Page 42 of Hacking His Code

“You want me to grill your mother on her missing sister? No, thanks.”

“You brought up a good point. One that I hadn’t considered. Why did Lucy start working from home after my parents got married?”

She shrugs her shoulders. “I’ve been thinking about that a lot, actually. I figured that might be when she got into trading secrets.”

“Wouldn’t she want to stay in office then? To be close to the source?”

“You’re the heir to a tech company. You should know when you work on computers, proximity doesn’t always matter,” Arinessa says, but her voice sounds unconvinced. “Maybe I should do brunch. To clear some things up—but I’ll be gentle.”

“I think that would be a good idea.”

She sighs. “Oh, great. I get to go out in public with Ernestine Whitmore. The legend,” she says in a voice dripping with sarcasm.

“First, you look fine. Beautiful even. Second, I’ll have the girls come over to get you ready.”

Ari’s cheeks redden at the compliment. “Seriously? You don’t think I can get ready on my own?”

“Don’t take that as an insult. My mother has at least two people tend to her each morning.”

“Ehhh…”

“Was spa day that bad? Aside from the torturous waxing?”

“It was kind of nice not having to think about what to wear. Though, admittedly, I would have gone with a different dress.”

My lips form a smirk, and I reply with, “I’m glad you didn’t get your way.”

She rolls her eyes, and I decide that I rather dislike her reactions to my attempts at flirting. At first, I thought it was just that she detested me from our initial meeting. But now, I wonder if it has something to do with a self-esteem issue, which would be ridiculous.

“Why did you roll your eyes at me like that?” I finally ask, too annoyed to keep quiet.

She glances nervously at me. “Huh?”

“When I paid you a compliment, you rolled your eyes.”

“Yeah, because it’s ridiculous.”

“Because you don’t think that you can look good in a dress?”

“No. I actually think I look really good in a dress, and even just plain, old casual clothes, for that matter.”

“Hmmm…that’s good, though why the eye roll?”

“Because it came from you, someone who probably dates supermodel-types that spend their days lounging around on beaches. Sure, I look good in a dress, but I’m no catch. I have a mountain of debt and so many obligations that I can barely breathe. I appeal to a different crowd than yours.”

“I kinda think you’re a catch now.”

Arinessa laughs so hard she snorts, causing my lips to twitch into a smile again. Being around her is so easy, and everything about it feels so right.

Too bad she doesn’t feel the same way.

Her fingers tap away on the keyboard again, breaking every few minutes to verify something in the records.

“Find anything good?” I ask.

“You have no idea.”

“Do tell.”