Chapter 42
Chapter Forty-Two
Hunter
S he looked like a puppy that had been kicked. Sad, forlorn, rejected. I knew she wasn’t feigning it to get compassion, but that hit was the fiasco that she understood she had messed up and was completely powerless to fix it.
It had happened so suddenly, I almost imagined they had made a mistake. From the outset, it seemed so simple. We'd sent an email to the wrong person, but with the breach that we were still trying to contain, the repercussions were all I could think about, and it was the kind that would take the company months to recover from.
I glanced at her as we rode back to the hotel and saw her staring out the window. Our plan had been to head out to a restaurant for lunch. I'd told her that my intention was to try the local cuisine before we left, because all the experience I had of Thailand was fusion foods. However, that wasn't the whole truth. I had wanted it to be a date, our first date, and now it was completely ruined. I wanted to tell her that this was my true intention, but I had grown nervous because a part of me was waiting for this shoe to drop. It wasn't that she was incompetent, but that I understood that when distraction was introduced into a professional relationship, especially one as intense as ours, mistakes were bound to happen. And mistakes I truly couldn't stand.
Sighing, I returned my attention to my phone and asked for updates.
"So far, everything was silent. There was no sudden publication, no posts on Twitter. Perhaps everything would work out and it would be fine."
"They still haven't been able to hack in," my CTO replied, and I couldn't help but sigh.
We soon returned to the hotel, and without a word, we went our separate ways.
"Order lunch," I said to her, and she nodded just as she opened her door.
"I wasn't icing her out, even though I was upset. I wanted to be warm about this, but until it had passed, I really didn't know how to be. And a part of me, perhaps, was trying to use this to come to my senses.
Going over the past few days we had spent together in Phuket, I could feel my entire brain chemistry shifting. I couldn't stop thinking about her, couldn't stop wanting to be around her. It was wonderful, but at the same time, the doubt that plagued me that I was off my game, that I was doing the wrong thing, continued to plague me. This discipline had brought me this far, and I didn't want to take it for granted. So, I decided then that I would remain calm and see how the day played out.
The second I arrived back in the room and got started on damage control mode, I got on a call with the PR teams, and we got ready to handle the upcoming disaster. This was her job. She was supposed to be facilitating this, and the fact that I couldn't even call her over to my room to yell at her for just tucking her head between her legs, and disappearing was part of the problem, so I decided to just give her some peace and continue on my own.
"We're gathering everyone and getting ready in case this turns into a shit storm, Sir," the reporter I received informed me. Soon the call ended, and then there was a knock on the door.
My entire body tensed at this. Whether it was because I hoped it was her or that I hoped it wasn't, I couldn't make up my mind.
Whatever it was, I had to respond, and so I opened the door. A cart was rolled in, and I saw that who knocked was the hotel staff.
However, she was nowhere to be found. Since we had gotten together, we had shared and looked forward to every meal together, but apparently, now it was no longer the case. I watched as the restaurant staff arranged the food before me, and I picked up my utensils. However, just a few bites in, and I couldn't believe how tasteless it all seemed. I couldn't stand this any further, so I decided that rather than stay upset, I could think clearly for what seemed like the first time since this vacation began. I decided to once again trust my heart and loosen up. Whatever happened would be solved, so there was no reason to ice her out and let her wallow.
I made up my plan but decided at the last moment to hiss under my breath. I headed toward the door connecting our two rooms and knocked on the door.
For the first few seconds, she didn’t respond, which made me wonder if perhaps she had left the room. Just as I was about to turn the handle, however, the door was opened.
"Lunch is here," I said as the door opened and revealed her saddened face.
"I, uh... I have mine, Sir," she said.
"Where is it?" I asked.
"Uh... I looked behind, and she headed over to her bed side table. She picked up a sandwich, and I stared at it.
"Come to my room," I said. "There's enough food for two."
I didn't leave any space for negotiation, so I turned and returned to my chair. She complied, and soon enough, she was seated on the chair opposite me.
"There's more than enough here," I said, and she picked up her utensils.
I knew she wouldn’t argue because as she was staying to avoid any unnecessary attention on herself given how sensitive the moment was, insisting that she wasn't hungry would have done the exact opposite of that.
We ate silently together, and I couldn't believe how tense things were between us now when just the previous day we had been enjoying ourselves in Phuket like newlyweds. This was life, and we needed to be able to deal with it. I was here, and it didn’t take long for me to realize and understand that she wasn't just my secretary to me any longer. This was what I had fought for from day one, but now, as I took in her gorgeous demeanor and contrite expression, I wondered why I had pushed for that. I loved my work, but... this person... she was special. She was just as special, and I couldn't stand the fact that she was tormented by this.
"Everyone makes mistakes," I told her. "Next time, you'll know to be extra careful with the email. I know because most communication within the company is internal, you forgot to exercise a bit more caution with manually inputting the addresses, but that's okay. We'll be fine, and you'll do better."
She didn’t respond, and when she lifted her gaze to mine, I didn't need to be a genius to know that she was fighting tears off with all her heart and soul.
She looked like she wanted to say something, but in the end, she decided against it. Instead, she nodded and started eating. I watched for a moment and decided to focus on my own meal.
It was the most silent we had ever been with each other, even from the first time she had arrived at the company. In the first few days, if I recall correctly, she hadn’t said a single word besides when and what was needed. I recalled having a conversation back then with the Human Resource manager about her because unlike earlier secretaries who had occupied the position, I had immediately been dissatisfied.
With her, however, I had almost barely noticed her presence. She had done her work, minded her business, and life had gone smoothly.
I looked at her now and truly couldn't believe the change because it was most definitely not feeling that way. Now I could no longer ignore her existence in my life. She was a part of the very fabric of my existence, and I truly didn't want to be careless with that.
I set my food down then completely dissatisfied with her.
"Can you check if we can move the lunch reservation we previously had to dinner?" I asked.
She looked up, then slightly surprised at my words.
"What if - we're not going back to New York?" she asked.
"Who knows?" I replied. "Maybe we're all just overreacting, and maybe everything will be perfectly fine, and we'll be able to conclude our time here eventfully."
At my words, she nodded, but before we could say anything else, my phone began to ring.
I had his phone number saved, and the moment I saw that he was the one calling, my stomach instantly turned. I had truly lost belief in what I had just told Madison. That we were overreacting and that this wouldn't be bad. That we could come through smoothly. But with this call now, I understood that the shit storm was about to start.
Sighing, I picked up the call and rose to my feet.
I wanted to leave the room during the call so that she wouldn't be worried, but I understood then that by doing so, I would be proving my point about how much her having so intertwined with both my personal and professional lives was a distraction. I no longer wanted to separate it, and so I was going to do my very best to integrate them both.
"Mr. Boone," I greeted.
He laughed out loud into the receiver, and I truly considered flinging the phone out of the window. There was no way he wouldn't gloat. There was no way he wouldn't have a blast with this. Over the years, I hadn’t refrained from humiliating him as much as I could, and so now, of course, he was going to milk this error for all that it was worth.
"Mr. Swift," he greeted. "For the first time in what feels like years, I had a very good dream last night, and this morning when I woke up, I didn't know whether to be afraid or grateful. Was it a good sign or a bad sign?”
"It's been on my mind all day, and then just a few minutes ago, I received a call from our IT department saying that they had sensed a hacking attempt from your company and have been trying to fight it off for the past few minutes. A hacking attempt? From you? I was stunned, to say the least. I mean, what could you possibly be trying to hack into our servers for? We're just an online newspaper. Plus, there was the fact that your guys called me, so you didn't even know if you were trying to call me, and this was just, how to say it, a romantic approach? Then someone suggested I could check my email because maybe you sent something to me and were trying to retrieve it. I mean, as a news outlet, we've had quite a number of damning information against very important people that they've tried their hardest to retrieve from us, all to no avail, I might add. I really don't know why you billionaires keep trying to quash a bug. And I am, for the record, by the way, a big bug.”
He went silent, and I nearly threw the phone aside just so I could massage my temples.
"I wouldn't be calling you if they had."
"What about the other attempt?" I asked.
"Smart," he laughed.
"Well, that I can do very little about, but it's all speculation now, isn't it? And if anything, what it gives you is street credibility that you have the talent and guts to do this. So, I don’t think it's too much of a problem."
At this, I went silent, and so did he.
"So…" he said. "Should I expect a fat wad of cash, Sir?"
"Come to my office," I repeated. "We'll talk then."
"Blackmail material? I think not. That's my condition, and rather than blackmail, you can consider it as collateral to ensure you don’t fuck me over, since, as you know, that is your specialty."
"Sir... I would love to truly, but are you even in the country? I've been hearing of your escapades so far. You're in Thailand at that conference to the East. My ability doesn't need for another three days. I know because I was supposed to be there, but yet again, I had to face queries from my editor because you billionaires just can't leave me alone."
"I'll be back soon. Contact my secretary. Set a meeting time. And do it quick before this thing gets out of hand."
"Yes, Sir," he replied, "and I truly hope you'll be able to manage it back soon before this whole thing goes south. For instance, in twenty-four hours, it will definitely have gone south, and I can't let my milk go bad now, can I? I might turn into a very big, loud, and angry baby who cannot shut the fuck up."
I didn't bother responding to this. I needed to end the call because I was sure I was going to kill him. Truthfully, this was the most difficult part of this entire nonsense. I hated losing, and I hated feeling as though someone had one over on me. However, this was now the case, and I couldn't help but be fucking pissed.
I put the phone away then and lifted my gaze to hers.
"Did you hear?" I asked, and she nodded.
"I'll wait for him to contact me."
"He'll probably reply to your email or send you a message," I replied.
"Handle the time as well as the flight. We should be out of here later tonight or early tomorrow morning."
"Yes, Sir," she replied.
I couldn't remain in the room any longer, so I headed out and shut the door behind me.