“Do you know how Gretchen recruited me?” Nolan asked.
“No.” And it had always bothered him, especially since Nolan was privy to the rest of the team’s history with Remy Blaze and his horrible website. “She just said you came highly recommended.”
“You know I used to work at one of the big accounting firms, right?”
“Yeah.” Dallas figured that was where he’d picked up his extensive knowledge of money laundering and offshore finances. “But I don’t know why you left.”
“My boss was sexually harassing me.” Before Dallas could respond to that bomb, Nolan continued. “I reported him, but it’s tough to prove, and he was—or at least appeared to be—straight, married to a woman for twenty years, and had a good reputation within the company. He fit the culture better, had more seniority and better connections. Honestly, I don’t know why I put up with it so long. Stubbornness, I guess. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of pushing me out.”
“What happened?” A boulder lodged itself in Dallas’s stomach as the silence stretched out. “Wait, never mind. You don’t—”
“He cornered me in the bathroom, tried to—” Nolan cleared his throat “—he tried to grab my crotch. So I punched him in the nose, and they fired me before I could quit.”
“Fuckers.” Dallas clenched his hands into fists, eager to take on anyone who’d mistreat this beautiful, incredible man.
Nolan chuckled softly. “He wisely didn’t press charges. And I was relieved to be done with the place. I did have a few friends in the building, though. Gretchen had tried to recruit one of them, so when I left, she gave Gretchen my name.”
“I’m sorry,” Dallas said.
“It’s nothing compared to what the rest of you went through.”
Embarrassment washed through Dallas, the humiliation still fresh as if it had happened yesterday. His most private moments posted online for the world to see. And so many had looked and commented and harassed him before the FBI dismantled the site. Who knew how many had saved his photos? Plus nothing ever really disappeared from the Internet. The photos were like a landmine, waiting to be stepped on when he least expected it.
He shouldn’t care. It was just his body. The human body was natural. Plenty of people put naked pics of themselves online on purpose. But that wasn’t his style, and it hadn’t been his choice. It had been a violation of his privacy by someone he’d trusted, and it still made him sick to think about it.
“Have you ever looked?” Dallas asked.
“At your photos?” Nolan sounded shocked. “No.”
“Really?” He’d once dated a guy who later admitted he’d seen the pictures first, and had engineered a way to “accidentally” meet him. The asshole had expected Dallas to be flattered. “You weren’t even curious?”
“Of course. I’m human. But that’s not how I want to learn the shape of you, D.” Nolan’s voice softened. “Not against your will, and especially not like that.”
Dallas lost his breath for a minute, his body tingling and warm. “I’m sorry I ran.”
“If you want, next time I’ll chase you,” Nolan said, his voice both teasing and sinful.
God, the images that conjured… Clearing his throat, Dallas gathered all of his nerve and said, “I do want that. Very much.” He sighed. “Unfortunately, right now, we have work to do. Meet me at the bookstore?”
“See you in thirty.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
STILL IN THE hotel suite after lunch, Emma sat next to Jason on the couch with Todd taking up position in the chair across from them.
“Why would Warner even think buying you guys off would work?” Todd asked.
“Because it usually does.” Emma had seen it countless times. “And since he’s motivated by money, it doesn’t occur to him that other people might not be.”
Luckily, they could use his blind spot against him to gain access to his office and plant a bug. Todd would go through the limited arsenal of surveillance supplies the Steele team had brought to Switzerland and bring over anything he thought might be useful. He’d also round up a couple of guys to watch their backs.
Emma had her own plan to help Dallas determine where Renfro had stashed his money. Todd and Jason hadn’t liked it, but they were going along with it anyway.
Emma leaned over the coffee table to eat from a steaming box of the fragrant Thai food Todd had brought for lunch. “How soon do you think you can have your team in place?”
“Today’s meetings ended early,” Todd said, “so they’re only tasked to follow KML Braun employees until three p.m. I could probably have Finn and Michael briefed and in position by five or five-thirty.” He rubbed his forehead. “I’d pull them off the job sooner, but that would alert Byron and Warner that we’re up to something.”
“They should expect it anyway.” Jason set his chopsticks atop his empty container and wiped his mouth. “Warner can’t really believe we’d walk in there without backup.”
