Chapter 3 Blue-Eyed Devil
Waverly
Three weeks wasn’t nearly enough time away. The sun, the sand…I missed it already. I missed him desperately.
Kier with no last name. He had one, obviously, I just didn’t stick around long enough to learn it.
You’d think as an FBI agent in my position, I’d be a tad more wary of strangers.
Truth was, he happened to stroll into my life when I needed him most. He saved me from myself, then he gave me hope.
Something I hadn’t had in a really long time.
The best part was there were no games; or there hadn’t been until I lost my nerve. Being home for forty-eight hours hadn’t lessened the sting. I was the one who ended things, so why the hell was I suddenly wishing for a thread to hold on to. That wasn’t me. I didn’t become attached. Not anymore.
“Waverly, your ten o’clock is here,” Sammy, our office assistant, informed me. She was more than an assistant. She kept me straight when my world curved to the left.
“I have a meeting? With who?”
“Finnian O’Lachlan. CEO of Lachlan Industries.”
“Okay. Should I know that name?”
“You can’t tell me you’ve never heard of them?” At my look of confusion, she went on. “They’re a billion-dollar tech company.”
“Why is the CEO of a billion-dollar tech company meeting with the FBI?”
“Corporate espionage, I think? Director Ashland approved the meeting. Apparently, the guy asked for you specifically.”
“Fine. Where is Mr. O’Lachlan?”
“He’s in the conference room.”
“Lovely. This shouldn’t take too long.”
“Take as long as you want, Waverly. The guy is extremely easy on the eyes.”
My three-inch heels clicked against the floor as I ambled down the hall.
Heels were my weakness. I owned more than I cared to admit, but what else was I going to spend my money on?
My family and I had been incommunicado for years.
I’m allergic to cats, I’m not home enough for a dog, and if it weren’t for my job, I probably wouldn’t leave my house.
Three weeks ago, my anxiety was so off the charts, I decided I needed a vacation from my life.
Turns out, it was not my life that was the problem. It was me.
Stopping outside of the conference room door, I pulled in a deep breath and held it for the count of three. I’d be in and out. No need for a lengthy conversation. Just listen to what he had to say, then show him the door. Simple. But I should have known that nothing was ever simple.
All the air left my body in a whoosh when I stepped into the room. Standing in front of me was my newest obsession, and the reason I’d left the island two days early in a mad rush.
“Kier? What are you doing here?”
“You ran, I chased, Waverly.”
“Bullshit.” I fisted my hands at my side. “We said no strings.”
“I lied.” He smirked.
“Oh yeah? What else did you lie about?”
Closing the distance between us, he held out his hand. I returned the gesture without thinking.
“My full name is Finnian Kier O’Lachlan. But you can call me Finn.”
He lowered his head to kiss the top of my hand, but I yanked away, backing up a few paces until there was nowhere left to go.
I’d hit a wall, literally and figuratively.
My breathing accelerated as images of our time together flashed through my mind like an out of control movie reel.
Nothing seemed out of sorts; no red flags were triggered.
To top it off, he’d pried the doors off my closet full of skeletons with ease, all the while hiding something as simple as his name.
Was I so blinded by a gorgeous face that I missed the signs?
Any other day, the answer would have been a resounding no, but apparently today was not that day.
“Whoa, beautiful. Slow your breaths before you pass out.”
“Do not tell me what to do,” I spat through clenched teeth, skirting around his outstretched hand to pace the room. “You lied—”
“I didn’t,” he interrupted. “I embellished the truth, but I did not lie to you about my name. As horrible as this sounds, I had to protect myself.”
“From me?”
“From everyone.” He sighed, gesturing toward the conference table. “Give me five minutes, Waverly. You owe me after sneaking out of my bed.”
In Curacao, my feelings for him developed so quickly they overwhelmed me.
Rather than face the fact I was falling for a virtual stranger, I ran.
He may very well deserve an explanation for my abrupt exit, but there was something I needed more, despite my current pissed-off state.
Answers. I’d never have closure without them.
The chair scraped along the floor as I pulled it out, dropping down in it with a huff. He took the one across from me, looking just as delicious as he did the night of our first date, except this time his tattooed arm was hidden underneath a long-sleeved, charcoal shirt.
“Shit, okay.” He tore his fingers through his dark locks, looking nervous for the first time since I stepped in the room.
“First, let me give you some background information. I started Lachlan Industries in the basement of my childhood home when I was seventeen years old. It was supposed to be a way out from under my father’s thumb—and it was––but then it became much more than I ever imagined.
Within two years, I made my first million.
After that, everything sort of spiraled out of control. ”
From the minute I spied the TAG Heuer watch adorning Kier’s wrist on the island, I knew his bank account had girth.
Normally, it would’ve been a huge strike against him, considering the way my own family used their wealth as a get-out-of-jail-free card.
But he’d been different. Other than our over-the-top first date, he didn’t throw cash around or use it to his advantage.
“My little start-up company exploded on the technology scene, developing mainly gaming software at first, until Sloane convinced me to spread our wings into robotics. We have offices in Ireland, London, and New York, but the back-and-forth was killing me, so I decided to move our main office to the States.”
“Can we skip to the part where you tell me why you’re here, Finn? Specifically, why did you convince my boss to set up this meeting?”
“Damn, that sounded good.” He hurried to clarify when I frowned. “Hearing my name on your lips.”
“Focus, O’Lachlan.” I snapped my fingers. “What do you want from me?”
“I want it all, Waverly, but that’ll have to wait until you trust me again. For now, I’ll settle for your help.”
Ignoring the first part of his declaration, I focused on the second. “Why would a tech company need the FBI?”
“Two years ago, we teamed up with a group of industry-leading engineers, orthopedic and neurosurgeons to work on developing the first fully brain-controlled prosthetic limbs for amputees.”
“Holy shit. That’s incredible.”
“Our technology has the potential to make a real difference for tens of thousands of people, maybe more. We’re in the beginning stages of testing the technology on actual people instead of computer models, which brings me to why I’m here.
My head of security alerted me to a significant uptick in attacks against our computers' firewalls. I didn’t think much of it until the threats started. ”
My body stiffened. “Threats?”
He rubbed a hand over his eyes. “Pictures of me, pictures of Sloane and the kids; all with a red X drawn over our faces.”
“When did this start happening?”
“Three weeks ago.”
Betrayal ran through my veins like an icy river. The pain of it slashing through my chest, like the sharp edge of a thousand knives slicing my skin all at once. I was bleeding out and fuck did it hurt.
“You knew.”
“Knew what? What the hell are you talking about?”
“You played me.”
Pushing back from the table, I stood, ready to make my escape for the second time, but before I could make it to the door, his arms wound around my waist from behind, pulling me tight against his hard body.
“Not this time, Waverly.” He grunted when my Jimmy Choo’s connected with his shin. “You’re not running from me again. Settle down and tell me how you think I played you.”
“You knew I was a federal agent when you approached me on the beach, didn’t you? Jesus, were you even there on vacation?” I panted.
“Is that what you think?”
“Why else would you keep your identity a secret?”
“Because I’m a feckin’ eejit who wanted to be someone else for a while.
Someone who didn’t have a boatload of responsibilities or threats looming over my head.
I wanted to live in the here and now with the most beautiful woman I’d ever met.
I’ve spent most of my life surrounded by people who only wanted to get close to me because of what my money could do for them.
None of it was real. Then I met you and something shifted inside of me. ”
He loosened his grip as the fight left my body, though not completely, which, in hindsight, was a good thing considering his next words nearly sent me to my knees.
“I never expected you; never expected to meet someone one day, then fall on my ass for them the next. Hell, I didn’t even want to go on vacation.
Sloane threatened to quit her job if I didn’t let her book the trip.
She’s the one who made the reservation using my middle name.
I just went along with it for the sake of anonymity. ”
Spinning around, my fury faded at the honesty dripping from his eyes. “So you didn’t stalk me to a Caribbean island?” I smirked, trying to save face.
He smiled, tracing a finger down the side of my face. “Afraid not. Honestly, I never thought you’d say yes to a date. Then for seven days, I tried to figure out a way to tell you the truth without losing you completely. It didn’t matter in the end because I woke up to an empty bed.”
“Sorry about that.” I winced. “How did you find me?”