tension.” I clicked the key fob and my car lit up. “Don’t worry. We’ll get into a groove. This is a new assignment, that’s all.”

  “You sure?” He raised a pierced eyebrow, the silver barbell adding to his apprehension.

  “Yes,” I said with a confidence I didn’t feel. Kennedy’s antics had only just begun, and I wasn’t sure how long it would be before I’d have to pull him aside and explain how this was going to work: I was in charge.

  Kennedy smirked and walked to the passenger door, not even offering to let Carey ride up front. Carey didn’t seem to mind, climbing into the backseat and closing his door.

  I slid behind the wheel and started the engine as Kennedy sat next to me. My skirt had ridden up as I’d sat down. I tugged it back in place and glanced over to him. Giving me a sweltering look that sent a lick of heat between my thighs, he quirked his lips at my attempt to cover my legs.

  I hated him, but all the same, I wondered what he’d be like in the sack. I slid my sunglasses on and closed my eyes for a moment. He’d be on top, pounding me as hard and fast as possible, giving my clit zero attention, and thinking he was God’s gift for the entire thirty seconds. I opened my eyes and smiled at him. Definitely not worth it.

  Chapter Four

  Kennedy

  Security at Rhone Industries proved to be tight, metal detectors and security guards jealously guarding the entrance. Scarlett walked ahead of me, her hips swaying in her heels. She probably didn’t even know she was doing it, but both Carey and I enjoyed the show.

  Women like her always thought—mistakenly, thank God—that wearing long skirts and tops that weren’t formfitting somehow hid their curves. It had the opposite effect. Her skirt, though long, still cut across her nice ass, highlighting the roundness. Her top, though not close to her skin, still gave me plenty to look at, especially when the light hit it just right and I could make out the full curve of her breasts. Even with her hair pinned back in a severe bun and little to no makeup on, she was a looker. Perhaps I’d judged her too quickly when she visited my office?

  Glancing at me over her shoulder, she had to look up to meet my eyes. Even so, I could feel the weight of her disapproval, as if she were looking down at me from the top of Stone & Porter. She thought she was too good for me. Maybe she was right. I wanted to taste her all the same.

  We stopped at the elevator bank and she pressed the button for the top floor.

  “Straight to the top, Scarlett?” I stood behind her, taking in her scent. It was understated but classy—floral and sweet.

  “Yes. We’re meeting in the executive boardroom. Eric Stiles, the in-house head of cybersecurity, will give us the rundown of the breach.” She spoke to Carey, an easy smile playing along her lips. “I’ve already been given the rundown once, but I suspect you’ll actually understand what he’s saying.”

  Carey nodded. “I’ll certainly do my best.”

  She put a hand to his elbow and squeezed. “I’m sure you’ll do wonderfully.”

  Wait, she actually touches men of her own free will? Why not me?

  “Thanks. I won’t let you down.”

  My jaw tightened as I glared at the back of Carey’s head.

  Scarlett let go of his elbow as the elevator door opened. He turned around and winked at me, smiling huge. I had the sudden urge to yank him away from the elevator and make him ride separately from Scarlett and me. Maybe even take the stairs.

  Instead, we all stepped in. The ride was quick, no stops, and soon we were in a large, open room that took up almost the entire top floor. It was partitioned with a few glass panels—much like the conference rooms at Stone & Porter—but the spaces were immense. Some people were at a bank of computers in one room, while several others were attending a meeting on the far side of the space.

  Sure of her route, Scarlett led us around the glass maze until we came to a room with a dark-haired man inside. He looked to be in his midthirties, wore Clark Kent glasses, and had a smile ready for Scarlett.

  “Good to see you again.” He rose and shook her hand before taking mine and then Carey’s.

  “Eric, this is Mr. Granade, my cocounsel on this case, and this is Carey Fellowes.”

  “Oh, I’ve certainly heard of you, Mr. Fellowes.” Eric’s smile faded.

  Carey gave a nervous cough and studied his feet.

  “What?” I asked Eric. “Is there a problem?”

  “No. Eric, Carey isn’t a hacker anymore. He works for me now.” Scarlett patted Eric on the shoulder. More touching? “He’s likely going to be the one who figures out how Greenwood got our data, so treat him well.”

  Eric loosened up a bit, but glanced from Scarlett to Carey and back again. “Well, I can’t do much about it. Mr. Rhone’s already told me to give you whatever you need. Not that I wouldn’t do it anyway.” His smile returned, seemingly bestowed only on Scarlett.

  Asshat.

  “Well, if that’s the case, I’d like a bottle of water, Eric.” I eased into the seat at the head of the glass conference table.

  “Get it yourself, Mr. Granade.” Scarlett’s ire would have been adorable if I didn’t want to spank her for touching everyone but me. “Take the elevator one floor down, and I’m sure the receptionist there would be more than happy to attend to all your needs. While you’re getting your throat wet, the rest of us will get to work.”

  I balled my hands into fists before I forced myself to relax. She was getting under my skin while all I could focus on was getting under her skirt.

  She turned to Eric as he sat down in front of his laptop. Carey pulled his own from his bag and set up in the next seat over.

  “Please give Carey the same information you gave me yesterday. I’ll try to keep up, but it’s perfectly fine for you two to put your heads together and speak your language. I just want to know your end results on what you think may have happened.” Scarlett sat on Eric’s other side and watched as he began typing and showing Carey basic log-on information. She began making notes on her legal pad, paying close attention to Eric’s explanations.

  I ignored the digital brain trust and kept my eyes on Scarlett. She didn’t bother looking at me, still on her campaign of “Kennedy is beneath me.” I wouldn’t have minded being beneath her, for a little while at least. Then I would flip her over—

  “Are you even listening?” Her voice broke through the pleasant daydream.

  “Yes,” I lied as she shook her head and went back to taking notes.

  “—so when does the backup occur?�
� Carey appeared to be deep in investigation mode.

  “Every night at midnight. Like clockwork. I started it that way years ago and sort of stuck with it. Now, of course, everything is much more secure. But the principle is the same. There isn’t a single piece of information on the Rhone network that doesn’t have at least one level of redundancy.”

  “Does that include the data that was taken?” Carey asked.

  “Hang on a second.” I stood and walked to stand over Eric’s shoulder. His screen ran some sort of code. “Is anyone going to talk about what was taken? What was it, anyway?”

  “I was wondering when you’d get around to asking the most important question of the case.” Scarlett leaned back in her chair. “Better late than never, I suppose. Eric, go ahead.”

  He took his glasses off and cleaned the lenses with his shirt. “A complex series of algorithms that are highly proprietary to Rhone’s weapons-testing program.”

  “Okay, Eric. That’s great and all. But try to put that in terms a non-geek can understand.”

  “Well, it’s not as simple as saying ‘they snuck in and stole the piece of paper with the secret formula on it.’” Eric glared at me as I edged over so I could stand behind Scarlett. The tight prison of hair on the top of her head begged for my fingers. Messing it all up moved steadily up the list of my priorities until it ranked right below “win this case and make millions of dollars.”

  “It’s a series of mathematical formulas that help Rhone figure out the best way for the U.S. military to kill people.” Carey’s fingers flew across the keys as he spoke, the multitasking almost unnerving.

  I slapped the back of Scarlett’s chair. “That’s more like it. Now we’re cooking with gas. That sounds like some damages. Maybe we can treble them, get some punitives. Really hit the jackpot.”

  “Thanks for that crackerjack legal analysis.” Instead of chilling me, her icy tone had the opposite effect. She continued, “Now that Mr. Granade is on the same page, instead of wandering through a grade-school picture book all on his own, please continue with your analysis.”

  She was icy, but I sensed that was only on the surface. I wanted to get closer to her, to see how deeply I had to go before I got to her hotter climes. I slid into the chair next to her and watched her write notes in an elegant script as the geek squad got back to chattering.

  Leaning over, I whispered in her ear, “So, when are we going to do some actual legal work?”

  She stopped writing and turned toward me, her face close enough that I could kiss her by closing the short distance. Would she hit me? Or would it be like a Gone with the Wind sort of smack that was just foreplay? Surely the latter. I didn’t give a damn either way.

  “I realize you’ve been out of law school all of four years longer than I have, so maybe I’m sort of New Age on this point, but getting up to speed on your actual case seems like legitimate legal work.” Her eyes flickered down to my lips and back to my eyes. I knew that look. She may as well have written “fuck me” in block letters on her legal pad. This would be easier than I thought.

  She opened her mouth, no doubt to scorch the earth under my feet with her fiery tongue, but her mouth turned into a smile and she stood.

  “Mr. Rhone.” Stepping around my chair, she greeted the man who walked through the door.

  His blond hair shone under the natural light filtering through the glass rooms. Dressed in dark slacks and a crisp button-down with the sleeves rolled up, he looked like the more approachable version of corporate America. I guessed he was in his early forties, trim and polished.

  “How many times do I have to tell you to call me Frank?” He took her hand and shook it, a genuine smile lighting his eyes.

  I rose and walked to greet him. After all, he was the client who would be covering my expense account.

  “A few more times, it would seem, Mr. Rhone. Let me introduce our team. This is Kennedy Granade, my cocounsel I spoke to you about.”

  We shook, his grip firm. Mine was firmer. I made sure of it.

  “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard great things. Guy and Scarlett handpicked you.”

  I glanced over at Scarlett. She crossed her arms over her chest, her mouth pressing into a thin line.

  “Oh really?” I turned back to Mr. Rhone. “I’d like to hear more about that.”

  He laughed. “I’m sure. I’ll just say I asked for the most ferocious plaintiff’s attorney they could find, and now here you are.” His eyes turned serious. “And I mean it. Greenwood has gone too far this time. We need a bulldog. Is that you?”

  “I’m your man, and I understand. Don’t worry, I’m ready to pull the trigger on a filing as soon as you’re comfortable, Mr. Rhone.”

  “Call me Frank. I want more than a lawsuit, though a victory in the courtroom would give me some vindication.” His light brown eyes flashed. “But I’m more interested in bringing their shady practices to light and then letting the chips fall where they may. I think many of their business partners would be very interested to know how Greenwood operates.”

  “This is the way to shed some light. Get our feet under us with the preliminary investigation, file the complaint, and then do the in-depth discovery. Give them enough rope to hang themselves with and put it all in front of a jury.”

  “That’s what I like to hear.” He smiled and shook my hand again.

  “And this is Carey, our corporate security expert,” Scarlett continued in a smooth tone as we returned to the conference table.

  Frank walked over and shook Carey’s hand. “I’m glad you never set your sights on Rhone in your younger days.”

  Carey nodded. “I get that a lot from my clients.”

  “I’m just glad you’re on my team. Any progress?” Frank pulled a pair of glasses from his shirt pocket and slipped them on before leaning over and looking at Carey’s screen.

  “I have a few ideas of how the breach occurred. Could have been an inside job, someone here giving access. But, it would seem the only person who could have given that access is Eric.” Carey reddened and leaned back, his fingers stopping their progress on his keyboard. “Sorry, man.”

  Eric glanced up at Frank. “No, it’s fine. That’s the most logical conclusion. Frank and I have already discussed it, in fact, when I realized the breach had occurred.”

  “Right.” Frank patted Eric on the shoulder. “I can guarantee Eric took no part in this.”

  Carey folded his hands in his lap. “Then the next conclusion is, based on the firewalls and Eric’s top-notch security measures, that a highly sophisticated hacker—with a lot of backing and cash—is responsible.” He pointed at his screen, which was still a conglomeration of code I couldn’t read. “Whoever did it bypassed security, accessed the network, then went into the even more highly protected backup files for the data. Since those algorithms were kept on a separate server that couldn’t be accessed from the outside, the hackers went to the backup, broke the encryption, and made a copy. They knew what they were looking for.”

  “That’s what we suspected.” Eric took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

  “Had to be Greenwood. They’re the only competitor with the money necessary to pull off this sort of data theft. And, from what Eric says, the way the hackers covered their tracks means it’s a lost cause.” He shook his head. “We’ll never be able to find them.”

  “Hang on a minute.” Carey moved back to his laptop, his fingers whizzing at light-speed. “Though they cleaned up after themselves, I did spot a little something special.” He pulled up a screen with even more code I couldn’t follow. “Here.” He highlighted a series of numbers.

  “What’s that?” Scarlett leaned over to peer at the screen. Her plump ass strained against her skirt and I found myself having to adjust myself in my pants. My cock had been as bored as I was this whole time until Scarlett decided to pay closer attention.

  “It looks like nothing, like part of the Rhone security code for this particular area of the server. But I recognize
it. The hacker left a calling card, one that I doubt anyone would recognize except for possibly three people on the planet. I happen to be one of them.”

  “How do you know?” I asked, trying to focus on the screen instead of imagining pushing Scarlett’s skirt up to get a look at what was underneath.

  “We used to hack together, back in the good old days.” Carey glanced up to Frank. “I mean the bad old days.”

  “Who is he?”

  “I didn’t know his real name. Went by Fluffy.”

  I snorted. “Fluffy?”

  “Yeah. We did some jobs together before he got involved in a much bigger hacker group. They were into some bad shit, uh, I mean stuff. So I bowed out. I got nabbed shortly thereafter.” He shrugged. “And now I use my powers for good.”

  “What was your hacker name?” I asked. “Though I doubt anything could be better than Fluffy.”

  Carey scrubbed a hand through his hair. “That’s not important.”

  Scarlet straightened, to my dismay, and poked an elbow into my ribs.

  I grunted but the sound was covered as Carey continued, “This had to be the work of his group. It’s too good not to be.”

  “So how do we link them to Greenwood?” I needed some sort of foothold to scale the money mountain.

  “Not a chance.” Carey spun in his chair and looked up at the three of us. “You’d have to track down Discord. Not happening.”

  “Discord?” Scarlett grabbed her legal pad and started making more notes. “That’s the hacker group, I take it?”

  “Right. A global group of highly intelligent psychopaths with computers.”

  “There has to be a way.” Scarlett chewed on the tip of her pen and closed her eyes.

  “This in and of itself is progress. I have total faith.” Frank clapped Carey on the shoulder. “I have to be on my way. Everyone over there—” He pointed through the layers of glass toward the crowded conference room. “—is waiting for me. But there is one more thing.”

  “Yes, sir?” Scarlett’s voice plus that phrase sent a thrill straight to my cock. Jesus, I needed her saying that to me.