Chapter 5
Chapter Five
James
The shitstorm that waited for me took the entire day and night to fix.
Then I went for the culprits who thought my company was up for grabs.
It wasn’t an actual invasion; it was a betrayal.
A former employee stole classified codes, and when he joined another company, he decided to hack me with the source codes and create some havoc.
I was able to fix it, even though it took a long time.
Now it was time to seek my revenge. I let him go for good reason.
He was a liar and a lazy piece of shit who thought he was better than me and should own my company.
Well, that was why he was working for someone else.
It was my mistake to believe he hadn’t stolen anything when he left, but he had.
All the codes for the servers and programs had to go directly through the main routers, and he didn’t have access to the office anymore.
The office ran on high security clearance, only paying customers having access to our number and having a special digit code that led them to their specific account that allowed them to speak to a representative.
It was an added security measure. Until yesterday, it wasn’t even necessary to implement.
An armed guard stood at each entrance. I paid great money to protect the security, so it pissed me off that he got in.
It didn’t take long to fix the problem; it was fixing my mistake and making sure it never happened again that was the bigger issue.
As much as I wanted to think about Ava and spend all my time with her, I had to focus on my company.
Sink or swim was a must in this industry.
Failure wasn’t an option, so I had to get this done before tracking her down and claiming her.
Damn, did I want to find her and finish what we started, but our future would depend on my ability to keep us financially stable.
Elizabeth came to the office on Sunday with fresh coffee and a promise that Ava was home safe where she belonged. I hadn’t summoned her in, but I had sent her several messages Saturday night that sent her into a tailspin of concern.
“What about the photos?” I asked, hating that they were going to be spread out all over the world. I tried to remember that it was my fault that she’d been hired, but I could have let my father’s company be sued and I just snag up my future wife.
“Claude will have them to the office by Monday morning, so don’t worry.” She patted my forearm.
“Good. Wait—what office?” She quickly grabbed the coffee before I tipped it onto the reports I just ran.
“Probably the ad agency since it’s all over the documentation we had them sign.” She shook her head and set the coffee on the credenza behind me.
“Damn it. I wanted to see them first,” I said, running my hands through my hair. I’d never been so careless, out of control, or clumsy.
“Yes, but they have the team that have to prepare for the ad campaign. Not us.”
“I know that, but that doesn’t mean I appreciate it. I didn’t sign a release of my image, so if I don’t like the video, I won’t allow them to share it,” I lied. It had nothing to do with why I hadn’t wanted the photos or clips released and everything to do with my luscious Ava.
She patted me on the shoulder as if I were a child instead of an adult and her damn boss.
“That’s good. It’s your money, sir. You can demand it from them.
” She looked around my desk, which had gone from semi-neat to completely destroyed in the past twenty-four hours, and sighed, “Now, what do you need me to do here?”
I dug through the piles, found the file folder needed, and handed her the reports for the IRS to record for tax season.
“Read through them and make sure there’s no discrepancy.
I don’t want any lawsuits on my hands, claiming any fiduciary misrepresentation.
” Paying for the model on behalf of my father’s company might be considered illegal, given where I sourced the funds, so I had to be careful.
It was from my personal accounts, but I didn’t want any suspicions or accusations.
“Of course.” She read through it and filed them. We worked through the rest of the evening.
“So are you planning on delivering the payment directly to her?”
“The check will come from the ad agency so I can’t give it to her unless I pick it up, but I plan on showing her the photos and video before they go live.”
“Good. I think that’s a great idea.” She smirked suspiciously.
“What’s that about?”
“I saw the shoot too, you know.”
“And?”
“I’m just wondering if I will be asked to be the godmother when those pretty little babies start popping out.
” I laughed hard. “What? Are you trying to tell me that we were imagining the raw chemistry burning up the sheets? I swear I was fanning myself and had to leave the room for a moment. You’re my boss, after all. ”
There was no point in denying the chemistry or anything between Ava and myself. I planned on plenty of babies. I hoped my little sugary Ava was up for it because as soon as the thought landed in my brain, it took root. “Stop. And the whole godmother thing will have to be up to Ava too.”
“Oh, I’m sure she’ll say yes.” She winked and then got out of her chair and walked back over to her desk, smiling like she won when I was the one who really won.
When I finally got home, I tossed a pizza in the oven and then jumped in the shower. My local spot packed frozen pizzas for me to toss in the oven. I kept two in my freezer at all times, just in case. There were many nights that I worked late and needed a quick meal, and they did the trick.
By the time I went to bed, it was well after midnight, and I had to be back in the office early to check on my systems and meet with my staff.