Page 6 of Mountain Man's Valentine
“A server is down?” I clench my fist and feel my nails dig into the flesh on my palm. A down server can mean our program won’t function. And if the program won’t function, it can mean the difference between life and death.
“Yeah, boss. We are working on it right now. Apparently there’s a blackout in Albany because of the storm.”
“That’s why we have a backup generator,” I growl into the phone.
“Backup generator’s down too, but we’re working on getting everything back up. That’s why I’m calling,” he says.
But I already know why he’s calling. I know there’s a backup power source that can be activated, but I’ll need to make some calls to get this shit done. And no one on my team has the governor’s number except me. They have the number of his office, but I have his personal number.
It sound fucking crazy, but I went to college with the governor of New York. And he’s a fucking prick. Close friend of mine, too, and a blackout in his state isn’t exactly a national emergency. Shit fucking happens when your state’s being assaulted by three feet of snow.
But for me, he’ll kick on the extra energy. Even though it’ll cost the state a fortune. I’ll ask him to bill me. He knows I’m good for it, no matter what the cost.
It’s worth it, because I don’t want my application to be offline for a second more than it has to be.
“I’m on it,” I sigh. Conrad thanks me and hangs up. It’s not like Iwantto spend a million dollars in one day because of some inclement weather, but I’ll do what I have to.
I dial the governor and sink back into my chair. My eyes drift from monitor to monitor. It looks like my girl might be outside the territory covered by my security system. I might have to wait another fucking year before I can get another glimpse of her.
The phone rings once and the governor picks up. He already knows what I want.
“You owe me,” he says.
“Understood,” I say. “Just send me the bill.”
“It’s already sent,” he says. “We restored power ninety seconds ago. Your office will be notified shortly.”
“You’re fucking presumptuous,” I say, barely hiding the smirk in my voice.
“And you need me, man,” he replies. “Now let me get back to my date.”
I hang up, relieved that the issue has been resolved. It was an expensive resolution, but it was worth it. I’ve only had to go to drastic measures once or twice before, and it was worth it.
In my late 20s, I developed software that tracks and matches organ donors and people in need of emergency organ donations, as well as blood transfusions and specialized medical care. It’s made me afuckload of money, because of its universal applications. University and community hospitals all over the world have purchased the software, and we throw in technical supportgratis. Our contracts have written in them a stipulation that “acts of god” can cause interruptions in service that we cannot be held responsible for, but I haven’t allowed big interruptions in service to occur yet. I take responsibility for them and fix them before they become a bigger problem, even if they’re the doing of god, oragod, or some greater power.
Of course things happen, and there are power outages and the wifi in hospitals can and does go out from to time, but if it’s something I can personally control, I will.
If I can control it, I will. When there’s an issue, I’ll fix it.
Other than that, I’m hands off.
My phone dings, and it’s a text from Conrad. He’s telling me the problem’s solved.
Fantastic. Now I can go back to what I was doing.
I settle into my chair and brush my index finger against my upper lip as I scan my monitors again. They’re crystal clear, and they make the landscape look peaceful and serene. I know it’s cold out there, but I haven’t been out beyond the bounds of my property in...let’s just say it’s been a while.
From here, though, everything is fuckingperfect.
Because my girl has appeared again.
I harden at justseeingher. I want to go out there and rescue her from the cold. Fuck, she doesn’t evenneedrescuing, but I want to take her in here and put her over my knee for trespassing on my property.
Show her how to have some respect.
No, fuck that. She is too perfect and innocent. And she doesn’t know she’s on my property, anyway. No one does. It’s not like I have signs posted or anything.
No, I’d just bring her into my home and keep her warm, feed her, and tell her to get down on her knees. That’s after I show her how good I can make her feel with my hands, my mouth, my cock.
