Royal Hacker (White Hat Security Book 2), page 4
“I don’t think you’re supposed to be announcing club members’ information. Last time I checked, that was a rule, and you could get punished,” CJ whispered.
“Well, as long as nobody says anything. I had my first punishment last night. My butt still hurts, and I’m not planning to repeat that punishment anytime soon. I’m taking the straight-and-narrow path from now on,” I told the table with a straight face.
“You had anal last night? You talked to Sam for the first time last night,” Jessica once again announced to the diner.
“No, he spanked me with a paddle for disrespecting Neal. At least I wasn’t disciplined by Neal. I don’t think I could ever look him in the eye,” I said quietly, hoping the diner wasn’t listening to our conversation.
“What happened after he spanked you? Did you like it? Did you sleep together?” Bridget fired off questions so fast, it was hard to keep up. I wasn’t sure they’d actually given her decaf.
“After he disciplined me, he held me in his arms on the couch, and we watched other scenes being performed. We talked about what was going on in each scene. We didn’t sleep together. He gave me a goodnight kiss and asked me to research the BDSM lifestyle this week. Sam will call me in a week so we can discuss what I’ve learned.”
“Did you know for every ‘normal’ webpage, there are five porn pages? You shouldn’t have any problem finding research,” Jessica said with a straight face.
“Jessica, how the fuck do you know this much random shit and still have room in that head for all the numbers you crunch?” When we were kids, Jessica put her head in books to read, but not typical kids’ books. She liked numbers and facts.
“I would let Neal punish me if I weren’t in a committed relationship with Asher,” CJ stated while looking off into space.
“That is disgusting to think about. Neal is a brother to me, and thinking about him intimately is disturbing,” I choked out.
“Neal is your brother?” Bridget and CJ asked at the same time.
“No, Neal is not our brother. I met Neal when I was at MIT, and we hit it off. He had no family, so he stayed with Jessica and me. I paid for his housing, and we lived together during school. He’s been like my brother ever since. So it was kind of disturbing to see him at a BDSM club.”
“Let’s stop talking about the sex club. I want to hear more about your life and what you’ve been hiding from us,” Bridget demanded.
It was so strange that I was about to talk to CJ and Bridget about my life. I hadn’t told anybody about anything before they signed a nondisclosure agreement. We spent the next couple hours talking about Shialia. I also explained that I was the oldest, and one of our three brothers would most likely take over the crown.
I left out the story about why Jessica didn’t want to take over when our father passed down the crown. Jessica had been kidnapped about ten years ago, and the kidnappers had been after me, not Jessica. When they figured out they had the wrong heir, they tortured Jessica to get my father to hand me over. She had been with the radical group for five days before Dad was able to rescue her. The group had wanted me to marry the leader so they would have access to all the rare gems in the mines of Shialia. If she wanted anyone to know what had happened, it was her place to tell the story.
Since the kidnapping, my three brothers had become more protective of Jessica and me. Their overprotectiveness was getting on Jessica’s nerves, though. When she met Doug, she kept it from our father and brothers until she was engaged. The family never liked Doug, but we all wanted her to be happy after what she’d gone through. I’d always been close with my three brothers, and they came to visit at least five times a year. I was curious to see what they would think about Sam.
“Okay, I know you said you stayed here with your mom during the winter. Does she still live here?” Bridget asked.
“We lost our mom a few years ago to cancer,” Jessica replied with a shrug.
CJ changed the subject. “I don’t get why you don’t work with Neal and act like a regular employee.”
“I could work there every day and act like a regular employee and have him telling me what to do. I was worried the information would eventually come out. Instead, I come home each night and look at the reports he sends me. We have conference calls and discuss what’s being worked on. Since he lives below me, he comes up to my penthouse once a week. We have dinner and discuss anything I need to know.”
The waitress walked over and filled up Bridget’s coffee. She asked if we needed anything else. I was pretty sure we were getting close to being done with our conversation. I forwent the second round of cake.
“Are you ever going to admit who you are and take over the everyday parts of the company?” CJ asked before taking the last bite of his muffin.
“Maybe someday I’ll take over. Right now, Neal does an excellent job running the everyday operations. I would like to expand our business. If I go back, it will be more to work on research and development and let Neal continue to run the other side of the company.”
Bridget seemed to be more interested in our heritage than work. “Do you think one day either of you will take over Shialia?”
“No,” Jessica and I both replied at the same time.
“I still can’t believe Doug was going to that club. I can’t believe you didn’t recognize him.” Jessica said to CJ. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail. She hadn’t applied any makeup and was wearing a pair of black yoga pants with a white T-shirt.
“I met him for a second and didn’t place him when I saw him at the club. I’ve never been that close with Doug Barron. I don’t think Sam paid attention to him either. If I had figured it out, I would’ve told you.” CJ looked disappointed in himself for not putting two and two together.
The remaining time at lunch was great. We talked about Jessica and me and how we grew up.
Jessica and I hugged Bridget and CJ goodbye outside the diner. While Jessica and I walked toward the law office, there was significant tension between us. My stomach felt like it was in knots when Jessica and I weren’t getting along.
“Why did you put your nose where I didn’t want it?” Jessica asked while we were heading down the street.
She might have been mad at me, but I was also hurt that she’d been keeping this a secret from me. “I was pretty sure Doug was doing something wrong and wanted to make sure before letting you know. It hurts me you didn’t feel you could confide in me. I thought we look out for each other.”
“I didn’t want you to see how I failed at my marriage when you seem to succeed at everything,” Jessica whispered.
Not sure where she got that information from. I was the one always getting us into trouble or messing everything up, which was evident last night. “Jessica, when do I not mess things up? We help each other. You helped me last night, and I will always be there for you.”
We were walking toward the lawyer’s office. I could tell something was going on in Jessica’s head, but I was lost in the hum of the city. Everyone was buzzing around, running errands.
“Are you still mad at me for what I did, or are you lost in thought?” I was hoping she was lost in thought. I didn’t like fighting with Jessica.
“Just thinking. I should’ve known we would get a divorce. Did you know if one partner in a marriage smokes, there is a seventy-five percent chance the marriage will end in divorce?”
I never had any idea where she pulled numbers from. “I think you married Doug to escape what happened ten years ago. Not because you loved him.” The statement might hurt her, but it was the truth. She’d never loved Doug.
The rest of the walk to Richardson’s law firm was quiet. We had been using Richardson’s law firm for the last ten years. It was known for being one of the top law firms and one of the most ruthless out there. The owner was also a friend of Dad’s, which was going to make things a little bit trickier. Could we ask him to keep it from Father until he came for a visit? We didn’t want Dad sending an army of people to kill Doug.
The receptionist at the front desk already knew who we were, which wasn’t surprising, because we’re Richardson’s top clients, and he has photos of us in his office with our father. She was a new blond supermodel-looking bimbo who probably didn’t even know what she was doing. Richardson liked the receptionists young. She told us to head into his office.
“Hello, ladies! If it isn’t my favorite twins.” Richardson’s voice echoed in his office. He walked over and engulfed each of us in a fatherly hug.
“We’re your favorites because you know our money’s good, and you can make a lot of it off of us,” I replied with a chuckle.
“Semantics. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” he asked, sitting back down in his wingback leather chair. His office was dark with deep-red wallpaper. The furniture was a rich oak. The desk that sat between Richardson and us was double the size of a traditional desk.
I sat back and kept my mouth shut. Jessica needed to handle the meeting. I was there for support.
“I need your help with something,” Jessica said. “But before we discuss it, I want client privilege, and this cannot be discussed with my father until I feel the time is right. I will tell him.
“Damn, what did you girls do?”
“Promise you won’t tell him first.”
“I’ll give you three months to tell him. If you don’t, I will let him know what is going on.” Richardson left no room for error.
“Fine. I need a divorce from Doug. I caught him cheating on me.”
“No problem. Do you want to stand by the prenup or take Doug to the cleaners? I never cared for him, so the latter meets my needs.”
Richardson typed away on his computer, bringing up Jessica’s prenup.
“No, I will stand by the prenup. I want this completed quickly.” I could tell by the way Jessica’s shoulders were slumped that she blamed herself for the divorce. Over time, she would understand Doug was a scumbag.
I think he made out pretty good with cheating on his wife, and she’s not even going to go after him for money. As we were getting ready to go, Jessica chimed in with another one of her statistics: “Thank you for your help, Mr. Richardson. I think my next marriage will be a mail-order marriage. Mail-order marriages are less likely to end in divorce than people who marry for love in the US.”
“You can’t live your life by statistics, surveys, and studies. You need to live. Next time, you need to marry for love, not to escape your father.” Richardson leaned back in his chair. “Doug will likely sign the divorce papers as soon they are delivered. He’s probably under the impression you won’t give him anything since he cheated. When he sees you standing by the original agreement, he’ll sign.”
We said our goodbyes and headed out. Richardson let us know it would only take a few weeks. Once we were out on the street, I hugged Jessica and told her goodbye. We agreed to meet again in a couple days.
I needed to head home and start my research on all things BDSM lifestyle. I was hoping it still interested me because I really wanted to be with Sam. I wasn’t going to put myself in anything where it made me feel uncomfortable. So bring on the porn.
Chapter Six
Patty
The week moved so slowly, it felt like a year. I sat down in my office chair, ready to go over the last few websites on the lifestyle. In the past few days, I had learned a lot about the BDSM lifestyle and was ready to let Sam know how I felt. Lemon lay down on my feet. Her dog bed was huge, but she always needed to lie on my feet while I worked. I had a fresh cup of hot chocolate and opened a new bag of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
I was supposed to be reviewing the latest program Neal had Research and Development working on. I couldn’t bring myself to work on it. Last week, before Sam kissed me senseless, he’d asked me to do more research then said he would call me in a week to see if I was interested.
I clicked on another website that was explaining blood play. I think all the blood left my body. No way was I ever taking part in blood play. I had been making a spreadsheet of pros and cons, and after clicking to get out of that website, I added a third column to the spreadsheet: Hell Fucking No.
The next link I clicked was about bondage. I was so engrossed in my reading that when the phone rang, I jumped, accidentally kicking Lemon. She took off, sounding as if she were grumbling. My hand knocked over my hot cocoa.
I quickly grabbed my phone, saving it from the hot cocoa. Not noticing how late it was, I assumed it was Jessica, calling to find out how my research was going. She called me every night for the CliffsNotes version and to tell me a bunch more statistics she had researched. When I answered, I must have sounded like I’d just finished a marathon.
“Hello?”
“Is everything okay?” the deep, sexy voice asked. “You sound like you need help.”
“Sorry. Everything is fine. Can you hold a sec?” Without waiting for Sam to answer, I ran to the bathroom to get a towel. It was an extreme circumstance. The hot cocoa was going toward the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and my computer. Both needed to be saved. I made it back and cleaned up everything.
I was hoping Sam was still on the phone. “Are you still there?” I still hadn’t bounced back from the running. I really needed to work out. There was no reason for me to be out of breath after that little run and clean up.
I heard his deep voice chuckle. “Yes, are you okay? Do I need to send help?”
Even though I’d waited for his call all week, I was extremely nervous and had no clue what to say. “Sorry about that. The phone startled me. I spilled my hot cocoa near my computer and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.”
“I wanted to make sure you were okay. Heaven forbid something happen to your Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.”
“I’m all right, and if something happened to them, I wouldn’t be able to finish working tonight. I can’t work unless I have them.” My ego was bruised by the incident. Instead of being ready, my clumsy self had made an appearance by spilling stuff and scaring poor Lemon half to death.
“Now that we know you are not under attack, have you done any research this week?”
Wow, I guess we are jumping into the deep end of this conversation. No “How was your week?” or “What did you do today?”
Suddenly feeling shy, I whispered, “Yes.” Not quite sure why I whispered it. Not like Lemon would judge me or tell someone.
Sam chuckled. I didn’t know why he was enjoying laughing at me so much. It was starting to really make me think he didn’t want to see me again. That put a twinge in my stomach.
“Do you have people over, or are you alone?”
“I’m alone. Why?”
“You whispered your answer like you didn’t want someone to hear. I was making sure you were alone and I had all your full attention. Did you like what you researched, or is this something that doesn’t interest you? I will not push you into the lifestyle. I’m attracted to you and hope you are interested.”
Wow… did he say he was attracted to me? I kind of tuned everything else out when he said that. “You’re attracted to me?”
“Yes, I’m attracted to you. See anything you like or dislike when you researched?”
“I made a pro, con, and ‘hell to the fuck no’ list.”
“Good. I will pick you up tomorrow around seven for dinner. Bring your list, and we’ll discuss it over dinner.”
“You have to be kidding! Who considers future sex acts over their first dinner date? Wait—is this a date? Or did I stick my foot in my mouth?” I didn’t think I could do the things I’d seen online without dating the person first. I wasn’t the type of person to walk into a club and be like “Let’s pick a flavor, and then you pick something off my pros list.”
“Yes, it’s a date. We will discuss your pros and cons list after dinner. We will not be playing together until we have formed a relationship we can trust. What we did the other night was hard for me and not how I wanted to introduce you to the lifestyle.”
“Does this mean you will still be playing with other people until you have my trust?” That was not the way to earn my trust. I didn’t like to share—never did as a kid and sure as hell not as an adult. Sam was sexy, and there was no way I could sit around and watch him with someone else.
Sam
I could hear the uneasiness in her voice when she asked if I would still go to the club with other women. In my younger days, there would have been no question. I always did no strings attached. Something about Patty made me want to change and start to see what life could turn out like.
It was too early to think Patty would be the one. But I needed to try. I wanted to come home to someone at night and talk about my day. When one of our missions goes sideways, it would be nice to go home to someone and talk about how the mission failed. Not some strange women off the street or in the club.
“No, there will be no other women. Only you. I don’t think I could handle you and anyone else at the same time. You seem to be a troublemaker with your breaking and entering and trying to start a fight club.”
Patty huffed before going off on a rant. “I don’t get into trouble that often. Everyone always thinks we should follow all these rules. Rules are annoying and take time to get around. I find a way to get what I want in a shorter time. I wasn’t planning on attacking Doug. I planned to get the information I needed and then relay it back to Jessica. When I saw him with another woman, I lost it.”
“How did that work out for you last week when you blew your cover and upset Jessica?”
There was silence on the other end. Maybe I went too far. I worried someone wouldn’t be there to catch her when she was doing things wrong and that she would really get hurt.
“Patty, you there? I’m sorry if I upset you. What you did last week had me scared. Doug was bigger than you. You could have been hurt. You also didn’t know if he had friends in the club that would have hurt you.”
