Chapter 12
AVA
Ava gripped the railing, her wedding and engagement rings clanking off it as the argument ensued in the foyer below.
The intriguing claim that CyberSolutions had been systematically hiring employees from other tech companies and stealing from them had fit with what they’d already tracked. Was Jordan Haynes one of those acquisitions? And had he stolen more than just cents on the dollar?
Someone broke up the fight. She searched the crowd for Jordan, not finding him.
“We should follow up on this,” she whispered to Alex, leaning back into his chest. “Do you want him or her?”
His features tugged into a grimace. “Ugh, her. I can’t stand Ethan Parker and his smugness.”
“She’s all yours, Ace. Use that famous Alex Stone charm to get her to tell you all her secrets.”
He snorted a laugh at her comment. He always found himself socially awkward, but she found him sweetly charming and genuine. While most other men only saw her looks, he saw everything.
She glanced down at the cocky smile her target shot to the group of men surrounding him. Typical techie turned CEO. At least Alex hadn’t turned into that.
She tugged off her rings, palming them as she opened her purse.
He grabbed her wrist before she could dump them inside. “What are you doing?”
“Using my assets to get answers.”
“Ava,” he hissed.
“Relax, Ace. I’m not going to do anything untoward. But he’ll be a lot more open when I flutter my eyelashes at him if he thinks I’m single.”
“You’re not. I don’t like this plan. Ethan Parker is a pig. Rumor is he’s been through his entire secretarial pool. There have even been a couple of lawsuits filed.”
“Then this is exactly the right move. I’ll get way more answers without a ring on my finger…especially yours.”
He wrinkled his nose at her. “I don’t like this plan. Let’s switch. You take Vivian. I’ll take Ethan.”
“You said you didn’t want to talk to him.”
“That was before I knew your plan to flirt with him for answers.”
Ava rolled her eyes.
“And why did you take off my ring and not Constructor Chris’s?”
She glanced down at the ring on her right finger. “It’s on the right. It’s just a ring, then.”
He shook his head as he wiggled the rings from between her fingers and tried to slide them on her. “Put those back on. I don’t want you talking to him.”
“Alex,” she protested, “what are you doing? I’ll be fine.”
“I just…let’s tackle it together. Like a team.”
“It would be much faster if you talk to Vivian and I talk to Ethan.”
“We have all day. There’s no reason to rush.”
Her shoulders dropped as she eyed him. “Now, who’s jealous?”
The expression on his face twisted into an emotion she couldn’t read.
“I don’t think the Pillar Pro would appreciate it,” he said.
“Oh, stop. I’m not going to kiss the guy, just flirt a little and see what I can find out.”
Alex’s jaw flexed as he glanced over the railing at the man now surrounded by a few others, flashing the crowd a cocky grin. “Just remember this when we need information from Miranda.”
Ava’s nose wrinkled as she wagged a finger at him. “She is dangerous. Trust me.”
“So is he.”
“Not to me. I’m not going to fall for him. Now, go work your charm on Vivian. Find out why she made those accusations if you can. I’ll talk to Ethan and see if I can find Jordan Haynes.”
“But–“
He began before she planted a kiss on his cheek and strode away into the crowd toward the stairs leading down.
As she descended, she eyed her target. She didn’t need Alex to warn her about him. She’d met plenty of men like him…or worse. She knew exactly how to deal with them.
She’d spent years navigating tech conferences filled with egos and smooth talkers.
She hit the marble floor and approached the group of men, setting a hand on her hip as she approached him. A few of the men grouped around him noticed her first, but she pushed her way past them. They weren’t her target.
His eyes slid sideways as the crowd parted, one of his eyebrows arching as she stepped forward with a coy grin playing on her lips.
“That was quite a scene,” she said, flicking her hair over her shoulder.
“Looks like it caught your attention,” he answered, twisting to face her more fully. “So, it was worth it.”
Her smile broadened. “I think you would have enjoyed that whether it caught my attention or not.”
His eyebrows shot up, a smile curling the corner of his lips. “Really? Do I look like someone who enjoys being mistreated?”
“Mistreated?” she asked with a laugh. “Oh, I hardly think you were taken advantage of. Quite the opposite. She sounded like a woman with sour grapes whereas you sounded quite certain of yourself.”
He lifted a shoulder. “Vivian is a bitter woman with a failing company. She just can’t admit that to herself or her board.”
“Well, it sounds like we’ll all know in a few months. Your projects sound…thrilling.”
He huffed out a breath, tugging back one corner of his lips as he stepped closer. “If you’re here to learn about them–“
“I’m not,” she said, settling her eyes on him. “I’m here to learn about you.”
The grin spread across his entire face. “Well, then what do you say about grabbing a drink at the bar? There aren’t any interesting sessions going on now, anyway. At least…not as interesting as me.”
“I’d love to,” she answered with a cock of her head.
He offered his arm with an arrogant smile, one that looked like he’d already won the battle to get her. If she wasn’t seeking to get information from him, she would have cracked him across the face.
But she swallowed her anger and reached to slide her arm through his. Before she could, a firm grip wrapped around her forearm stopped her.
The smile vanished from her features, replaced by pinched confusion as she twisted to find out who was about to get pummeled for putting their hands on her. Her heart skipped a beat as she stared into Alex’s fiery eyes and firm jaw.
“Sorry, Ethan, she’ll take a rain check on that drink.”
Ethan raised his eyebrows at Alex before an amused expression crossed his average features. “Are my eyes deceiving me or is this Alex Stone at a Frontiers Conference?”
“Your eyes are not deceiving you. It’s me.” Alex tugged Ava closer as he lifted his chin.
“Well, I hope you enjoy the talks. Maybe you’ll get some new ideas from them. But as I was telling the pretty lady, there’s nothing interesting this afternoon, so we were about to head to the bar for a drink…maybe more.”
Ava resisted the urge to roll her eyes as the man attempted to make a macho statement that far overestimated his appeal.
“No, no drink, definitely nothing more,” Alex said with a shake of his head.
Ethan puffed his chest as he laughed. “She’s already agreed to the drink. Buzz off, Stone. The lady’s not interested in you. She is, however, very interested in me.”
Ava opened her mouth to interject, but Alex beat her to it. She’d never seen him so vocal.
“No, she’s not. She just wanted a little information about that blow-up. But your price is too high.”
He chuckled again as he took a step closer, their faces coming within inches of each other. “You may have built a tech empire, but this lovely lady wouldn’t look twice at you.”
“Think again, pal,” Alex answered, his voice rife with disdain as he wrapped his arm around Ava and tugged her tight to his side. “Ava’s my wife.”
Ava stared up at him, a mix of confusion and warmth washing through her. She imagined he took great pleasure in smacking down the other man with the information that they were married, especially after his rude comment.
The man’s features pinched for a second before he slid his eyes sideways toward Ava for a second. When he returned them to Alex, he threw his head back with laughter. “Oh, Stone, have you finally lost your mind? Did the genius start to manifest as insanity?”
Alex narrowed his eyes at the man.
“You could never land a girl like this. Not even with the money.”
Ava sucked in a breath, this time unable to hold back the roll of her eyes as she dug in her purse and pulled her rings out. “He’s telling the truth. We’re married.”
She slid the rings on and wiggled her finger at him.
“Well, you must be bored with him if you slipped those off and came after me. Though I completely understand.”
“I wasn’t bored. I was after information. I wouldn’t look twice at you otherwise, and I would have slapped that ridiculously cocky grin off your face if you would have come on that strong.”
Ava slipped her arm around Alex’s waist, presenting a united front. He raised his chin again, a grin crossing his features.
“Whatever,” Ethan answered with a sour expression on his face.
He twisted away from them, his eyes lingering on them for another second before he scoffed and walked away.
Ava glanced up at Alex as the man left them alone, her gaze questioning.
He offered her a tilt of his head, motioning for them to leave the crowded lobby behind. “We need to talk.”
“No kidding,” she answered as he led her to a quiet corner, his arm still tightly wrapped around her shoulders.
She’d honestly never seen him this protective.
As he finally let go of her, swinging her around to press her against the wall, she asked, “What are you doing?”
He leaned forward, bracing his arms against her. “He doesn’t have any information. And you shouldn’t be talking to him anyway.”
“Why not?’ Maybe he doesn’t have the information we need, but I may have found Jordan through him.”
Alex shook his head. “I saw the way he looked at you. Like a wolf eyeing a sweet little lamb.”
Ava scoffed and shook her head. “I’m hardly a sweet little lamb, Alex. I can handle myself. I’ve been living in Silver Pine for years handling men all by my lamby little self.”
“I know you can, but…I…we don’t need him. And I don’t need to see him ogling you. I can imagine the thoughts in his head, and he shouldn’t think about you at all.”
With her jaw agape, she stared at him. This new version of Alex was surprising. He’d normally protest, but nothing like this. She sucked in a breath, letting her shoulders raise toward her ears. “All right. Fine. Well, he’s not going to talk to me now anyway.”
He straightened, sliding an arm around her shoulder. “Thank you for backing me up.”
She knitted her brows, her lips curling. What was with him lately? “Yeah, sure. I mean…I wasn’t going to leave you hanging, Ace. We are married.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Yes, we are. And also, I found Jordan Haynes. He’s in one of the finance sessions on intellectual property.”
“Oh,” Ava said, her eyebrows shooting up. “Good. Let’s go talk to him.”
“Yes, that’s what I thought, too. Don’t waste your time with Flash-in-the-Pan Parker.”
She wrapped her arm around his waist as he led her toward a row of conference rooms, patting his chest with her other hand. “I don’t need to waste my time with him. I’ve got the real deal.”
She swore color rose in his cheeks at the compliment, but he dug in his pocket, twisting away from her, to tug out his phone.
Her gaze fell on the digital screen next to the conference rooms, finding the one with the intellectual property. She narrowed her eyes at the door, waiting for the session to end so they could corner Jordan Haynes.
“Avs,” Alex said, calling her attention to him.
She paused as he noticed his phone floating in front of them. “What are you doing?”
“Selfie,” he answered, pressing his head closer to hers. “Proof I was at the Frontier Conference.”
She grinned at the camera as he snapped the picture before he tugged his phone back toward him and tapped on it. “I sent it to you.”
“Thanks,” she said as she stared at the door again. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this.”
He shifted his weight from foot to foot. “I don’t know what you mean.”
She twisted to eye him, a smile playing on her lips. “I don’t know either, but there’s something different about you. You’re like…wound up or something.”
“Wound up? I’m not wound up. I’m just…we’re solving a mystery. So, that’s kind of…fun.” He shoved his hands in his pockets with a shrug avoiding her gaze.
Her smile broadened as she stared at him. “What is going on with you, Ace?”
“Nothing. I just didn’t like you talking to the Tech Trickster.”
“He won’t trick me,” she said as she slid her hands onto the lapels of his sports coat.
He reached for her hand, squeezing it. “What do you say about grabbing some dinner tonight after we talk to this guy?”
“Well, we do need to eat.”
“I mean…out on the town. Somewhere nice maybe?”
The doors to the conference room opened and people spilled out, interrupting their conversation. Ava twisted to eye them, searching each face for the man who resembled the employee photo she’d seen earlier. “I don’t see him, do you?”
“Not yet,” he answered, sounding somewhat deflated.
She made a mental note to follow up on his weird mood swings, but not before they talked to Jordan Haynes.
Her fingers tightened around his hand as she rose onto her tiptoes another inch from her already high heels.
“There,” Alex said as a brown-haired man with some scruff emerged from the conference room, speaking with a shorter man.
“Oh, yeah. He grew a beard. He looks better with it.”
“Ava!” Alex hissed. “Will you try not to ogle the target?”
“I’m not ogling, Ace. I’m just making an observation. Come on, let’s go talk to him.” She tugged him closer, snaking through the crowd toward him.
“Do you really like the beard?” he asked as he rubbed his own clean-shaven face.
“On him, it looks better.” She cut her gaze to him for a brief second. “Don’t grow a beard, Ace.”
“Right,” he answered as they approached the man.
“Jordan?” Ava called as she closed the distance between them. “Jordan!”
He glanced up from his portfolio, searching the crowd for who called him.
Ava continued toward him. “Jordan,” she said again.
His eyebrows pinched as he stared at her before he shifted his gaze to Alex. His eyes went wide, and he swallowed hard.
In the next instant, he did something she hadn’t expected. He turned on a heel and ran.
Her heart lurched into her throat as Jordan bolted, his sudden dash slicing through the crowded room like a knife through water. If they wanted answers, they’d have to chase him.