Page 11 of Misunderstood Hacker

5

Jessica

The past sixweeks with Brock had flown by. Every day, Brock followed me to work and did his job from the corner of my office. Yesterday, the doctor removed my arm and leg casts. Dr.Greyson said the scans looked clear and I had nothing to worry about.

For the first day in ages, Brock didn’t stay at Ross Enterprises with me. He had some big client he had to meet with. Sam was still in Shialia with my sister, and the rest of the team members were deepin the cases they were working. It took me hours to convince Brock I could stay at work by myself. Alex secured the office like Fort Knox, and Brock would be showing up later, anyway.

Living with Brock had become a new challenge. I was physically attracted to him, but I didn’t know if I wanted to get into another relationship after how badly my marriage had ended. Doug had always talked about how ugly my body was. I made sure all the clothes I wore around Brock covered the scars that marred my skin.

The ringing phone brought me back to the present. The caller ID showed it was Alex. Hopefully, he was in a good mood. “Good morning, Mr. Ross.”

On the other end of the line, Alex sighed. He hated when I called him Mr. Ross, which made it that much more fun. I didn’t expect to be treated any differently because our families were intertwined. “Jessica, if you don’t stop calling me Mr. Ross, I will fire your ass.”

That made me chuckle. Alex would never fire me. He was too scared of his wife, Bridget. She ranWhite HatSecurity and was an ethical hacker. Last time he made her mad, she set his cell phone ring to a Lady Gaga song. He had come storming into my office, demanding that Brock fix it. But Bridget had been smart and added an extra layer of security that Brock couldn’t break.

“What can I do for you, Alex? I’m working on next year’s budget. You wanted the numbers by the end of the week. If I remember correctly, you said, ‘Get those numbers by Friday or you’re fired.’” I was close to being done with the budget. I just wanted to make him feel guilty for bothering me.

My assistant, Joana, brought in a cup of coffee for me while I was doing my best Alex impression. I thought she would die of laughter. Most of the employees at Ross Enterprises ran in the other direction when they saw Alex. When I first started, I did anything in my power to avoid him. Since Patty, my twin sister, started working with his wife, I have learned Alex is a softy under his hard exterior. I just had to ignore him when he fired me and continue on with my job.

His chuckle at my impression was thick and creamy. “Since I promoted you, when have you ever done anything I asked? I know you don’t take me seriously when I say I will fire you. Hell, you go around behind my back rehiring everyone I fire,” Alex muttered.

I needed to get back to the numbers, and talking to Alex was not helping. “It’s nice chatting with you, butI need to get back to work. My boss is an ass.Did you know that thirty-one percent of people waste about one hour of work time each day? This little chat could be considered wasting work time unless you have a point to your call.”

I could see Alex in his office across the hall. He was pacing back and forth, looking out the window. Whenever there was an issue, he would pace back and forth. Over the past year of being his CFO, I had learned a lot of his tells.

A deep sigh came through the receiver. “I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t important. Can you have Brock drive you to the new jobsite and meet with the project manager? He’s having a problem costing the new job. I would send the account manager for the project, but Randy called in sick, and I have a meeting I can’t miss.”

I knew I should have said no because Brock wasn’t with me, and I wasn’t supposed to leave by myself. But what could go wrong? I would run to the jobsite and come right back. I had a company car I seldom used. No one would know I was gone.

“Sure. When is he expecting me?”

“Can Brock take you now?”

“I can go now,” I replied immediately. Technically, I didn’t lie.

Alex breathed a sigh of relief and thanked me.

My assistant wasburied in a heap of documents when I walked out to her desk. Joana was in her early twenties. She was taking night classes, getting her degree in accounting. Her brown hair was up in a ponytail, and she had dark circles around her eyes that I hadn’t noticed earlier.

“Hey, Joana. Is everything okay? You look tired.”

“Nothing you need to worry about. School is kicking my butt.” I got the sense that she wasn’t telling me everything, but I had to run. I would ask her more questions tomorrow.

I grabbed the company car keys off the shelf. “Why don’t you head home for the day?I have to go to a jobsite for Alex.”

She looked up at me, scrunching her nose, thinking about something before she spoke. “When Brock was here earlier, he said you weren’t supposed to leave. I care about you and don’t want anything to happen to you. Does Alex know you are goingoff by yourself?”

“I told Alex I would take care of the meeting,” I told her. I’m a grown-ass woman. I can go to ameeting by myself.

“Okay.” Joana looked like she wanted to say something but held back.I turned on my Jimmy Choo heels and hightailed it toward the elevator. Since getting promoted, my office was on the same floor as Alex’s. I hoped he was already at his meeting and wouldn’t see me sneak out.

Ten minutes later, I made it to the fourth floor of the parking garage. I felt like I was fifteen again, trying to sneak out of my father’s castle, which was a lot harder because we had guards surrounding the castle. I only remember a handful of times Patty and I made it out without getting caught.I think the few times we did make it out, the guards followed us without our knowing it.

As I was walking toward the car, I meant to click the button on my key fob to unlock it. Instead, I hit the starter button, and the white Mercedes SUV exploded. The force of the explosion caused me to fly back and land on my tailbone. The blast made all the car alarms go off.The smoke smelled like burned rubber.

I needed to get out of the parking garage and call for help.Trying to get up was a challenge since my equilibrium was off from the force of the blast.My ears were still ringing, and sounds were going in and out.When I tried for the fifth time to get up, someone was at my side. It took a couple seconds for my eyes to focus. It was Antonio, one of Alex’s younger brothers.

“Jessica, are you all right? Anything feel broken? Where’s Brock?”

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