Page 6 of The Cowboy's Second Chance Bride

“You’re looking for a match?” I asked. I’d told Mindy to share my name with any of her friends who might be wanting a match.

Morgan smiled. “No, I’m good, thank you. We’re not looking for a match but more to tap into your expertise.” She pointed at the car again. “Please.”

I assessed Morgan Barker. She didn’t seem twitchy even though she kept trying to get me in the car. The Seattle autumn day was a blustery, wet one, and Morgan Barker was dressed perfectly for it in a Burberry raincoat. The woman screamed money. Not that serial killers couldn’t be rich. Or fake it. I’d seen enough heist movies to be wary.

But Morgan had piqued my curiosity. Besides, I had a few hours to kill as my flight was scheduled for later that night. And where else did I have to go? Back to my hotel alone so I could get my bags and go to the airport alone so I could then fly home to Texas alone to an empty house. Alone sucked, so much so that I was willing to take my chances with the stranger before me.

I took a picture of the car’s tag and sent a text to Jace:

If I die it’s because of you and this is the person who did it.

“I’m gonna ride with her,” I told the Uber driver. I took my phone out of my raincoat pocket, also Burberry, in case you were wondering, and closed out my ride request. “I canceled the ride but gave you a tip.”

The driver nodded and eased back into traffic.

Morgan gave me a bright smile. “I apologize if you catch me staring. You just remind me of someone I lost a long time ago, and it’s caught me off guard.” Her voice was soft and buttery and filled with kindness. She held her arm out for me to precede her into the car.

As Morgan slipped into the seat next to me, I said, “I hope the person I remind you of was someone you liked.” Maybe it was her mortal enemy, and Morgan was totally going to kill me.

Morgan looked away, a wistful expression on her face. “She was the best. We grew up together but lost touch after college. Thank you so much for seeing me on such short notice. I’ll get right to it, as time is not on our side.” She opened a small cabinet built into the seat in front of her. “Drink?”

I shook my head. “I’m all ears.”

“I’m part owner in a company called Optium. Have you heard of it?”

I searched my memory bank. “Optium? I don’t think so.”

Morgan studied me for a second.

“You’re surprised,” I said. “Should I know the company?”

“It’s just that our CEO is… He’s been getting a lot of press lately, and he’s a leading expert in the field of security. Optium is a security and personal-protection business. We offer executive professional protection and threat-assessment training for schools and universities—how to recognize signs of impending violence and how to respond. But Optium has been wanting to branch out into the area of personal safety, including home security, self-defense, and dating.”

Ah yes, I’d seen something about it in the press. But I’d paid little attention. My clientele didn’t use apps. They required far more privacy and vetting due to their status and wealth.

I shook my head. “Sorry.”

Morgan nodded, but the surprise in her expression didn’t fade. “The program Optium created is twofold. They have a dating app and also provide information about all the ways people can protect themselves, with notifications on where self-defense classes are. And for those who have children, what things you should and should not do, like post first-day-of-school pictures with their name, grade, and school.”

I made a note of that, not wanting to make that mistake when I had kids. I was intrigued and wondered what my part in this was going to be.

“In the last eighteen hours, our company has come under attack,” she continued.

“Attack? That’s ironic for a security company.” I adjusted in my seat so I could both see Morgan and make sure the driver wasn’t going to pass my hotel.

“Very much so. If I wasn’t so invested in the company, I would laugh. We had a breech, and some intellectual property was stolen and given to our competitor. And to add fuel to the fire, a smear campaign has started regarding our CEO. The gist is that while he may be good at protecting high-profile people, what does he know about dating and, specifically, women’s safety issues? Now our competitor has a huge advantage because they already have a foot in this market. This attack affects both our reputation and brand, which will bleed over into our executive-protection division.”

“That sounds ridiculous. Doesn’t Optium’s work speak for itself?” I knew as soon as the words were out how stupid they sounded. With the internet and misinformation, no one knew what truth was anymore. People loved a good train wreck, and that was exactly what smear campaigns were.

Morgan chewed her lip. “We’ve also just had a security fail with a protection detail. People were hurt. As you can imagine, that doesn’t help us either.”

“Who would want to hire or use a company with a bad reputation and which has likely lost clients.”

“Precisely.” She clutched her hands in her lap. “Not to mention how priceless social proof is.”

“Sounds personal.” And it sounded like this woman was worried. Maybe she had a lot invested in the company. Money made people do crazy things.

“It is. We know who is behind it.” Morgan pressed a perfectly manicured finger to her lips as if she were telling herself to not speak. A moment later, she removed the finger. “I’m sorry. I was about to say some unkind things about our attacker. Where was I?”

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