Ruthless Temptation Read Free

carefully.
“I’m listening.”
    “ I’m Ralph’s administrative assistant. I have an MBA in
marketing and can’t find a job in the field.”
    He’d
heard that from recent grads for years. “It’s tough out there right now for
anyone in fields like IT, marketing, or advertising. The market is saturated.”
    She
gave him a sarcastic look. “So I’ve been told.”
    He
decided to ignore the look on her face and the tone in her voice. She was
clearly embarrassed, but he still didn’t know why she was here. “Why did you
pretend to be someone you aren’t?”
    “ I heard Ralph talking about all of you. The
Weathermen. He said you and Blaine Parker had people rounding up the hackers of
The Madeline Project, and others involved on the periphery. You intend to hold
them in a warehouse in Central that HCS once used. He talked about private
security from each of you, and how it was all being hushed up at headquarters.”
    Which
raised the question of how Ralph found out. Apparently they had a leak at
headquarters in Central. Perfect .
“Anything else?”
    She
averted her gaze for a second. Whether that was because she was thinking, or
about to tell a lie, Viggo couldn’t discern. “It sounded
like whoever he was talking to didn’t work there any longer. I mean at HCS.”
    Oh, really? “What led you to that conclusion?”
    “ Because he said more than once, ‘If you were still
there you’d have heard this’ every time he gave the person more information.”
    That
was bad news. That was very bad news.
“Do you know the name of the person he was talking to?”
    “ No, but I did hear him mention Dave Perry by name to
this person. I looked up that name and confirmed he’s no longer with HCS.”
    Viggo’s heart raced, but he forced his
expression to remain neutral. “Did you get the sense that Ralph was speaking to
a man or to a woman?”
    “ I can’t say. His tone was gossipy, but then it usually
is, if you know what I mean.”
    Viggo knew exactly what she meant, but
he wasn’t ready to tell her what he thought of Ralph yet. “Why were you
listening to this conversation?”
    She
rolled her eyes. “It’s kind of hard not to. He has a loud voice.”
    Viggo wanted to laugh but held it in
check. She had her boss pegged perfectly. “Why would you come here to tell me
this? Don’t you feel any loyalty to the people who sign your paycheck?”
    She
averted her gaze again. Was the reason behind that guilt, or something else?
    “ Let me rephrase the question. What did you hope to
accomplish by coming here today to confront me about what you’d heard?”
    She
blew out a puff of air that fluttered her bangs. The gesture was so endearing
that Viggo’s dick twitched. His gaze roamed over her
lush body, clad in a very stylish dark gray suit and matching heels. Something
bright and colorful would look better on her. He’d love to see her in red or
maybe royal blue.
    “ My eyes are up here.”
    Viggo had to laugh this time. He had been checking out her boobs. He
wouldn’t deny it. “Yes, they are. And they’re very nice eyes, too, if I may say
so.”
    Her
expression grew wary, but that didn’t faze him. She was a beautiful woman and
he appreciated that fact. He wouldn’t apologize for being who he was.
    “ You’re such a pig.”
    “ Why? Because I think you’re attractive?”
    “ Because we’re supposed to be having a serious
discussion.”
    “ No, you’re having a serious discussion. I’m still trying to decide why you’re here and
whether I should let your boss know.”
    “ I had the grim part right,” she muttered.
    “ Excuse me?”
    Her
face colored. “Nothing.”
    “ Oh come on. That was such a bizarre comment you have
to tell me.”
    She
shook her head, clearly embarrassed now. “It’s just something I do. I like
anagrams.”
    “ And grim is an anagram for what, exactly?”
    “ Not only grim.”
    “ What then?”
    “ You’ll think I’m an idiot.”
    His
heart gave a strange lurch at