Page 64 of S.O.S. Perk

Sloane fought with herself all the way home over calling Mel, and finally convinced herself not to be so freaking negative. What shereallyneeded to do was dial up her friend and relive the awesome parts of the day, rather than put all her worries out there for analysis.

Feeling buoyed up while walking into her condo, Sloane’s keys went into a bowl in the front foyer, and her coat went on the stand next to it. She headed into her living room and flopped down on her couch.

Nowit was time to call Melissa.

“Hel—"

“Well?” Mel’s breathless greeting cut her off.

“Well?” Sloane mimicked, a grin coming to her face.

“Well, is he hung like a god, and can he use his deity-given-equipment to rock the heavens?”

“Melissa!” Sloane feigned shock, but in reality, the cheeky probe was mild in comparison to some of the shit they’d shared.

“Don’t Melissa, me, Slo. I’ve been waiting all day for deets while binge-watching old Hugh Grant movies and eating every empty calorie I can get my hands on. Now spill.”

Sloane found herself smiling at her phone.

“Okay. Fine. He was awesome. A beast. Every time I thought he couldn’t possibly have anything left in the tank, he’d rally. I had more orgasms in five hours than I’ve had in five years, and I might not be walking straight for days.”

“You bitch!” Melissa screamed. “I knew this one was special! Where can I find one of my own? Does he have a brother?”

Sloane snorted.

This is exactly what she needed.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Perk had slept better than he had in months. Not that he normally had a hard time snoozing, but right now he still had the scent of Sloane all over him, and he could almost imagine she was nestled up to him in bed, so he didn’t want to move.

He glanced at the clock. It was already eight, though, and he needed to get moving if he was going to make it to Jeremy’s house by ten. He could hear Smalley and Tertia stirring about in the main part of the house, and though he’d briefly discussed with them last night his proposed meet-up with Jeremy, he knew they wanted to go over—once again—how he’d approach the day.

Getting out of bed, Perk headed for his ensuite bathroom where he took care of his normal morning business. He then hit the shower where he—amazingly, even to himself—took care of business of another kind. He would have thought with the amount of sex he’d had the previous day, his need for release would have diminished. But just one thought of Sloane had him hard as a two-by-four, and he had to take things in hand in order to get on with his day.

Tertia must have heard him stirring, because she had scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon ready for him when he finally emerged.

Smalley sat at the table, his meal long since finished, but his dour countenance told Perk he had a few things to share.

“Since we’ve spoken last, we’ve taken a deeper look at Nelsin’s teacher, Mr. Shultz, and also Nelsin’s family,” Smalley informed him.

“And you’ve found…?”

Smalley filled in the blanks. “Shultz teaches an advanced computer programming course at the high school, whichcouldbe where Jeremy picked up his game-developing skills.”

Perk heard a “but” coming.

“But Jeremy’s parents are far more suspicious. They both began working as software engineers for a start-up gaming company in Boston right out of college twenty years ago. His father, Felix, remained with that company as it grew, and continued with them even after they got swallowed up by bigger and bigger fish. It’s listed as his current employment. Jeremy’s mother, however, left her job when she had Jeremy, and has worked freelance from home for many years, selling her skills to the highest bidder.”

“Okay,” Perk nodded, shoveling in his breakfast. “So, both his parentsandhis teacher have the wherewithal to either develop the game that is infecting people’s devices, or could assist Jeremy in creating his own software.”

“Correct. But here’s where it gets a little more interesting.” For the first time since Perk met the man, Smalley let some enthusiasm show. “It seems that Jennifer Nelsin, for the past two years, has been back to work.”

“Same company?” Perk asked, finishing up his food, then wiping his mouth with his napkin.

“No. She’s currently a senior web developer for a startup crypto company that incorporated last year.”

Perk’s eyebrows went up. “Seriously? Crypto? Then we have our person of interest. Right?”

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