Page 3 of Cocky Tech God

“Vodka?” I scoffed. “I thought real men drank scotch or whiskey.”

“Not this real man.” Our gazes caught. His lip curled up. “You look like you need some convincing.”

“I have the general idea.” My eyes fell to his crotch.

“Well, we have the whole week together, so take your time in your assessment.”

This was too fun. And too dangerous. I needed Mia to be a buffer between me and Hansen. Though, she’d be the first one to thrust me into Hansen’s bed just to ask me for every dirty detail afterward. I’d probably tell her, too, because I told Mia everything.

“I’d rather focus on winning Morgan Financial Holdings’ cybersecurity contract.”

Hansen’s eyes narrowed. I knew that would get his attention off wanting to see me naked, and on to safer topics. I needed the reprieve as well—the sexual tension was making my skin boil in my pantsuit, which now I despised.

He planted his elbow on the bar, his chin resting over his fist. “Swinging out of the gate, huh? You’re a tough one, Mendez.”

“Well, Holte, I did illegal things to get invited to this conference, and I’m not going to back down.” I really didn’t do anything illegal. Getting approved to present to Morgan Financial Holdings awarded me a ticket to the conference. I’d not been able to snag one before.

His eyebrows lifted. “Wait. You did illegal things? Like what?”

I leaned in close. Too close. My gaze rock steady on him, his breath holding. I whispered to him, “All’s fair in war.”

Just then, the bartender put my amaretto sour in front of me.

And just then, Hansen sat there with a stunned expression, not knowing whether to believe me or not.

Hansen

Damn. Lucia was hot as fuck when she waged war on me. I chose to believe it was her sexual frustration from not succumbing to our mutual interest that made her feisty with me. But I loved it. Every single word. Every interaction we had. The woman excited me. And I couldn’t say that for most of my interactions with the opposite sex.

I wasn’t that surprised to find out her true feelings though. We’d had a flirtation from the start. But every word she’d said that day played on a loop in my mind since she’d let it slip a month ago. And the imagery. Christ, the imagery was enough to make me blush. She wasn’t a prude, and I appreciated that about her. In fact, I appreciated how equally yoked we were in the relationship area. Not that I knew anyone who had dated her. I’d honestly rather not know any of those guys. But I could imagine that she was definitely the type to follow through with a fantasy.

My fresh glass of vodka beckoned me. I needed a sip to cool the flames of sheer lust inside. Lucia just did that to me without much effort. Actually, no effort at all. I lifted the drink to my lips and drank, the cold liquid burning all the way down. My eyes were steady on Lucia the whole time while she stared at me, her red, fuck-hot lips parted with some humorous thoughts that I’d pay big money to know.

“You’re looking devious over there, Luci. Care to share?”

She shook her head. “Nope.”

Lucia was trying to hurt me. And succeeding.

“Lucia, we’re on a tropical island. Can’t we save the warfare for the mainland?”

“The only warfare we have is who’s going to win the Morgan Financial Holdings’ security contract.” Her eyebrow lifted, the gauntlet thrown.

Talk of business put a damper on our flirtation. But that was the reason we were on the island to begin with. I knew I was their first pick for their cybersecurity software overhaul. They knew me and my services well—my company had the most desirable cybersecurity software and support available in the world. And I had met with Graham Morgan twice back in Manhattan for a casual talk. He liked me, but he hadn’t seen Lucia’s product yet; not many companies had. She was a newbie in the industry, having been around for only two years. But I knew her unknown status wouldn’t be for long. I had seen a demo of her software at a Women in Tech workshop last year, and the truth was, I secretly thought her software might be better than mine. It was highly specialized, and maybe a little too advanced for companies’ palates, but still the functionality and tech was enough to stop me in my tracks.

“When Morgan sees my software demo, you might not be looking so golden, golden boy.” She turned on her stool, her knees hitting the side of my thigh.

I gazed down at her slim leg, imagining my hand gliding up it. I wondered what kind of panties she wore. Silently, I sort of hoped that Lucia was the kind of woman to wear lacy thongs. A white one to contrast with her tanned skin. Fuck. I got hard just thinking about it. But maybe she liked boy shorts. I’d bet she looked amazing in those too.

I leaned against the bar. “You have a good product, Lucia. There’s no doubt about that.” I paused, taking in her smirk. God, I was obsessed with this woman. “But you know what I’ve got?”

She furrowed her brows, her smirk gone. “And what’s that?”

“A reputation. A track record. That goes a helluva long way in the cybersecurity biz.”

Lucia’s eyes bulged, but she didn’t say a word or do anything that would suggest she was hurt by what I said. It was unfair, but it was the truth. I’d started my tech company right out of business school when I was twenty-four years old. Eight years of building my enterprise with top-of-the-line software that had attracted many clients was testament of my hard work and a shining example of my track record. Lucia, while she had a unique, cutting-edge software, only had one mid-level client. If she was playing to win, she’d have to face the truth about her place on the stage. She’d have to shoot for the little fish in the smaller ponds and leave the bigger fish to guys like me.

“Well, it’s a good thing your business reputation is separate from your personal reputation.” Her eyes lifted, and that smirk I loved was back on her mouth. I had to hand it to her, not much affected her, it seemed.

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