If she was going to be effective at solving the mystery within his company, no one could suspect that Miss Rodriguez was anything more than she claimed—a newly hired member of the Internal Technology Security team. ITS was Zia’s own little Department of Homeland Security. Their sole mission was to protect Zia from enemies–foreign and domestic. But it seemed to him they weren’t quite doing their job.
He checked the time on the top of the screen again. “Did she say how long she would be?” he asked Jared, his driver and personal bodyguard.
“No, sir. Just that she would be down soon.”
Cole chewed the inside of his cheek to disguise his frustration. He forwarded an email to his Director of HR. Another went to his Director of Research.
The door to his right opened and a blast of chilly air filled the backseat as Joey climbed in. Jared closed the door behind her. Even though he’d been expecting her, he immediately felt flustered at her presence. The space filled with coconut and citrus as the hot air from the vents once again surrounded them both. The awareness of her nearness caught him off guard and heat climbed up his neck. The tropical aroma made Cole want a tropical drink and a seat with his toes in the sand.
As though he’d taken a vacation in the last five years. While he knew other CEOs in his business often booked “work meetings” at fancy resorts, Cole had been laser focused on business. He was tired. Lord knew he could use a vacation.
He shook his head to clear the ridiculous notion. Someday, he’d rest. But not today. Probably not even this year. There was too much at stake.
“Nice of you to join me,” he said. Then he immediately regretted the snarkiness in his voice. He’d been told by more than one friend that he needed to control his tongue. Even when things were stressful, it was no excuse to treat people poorly.
Miss Rodriguez raised an eyebrow at him. “Good morning, sir. I certainly apologize for making you wait. I wasn’t expecting a personal visit so early.”
He could hear the insincerity of her apology in the saccharine sweetness of her words. He forced his face into a smile. “It’s no problem at all. My fault for arriving without notice.” Unlocking his phone, he held it out to her. “Put your number in, so I can contact you directly in the future.”
He saw her cheek twitch, but she did as he asked. When he held out his hand to her after she finished, she hesitated. Perhaps she was second-guessing his having her number?
“It’s purely business,” he said to reassure her. “I’m not interested in anything more.”
She chuckled. “That makes two of us, big shot. Here.” She tossed his phone in his lap instead of placing it in his hand and it dropped to the floor. “It’s in there as Joey.”
He fished the device from the floorboard and swallowed his disappointment at her quick dismissal of him. He didn’t want her to be interested. It would only complicate things. So why did it sting that she wasn’t? He rolled his shoulder to shrug off the odd feeling. Maybe he was just too used to being fawned over by shallow women trying to impress him. He’d just barely met her, but he already knew without a doubt that Joey was neither.
“Good. Glad we’re on the same page,” he confirmed. Better for both of them that it was clear from the beginning. Even if he hadn’t truly stopped thinking about her since dinner. “Now, let’s talk business. You saw the material I sent on Saturday?”
Joey nodded. “I got it Sunday morning.”
He vaguely remembered looking at the clock after he sent them. Nearly midnight. What did it say about him that he was working late into the night on a Saturday? What did she think? He bit his cheek. It didn’t matter what she thought.
“I’ve touched base with Human Resources and you are all set to do the standard week of new-hire orientation. As far as anyone else at Zia is concerned, you are a new employee in the ITS department. The job opening was posted several weeks ago, so no one should be surprised, other than we don’t usually fill a position quite so quickly. We’ll meet outside of work hours. If you have something urgent to discuss, you can send a message to this number”—he handed her a card—“and I’ll find an excuse to summon you to my office.”
“Who is my supervisor?”
“Me,” Cole responded automatically. “No one else at Zia knows about you.”
“I meant for my cover. Who is my fake boss? Who could fire me and ruin everything?”
He felt heat rise under his collar, embarrassment at his quick assumption. “Oh. You’ll report to the Director of ITS. His name is Patrick Wragge. He’s been with me for ten years or so and I trust him. But he’s still not in the loop on this. He thinks you got the job as a favor to a family friend,” he added with a hand wave.
Joey groaned. “Seriously?”
He frowned at her outburst. “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head. “Just makes my life difficult. Whatever, I’ll deal with it.”
Cole shrugged, unconcerned with her objections. “It was the easiest way to explain the lack of interviews and quick hiring process. Companies like Zia don’t just bring in people quickly. Normally, it takes four rounds of interviews, a meeting with a psychologist, and a background check.”
He didn’t mention that the background check had been performed. He kind of wished he’d done the psych evaluation too. Wondering what was going on behind those dark eyes of Miss Rodriguez during their first meeting had driven him crazy. And though her emotions were far more subtle this morning, he couldn’t help but wish he knew how her mind worked. Maybe the intensive interviews the psychologists performed would give a bit more insight about the woman he’d invited to see behind the curtain of his company.
He would trust Miss Rodriguez because Flint Raven trusted her. That was good enough for Cole.
“Patrick is a good guy. You’ll like working for him,” he said in an attempt to calm her nerves. “He’s not a super technical computer guy, but he’s good at managing a team.”
“And what about you? Will I like working for you, Mr. Kensington?”