“Come join us,” he called. He stood and pulled up another chair to the table as the other men scooted theirs aside to make room. Once she was seated, he introduced himself. “I’m Sean,” he said, and extended his hand. He pointed to each of the others, saying, “And this is Jeff, Paul, and Andy.”
They greeted her with smiles, and then Andy said, “We’ve seen you around. You must be doing something pretty important to have that office all to yourself.”
Allison’s answer was deliberately vague. “I’ve been given specific assignments. I’m under contract for only a few months.”
Paul spoke up. “I’ll bet they’re complicated assignments. I was in the security room when you came in and found that breach a couple of months ago. I have to tell you, I’ve never seen anybody get to a source that fast, especially one that intricate. You were amazing.”
Embarrassed by his comment, she said, “I had seen something very similar before, so I just used what I knew.”
“Still, that was mighty impressive work,” Paul said.
“Where did you go to school?” Andy asked.
“I just graduated from Boston College,” she answered. When she told them she had lived in the Boston area her whole life, the conversation turned to more personal topics, everything from which restaurant served the best chowder to who was their favorite Red Sox player. At one point Sean pulled out his wallet and showed her a picture of his one-year-old son dressed in an infant Red Sox uniform.
“I’m definitely going to miss Boston,” she admitted.
“Where are you going?” Jeff wondered.
“I plan to move to California when my contract is up,” she answered. “I’d like to start my own software company.”
“That’s a shame,” he responded. “We could sure use your talents around here.”
While the men around her continued to talk, her thoughts began to wander toward her future. She had planned everything so carefully. Just as soon as she could, she would move to California and start her company. No more long hours under Phillips’s thumb. No more interruptions to her life by FBI agents. In California, she would be her own boss. It was exactly what she wanted, wasn’t it?
On the other hand, she loved Boston. This was her home and she had good friends here. Why did she have to go to Silicon Valley to take on the boys? She could do that here . . . anywhere, actually, as long as she had a computer. As surprising as it was to admit, the idea of staying was appealing. Who knew she was going to like the work at the cyber unit so much? Certainly not her. She did like it, though—very much, as a matter of fact. Who wouldn’t have loved solving problems all day? The men at the table were friendly and intelligent and interesting. Working alongside them would be fun.
Jordan had asked to be part of the new venture, and together they could build a great company. Both of them could continue to write code and design software. Jordan could also fine-tune what Allison had already created. The two of them had other commitments, so it would be a slow-growing company, but that didn’t bother Allison. If she stayed in Boston, she’d be able to continue her work at the cyber unit, though she would have to renegotiate the terms of her employment. She absolutely was not going to continue to work eighty-hour weeks. The more she thought about the possibilities, the more excited she became. She felt as though a weight had just been lifted, and she couldn’t wait to tell Jordan.
The topic at the table turned to new and innovative software that was being developed. When the talk became even more technical with a discussion about coding, Allison realized not only was she having a wonderful time, but she was where she belonged.
Liam found her surrounded by the four men. They were all smiling like simpletons and hanging on her every word. He grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the refrigerator, pulled out a chair from another table, and pushed it next to hers, then sat. He knew he was being territorial, but that didn’t stop him. He draped his arm around her shoulders and gave her admirers the “get the hell out of here” look. They got the message and one by one left the table.
“I think you scared them,” she said, frowning over the possibility.
“Thanks. It’s nice you noticed.”
“I wasn’t complimenting you,” she replied.
“Sure sounded like it.” He tore into the sandwiches, drank a bottle of water, and was ready to go.
On the way back to her apartment, he asked her what she would like on her pizza.
“You’re still hungry?” she asked, and before he could answer, she said, “Do you know how many . . .” She suddenly stopped.
“Do I know what?”
She felt silly telling him. “Calories. Pizza has a lot of calories. I’m used to eating salads and snacking on carrot sticks. I’m slowly turning into a rabbit.” Embarrassed now, she shyly admitted, “Old habits die hard.”
He called a pizza place he knew and liked, put in his order, and swung by on their way. There was a liquor store next door. “You’ve got beer, right?”
“Yes.”
“The real stuff, not the light stuff.”
“Light beer is the same as the real stuff.”
He scoffed at the notion, and after they picked up what Allison believed was a ten-pound pizza, they went into the liquor store to purchase beer and Diet Coke.
They’d just gotten home when Giovanni called. “Is this a good time?”
Allison was glad to hear his voice. “It is,” she said. “How are you?”
He filled her in on his hectic life and finally got around to the reason he had called. “I know you’re retired, sweetie, but Maureen, one of my models who is your height and weight, broke her ankle and won’t be able to work for quite a while. It’s a huge event at the Hamilton. I have four models ready, but I need you, too. Just three designers are invited. It’s quite an honor.” He thought to add, “And it’s all for an important charity.”
“Of course I’ll do it. When is it?”
“I’ll e-mail you the particulars, and, Allison, bless you for helping me.”
Liam was standing close enough to hear the entire conversation. He opened a bottle of beer, leaned against the kitchen counter, and said, “That’s quite a schedule you’re filling. You’ve got the Brett thing coming up soon. Now you’ve added a runway show.”
“At the Hamilton,” she volunteered.
He nodded. “And in between those two engagements you’re going to be working your pretty little backside off for Phillips. Anything else you have planned?”
Inside her head, a voice said, “Tonight I’ve penciled in a shower and sex. Tomorrow, I’ll want to hit something, so I’ll plead with you to take me to the batting cages. Then, when I arrive back home, sex again.” Every part of her wanted those words to come out, but she couldn’t let them. In the back of her mind, there was the aching hope that he would want to go to bed with her. She thought he’d liked being intimate with her, yet now she had to reevaluate. He sure wasn’t in any hurry to touch her, which in her mind meant he hadn’t been very impressed. And that, she decided, was mortifying.
It wasn’t her fault, was it? He had far more experience than she did. He’d probably slept with at least twenty women, maybe more, who knew what they were doing. She’d only slept with one other man, and it had been a disaster. She couldn’t think about the god-awful experience without shuddering.
She didn’t respond to Liam’s question. She went into her bathroom, showered, and put on a short white sleeveless cotton nightgown that just reached her knees. Although it was a bit low-cut, she couldn’t see through the material, and she thought it was modest enough. There was no way she was going to make herself vulnerable again. She hated feeling so awkward around him. She wanted to hide, so she opened her laptop and did exactly that.
Liam was on the phone for over an hour putting out one fire after another. By the time he finished work, he just wanted to crash. He opened the bedroom door and stood there, smiling at Allison. She was sitting propped up with pillows against the headboard. Her long, gorgeous legs were stretched out, and her computer sat open on her lap. Her head was dropped down, but he could see her eyes were closed. She looked as sweet and innocent as an angel.