CHAPTER ONE
‘I’M SORRY ABOUT THIS, Ms Mason. But don’t worry. I’ll get you there on time, just like always.’
Feeling the car slow, Nola Mason looked up from her laptop and frowned, her denim-blue eyes almost black within the dark interior of the sleek executive saloon.
Glancing out of the window, she watched a flatbed truck loaded with cones lumber slowly through the traffic lights. There had been some kind of parade in Sydney over the weekend, and the police and street cleaners were still dealing with the aftermath.
Thankfully, though, at five o’clock on Monday morning the traffic was limited to just a few buses and a handful of cars and, closing her laptop, she leaned towards her driver.
‘I know you will, John. And please don’t worry. I’m just relieved to have you.’
Relieved, and grateful, for not only was John punctual and polite, he also had near photographic recall of Sydney’s daunting grid of streets.
As the car began to move again she shifted in her seat. Even after two months of working for the global tech giant RWI it still felt strange—fraudulent, even—having a chauffeur-driven limo at her disposal. She was a cyber architect, not a celebrity! But Ramsay Walker, the company’s demanding and maddeningly autocratic CEO, had insisted on it.
Her mouth twisted. It had been the first time she’d objected to something, only to have Ramsay overrule her, but it hadn’t been the last. His dictatorial behaviour and her stubborn determination to make a stand had ensured that they clashed fiercely at every subsequent meeting.
But now it was nearly over. Tomorrow was her last day in Sydney and, although, she and her partner Anna were still under contract to troubleshoot any problems in the RWI cyber security framework, they would do so from their office in Edinburgh.
She breathed out softly. And what a relief to finally be free of that intense grey gaze! Only, why then did what she was feeling seem more like regret than relief?
Glancing up at the imposing RWI building, she felt her heart begin beating hard and high in her chest. But right now was not the time to indulge in amateur psychology. She was here to work—and, if she was lucky, at this time of the morning she could expect a good two to three hours of uninterrupted access to the security system.
But as she walked past the empty bays in the visitor parking area some of her optimism wilted as she spotted a familiar black Bentley idling in front of the main entrance.
Damn it! She was in no mood for small talk—particularly with the owner of that car—and, ducking her chin, she began to walk faster. But she was not fast enough. Almost as she drew level with the car, the door opened and a man slid out. A woman’s voice followed him into the early-morning light, together with the faintest hint of his cologne.
‘But, baby, why can’t it wait?’ she wheedled. ‘Come on—we can go back to mine. I’ll make it worth your while...’
Unable to stop herself, Nola stole a glance at the man. Predictably, her breath stumbled in her throat and, gritting her teeth, she began to walk faster. She couldn’t see his face, but she didn’t need to. She would recognise that profile, that languid
yet predatory manner anywhere. It was her boss—Ramsay Walker. In that car, at this time of the morning, it was always her boss.
Only the women were different each time.
Ignoring the sudden slick of heat on her skin, she stalked into the foyer. She felt clumsy and stupid, a mix of fear and restlessness and longing churning inside of her. But longing for what?
Working fourteen-hour days, and most weekends, she had no time for romance. And besides, she knew nobody in Sydney except the people in this building, and there was no way she would ever have a relationship with a colleague again. Not after what had happened with Connor.
Remembering all the snide glances, and the way people would stop talking when she walked by, she winced inwardly. It had been bad enough that everyone had believed the gossip. What had been so hurtful—so hurtful that she’d still never told anyone, not even her best friend and business partner, Anna—was that it had been Connor who’d betrayed her. Betrayed her and then abandoned her—just like her father had.
It had been humiliating, debilitating, but finally she had understood that love and trust were not necessarily symbiotic or two-way. She’d learnt her lesson, and she certainly wasn’t about to forget it for an office fling.
She glanced back to where the woman was still pleading with Ramsay. Gazing at the broad shoulders beneath the crumpled shirt and the tousled surfer hair, Nola felt her heart thudding so loudly she thought one of the huge windows might shatter.
Workplace flings were trouble. But with a man like him it would be trouble squared. Cubed, even.
And anyway her life was too complicated right now for romance. This was the biggest job Cyber Angels had ever taken on, and with Anna away on her honeymoon she was having to manage alone, and do so with a brain and a body that were still struggling to get over three long-haul flights in as many weeks.
Trying to ignore the swell of panic rising inside her, she smiled mechanically at the security guard as he checked her security card. Reaching inside her bag, she pulled out her lift pass—and felt her stomach plummet as it slipped from her fingers and landed on the floor beside a pair of handmade Italian leather loafers.