Page 13 of Lying Lainey

With the flip of a switch, the man who had me almost sweating, fearing he already knew I was a fraud, was now blessing me with a smile I couldn’t help but return. It changed everything about his features, showing a more youthful, playful side to him.

“You must be the new assistant Quin snuck in under the radar. I’m Kerian Lewis, head programmer here at Enigma,” he said, introducing himself. “I have to say I only caught part of what you were sharing, but that is some damn good research on your part. Not many people would think to look at those types of things once they decide if the hourly wage is enough.”

This man had me almost blushing with his compliment, which wasn’t a thing I did without purpose. “Thank you,” I murmured.

“Oh, now look what you’ve done,” Halstead grumbled. “How you manage to take a strong self-assured woman like that and turn her into a simpering fool, I’ll never know.”

That had me snapping back to attention, anger flaring as I instantly locked gazes with the older man. “Excuse me? What did you just call me?” Halstead opened his mouth to speak, but I held up a hand. “No, wait. I’m pretty sure it was simpering fool. Forgive me, I had to wash the male ego off the phrase to tolerate saying it aloud. Please, I’d love to know how me thanking Mr. Lewis for the compliment is turning me into a fool? Where I come from, it’s known as good manners.”

Halstead cocked a brow at me, almost as if to ask if he could speak, and I dropped my gaze in acknowledgment, realizing with horror what I’d just done. What the fuck was I thinking? In what world was it smart for me to speak to a mark like that? Goddammit, I haven’t even started the job, and I’m fucking it up.

“It would appear that I spoke too soon,” Halstead admitted. “While I don’t advise pulling that kind of stunt often, I did deserve it.”

My jaw nearly hit the floor, hearing him admit that, making me audibly gasp as I met his gaze once more.

“Since you seem to be a straight shooter like me, I’ll lay it out for you. I need an assistant who can assist,” he stated, crossing one leg over the other and resting his hands in his lap. “To me, that means thinking on your own and anticipating what will be of value to a meeting I might not have thought of. If you see a problem with something, speak up, and we’ll have a conversation about it. Obviously, I don’t expect you to know the ins and outs of this business, but if you’re as clever as I think you are, you’ll catch on quickly. Your job is not to baby me, fetch coffee, or worry about managing my daily schedule. That is what I have Sam for… he is my secretary and support to balance real life with work. Now hearing my expectations, do you think this is a job you can or want to do?”

Not like I had a fucking choice in the matter. If I wanted to continue living my life without constantly looking over my shoulder, I would do whatever it took to keep this job. The fear of Trent or my other marks learning about me was a looming threat breathing down my neck, that’s for damn sure.

“I can absolutely do this job,” I answered, far more confidently than I actually felt. “As you said, I catch on quickly. Give me a day or two to get the lay of the land and see what you personally handle day to day, and you’ll be wondering how you did this without me.”

Halstead chuckled but clapped his hands together before standing. “Challenge accepted. If by the end of the two weeks that doesn’t happen, then we call it quits, and I find a better place for you to work.”

“I have no doubt it will be right by your side,” I quipped.

Kerian let out a bark of laughter and slapped Halstead on the back. “Oh, I like her. Not many would have the courage to sass you, H. I’m off to work. There’s a glitch in the program I’m working on for Cyclone. Now it makes sense why they begged me to help them on this… it’s a bitch of a problem.”

That made my ears perk up. “Cyclone, as in Cyclone Software company?” I questioned.

My question seemed to garner all their attention, making me realize I’d done something I shouldn’t have.

“What do you know of Cyclone Software?” Quintin demanded, his tone frosty.

It was clear there was no love loss between the two businesses, and it made me wonder what the hell could have happened. “Nothing really. I knew the name since they are your company’s biggest rival in certain markets. Of course, they’re not a security firm, dealing more with the everyday user with their search engine, but everyone knows that.”

Quintin stared at me for an uncomfortable moment with a look so piercing I felt bare to him. “Just so you’re aware, since you haven’t begun your onboarding yet, but Cyclone tried to steal from us. Kerian started with that company, mentored by Reuben Watts himself before he wised up to the shady dealings of Cyclone. According to our company guidelines, you are not to have any in-person interaction with anyone from that business. If it has been discovered you have, you will be fired and slapped with so many NDAs, court gag orders, and lawsuits it will make your head spin.”

Holy fuck, talk about a Jekyll-and-Hyde situation here. One minute, the man is uncomfortable with our interactions, almost bashful, and now he’s threatening me with the corporate hammer. I can picture Halstead being an angry grizzly bear as Sarah had painted it, but Quintin was like a viper you didn’t see coming until it was too late. No wonder they made the man in charge of money—no one was going to steal from him.

“Understood. I apologize for touching on a matter that has such awful memories,” I offered, unsure what the right response should be.

It was made real fucking clear to me that Halstead can never know I was at that gala or that I’d had a rather lengthy conversation with the owner of Cyclone. Getting in that much legal trouble would do about the same damn thing to me that the Syndicate was threatening me with. Lawsuits were public knowledge, not to mention they’d want to do a television interview, or paparazzi would be hiding in the bushes trying to take my picture.

“Elaine, it’s fine,” Kerian interjected. “You didn’t know any better, and I’m the one who brought it up. Hearing me talk about working with them and being our biggest competition must seem rather odd. I would have questioned it too.”

“Kerian, it’s rude to call a person by their first name if you haven’t been given permission,” Quintin scolded. “Furthermore, there was no need to come to her rescue. I wasn’t being mean nor was I going to get her in trouble. My intention was to simply inform her of the severity of such conversation.”

“Plus, he’s a little on edge from a situation this morning,” Halstead added, looking back at Kerian. “I had to ban the DOD’s new rep, who insisted we have a meeting about the project I’d already turned down. The bastard attacked Sam, so I had to call for backup, and Fernando is… well… being Fernando in this situation.”

“Jesus, that’s one way to start your morning,” Kerian muttered. “Good thing I decided to take Tater-Tot on my ride this morning which made me late getting in.”

“I wondered why he wasn’t here with you today. Poor guy is probably a puddle of wrinkles on the floor right now,” Halstead commented with a chuckle.

It took everything in me not to ask any questions. I desperately needed to try to understand these men and their dynamic. Without social media or a personal internet presence, it made things challenging. Two of the three men were scent matches for me, and at best guess, I would say they are best friends. Although that sounded weird to say about two grown-ass men over forty. However, it was the best I could come up with to explain their interactions thus far.

While I could tell they cared for each other more than employee and boss, I didn’t think it was of an intimate nature. Kerian fit in the mix somewhere as well, but he was so different in personality and energy I couldn’t quite fit that puzzle piece in the picture I was building. It was almost like I was missing a corner piece that made it all fit together correctly.

“Forgive us, Elaine, we have a terrible habit of getting lost in our conversation when the three of us are together,” Kerian explained and got a disapproving grunt from Quintin, making the younger man of the group sigh. “Do you mind if I call you by your first name, or would you prefer to keep things more formal?”