Chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
PEN
T he phone rings, and I groan, wrapping my pillow around my head. The Duffy’s soiree lasted a lot longer than I hoped. Not that they aren’t a lovely couple, but making polite conversation with complete strangers when you’re already tired is exhausting.
“What the hell?” I mutter as the ringing continues.
It feels like I’ve only just shut my eyes.
I pat around in the dark feeling for my mobile.
“Who’s calling me this early?
“You need to put your phone on do not disturb ,” Kris grumbles next to me.
“I have,” I say, finally scooping up the offending object. “Only my favourites override that,” I tell him, sliding out of bed and pulling on my dressing gown.
Cursing the favourite who may soon find themselves removed if this call is not life or death.
I glance down and spot Gabriel’s name on the screen.
Why the hell is he calling me?
Out of everyone, he’s aware I’m in the US and in a different time zone. He also has enough bloody clocks on his walls both at home and in his office to know it’s only five AM.
Exiting the bedroom, I make my way downstairs just as the ringing stops. When it begins again, I slide the screen to answer.
“This better be urgent,” I grunt at one of my closest friends. “Do you know what time it is?”
“Of course, it’s five AM,” he says in his matter-of-fact Gabriel tone. I bite my lip to stop myself from smirking.
So Gabriel .
“I’ve waited until now. I was expecting you to be up. You’ve always been an early riser.”
I groan. “I’m jet-lagged, Gabriel. Ever heard of it?”
“Still? You’ve been there a week. Your UK office is open.”
“And I’m in the US. Yes, to jet lag, wedding planning, and late nights socialising. I’m on holiday!” I say.
The man is a machine. I don’t know how Leah copes with him. I think he sleeps even less than I do.
I hear someone in the background, and Gabriel lets out a harrumph.
“Okay, fine…I’m sorry for waking you. I’ll wait until later next time.”
“Happy now?” I hear him mutter, Leah’s voice barely audible in the background.
“Hi, Leah,” I say into the phone.
“Hi,” echoes from somewhere in the background.
Oh, how this man has changed .
“Now I’m up. Want to tell me what’s so urgent it can’t wait?”
I know it has to be something important for Gabriel to even pick up the phone.
“Are you alone?”
I pull up sharply, my eyes darting back upstairs.
“Do I need to be?”
“I’d prefer it if you were, for what I’m about to tell you.”
I make my way towards the empty kitchen and step inside, closing the door behind me.
“I’m on my own. Kris is still in bed,” I say. “I’m downstairs.”
I make my way across the enormous kitchen and flick on Kris’s state-of-the-art coffee machine. It rivals Gabriel’s, and I’m tempted to send him a photograph, but refrain. Maybe later.
I step back as the machine begins to bubble and hiss.
“It’s okay, you can tell me whatever you need to,” I say.
Gabriel knows I hold a secure phone. I test for bugs and taps regularly. A force of habit. I work in a competitive industry. Industrial espionage is common. And then there’s my other line of work.
“Elijah’s in trouble.”
My heart stops beating at his brother’s name.
“What do you mean? Clarify, in trouble,” I whisper. “Has Darra? Is Lottie okay?”
They’re the connections my brain makes whenever I hear his name.
“Darra and Lottie are fine, or at least I think they are. They’re not why I’m calling.” Gabriel sighs, surprising me. “This is business related.”
I pause, wracking my brain to determine what could be wrong with Elijah’s business and why Gabriel would call me about it. He runs one of the largest cyber security firms in the world. His reputation for perfection is flawless.
I make my coffee as Gabriel gives me the rundown.
“Let me get this straight,” I say. “Elijah accidentally opened an email that should have automatically deleted. It shows he’s made code changes, he hasn’t made? Hundreds, maybe thousands of changes?”
“The long and the short—Yes.”
I sink back onto one of the kitchen stools, glad of my earpiece so I can cradle my coffee.
“What does Todd say?” I ask.
Todd’s been with Elijah almost from the beginning. Was a friend to both of us at uni. He assumed my role when I stepped aside.
“He hasn’t asked him,” Gabriel admits.
Oh crap! Why the hell wouldn’t Elijah talk to Todd?
“Does he think Todd’s involved?”
“He doesn’t know. In all honesty Pen, he doesn’t know much. When I saw him earlier, he was in a spiral. It’s one of those catch-twenty-two situations. He doesn’t know what these changes signify. He came directly here this morning. Typical Elijah, he wants to get to the bottom of it before he involves anyone else.”
My brain scrambles, making links and connections, as it always does in a crisis.
“Hasn’t he got a massive roll-out next week? Has he pulled it?”
I haven’t heard anything, but then I’m away from the office.
“No, he won’t. Not yet, at least.”
Elijah’s firewall is impenetrable, or almost impenetrable. I never say anything is one hundred per cent, especially with the right skill set.
A thought crosses my mind.
“Does Elijah know you’re calling me?”
Silence descends.
“I’ll take that as a no.”
“I gave him twelve hours to sort out his shit.”
“If he came in this morning, that’s not twelve hours.”
“Semantics. It will be twelve hours or more before you’re in a position to actually help him.”
“He didn’t forbid you from calling me?”
“Even Elijah knows he can’t do this on his own. This could ruin him, Pen. His company is all he has left. Darra took him to the cleaners during their divorce.”
I squeeze my temple points, using my thumb and middle finger, before leaning forward and resting my elbows on the kitchen work surface.
I take a deep breath, already knowing the answer but wanting to hear him say it.
“Why are you calling me, Gabe?”
A sigh comes over the phone. “You know I wouldn’t ask you.”
“But you’re going to, anyway,” I add.
“You’re the best at what you do,” Gabriel says.
“Stroking my ego? You must be desperate.”
“I say it as it is, you know that better than anyone,” he says.
I roll my shoulders to ease the tension that’s building up.
“Why do you believe if I return to the UK, he will want or accept my help?”
“It’s not what he wants, Pen. It’s what he needs. This is your forte. You were his best friend. He trusts you.”
“ Were being the operative word. That was a lifetime ago,” I tell Gabriel honestly.
“That kind of friendship doesn’t disappear. I know it was difficult between you when he was married to Darra. It was for all of us. But this is bad.”
I inhale and hold my breath before releasing it slowly. My mind wanders back to the man I saw by the pool on the night of Caleb and April’s wedding. There were flashes of my old friend.
“If you won’t do it for Eli, do it for me. I’m worried about him.”
His words are like a punch to the gut. Everything about Elijah Frazer affects me. It always has. From the moment we met, or as I uncovered years later. Bought his way to being my partner.
“Low blow, buddy.”
But he’s right. I’m being obtuse. I would never turn my back on any of the Frazer family. I owe them too much, love them all too much. If someone hurts one of them, they also hurt me.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” I say, hearing a noise behind me. “Look, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you and let you know what time my plane gets in.”
I hang up before Gabriel can say anything else.
Kris opens the kitchen door and steps inside, his hair dishevelled from sleep.
“Hey, sorry I woke you,” I say, walking towards him.
He smiles at me, inclining his head.
“Who was it?”
“Gabriel. I need to fly home.”
“What about Freya’s birthday party this weekend?”
I drop my head forward onto his shoulder.
“Something’s come up. I can’t ignore it.”
“So Gabriel calls, and you jump and leave. What about our wedding plans? Not to mention the full list of engagements we have this week.”
I lift my head and scowl.
“You’re really going to call me out on wedding plans when you went back to work yesterday and left me to deal with your mother?”
“That’s not fair.”
“No, it’s not. This is supposed to be our wedding. So far, your mother has done the lion’s share of the decision-making.”
“I thought you’d want the help. It’s not like you can arrange a wedding from thousands of miles away.”
“Help, yes, but she’s taken over. This is her wedding, not mine. We could have been married in the UK. Then I could have organised it.”
I move back until I’m leaning against the kitchen island, crossing my arms over my chest.
“You know that wasn’t practical with all my relatives.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose and squeeze. Not wanting to rehash the same old argument again.
Kris places a finger under my chin and tilts my face up towards his.
“You want to help Gabriel?”
I nod. “They’re my family.”
“What about me? Aren’t I about to become your family?”
“You are. But I owe them everything. More than you can ever understand.”
Kris looks at me, an expression I can’t quite decipher crossing his face. He drops his gaze and gives me a sad smile.
“I’ll tell the pilot to prepare my jet. It will be faster than trying to get on a commercial flight.”
“Thank you.”
I lean forward and press my lips to his.
I move past, only to have him grab my hand. He interlinks our fingers, his eyes dropping to them before rising to mine.
“This is a big move for you, Pen. Be certain.”
“I am. This is an emergency.”
He raises our joined hands to his lips.
He lets go of my hand and ushers me towards the door.
“Go. Do what you need to do.”
Heeding his instructions, I head toward the enormous spiral staircase. I hear Kris move into the kitchen, his voice echoing as he makes a call to his pilot. I know he’ll also be making us both a coffee. This man has many lovable qualities.
I drag my overnight bag out. I don’t need to bring clothes. I have a separate wardrobe at home. My belongings won’t be shipped until after the wedding when I move here permanently. Not that I need much. Kris’s home offers everything a woman or man could ever want. It sits on acres of manicured lands, a twelve-bedroom mansion. Modern in style but with old-fashioned touches, like the winding staircase. On-site housing accommodates the key staff. Kris is preparing a house for my mother, should she decide to join us.
Kris was born into wealth. His family made their fortune by importing and exporting tobacco, sugar, and rum after emigrating from Scandinavia to America in the eighteen hundreds. But Kris has taken his personal wealth to a whole new level.
We’ve talked about keeping my home as our UK base. It will make travelling with children much easier than staying in hotels. However, the wedding is only a couple of months away, and we still have so much to do, so we’ve put off that decision for now.
Kris appears in the doorway. Two steaming coffee mugs in hand.
“You’re a lifesaver,” I say, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. It takes three cups of coffee to kick-start my day.
“Any idea when you’ll be back?”
He drops down next to me.
I turn my head to stare at him.
“I’m not sure. Gabriel didn’t say much, only that my skills were needed.”
He smiles and squeezes my knee.
“Ah, my little hacker.”
I nudge him with my shoulder.
“No, my superior coding skills, actually,” I say, my tone full of sass.
If only he knew how close to the mark his nickname is.
“I hope they appreciate you,” he says.
“They do.”
I know that for sure.
He wraps an arm around my shoulder, and I sink into his side as he kisses my temple.
“I look forward to getting to know them properly when we finally get married.”
“I do, too,” I tell him truthfully.
Elijah and Kris are competitors, know each other only as business associates. As for the rest of the Frazers, Kris met Kat, and I introduced him to Gabriel and Caleb at a couple of charity events we all attended. If I’m honest, our busy lives have kept us apart.
“I’m sorry to abandon you. I know it’s your sister’s birthday this weekend,” I say. “I’ll send her a note and an additional gift.”
“Pen, stop worrying. Freya will understand. She has me, her brother, remember. She’s grown up knowing work commitments trump most things.”
“That’s not something to be proud of,” I tell him. “Things are going to have to change when we have children.”
His eyes soften at my words. “I agree. When our children arrive, I promise to take my foot off the gas. As their mother, you’ll need to do the same. No more gallivanting backwards and forwards to the UK.”
My hackles rise, but I stamp down on my annoyance. It’s not like I don’t want children. I do, more than anything. I’ve spent my entire adult life working, but now, I’m ready to slow down.
“What will you tell your mother? We’re supposed to go over the final wedding plans.”
“Let me worry about my mother. Knowing her, and as you said before, she has everything under control. It’s a formality. Stop worrying.”
I grimace, and he smiles.
“I promise to put an end to bridesmaid talk,” he adds.
“Thank you.”
Typical Kris. He doesn’t care what anyone else thinks. We’re getting married in two months, he tells me to have faith in the process and the hired managers. I admit, where his mother is concerned, I should have no concerns. Maybe her being in control is a good thing, especially now.
“Remember, you’re marrying me, not my mother, father, or sister,” he says.
“Damn, there I was hoping—Freya?—”
“Get out of here!” he says, laughing.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” I tell him, standing up and handing him my now empty coffee mug.
I lean forward and drop a chaste kiss on his lips.