Being at the house with only the staff and occasionally Flora after Ryker left, I didn’t really have anyone to talk to. Now I was back home in a place full of people, but it seemed I might still end up alone. Being a leader meant that people needed to respect you, but friendships weren’t always possible, especially in this world. The moment someone tried to be too friendly, they wanted something from you and were trying to butter you up. It had been happening all my life when kids at school found out how rich Daddy was. Many of them believed if they were my friend, I could help them out when they needed it. Too bad for them a suck-up was the last person on the face of the planet I’d help.
Which had left me with Ryker as the only person in my corner. Until he abandoned me to work for Daddy, choosing to lie and tell me he was going to college. Some best fucking friend he was. Fuck the blood oath, it was stupid anyway. Daddy wanted me to be happy and find that person who I could count on. Well, I wasn’t sure that person existed for me.
“Astin,” Ryker called. “You can take your hand back now.”
Shaking myself out of my spiraling thoughts, I pulled my hand off the scanner and onto my lap. “I believe you said you needed a code or password as well?”
“Are you okay?” Ryker asked. “You seem a little preoccupied.”
My gaze snapped up to his, and I frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean? It’s my first day on the job. Of course, I have a lot on my mind, Ryker. Fuck you and your judgment right back on the high horse they came riding in on,” I snapped.
Ryker opened his mouth to say something but closed it and turned back to his computer. The bastard really had changed. It seems becoming Daddy’s pet student didn’t get him a position under him like he’d hoped. Now he’s stuck with me—the bitch he left behind.
“Preoccupied,” I muttered with a scoff, my anger chomping at the bit for a fight. “Just hand me the keyboard, and I’ll enter what you need me to and be on my way.”
He slid the keyboard over. “I need a five-digit code only you’ll know, so no birthday, social, or phone number combinations.”
Without having to pause, I knew exactly what I was going to use and typed it in.
“Now hit the tab and enter a password that’s thirteen characters long. It also has to have the normal additions like uppercase, number, symbol, and again, nothing anyone will know,” Ryker explained as I was already typing away and handed him back the keyboard before he finished speaking. “Okay, I guess you already had something in mind. Now I have to check to make sure I can’t figure out what they are. If you manage to keep me locked out, then you can leave. If I crack either one of these, then you have to have lunch with me.”
Leaning back in the chair, I crossed my arms. “Go ahead, and I hope you have a backup person to have lunch with because it won’t be me.”
“Astin, I’ve known you for how long? You used to use the same password for everything, I doubt you’ve changed all that much,” Ryker challenged as he started to input the password.
An error sign popped up telling him he had two more tries or he’d be locked out. Clearing the space, he tried again with the same result. He then switched over to another screen and tried the five-number code, ending with the same result.
“Don’t even think about trying again so I have to change it,” I warned as I stood. “Seven years is a long time, Ry. Maybe you don’t know me anymore.”
“Not possible,” Ryker muttered as I left his office.
ten
Notfeelinglikeeatinglunch or hiding out in my room, I paused before leaving the security room and caught the eye of one of the men. “Two things… I need blueprints of this house and to know if there’s a gym I can use.”
“Of course, Mistress, would you like me to send the blueprints to your secure tablet?” he asked.
“Was Ryker supposed to have given me one?” I questioned, ready to throttle him if he’d purposely held something back to make me go back in there.
“No, Mistress, it’s in your personal office. We set up your computer and tablet with the basics before they were delivered to your rooms,” he answered promptly.
Huh, what do you know? Someone was planning ahead.
“Go ahead and send me that information and anything else you have on the layout of the house and the grounds. I like to be able to check over all my lieutenants’ work and how they’re operating their teams,” I shared, letting that bit of information wiggle its way into their brains that I’d be watching them just as much as Ryker was.
“It will all be sent over right away. Some things I might need to dig for but most of it should be at your disposal by the time you make it back to your office,” he said with a bob of his head.
I gave him a smile and a wave as I left the building and headed for the house. He didn’t answer my question about the gym, but I’d be able to figure that out once I looked at the blueprints. The only thing that could get me out of this funk right now was a good solid workout, something to take my mind off all the personal shit that had reared its ugly head today. First Ryker acting all weird, then Daddy’s mistress trying to be my friend. I just didn’t know what to make of it all, so what better way to fix things than getting my sweat on?
Only getting turned around once as I made it back to my room, I felt rather proud of myself. This house was built to disorientate anyone who didn’t live there. It was supposed to slow the enemy down if they broke into the place, one reason why the guests hardly ever made it past the ballroom and the first two sitting rooms without an escort. Plopping down in my office chair, I noticed the laptop with the tablet sitting on top of it, waiting for me. Flipping back the cover, I turned on the trusty piece of technology when the screen popped up asking for my passcode. Guessing it was the one I set up, I entered it only for it to tell me it was an error.
Motherfucker, Ryker put in his passcode for this just to piss me off, didn’t he?
I was pretty certain I knew what he’d use, but I was left with two tries and three possibilities. Earlier he’d talked about us knowing each other, and once upon a time, we did, but if he still felt that way, there was only one code he’d use. I typed in the numbers, and the tablet opened, making me groan at the fact I still remembered the date and so did he. How many other women remembered the exact day they lost their virginity? Clearly, this was a sick joke just to prove heknewme better than anyone. Joke’s on him since all he was doing was making me ensure it never happened again.
Looking through what had been sent over, I found far more than I’d been hoping for. There were multiple blueprints showing the original home structure and every add-on since, up until its current form. I’d come back to look at those later, but right now, I needed the gym more than ever. Scrolling through the images trying to find what I was looking for, I couldn’t help but smile when a simple map appeared. It even had a path drawn on it from my room to the second floor where there was a private gym only used by the higher-ups.
I should have asked his name. He deserves a pat on the back for that kind of initiative.Heading to my closet, I changed into workout clothes—leggings and a sports bra—then piled my hair up in a messy bun. Tying up my shoes, I was good to go but glanced at the map once more to make sure I wasn’t going to end up someplace I really didn’t want to be.