Page 59 of Rhys

His chest and shoulders shook with laughter. “Yes, well…as popular as we accountants are with tall blondes with large breasts, I’m sad to report they were not what was keeping me away.”

“Hmm…I guess I’ll have to take you at your word on that.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

Rhys grinned. “Any tall, dark, and handsome studs keeping you company lately?”

“Nah.” She sighed dramatically. “One, I’m more into brains than brawn. Plus, most guys I meet get can’t handle dating a woman smarter than they are.”

“Sounds like you’re meeting the wrong kinds of guys.”

“Gee, ya think?” A soft chuckle. “Oh, well. Probably best I stick to this sort of thing, anyway.”

Parker’s brows bunched together. “This sort of thing?”

He and the mysterious Jinx, or J1NX, as her username read, had connected a few months back. Their initial conversations had taken place while playing the same world-wide online game.

If anyone knew he went slumming with average—or more often, less-than-average gamers—his rep would probably be tarnished for life. But he’d worked his magic to ensure there was an almost zero probability that anyone could trace his account back to him.

Normally, he’d log in, spend a few hours playing the game and bullshitting with people from all walks of life, and then he’d return to the so-called charmed life that everyone thought he led.

A life that was nothing more than a show. A lie that made the business world kiss his ass while women practically threw themselves at his feet.

But not Jinx. The sexy sounding, faceless woman only knew him by the username he kept special for that game. Because it was the one place where he could be himself away from the reporters and cameras.

A place where he could be free.

“Yeah, you know…” Jinx pulled him back to the conversation. “This sort of thing. No real names, no faces. Just us and our love for all things tech.”

“And that’s enough for you?” He genuinely wanted to know.

There was a time when Parker would’ve argued it was absolutely enough. Back when his world revolved around money and fortune and fame.

But then he’d found a higher calling. One very few people knew about. One that allowed him to make a real difference in the world. The real world. Not some made-up conglomerate of endless, mindless codes.

“Hey, you still there?” Jinx’s voice filled the air around him once again.

It was amazing how just the sound of this woman’s

“I’m here,” Parker responded. “Sorry. Driving.”

“You need me to let you go?”

“Not yet.” He wasn’t ready to say goodbye just yet. In fact, “You give anymore thought to my proposal?”

“To meet in RL?” she asked hesitantly, knowing full well meeting in real life is what he’d meant.

He remained silent, forcing her to answer the question. Just when Parker was sure he’d lost her, he heard…

“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

Parker’s heart fell. “Because…” he prodded her for more.

This wasn’t about a hook-up. It wasn’t like that at all. Despite their having never met face-to-face, Jinx had become one of his closest friends. A confidant he felt comfortable talking with. So comfortable, in fact, he’d given her the number to his government-issued, encrypted cell phone two weeks before.

A woman who, in some of the most important ways, knew him better than just about anyone else in the world.

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