Page 40 of Rhys

Having kept her eyes on the prize the entire time, Vanessa watched as the green reached the middle of the black bar. “Halfway there.”

“Good deal. Just be sure the upload is fully complete before you remove the drive.”

“Got it.”

“Hey, Collins,” Rhys chimed back in. “How’s it looking on your end?”

“I’m standing in the home of a maniac with a nuke surrounded by a bunch of rich, pretentious bastards acting like they give a shit about some charity they’ve probably never heard of… What’s not to like?”

The comms filled with several low chortles before Rhys spoke up again. “Funny. I meant how’s it going with Austin. As in, do you still have eyes on the son of a bitch?”

“Yep. He’s smooshing it up with some guy I should probably know and a woman who has to be half that man’s age. Doesn’t look like Austin’s going anywhere anytime soon.”

Vanessa grinned. The bar was two-thirds of the way finished, which meant the mission was seconds away from being a success.

Come on…come on…

Voices reached her from the other side of the door. They sounded close. Really freaking close.

“Shit.” The bar moved at a snail’s pace. “I think someone’s coming.”

“Are you sure?” Rhys heard her loud and clear.

“Not a hundred percent. Could just be going to the restroom.”

The voices grew louder and more distinct.

“I hear a male and a female.”

“Okay.” Rhys sighed. “Then you’re probably right. They’re probably just passing by. How much longer on the upload?”

She glanced back down at the computer. “It’s at ninety-four percent. Almost there…”

Ninety-six, ninety-seven, ninety-eight…

“Ness?”

“It’s done.” She pulled the drive from the computer. Waiting to make sure the pop-up window disappeared from the screen, Vanessa closed the laptop and headed for the door.

She was halfway between it and the desk when the voices returned, and the doorknob began to turn.

“They’re coming in!”

“Get the hell out of there!”

There was nothing Vanessa wanted more than to follow Rhys’s order. Except…

“It’s too late. I’ll have to hide.” Spinning around, she took a full second to scan the room. There was only one spot that would give her a chance at concealment.

Vanessa ran back to the desk. Pulling the rolling chair out of the way, she ducked beneath the solid wood structure and repositioned the chair so that it looked as it had when she’d first walked in.

The door opened at the exact same time the chair stopped moving.

“I don’t know about this,” the female whispered. “Won’t we get into trouble?”

“Come on, baby,” the man soothed. “No one knows we’re in here. Besides, Ken’s too busy playing host to be bothered with work.”

Kissing noises filled the room, followed by a low, breathy moan. “Okay,” the woman relented. “But we’ll have to make it quick.”

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