Page 8 of The Gambler

Tess had made two more runs to Mick the Dick before finally the day arrived that Luciano Detta got free. It was all over the news. Except, that had been two days ago, and she still had to deal with Mick. Yes, once again, she’d received money to pay him off, but that didn’t solve her problem. After all, when you dealt with termites, you had to eradicate them, root and all. Or else, they would gnaw at your foundation until they had taken you down. It was time to have a word with Mr. My Word Is No Good Detta.

Still, she was glad she’d gotten him out of prison. He didn’t deserve to be in there. Hacking into certain databases and roaming the bowels of the dark web had been a great decision. Using that info to free an innocent man, an even better one. Not only for the money, but surely also for her karma.

But before she would take Detta by the horns, she had one more stop. It was time for her meeting with the investors of her software. It was the best beta version of an encryption software that hadn’t hit the market yet. Trevor was going to pitch it to the right people he’d found through his contacts at the university. Finally, it was paying off to date a professor. He might not be great in the sack but at least he supported her career.

The halls of USF were crowded as usual. She straightened the strap of her postman bag as she continued toward Trevor’s office. It hadn’t been too long ago when she’d actually been his student. That was before her pops got sick and she had to drop out. It wasn’t like she needed the knowledge they could provide her. No book, or professor, could teach her more than she already knew.

The problem was getting a job without a degree, the coveted paper thousands of people busted their asses for, meanwhile getting deeper and deeper in a swamp of debt. Tess had avoided said debt as long as possible. Except, finding a well-paying job without the degree? No luck in that department. Turns out companies loved that piece of paper.

Trevor was on the phone when she entered his office. He abruptly ended his call, seeming surprised to see her, which didn’t make any sense. After all, he knew about her presentation to the investors.

“Tess, you’re early.”

No, she was just on time. The only one who was ever early was Trevor. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep her snark in. Really, it wasn’t fair to call him out on not having much prowess in bed. She had to remind herself that men didn’t like the radical honesty policy she grew up with. In fact, it made them run for the hills. Though, it hadn’t made Luciano Detta run. Granted, he was incarcerated and didn’t have anywhere to go, but it had been like a breath of fresh air to be able to tell that man whatever was on her mind.

Also, it wasn’t Trevor’s fault they lacked chemistry in bed. She’d come to a few conclusions ever since her first time during college. The simple truth was, she didn’t like sex. Not that she’d had it often. Normally, she’d collect more data before she drew a conclusion, but not on this subject. Three and a half times of sex had been enough. And don’t even get her started on that half a time. Not going there. Nope. It was no use thinking back on the most humiliating experience of her life. It definitely made the top three, together with going to class in her underwear because she forgot to put on pants. It had been a hot sultry summer. Shit like that happened. Yes, it somehow only happened to her but still, one accident did not make a habit.

She had an analytical mind. Sometimes it got in the way of fun. This was why Trevor was so perfect. He wasn’t very demanding. He liked her more “for her brain,” as he voiced it. While the analytical part of her rejoiced at that statement, her female parts kind of died a withering death. But hey, what woman had ever found the perfect man to actuallybeperfect? Certainly not her. Sadly, Gibsons weren’t very lucky in love. It was just one of those sad facts in life she had to live with.

She took out her laptop and put it on his desk. With a few punches, her presentation opened.

“Um… Tess, love…”

Uh oh. She knew that tone of voice, when his British accent became even more pronounced than usual. It meant one of two things.

“I’m not in the mood for sex or to hear an apology, Trev. Don’t got the time for it.”

His immediate answer was a scowl. “Must you always be so blunt?”

“Yes, I must.”

“Ah, yes, your radical honesty thing.”

“It’s not a ‘thing.’ It’s a perfectly valid way of growing up. And I would appreciate it if you tried not to sound as if you were spitting out something nasty.” She could take it when he made fun of her quirks—’cause really, she knew how weird she sometimes was—but no one got to insult her pops or the way he’d raised her.

She reminded herself to stay nice. He was, after all, trying to help her out by pitching her program to investors. Any day now, that could be her breakthrough, to get her out of this financial mess. Until then, she had to make do with what she had—her computer skills.

It wasn’t as if she liked to steal, but it was just so easy when you were desperate and knew how to do it. To compensate for blackening her aura, she did some charity work, of course. Making donations to several good causes. One might even consider her a digital Robin Hood.

“Yes, well, we need to talk about the meeting, dear. See, it already took place.”

Wait. What? She must have heard that wrong. “Wait a minute… so, I missed it?”

Trevor cleared his throat. “Tess, love, you aren’t good with people. I know it’s because of the way your, um… grandfather raised you and… Well, um, anyway… as of two hours ago, I sold the software to the highest bidder.”

“You did what?”

“I sold it to—”

“You’ve sold my software?”

“Actually, technically, it’s mine…”

That had her do a double take. Like, she literally bumped up to him when she did that. She stared, dumbfounded, at her, most likely soon-to-beex-boyfriend.

Trevor sat on the edge of his desk, towering over her. “I sold it to a renowned pharmaceutical company,” he said, his face showing a crease between his neatly trimmed brows. There were times he was better prepped and prepared than the average women.

Must. Concentrate.

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