“Done. Get moving. I’ll call Jen and tell her to remove the email.”
It was a whirlwind before Petra left the house and I was in my SUV. Jen answered on the first ring, her voice nervous. She was never nervous.
“Talk to me, Jen.”
“I think—”
“Wait.” I pinched my nose as someone pulled out ahead of me. “Are you in the office?”
“I am, yes.”
“We’ll meet off-site. Petra will send you a location. Do not tell anyone what you found, delete your email to me, and leave your phone at the office.”
“Do you think we’re being watched?”
“I think someone is fucking with me, and I’m over it.” I passed an old sedan, annoyed that people didn’t know how to drive the speed limit. “And I don’t trust anyone but you and Petra right now. Bring everything you found and refuse any requests from the board.”
She gasped. “How did you know?”
I laughed darkly. “Put in PTO right now. Say something came up at home. Then go to the soup place down the block. Something isn’t right.”
“Okay, Connor. Be safe.”
I hung up. My adrenaline was the highest it had been in a while. If the board—or my father—was watching us, that broke so many laws. But why had they wanted an attack? It had brought only bad press and loss of sales, and dragged my name through the mud.
Dennis and my father were the only two who were evil enough to do it, but why?
I drove a little too fast toward the tree farm, the urge to headto the office overwhelming me. I felt responsible. This was my company, and I had to protect it, protect everyone.
Sweat beaded on my forehead despite the frigid wind. I parked, then scrubbed my face over the fact I had forgotten her soup. So I was just gonna say goodbye in person? I groaned as my stomach fucking twisted into a pretzel. Laney might not understand my reason for leaving, and I really needed her to.
Even if she does understand, will she accept it?
I’d be choosing the company over her tonight. That’s what she’d feel, but I didn’t have a choice. This wouldn’t be the last time this happened, and that reality hit me like a truck. There would always besomethingthat came up at work. She might forgive me tonight, or the first few times it happened again, but what if emergencies kept resurfacing? I didn’t fucking want that.
“Fuck.” I pinched my nose and took deep breaths before someone tapped on my window. My wife stood there, red-nosed and with a small smile.
“Laney,” I whispered, in awe of how damn pretty she was. I opened the door, and her smile grew.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, a little breathless.
“I wanted to see you.” I pulled her into a hug, squeezing a little too tight. She smelled like cinnamon and the wind, which brought the scent of all the pine trees around us. “Are you warm enough? Do you want my jacket or gloves? How are your ears?” I checked them, rubbing her lobes to make sure they weren’t frozen.
“Connor.” She giggled against my chest before standing on her tiptoes and kissing me. Her lips were cold and she tasted like Christmas—like mint, warmth, fire, and tea. She endedthe embrace way too fast, and I rocked toward her, not wanting to let our connection end.
“I’m doing great. This place is amazing, and the photos I’ve gotten? Holy cow. They are incredible. Do you want to see them? If you can take lunch with me, I can show you!” She spoke so fast, so joyfully. She loved this stuff.
My heart broke. She was so happy, and I couldn’t… burst it. My throat bobbed as emotion choked me.
“I can’t do lunch, baby, but I want to see a few.”
A little line formed on her face, her knowing gaze assessing me. “If you’re not here for lunch, what’s going on?”
I hated this. I hated doing this to her. Taking her hand, I kissed the back of it and hoped she felt the guilt, the worry from me.
“I have to head into the city today. My CTO found evidence that someone, probably the board or my dad, planned the data breach as a way to hurt me. We think they are monitoring us, so we have to meet off-site to talk.”
Her eyes widened and her lips parted.
