“What’s your real first name?” The question flew from her mouth before she could stop it. It was the same question she wondered every time he called. Maybe she wanted to know—she had hoped it was Bob or Leroy—to kill some of the fantasy she had after every conversation.Oh Leroy, take me. That was about as sexy as granny panties.She needed his name to be like jumping into a bucket of ice.
“That’s the question you were waiting to ask? My name?” His voice turned playful. He almost sounded disappointed she hadn’t asked how many inches lay behind his zipper.
“It’s only fair, you know mine. Don’t tell me you’re a Harold or a Eugene.”Please do.
“This is confidential?”
“Like attorney-client privilege. Okay, well, maybe not that. How about, like a barista and a customer. What’s the name they put on your cup?” She’d bet he ordered his extra hot and black.
“Ryker Cage.”
“Of course it is.” Her hand flew to cover her mouth, and her eyes bulged. She couldn’t believe she’d just blurted that out loud.
A low, throaty, very masculine chuckle reached her ears, making her goosebumps add an extra layer. “My turn. What’s your favorite dessert?”
“Anything chocolate,” she answered without hesitation. “You?”
“The chocolate left on your lips.”
She fanned herself, trying to control the heat flooding her body. Blood rushed to her cheeks, and she bit her lip to keep from moaning. This guy was good. Too good. “Okay, I think your time’s up.”
“Harper.” The way he said her name left her breathless.
“Yeah?”
“My time was up thirty minutes ago. We’ll talk again soon. You can count on it, princess.”
A dial tone filled her ears, and she let out the breath she’d been holding, yanked the headset from her ears, and tossed it onto her desk. What was it with that man? Every time he called, she felt like she’d run a marathon. A sexy, naked, in-the-mud marathon, but a marathon nonetheless. The first time he’d called, he’d asked to speak to a manager, and he’d been asking for her ever since.
Harper’s assistant, Patricia, peeked into the office before walking in with a folder and a package that she so politely laid in the inbox. Harper’s eyes narrowed as she regarded the extra work. Her day was getting longer by the minute as a headache attempted to form at her temples. She bet Ryker knew a good cure for getting rid of headaches. She shovedthe thought aside. The folder, the package. She should be thankful for a distraction.
“Is that time sensitive?”
“Would I have brought it in if it wasn’t?” Patricia smiled and parked her butt in one of the office chairs. It was her not-so-subtle way to hurry Harper along.
Picking up the folder, Harper flipped it open. The small print on the contract made her eyes cross. “Give me Cliff Notes.”
“It’s a contract for the new security and IT guy that you finally got your sisters to agree to. He’s rewiring the entire building with new stuff for better performance and security.”
“Who picked this guy?”
“Quinn, I believe.”
Harper flipped to the money amount and what was involved. “Anything in the contract out of the ordinary? Any clauses that agrees to the equivalent of kicking a puppy?”
Patricia smiled. “No. I read it. It’s a standard contract. One-year term with the cost of monitoring and system upgrades. Nothing strange.”
“Will he need to bring the call center down?”
“Afraid so.” She pressed her lips together and cringed as if waiting for her bark.
Harper hated to take the company offline. It had been the main reason hersisters always opposed the upgrade, but it really needed to be done. They had a ton of confidential files rotting in the basement that needed to be uploaded into something secure. “Do we really need to take down the entire system?”
“The death threats from the crazies and religious fanatics that want to burn the building have doubled. I think it’s a smart move to get it all done at once.”
Harper nodded and scribbled her signature at the bottom before handing it back.
“Coordinate a shutdown the week before Christmas and send out an email to the staff and post an announcement on our website for our clients.”
