CHAPTER FOUR
CONNOR
The next day, the annoyance of seeing Laney with Matt had dulled by only one degree. The image of them hugging, a smile on her face, her ringless finger right there, played over and over in my mind. Was he a better choice for her? Would he make her happier? When she’d told me about him when we first started dating, she spoke fondly of him. Exes were supposed to be that—exes. Ones you didn’t think about or see ever again.
No. I couldn’t picture them together without losing my mind.
I was better for Laney, but did I show it? She’d taken care of all the groceries and meals for our entire marriage. Did she hate that? I don’t think we discussed it. She just started doing it at the start because I was busting my ass to earn a promotion, and then we never brought it up again. I should’ve asked her. I should’ve made sure to touch base with her, see what changes were needed in our marriage.
That’s also why I was watching YouTube videos on how to make something besides mac and cheese or grilled cheese.Laney had spoiled me with her cooking, and I totally took it for granted.
Just add that to the list.I rubbed my palms into my eyes, the headache a constant at this point, as my phone rang. A stupid burst of hope had me thinking it was Laney, but no. Petra, my executive assistant.
“Petra,” I answered, my tone sharp. Although we had emailed since our last chat, I hadn’t spoken with her since she learned my wife left me. “What’s going on?”
“Hope you’re enjoying the small-town life, boss.”
I sighed. “Not exactly. Did you find out more about the cyberattack?”
The timing couldn’t have been worse. Not only did my wife leave me on the night we were breached, but the attack also happened right in the middle of intense negotiations with a new business. While I didn’t need to be physically in the office as we investigated who, how, and when someone broke into our network, I had to be involved every second as the CEO. It was fucking exhausting.Whydid I do this? The challenge of succeeding drove me at first, then money. But now? I scrubbed a hand over my face as frustration and a deep bone-tired exhaustion hit me.
“Jen is with me. We’re pretty sure we found the compromised account, which wouldn’t be a big deal, but—”
“We believe, possibly, that someone took a bribe to let the hackers in,” Jen, my CTO, chimed in. “I’m running a script compiling all outbound emails on company devices to see if they were stupid enough to leave evidence. Whatever I find, I’ll send a report to you, but when we went to talk to Nate, he seemed… too relaxed. No concern. It was weird.”
Nate Remington was on the development team.
“He’d have the skills to leave a door open for someone to get in. He wrote most of our fucking automations.”
“Yeah, I know.” Jen sighed. “I’m having Jeremy monitor our network, and we augmented our team with a twenty-four-seven service. We’re okay now, Connor, but I want to nail his ass.”
My adrenaline spiked. “Get our lawyer on the line. Let’s see what our options are.”
We moved from the phone to a Zoom call while the company’s general counsel, Jeff, explained our options. It was daunting, but if we found the evidence needed, we could not only press charges, but it could also help with the costs of recovery. The call took over two hours, and my stomach growled something fierce. I had never made lunch. Work had distracted me.
I eyed my watch and cringed. How had this much time gone by? Laney’s event was in six hours, damn it. I wanted to talk to her before she left. My wife liked arriving early to prep, and I wanted to drive her. There was a snowstorm on the way.
I didn’t have time to eat, so I shoved a spoon into the jar of peanut butter, dipped it in jelly, and put it into my mouth. Once Laney was safe and at the event, I’d sneak off and find a snack. I could survive a few hours hungry if it meant time with my wife. After shoving myself into my coat, I grabbed my phone and keys and jogged toward her parents’ house. Her car still sat outside, my shoulders sagged in relief. Thank God. She hadn’t left yet.
I raised my hand to knock just as Laney opened the door.
“Connor!”
“Hi,” I said, a little breathless. She looked stunning. She wore a red dress that dipped low, and her hair was done in curls that surrounded her face. Her lips were bright red and so damn kissable. She loved dressing up and going out for a nice meal. We used to do it once a week and talk for hours, sharing a bottle of wine. We hadn’t in a while, and that was my fault too. I scanned her, rubbing a hand over my chest. “You look beautiful, hon.”
She chewed her lip, but a pretty blush danced across her face. “Thanks. I have a Christmas charity event tonight back in the city.”
“That’s what I’m here for.” I cleared my throat. “There is a severe weather warning tonight, something about sleet and ice. I know I can’t convince you to cancel the event, but can I please drive you? I have my SUV, which is safer, and we don’t even have to talk.”
Her eye twitched as she blew out a loud breath. She didn’t like bad weather.
“The weather does have me nervous.”
“I know. I don’t want you to have to drive by yourself in that.” I fought the urge to push a piece of her hair behind her ear. “I can help with the event or stay in the car, whatever you need.”
She nodded, the relief evident on her face. “Thanks, Connor. Yeah, if you’re really sure. My stomach has been in knots thinking about the drive back.”
“I’m sure.” My lips curved up. The thought of being in the car with her had my stomach somersaulting like it did when I first met her. She was giving me a chance.
