Page 17 of Crude Heir

Derrick doesn’t respond right away. He adds a splash of cream to his coffee then pulls a wooden stirrer from the container on the counter. It looks tiny and fragile trapped between his large fingers. “Yeah, I aim to make sure everyone is...satisfied,” he finally says, emphasizing the last word as if there’s some unknown meaning I’m missing.

Um… My brain immediately jumps to thoughts of my own satisfaction, and his part in it. An awkward silence hangs in the air between us. I rack my mind trying to think of something innocuous to say so I can escape this suddenly tense situation.

“Um, well I’ll let you enjoy your coffee in peace.” I grab the nearest taco, hoping the B/E on it means bacon and egg, then turn around. “I’m sure you have a busy morning ahead after working late last night.” I start edging my way around him toward the exit. With most of the staff out, it’s the perfect time for me to plow through all the backlog.

“Nicole.” His deep voice stops me in my tracks. I turn back slowly, watching him approach. His presence seems that much more alluring after the way I was imagining him a few hours ago.

“Yes?” I ask softly, cautiously meeting his intense gaze.

He glances briefly toward the open doorway before leaning in close, locking eyes with me. I’m frozen, pinned in place by his sudden nearness. Goodness, he looks more rugged than usual, and it suits him well.

“You don’t have to be nervous. Nobody knows what you did last night but me,” he murmurs. I swallow hard, skin prickling. “I like seeing the aggressive, hands-on side of you, but ending your day like that can take a lot out of you.”

My mind flashes back to the vivid fantasies I had about him. I bite my lip, cheeks flaming. He gives me a knowing look and a sharp nod then turns on his heel and walks away. I’m left standing there, heart racing, thighs pressed tightly together, wondering what exactly he was talking about.

* * *

Derrick

Human resources. It’s a big title and a huge responsibility for someone to hold every detail of a person’s history. Especially when the person in charge doesn’t take the time to create a strong password. Anyone with a bit of knowledge and the proper incentive could get in and do some damage.

It’s one of the things I’d like to bring up to Simon, not that he gives it a second thought. Though, right now, it’ll serve my purpose.

I click through until I get to Nicole’s file. It has all the paperwork one could expect to find. Name, age, date of birth, physical address. It’s her employment history I’m interested in. But a quick scan shows nothing out of the ordinary in her resume. High school, some college, clerking, an accounting firm, then here.

Would someone actually leave a position at an accounting firm to work at a staffing service? In essence, she left a full-time job to work as a temp. Was she looking to come here, specifically? If so, why? That just makes no sense. The entry-level position has her starting at the bottom. Hell, she’s running for coffee as well as covering her duties in accounts payable.

Although I didn’t find any links to social media last night, I log in to try again. Enough people come up to where I have to narrow the search down to our general area. Still, nothing comes up for this particular Nicole. I try again, this time looking forLittle Nikki. This brings up both men and women, which takes longer to dig through.

The search ends up being fruitless. So unless she’s one of those people who only log into social media on her phone, she may not use any platforms. I didn’t find anything on her laptop to make me think otherwise.

It’s damn frustrating. What makes it worse is that I’m in short supply of patience this morning after a sleepless night. All because of Nicole…no, Nikki because, I still can’t connect one with the woman who wears proper, flower-print dresses, with the sexy kitten I got to see last night.

The memory of what Nikki was doing ran through my head all damn night. I closed my eyes, and all I could see was the profile of her body lit up by the laptop. Her fingers splayed across the generous mound, pressing into her skin, plucking at her nipple. Meanwhile, the other breast was bare, the hard tip pointing to the sky, begging to be sucked.

The lid pops off my coffee. I release the disposable cup before the contents end up all over my desk.

What I need is to get Nikki out of my head and to get some answers on Nicole. The answer comes to me in a flash. If anyone can dig up what I want, it’s my college buddy, Chase Reynolds, a high-class hacker turned businessman and professor.

I pull out my phone and find his name in my contact list.

It takes me a minute to try and figure out how to phrase my request without causing myself a problem.

Hey, Chase, how’s it going?

It isn’t long before he replies.Doing good. You?

I’ve got a problem and I could use someone with your experience.Much better than saying his skill set, in case he’s ever investigated for hacking…again.

Talk to me.

I need a deep dive into an employee at the company.Is that enough to have him understand I’m looking for something a standard background check wouldn’t pick up?

Send me what you’ve got.

I grab her name and social from her file and shoot it over to him.

Seconds later, I get a simple,I’ll get back to you tomorrow.Tied up at the moment.

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