“Are you saying one of us opened the door to that bastard?” Hunter asked.
“It’s possible. It could be that Chen has someone on the inside as well. That part we haven’t figured out yet,” I said.
“Does Phil know?” Margaret asked.
“Not yet. I’m on my way back there now.”
“Good work, Noah,” Gran said. “I knew I could trust you.”
I hung up the phone. For a moment I stood in the street, wondering about the feeling in my chest at my grandmother’s statement. I shook it off because I had things to do, the first of which was to call Phil.
22
Andi
With Noah out of the office, I could follow through on my idea to see Marcus to determine if he was the one behind the hack. I didn’t feel right about going behind Noah’s back, but I reminded myself that I worked for Margaret, not him.
So as not to cause any suspicion, I worked for a bit longer, and then told Phil I was going back to work in my room at the hotel. When I arrived back at the hotel, I crossed my fingers I wouldn’t run into Noah. Luckily, I didn’t.
Back at my room, I called Marcus about seeing more of Hong Kong.
“I’m so glad to hear from you, Andi. However, I’ve been warned, in no uncertain terms, to stay away from you.”
I frowned. Had Noah contacted him? If so, when?
It didn’t matter. I had a job to do.
“Noah isn’t the boss of me. Besides, you said you’d show me more of Hong Kong.”
“I like that about you, Andi. You go after what you want. I’ll be there in an hour. We’ll have dinner.”
Yes! “That sounds lovely.” I hung up the phone and went to dress for dinner. I’d never done any spying in my life, but more than concerned about that, I felt guilty for deceiving Noah. With that said, I felt I owed it to Margaret. She’d given me such an opportunity when she’d hired me. I’d learned so much, and been given so much, I wanted to make her and the rest of the Strongs proud. Noah would be pissed, but hopefully he’d come around.
I headed down to the lobby, again hoping I didn’t run into Noah. I couldn’t decide what excuse to give him for being incognito, so I opted to ignore my phone which was tucked safely into the recesses of my purse.
“You look lovely as always, Andi,” Marcus said, giving me a kiss on the cheek. “I’ve planned a dinner on my junk in the harbor.”
“Junk?”
He laughed at my expression. “It’s a boat. A junk.”
“Oh, right. That sounds wonderful.”
The junk had a design that made it look like it was out of history, but it was polished and clean with large bright orange sails. Out in the harbor, we could see the city all lit up. It was beautiful and romantic, and I wished Noah was there. How odd that in such a short time, I’d gone from disdaining him to wanting to be with him. Well, maybe not a short time. I’d been into him the moment he pulled up on his motorcycle years ago, but had been hurt when he’d shunned me after that. Now I knew why.
“Are you alright?” Marcus said, handing me a glass of wine.
“Oh. Yes. Just thinking about work,” I said.
He led me to a beautiful set table with the view of the city. “Worried what Noah will think of you here with me?”
Sort of. “I don’t know why he’d be concerned.”
“I got the feeling Noah felt possessive of you,” he said, his dark eyes watching me across the table.
I tried not to shift under the intensity of his gaze. “Noah doesn’t own me. I work for him and his family, but that doesn’t mean they dictate every aspect of my life.”
He smiled. “I’m glad to hear that. It’s important to be in charge of one’s own life. One’s own destiny, don’t you think?”