Chapter 24 The Real Gold Digger #2
Before I ran diagnostics, I needed to check the back end of Ri’s profile. If the problem was there, it might be an easier fix than pulling apart my entire algorithm.
“What are you doing?” Atlas asked, leaning over me, breath hot near the side of my face. I leaned away, narrowing my eyes when I noticed something off about the code attached to Ri’s profile.
“Who the hell did this?” I growled, standing so fast the chair spun away and hit the wall behind. Atlas tensed.
“Did what?”
I gestured at the screen. “Who’s been tampering with Irina’s profile? There’s a suppression code in there, and it’s been purposefully added.”
Atlas shrugged. “You know all of this makes zero fucking sense to me, Chewy.”
“Well, it’s lucky that I can check the staff signature, isn’t it?” I muttered, digging deeper into the renegade line of code.
“What do you mean? Do they have to sign off on it or something?”
I sighed. “Not in the traditional sense. Every staff log in has a unique signature, so I can always trace any errors back to the coder who made them. Helps me to better performance manage the team.”
“Well, that’s … impressive,” he commented, voice thin. “So … who’s in the shit because of this?”
I straightened, turning to face my business partner. “Beau.” But I had an inkling that he was just the lackey doing someone else’s bidding. “But why would you direct him to do this?”
Atlas’s jaw dropped, his face paling. “Shit, Chewy, I … don’t you think that it’s necessary?”
I narrowed my eyes. “To suppress Irina’s content? Why on earth would I think that necessary?”
Atlas scratched at his ridiculous fauxhawk. “Because she’s your wife, dude! Like, even if it’s just for her visa, or whatever, do you really think it’s a good look that she’s going viral while she goes to town on herself with a massive dildo?”
Heat unfurled on my neck, creeping up my cheeks. But it wasn’t embarrassment. It was rage.
“You suppressed my wife’s content because you decided I shouldn’t support her career?” My knuckles were white with how tight my fists were.
“Do you want other men seeing her? Do you think that won’t be a question you get asked when it comes time to apply for her partner visa?” Atlas reasoned.
I swallowed. Because in all of this, I’d somehow managed to forget that other people would be consuming her content. I couldn’t think about it though. I had no right to be jealous, and I’d promised her that I would never be possessive, or controlling.
And after two years … when we divorced … she may well wish to continue to make money on Tickle. As was her right.
“She’s not with other people in her content. Not one single person could try to claim that she was being unfaithful to me.” I forced my fingers to relax, taking a long breath. “I want her to continue to make money in a way that fulfils her.”
Atlas chortled. “Oh, it fulfils her, alright!”
The urge to throw a punch at his smirking face had never been so difficult to ignore. “She may enjoy toys,” I rumbled. “But at the end of the day, I’m the man she comes home to.”
If only that were true in the full sense of the words.
Atlas threw me a baffled look. “So, you’re telling me that you have no issue whatsoever if there are thousands of men around the world pulling their dicks while your hot fake wife plays with herself?”
“Who’s to say I don’t get off on knowing men watch my wife come?”
Atlas raised an eyebrow. “Do you?”
I shrugged, not trusting my voice, tapping at the keyboard to delete the mess Beau had made for Ri. “I’m removing this code, but I won’t make a scene about it with Beau. This time. I’ll be setting systems in place to monitor her profile for tampering, and if I find any in future …”
“You’ll what?” Atlas asked, folding his arms in front of his chest.
“Just don’t tamper with her profile. And don’t ask the junior coders to do it, either.”
“Okay, fair enough. Now, about that TechRaker article. I know you think I had a—”
“Henry!” Liv called excitedly as she rounded the doorway. “Irina’s here!”
My face heated, and I didn’t miss the smirk Atlas threw my way as I muttered, “This can wait until later.”
I strode from the room while Liv bounced ahead of me, practically skipping.
“Why are you so excited about this?” I asked. “You’ve met her before. You were at our wedding!”
Liv grinned back at me. “But this is the first time everyone in the office is getting to meet her! Henry …” she paused until I caught up with her then lowered her voice. “It’s like your hard launch.”
“My what?” I was mystified.
“You know—like when celebrities officially attend a public event together? They’re hard-launching their relationship, it’s like … making an undeniable statement that you’re a couple.”
“Okay,” I mumbled, scrubbing my suddenly clammy palms against my jeans. It was one thing to play the husband around strangers who weren’t scrutinising me, but with all my employees watching avidly, anticipating the moment they would see us together for the first time.
Would they be able to tell that I was walking a tightrope of feelings, longings that were threatening to overwhelm me? Would I make a fool of both of us in front of everyone?
Then, with a chorus of, “Congratulations!” and the horrendous honking of those party blowers, I rounded the corner into the bullpen.
And she came into view.
My breath caught in my chest. Her hair, loose and glossy, falling down her back and over her shoulders like a waterfall. Her smile when she saw me lit up her face, and her eyes, like two sapphires, twinkled joyfully.
All the noise and commotion faded into insignificance, and in three strides, I crossed the room, cupped her face in my hands and tugged her closer until her lips met mine.
She tasted like mint, and coffee, and addiction.
Her lips were soft, but she kissed me back with a hunger I wanted to believe wasn’t just acting.
Her little squeak vibrated against my mouth, and I had to pull away because the urge to kiss her harder, to part her lips and taste her properly, was so tempting.
“Good morning,” I murmured, my thumbs sliding over her cheekbones. There was a hint of pink on them, and that satisfied me far more than it should have.
“It’s definitely good now,” she replied, breathless, irises darkening. She dragged her plump bottom lip between her teeth. “You really missed me?”
A smile lifted my cheeks. “I told you I was missing you last night.”
Her blush deepened. “You told me a lot of things last night.”
I swallowed. Telling her I meant every word would help no one—not here, not now. What she needed was a visa. Not me.
Clearing my throat, I stepped back, only then registering the giggling, staring employees and the whooped, “Get a room!” that came from Atlas, who must have followed me out from his office.
“Oh, we will be,” Irina purred with a wink.
My heart danced in my chest despite me firmly reminding myself that she was playing the part.
I forced myself to turn from her, taking her hand and walking her around the bullpen, introducing her to the team.
A few of the younger blokes flushed crimson when she greeted them, and I wondered if they had watched her content.
Who was I kidding? Of course they had. They’d all seen the TechRaker articles. They all knew her Tickle handle. They all had access to the system.
My stomach churned, but I forced my envious thoughts aside as I hurried her through the rest of the team, finally, reluctantly bringing her to Atlas. “And this is my business partner, Atlas.”
His smug expression as he extended a hand in her direction made my fists clench. “It’s lovely to finally meet you, Irina.”
She smiled that brilliant, achingly beautiful smile at him, but I noticed how her eyes remained hard. “And you. It’s such a shame you’ve been out of the country so much lately that we haven’t had a chance to meet before today. But it must be busy for you, doing all those deals in California.”
Atlas blinked, smirk faltering for a second before he hitched it right back up. “I’m pretty sure that even if I’d been around, Henry would have kept you his little secret.” He winked at her, as if to remind her that he was in on the whole scheme.
“Well, I suppose the cat’s out of the bag now!” she replied breezily, letting out a big, gusting sigh. “I can’t tell you how hard it’s been to keep our marriage under wraps while you got all your very important business thingamajigs settled!”
The sarcasm in her tone had me hiding a smile behind my hand. Atlas, brows furrowed, hadn’t missed it. Behind him, even Lucian’s stony face softened a bit.
“Henry, don’t forget your brunch reservation!
” Liv called out, and I could have hugged her for leaping in to save me from having to find a way out of a conversation with Atlas that could have devolved very quickly.
He’d always had a bit of a tendency to get nasty if he thought someone was making fun of him.
“We’ve got to head out now, Catnip,” I said with a squeeze of her hand. She sidled closer to me, the warmth of her seeping from her jeans and cropped T-shirt, through the layers of my trousers and polo and into my skin. And deeper.
“I’m starving,” she confessed, grabbing my other hand and pressing it to her stomach. Her belly growled under my palm. Hot and bothered, I moved my hand away.
“Well, I can’t let my wife remain ravenous for too long,” I murmured, my cheeks reflecting the heat unfurling in my abdomen as she beamed up at me.
“Seriously. Get a room,” Atlas muttered as he turned, walking stiffly away with his hands in his pockets.
“Bye, Atlas!” Irina called, her voice sickly sweet. Lucian rolled his eyes, but as he turned away, I thought I caught a hint of a smile. Maybe he really was warming to her.
That would make the next two years of cohabitation so much easier, I thought as I led her to the elevators. I tried to ignore the heavy feeling that dropped into my stomach when I thought about how this deal of ours had a two-year expiry date, if everything went right.
And I wanted it to go right. I really did.
But I wasn’t sure two years would be enough.