Page 8 of Recovering Ivy (Red Team #4)

“No problem. Declan was explaining you’d like to expand your portfolio into tech. As it happens, Techwatch is rolling out a new product in six months. The opportunity is there to make serious money,” Forester said.

That was his pitch? We were there under the guise we wanted to invest ten million dollars in Techwatch and that was how he thought he’d get me to sink much-needed cash into the company?

Fucking idiot. I suppose he didn’t care either way.

He’d gathered all the information he needed to take back to Smart Technologies.

I’d guess the CEO would have Forester’s resignation in a matter of days.

Forester pulled his cell phone out of the breast pocket of his coat and stared at the screen, his face twisted into a grimace before he looked up.

“Gentlemen. I’m sorry to have to do this, but an emergency has come up at the office. I’m needed immediately,” he said.

“Is everything okay? Do I need to come as well?” Ivy asked.

Hell to the no she wasn’t going anywhere. I placed my hand on her knee giving it a firm squeeze conveying my thoughts on the matter.

“No. Actually, it is an emergency meeting for upper management. I’ll see you in the morning.”

We stood and shook hands with Forester. He wasn’t more than ten feet away when I turned and leveled Ivy with a stare. “What the fuck?” I growled.

“It’s not what it looks like,” she whispered and held her hands up in a defensive move.

“It’s not? Because from where I’m standing you’re a fucking liar. And there is only one thing I hate more than a liar.”

“I take it you know each other,” Declan interjected. “I suggest we take this somewhere more private.”

“We’re leaving alright. Garrett has a room ready for us,” I told Declan.

“You want me to tail him or come in?” Declan’s head swiveled between me and Ivy.

“What’s going on?” Ivy asked.

“Not a word from you.” I turned to Declan and answered. “Follow us back to the office. Maybe she knows something useful.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Ivy protested.

“We have two options here. Either you strut your fine ass out of here on your own two feet and get in my car or I can throw you over my shoulder and haul your ass out. Choice is yours.”

“That’s kidnapping,” she said and crossed her arms over her chest, pushing her already impressive cleavage to new heights.

I looked at Declan, and his eyes, too, had zeroed in on the display. Jealousy welled, and a low warning growl slipped before I could stop it. I fucking hated him looking at her tits, but I hated that I cared even more.

“Fine,” she said, realizing I’d cause a scene and not care.

Picking up her purse, she started for the door.

She swayed and swooshed her ass all the way to the front and pushed the exterior door open before I could do it for her.

I was getting ready to chastise her for not waiting for me when she turned and said, “I don’t have a car here. ”

“How did you get here?” The thought of her in the car with Forester had me seeing red.

“I took an Uber.”

“Want me to take her with me?” Declan asked.

“No. She’s with me. We’ll see you at the office,” I told him and reached for Ivy’s hand.

Once again, a spark of electricity arced between our hands. “Stop doing that.” She tried to pull her hand away, but I held tight.

“This way.” I pulled her to my Rover and opened the door. Once she was secured, I rounded the hood and got in.

“Will you please tell me what the issue is?” she asked.

“Not now.”

“Where are you taking me?”

“To my office.”

“Why?”

“Christ. What is this - twenty questions?”

I was trying to keep my anger in check, but the day was wearing on me, and the uneasy feeling I’d had was back tenfold.

“I barely know you and you demand I get in your car so you can take me somewhere. I think I have a right to know why and where.”

“You barely know me? That didn’t seem to be a problem for you last night,” I reminded her.

“That was last night. And this is now. And, yes, I barely know you. So where are you taking me?”

“Woman, I’ve fucked you in a multitude of ways. I don’t know how you can sit there and say you don’t know me. And we’re going to my office.”

“Yes, Zane, I fucked you. But that doesn’t mean jack shit. All I know about you is you have a big dick and give good orgasms. ”

“They must not have been all that good. You hightailed your ass out of my apartment bright and early.”

Jesus fuck, what was wrong with me? I sounded like a whiny teenager.

Ivy remained quiet the rest of the short drive. She didn’t speak when I helped her out of the car, or when I led her through a series of security protocols.

“Are you some prepper freak?” she asked when we entered the elevator.

“What?”

“The handprint scanner. The coded key locks. The eyeball scanner thing to open the elevator. Jeez. Are you planning for the end of the world or are you hiding a secret Batman cave?”

If she only knew.

The security was necessary if I wanted to stay alive. Not that I would tell her that. Instead, I remained silent as the elevator rose to the third floor. When the door opened to the inner sanctum, I heard her heels clink on the concrete floor then stop.

“Wow. I was right. You’re hiding a Batcave.”

I took in the large space, trying to see it through her eyes; several doors open to private offices and a large command room enclosed in smart glass.

The room housed all the surveillance monitors and was supervised 24/7.

In the middle was a maze of cubicles with high-tech workstations.

All clean lines with gray walls and chrome accents. I was proud of what I’d built.

I turned left and pulled her into the conference room.

There was seating for eighteen around the large table, with a sixty-inch LCD screen on the wall above a credenza which I kept well stocked with high-end liquor behind the hand-carved wooden doors.

This was the room where we planned our missions and I met with future clients.

It was a well-appointed room and screamed class and privilege - something I didn’t have growing up.

I lowered the blackout shades that also served as soundproof insulation over the polycarbonate ballistic windows.

The entire office was fitted with bulletproof and soundproof walls.

Every precaution had been taken so that the outside world could not intrude - something that was necessary when you are dealing with top secret missions.

Not that my meeting with Ivy was top secret, but I wanted privacy.

I also wanted her uncomfortable.

I didn’t have the time or the patience to extract the information I needed with bullshit niceties. The sooner I learned about her involvement the better.

So, I set about doing just that. “How long have you worked for Forester?”

“Why? What’s this about? Are you investing in Techwatch? I don’t know anything about the technology behind the product. You’ll have to ask Mr. Grant.”

“What exactly do you do for Forester?” I asked.

Declan walked in and set a folder on the table in front of me. I opened the file and thumbed through the eight-by-ten photographs inside.

What the fuck!

“Tell me, Ivy, does your job description entail you setting up prostitutes for Mr. Grant or do you simply enjoy watching?”

I was pleased when the blood drained from Ivy’s face, leaving her pretty complexion a nice shade of white.