Page 87 of Before I Loved You

“Of course. Let me get my things together. I need to be heading out.” I see his hand grab his backpack on the floor beside him, hear the zipper being undone, and immediately know he’s putting his laptop inside. All of this was for nothing. He pushes his chair back, steps around the desk, and walks toward his door.

When his door closes behind him, I feel air fill my lungs as I take my first big breath in too long.

Knowing I need to quickly get out of here, even without his laptop in my hands, I unfold myself from under the desk and stand, straightening my skirt. Just as I pass the side of his desk, my eyes spot his phone. His phone that he must have left behind since he was in such a hurry. His phone, which he’ll most likely realize soon enough, is missing, and he’ll need to retrieve it.

It looks like this wasn’t all for nothing, after all.

My fingers wrap around his phone and swiftly shove it inside the confines of my bra for safekeeping. And then I move out of his office like my ass is on fire as I grab my things from my desk and know exactly where I need to go next.

* * *

“Hey, Glen!” I enthusiastically wave my hand from the corner of the hall where I’ve been hiding out like a total creep as I spot him approaching the players’ only entrance at the arena, and I run up to him, evidently out of breath.

He tilts his head, observing me, eyebrows pinched together. “You’re Paul’s girl, right?”

“Umm.” I smooth out my hair, tucking it behind my ear. “Listen, I don’t mean to be rude, and I hope you don’t get upset.” I motion for him to follow me, away from prying ears that may walk by. “But I heard your conversation in class earlier today with that guy about getting into the teacher’s computer.”

His brows raise defiantly. “What? You plan on telling or something?”

“Oh. No. No. No.” I shake my head adamantly, waving my hands. “I just wanted to see if your services were open for other people, too. I would, of course, pay you,” I add.

Even knowing I don’t have a single penny to my name after last week’s paycheck from work covered my rent and a few groceries, leaving nothing left.

He purses his lips. “What do you need?”

I swallow. “Well, there’s something on someone’s computer and phone that I need erased. Like completely expunged. Is that something you can do?”

He nods. “Usually. Depends on the security factors and…”

“And?”

“And on whose computer and phone do you want me to hack into?”

“Oh.” This could be a slight problem. “I don’t know if I can say that without it getting back to him, and if it got back to him, that would create a lot more trouble for me.”

He sighs. “Listen, you’re Paul’s girl, and I’m tight with Paul. So what gets said right now stays between us.”

I nod. “I appreciate that.” I glance nervously around the empty hall, fearful that the two guys I cannot risk finding me here like this will walk into view any minute.

“Look, I have a game I need to get ready for, so—”

I whip the phone out of my coat pocket and hold it out for him to take, which he does, scrutinizing it.

“Who does this belong to?”

Just say it.

“It’s Greyson Black’s,” I rush out.

His eyes momentarily widen. “How the hell did you get this?”

“I was just in the right place at the right time,” I offer with a quick shrug.

He examines the phone in his hand, flipping it over. “Okay, so let me get this straight. You want me to hack into Greyson’s computer and phone and delete something off of it?”

“Yes…”

He runs his fingers through his hair, a loud swoosh of air leaving his lungs. “And what do I need to delete?”

---