“Is over,” Cade snapped. “You don’t need to do that here.”
“But I want to,” I ground out as I searched his room for the speaker of the phone. “Juda, are you comfortable with that? It will free up some of your time.”
“Juda, you realize this is a big opportunity. We intend to mirror some of the setup for the election cybersecurity. We’ll fly you out to DC to meet the team and—”
“Oh, I think it’s ideal that Izzy takes it, then.”
I smirked when Cade’s brow furrowed. He didn’t get that Juda really had no idea about the project that I’d essentially built from the ground up. JUNIPER was my baby, and I was proud to say it was working out nicely.
Cade’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not interested in the opportunity for a promotion?”
“I think Izzy’s got this one handled,” he grumbled.
Cade’s tapping stopped. He stood from his chair and made his way over to me as he said, “Great, Juda. I’ll iron out the rest of the details with Izzy, then. End call.”
The beep overhead signaled Juda was gone. Cade wasn’t done yet. He walked around me like a snake, ready to coil me up.
“You think you’re winning right now, don’t you?” he snarled. I couldn’t help but smile. “You think you can handle a managerial position? If that’s the case, why have you been taking all of Juda’s work and not standing up for yourself?”
“It’s practice, quite frankly. I needed to know I could do his job. Now I know I can handle his duties as well as my own.”
“There’re calls with management, HR issues, complaints, strategy, not to mention all the other Stonewood bullshit we have to work on.”
“I can handle it.”
“You saying it doesn’t prove it to me.” Yet Cade rubbed his chin like he was thinking about it, like he might give me a shot. Then he pulled his cell from his pocket and sent off a text. “Plus, you’re going to have to prove it to Jett.”
“Jett?” I squeaked. “What does Mr. Stonewood have to do with any of this?”
“He’s not going to let an employee run the security of an election.”
“But it’s your team, and I—”
Of course, it was at that moment that Alice—their version of AI assistant—announced Jett Stonewood calling.
“Either we answer it or we don’t, Izzy.”
I’d barely graduated high school because of juvie, I’d faced one or two pretty bad drug deals, and I’d been held at gunpoint undercover. My life had been full of extreme choices, but for some reason, this one felt heavy, full of weight, and definitely life changing.
I quirked a brow at him. If I was going to get my feet wet, I might as well jump off the boat into the ocean. “Answer it.”
I stood tall as he circled me, and I didn’t falter or shrink.
Cade shrugged when I looked over my shoulder at him, and then he pointed to the knot at my neck where my blouse was tied. “This holding your top up?”
“What’s it matter?” I sneered.
Then I heard, “Cade, what’s going on?” from the man himself. Jett Stonewood had taken over a multibillion-dollar business from his father, invested vastly throughout the world, and partnered with the mob to pretty much rule the United States. I knew that between him and Cade Armanelli, I was about to have probably the most important conversation of my life. He was one of the only trillionaires in the world, and I think he shared half that wealth with the Armanellis.
“I have an employee who’s taking over the Chicago PD infrastructure and the election voting cybersecurity.”
“Does she know there are holes in it?” Jett shot back.
“I’m sure, since it’s her work.” Cade lifted a brow at me like he thought I might fold under the embarrassment and pressure.
I chewed my cheek. It hurt to hear the flaws in my work pointed out. But I could fix them. I was going to take care of them. “I’m aware. I’m working diligently to confirm no breaches will happen this year.”
“You have the knowledge needed?” Jett asked.