Chapter 14 #2
He shook his head. “Like I said, this is some messed up shit. Sorry, language.” He looked panicked. “There are some specialized security places we can try, but it’s the weekend, and they can be pretty pricy.”
“How pricy?”
“Like, ten, twenty thousand.” Jose looked grim.
Brooke felt faint. “Dollars?” she gulped.
She felt tears well up in her throat, and she fought to keep them back.
She couldn’t fall apart now. They had three weddings, two anniversary parties, and a whole host of other events—just this week!
These guests had trusted Brooke with their most special occasions, and this was the thanks they got: slacker staff, technical nightmares, and a manager who was too busy playing hooky to keep them in line.
She wanted to prove herself so badly, but she’d just plunged the hotel into total chaos.
This was it. She was getting fired for sure.
Riley hung back, watching Brooke try to keep it together. To anyone else, she seemed in control, but he knew her now. She was in meltdown, and if the most drama-free, collected woman he knew was panicking, then this had to be bad.
Damn. He shouldn’t have made her give up her phone, even as a joke. He may be able to go off the grid whenever he wanted, but she had responsibilities here that mattered to her, and he hated the thought that he’d moved this stressful situation from bad to worse.
He moved closer in time to catch some of what her IT guy was saying. It was some kind of hack, infected malware or a virus an unsuspecting staff member had downloaded.
Riley brightened. There wasn’t much in the hotel trade he could help with, but this? This he could do.
“This is just a satellite unit, right?” he interrupted.
Jose, the IT guy, nodded. “The main hub is back in the office.”
“Alright,” Riley said. “Lead the way.”
Brooke looked surprised. “Look, I appreciate the offer,” she said slowly. “But I really think we should wait for the professionals.”
Riley couldn’t blame her hesitance. She’d only seen him hanging out behind the bar, serving beers, but then again, there weren’t many coding emergencies in Sweetbriar Cove that required his expert technical skills.
“Look, I know computers,” he assured her. “We saw this all the time. Let me help. I promise, I won’t make it worse.”
It wasn’t the most reassuring vow he could make, but Brooke was clearly desperate. “I guess it can’t hurt,” she said, and led him to the IT room in the basement. Riley looked around, checking the setup.
He glanced up and found Brooke hovering anxiously nearby. “You go take care of things upstairs,” he told her. “I’ve got this.”
She looked like she was about to protest, but then her phone buzzed. “The wedding party’s here,” she exclaimed. “And now I don’t know what rooms to put them in!”
“Go,” Riley said again. “I promise, I’ll find you if I need you.”
“OK. Thanks.”
Brooke bolted for the stairs again, leaving Riley alone.
He settled at the computer and cracked his knuckles.
God, it had been months since he’d even looked under the hood of a system like this.
But he found a clean laptop to connect, and soon he was deep in the file directory, absorbed in the lines of code.
It reminded him of the all-nighters he pulled in college, fueled by energy drinks and sheer determination.
He and Tate would stay up for hours, pushing to get the software just right.
He always loved it, getting absorbed in the challenge.
Some people thought computers and code were just boring lines of data, but Riley saw the beauty in it—just how much you could make that data do, and how wrong it could go with one tiny flaw.
But this time, the stakes were higher than just the challenge. Brooke had too much riding on this for him to take a half-hearted look around; it was personal. He wanted to be the one to fix this for her and put that carefree smile back on her face.
He wanted to show her he wasn’t just a pretty face—and damn fine kisser.
And then maybe they could pick up where they left off earlier, before bad weather and even worse computer mishaps got in the way.
Riley paused, hit with the memory of Brooke gasping against him on the boat and the look in her eyes as she came undone.
It was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen .
. . and he needed more. Something about her had taken hold of him, and now he would do just about anything to get another glimpse of that wild, passionate woman she kept hidden inside.
Like fixing this mess of a virus, before it did any more damage.
Riley got back to work, finding the source of the damage, and—luckily—the failsafe built into the code.
Once he found the weakness, he was able to scrub it from the system and restore from the back-ups.
In just a couple of hours, he had everything working again—and when he heard the shriek of delight from down the hallway, he could tell Brooke knew it too.
There was a rush of footsteps, then she came bursting into the room. “Thank you!” Brooke threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. “How did you even do it?”
“I won’t bore you with the details. I’m just that good,” Riley teased.
“Yes, you are.” Brooke beamed. She pulled him down and kissed him hard, and the heat surged between them, taking Riley by surprise all over again.
Damn, he couldn’t get enough of this woman.
Brooke pulled back. “I’m sorry I snapped at you before,” she said, looking guilty. “It wasn’t your fault I went off the clock.”
“No, I’m sorry,” Riley insisted. “You were right. I forget not everyone is on permanent vacation. Your empire takes time, I know.”
Brooke cracked a glimmer of a smile. “It’s just one hotel.”
“For now.” Riley grinned back, relieved to see her smiling again. He gave her hand a squeeze. “But I can tell this is only the beginning.”
Brooke laughed. “Well, thank you. I really appreciate it.”
“How much?” Riley teased, pulling her closer. She smiled.
“A lot. I’m going to be working late tonight, but why don’t I show you, tomorrow? Dinner, my treat. And . . . dessert.” Brooke gave him a mischievous smile, and Riley would have gladly spent all week chained to that computer for the chance to discover just what was on the menu.
“I’m in.”