Page 18 of Submitting to Them

I paste a smile on my face.“Hey, I made us some breakfast.”

“I have to go,” he says, rushing toward the elevator.

“Right now?Before eating?”

“Yeah.”His stormy blue eyes lock with mine and I do see regret there, but also fear.He’s not any happier about this than I am.“I’m sorry, Ella.This can’t wait.Work emergency.”

There’s always a work emergency, but I nod in what I hope looks like understanding.

“Okay.Do you know when you’ll be back?I can go back to my place…”

“Stay here as long as you like—all day if you want.I don’t know how long this will take, but I’ll come home as soon as I can.”He strides over and presses a kiss to the top of my head, squeezing me to his chest before letting me go.

After he leaves, I choke down a pancake, pack the rest of the food into the fridge, and collect my things.I don’t want to spend the day here crying and waiting for him.

Last night, as I was falling asleep, he said he loved me, that I’m important to him.

But I don’t feel important right now.

Five

Kingston

“Our tech people are fucking miracle workers,” Kristin says as she eyeballs the bread plate in the center of the table.

The table isn’t big at all, and she’s perfectly capable of reaching the bread plate herself, but I nudge it toward her.

She grins at me and takes a roll.“You better have given them bonuses, King.”

“I did,” I say, trying to stifle my annoyance over her telling me what to do.Because, in fact, I gave the tech team huge bonuses—enough for them to take their families on vacation.They deserve it after essentially saving my company.

“Did they ever find out who was behind the attack?”Grant asks from my other side.

“No.”It takes conscious effort to unclench my fists.If the cyber attack had been successful, countless clients’ personal and financial information would’ve been compromised.We would have lost our good reputation, and after something like that?There’s no coming back.Tyler Analytics would’ve been finished.“The biggest concern right now is how that device got into the server room to begin with.Nobody is allowed in there.”

“Somebody could’ve sneaked in,” Kristin suggests.

“There are always cameras on the door,” Grant says.

Kristin points out, “Which we all reviewed.”

“Could they hack the cameras so we wouldn’t see them go in?”

“That seems extreme.”Kristin’s mouth twists as she considers his idea.“Not unheard of, but this isn’t some kind of heist movie.We’re not a casino or anything.Who stands to gain?Maybe we should start there.”

“Good ideas, both.I’m going to hire a separate security company,” I say.“Possibly switch them out with our existing folks, or have them work in tandem.I know some people who might be able to take this on.”

Ironwood Security, owned by Jaxon Marsel and Ryder Callihan.They seemed like good guys, and Jaxon did me a huge favor when he helped me find Ella.I make a mental note to give Jaxon a call to discuss whether his company might be a match for our needs.

A hand brushes against my knee beneath the table cloth.

It sure as fuck isn’t Grant’s.Kristin bites her lip and looks over at me.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

I scoot away and shake my head, then hold my hand up to get the server’s attention.“We’re ready for the bill,” I say, as soon as he’s in earshot.

Grant, for his part, is completely oblivious.Lucky tool.