Chapter Ten Sloane Enterprises
By April, Tommy had incorporated Sloane Security Services and was already deep into staffing it.
He’d brought Thorn on as a consultant and made him Director of Protective Services, placing him in charge of recruiting and training new hires while Tommy handled day-to-day operations and the behind-the-scenes logistics.
To keep Sloane Technologies running smoothly, Tommy appointed Kara Schmidt as Chief Operating Officer.
A tech prodigy he’d poached straight out of MIT, Kara had been his protégé for three years, steadily groomed to replace Oscar and, if necessary, to guide Evie should she inherit the company before he was ready to prepare her himself.
Thorn threw himself into the new role. While Tommy focused on building the administrative backbone, Thorn drafted a rigorous training program for bodyguards and security specialists.
By February, he had convinced two former military colleagues, men he’d trusted from the old mercenary network who now took legitimate protection contracts, to join him as trainers.
Within eight weeks, their first class of agents graduated and deployed, and the next group of recruits was already lined up.
The results exceeded Tommy’s expectations.
When the board rejected his proposal to make the security and contracting divisions part of Sloane Technologies, citing liability concerns, he didn’t argue.
Though he could have overruled them as majority shareholder, he respected Rupert and the others too much to force the issue.
Instead, he quietly incorporated both companies under a new private parent: Sloane Enterprises.
The next morning, he signed a consulting contract between Sloane Contracting and Security Services and Sloane Technologies.
On paper, they were separate; in practice, they were both his.
When he finally shared the next phase of his plan with Thorn, forming a small, elite group of grey men for discreet international contracts, they spent three weeks refining every detail.
Thorn walked him through how his old network had operated: how contracts were posted, distributed, and claimed.
With Thorn’s help, Tommy found the network on the dark web, hacked in, and deployed bots to collect data.
As for recruitment, Thorn advised him to start quietly within veteran circles and among trusted intelligence contacts, both foreign and domestic. The right people, he promised, would find him soon enough.
It was at the closing party of the Global Tech Summit, an industry expo where major companies launched new products and courted partnerships, that Tommy found his first contractor.
He’d attended with Kara and Thorn. Kara was already deep in conversation with a group of mechanical engineers they hoped to poach, leaving Tommy and Thorn to make their way through the crowd.
They stopped now and then so Tommy could trade a few words with colleagues and old friends, eventually ending up at the bar where Tommy ordered a much-needed scotch.
“So, is the big guy your boyfriend?”
The question came from a low, husky voice with an accent he couldn’t quite place.
Tommy turned, surprised, and found himself looking at a stunning woman with honey-blonde hair and large, doe-brown eyes.
She wore a tailored dark pantsuit and a hot-pink blouse that somehow made the ensemble look both sharp and playful.
She was smiling at him, and for a moment his heart skipped a beat.
“Thorn?” Tommy glanced over at him. Thorn was scanning the room restlessly, looking every inch the bored bodyguard.
“Besides the fact that I’m pretty sure everything’s in proportion, which is more than a little terrifying, he has a thing for my sister.
” He took a sip of his drink, grinning when the woman laughed at his dry tone, and extended his hand. “Tommy Sloane.”
“Oh, I know.” She took his hand, amused that he felt the need to introduce himself. “Nissa Simon.”
“Nissa. Pretty.” He kissed the back of her hand, flashing his most charming smile. “Where are you from, Nissa?”
“Israel,” she said easily, leaning against the bar. Tommy gave a subtle nod to the bartender for another drink. “But I spent several years here in New York City. My father was an Israeli ambassador before he retired last year.”
“Really?” He grinned, studying her openly. “Then let me buy you a drink, and maybe we can find a quiet corner to talk.” A curl of desire tightened low in his stomach. He was used to being approached by beautiful people, but this felt different.
“Tempting,” she said with a small smile, “but I’ll have to pass. I’m on assignment.”
Tommy’s eyebrows lifted. “Assignment?”
She pointed discreetly at a handsome young man across the room surrounded by laughing women.
“Him. Son of a rather controversial politician back home. He works for Tavor Dynamics, and I’ve been tasked with keeping him alive.
Fortunately, he is more interested in collecting STIs than doing anything hazardous to his life. ”
Tommy’s grin faded as disappointment crept in.
It wasn’t the first time someone had approached him hoping for an opportunity, but he’d been hoping she was different.
“So, this is a job pitch?” he asked, turning back toward the bar to hide his irritation.
He nodded toward Thorn. “You’d have to talk to the big guy about that. He’s the one who handles hiring.”
He took a long sip of his scotch, trying not to show how much it stung to realize her interest might have been professional after all.
“I know,” Nissa said lightly. “And I will.”
The easy amusement on her face and how much she seemed to know was starting to get under Tommy’s skin. He glanced toward Thorn, hoping for a rescue, but the big man stood a few feet away, arms folded, scanning the room with a faint frown. He didn’t seem to be paying them any attention.
“I was hoping you’d ask me to dance,” Nissa added.
“I have nothing to do with the hiring process,” Tommy said, finishing his scotch. He set the glass and a fifty on the bar, doing his best to keep the irritation out of his voice. “And just so you know, dancing with me won’t get you a job.”
Nissa sighed, exasperation flickering across her face. “My skills will get me hired, Tommy. I want to dance with you because I’ve had a crush on you since you spoke at the Synapse Conference in Paris two years ago.”
That stopped him cold. For a beat, he just stared at her, the din of the party fading into the background. Then, despite his suspicion that this might be some elaborate play to win his favor, his grin returned. If she was trying to use him, fine, he’d find out soon enough.
“May I have this dance?” he asked, holding out his hand.
“I thought you’d never ask.” Her smile was dazzling as she slipped her hand into his. As they started toward the dance floor, she glanced back at Thorn. “Hey, big guy? Keep an eye on the kid surrounded by those women, will you?”
Thorn arched an eyebrow at her, clearly unimpressed, but gave a curt nod and shifted his stance to cover both them and her client.
“He’s very good,” she remarked, watching Thorn for a moment before turning her gaze back to Tommy who immediately felt like he was drowning in her eyes.
“He is.” Tommy blinked, forcing himself to focus.
“Helps that he can see over everyone else in the room and most people give him a wide berth.” He wasn’t sure if it was Thorn’s size or the quiet aura of danger that clung to him, but crowds parted for the man like the Red Sea before Moses. “And he’s very loyal.”
“I’m guessing you meant Evie Stanley when you said he was interested in your sister?” Nissa asked as Tommy spun her smoothly across the nearly empty dance floor. For the thousandth time, he silently thanked his mother for those ballroom lessons she’d insisted on.
“Yeah, they became very close very quickly, and are... affectionate, to say the least.” Tommy tilted his head at her, surprised and a little suspicious that she knew about Evie.
Even though the gossip blogs in the city had tried to paint him as some sort of weirdo who liked underage teenage girls by linking him to her romantically for years, forcing him to make public statements about the true nature of their relationship, he hadn’t realized it had gone beyond the local “news” rags. “You know a lot about me.”
“I’m a former Mossad agent,” she said simply. “Currently with Shin Bet. I know a lot about many people.” Her smile softened, and he was amused to see a faint pink bloom across her cheeks. “But, like I said, I’ve had a crush on you for a while. I might’ve read your Wikipedia page once or twice.”
“And yet you didn’t approach me in Paris.” His tone was teasing, though part of him wondered if she was laying it on thick to impress him.
She shook her head, a hint of regret in her expression. “You were with someone, a man with reddish-blond hair.”
“Ah, Greg.” Tommy chuckled, remembering. “He was fun for a while.” The truth was, he’d brought Greg to the conference to ease his insecurities. “I would’ve dropped him like a hot coal for you, though.”
Nissa’s eyes glimmered with amusement. “Funny. I was with a woman named Nancy. I’d have dropped her for you, too.”
Tommy’s grin widened. His ego didn’t usually need feeding, but he couldn’t help the small surge of satisfaction that came with the confession.
“But no sharing?” he asked, spinning her effortlessly beneath his arm. He couldn’t help wondering just how much their philosophies really aligned. Cheating repulsed him, and the idea of swinging or threesomes had always made his stomach turn.
“No sharing,” Nissa confirmed. “Occasional hall passes.”