Seducing Fortune (A Serendipity Novel Book 3) by Brinda Berry Page A
Authors: Brinda Berry
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attraction for months and I’m not alone.
I head out and go to work in a much better mood than I’ve been in all week.
----
J ordy appears in the doorway to my office at half past noon. He stands, watching me, while I finish my phone call. I motion for him to sit and wait. He’s been here only a couple of times, but instead of sitting he walks around looking at plaques and photos lining my walls.
I end the call. “What’s going on?” I ask.
Jordy always looks like he’s still in college. His red Cardinals hoodie and worn jeans belie the fact that he makes more money than Collin and me combined. We kiddingly called him the Software King until he made us stop.
He turns to answer. “You have a few minutes?”
“Yeah.” I lean back in my chair, wishing he’d sit down and quit making me nervous.
He finally moves to one of the black leather chairs in front of my desk and drops into it like he’s exhausted. “There’s something you should know.”
“Okay.” I study him, the all-serious Jordy that rarely makes an appearance. “You in some kind of trouble?”
“No, man. Nothing like that.”
“Need advice on where to shop so you don’t look like you’re twelve?”
Jordy flips me off.
“Touché.” I grin, trying to bring out his carefree attitude, but he’s not biting. “Just say whatever is on your mind.”
Then it hits me. It probably has to do with Emerson. Maybe Jordy lied and he and Emerson have something going on and I’ve been a clueless fool. If they’ve been sleeping together, I don’t know if I can stomach that.
“It’s about Emerson,” Jordy says.
My stomach bottoms out like it’s been tossed into a lake with a concrete block. “What about her?”
“Well, she...um...”
“Spit it out.” I barely hold on to my irritation, my words slow and monotone.
“She’s not what you think.”
“How do you mean?”
“Emerson’s been through a lot. She comes from a family that had money. Her dad wrote the programs used by Barney & Meyers to predict stock market changes.”
“So, she had money and now she doesn’t. I know about her dad going to prison for something dealing with military data.” I exhale in a relieved laugh. For a second, I thought he might tell me that there was something between the two of them.
“She told you?”
I give a nod. “Yeah.”
“I’m surprised. She’s never mentioned it to me.”
It takes me a minute to absorb this statement. The clock on my wall ticks, the people in the showroom walk past my glass wall, the lights on my phone blink—but for all this activity, I feel like time stands still.
“Then how do you know?” I stop leaning back in my chair. Every muscle in my body tenses.
“Because I’m the one who turned him in.”
Jordy gets up and paces the room. I can’t do more than stare at him, trying to absorb this revelation. He swings around, his hands moving to brace the top of his head. “No one was ever supposed to know the tip came from me. I didn’t even have to testify. It was an anonymous tip. She can’t find out.”
“Why the hell are you telling me then?” I swallow, but there’s not an ounce of saliva in my mouth. “I don’t want to know this.”
“Too late, man. Listen. Her dad was a criminal. She knows this, but I don’t know how she’s going to feel when she finds out it was me. She’ll quit working for us. And I don’t want her back in that strip club. I got her out of there, and I’m not having her resort to something like that again.”
“Back up. If you’re going to tell me, start at the beginning. I’ve never understood how a girl like Emerson could’ve been a stripper.”
“So, I was in college and working as an intern at a small company that provided checks on security systems. My job was to try to hack in and break a system to prove how safe it was. I noticed some activity that wasn’t from me and started monitoring.” Jordy shoves his hands into his pockets and walks to stand at the
I head out and go to work in a much better mood than I’ve been in all week.
----
J ordy appears in the doorway to my office at half past noon. He stands, watching me, while I finish my phone call. I motion for him to sit and wait. He’s been here only a couple of times, but instead of sitting he walks around looking at plaques and photos lining my walls.
I end the call. “What’s going on?” I ask.
Jordy always looks like he’s still in college. His red Cardinals hoodie and worn jeans belie the fact that he makes more money than Collin and me combined. We kiddingly called him the Software King until he made us stop.
He turns to answer. “You have a few minutes?”
“Yeah.” I lean back in my chair, wishing he’d sit down and quit making me nervous.
He finally moves to one of the black leather chairs in front of my desk and drops into it like he’s exhausted. “There’s something you should know.”
“Okay.” I study him, the all-serious Jordy that rarely makes an appearance. “You in some kind of trouble?”
“No, man. Nothing like that.”
“Need advice on where to shop so you don’t look like you’re twelve?”
Jordy flips me off.
“Touché.” I grin, trying to bring out his carefree attitude, but he’s not biting. “Just say whatever is on your mind.”
Then it hits me. It probably has to do with Emerson. Maybe Jordy lied and he and Emerson have something going on and I’ve been a clueless fool. If they’ve been sleeping together, I don’t know if I can stomach that.
“It’s about Emerson,” Jordy says.
My stomach bottoms out like it’s been tossed into a lake with a concrete block. “What about her?”
“Well, she...um...”
“Spit it out.” I barely hold on to my irritation, my words slow and monotone.
“She’s not what you think.”
“How do you mean?”
“Emerson’s been through a lot. She comes from a family that had money. Her dad wrote the programs used by Barney & Meyers to predict stock market changes.”
“So, she had money and now she doesn’t. I know about her dad going to prison for something dealing with military data.” I exhale in a relieved laugh. For a second, I thought he might tell me that there was something between the two of them.
“She told you?”
I give a nod. “Yeah.”
“I’m surprised. She’s never mentioned it to me.”
It takes me a minute to absorb this statement. The clock on my wall ticks, the people in the showroom walk past my glass wall, the lights on my phone blink—but for all this activity, I feel like time stands still.
“Then how do you know?” I stop leaning back in my chair. Every muscle in my body tenses.
“Because I’m the one who turned him in.”
Jordy gets up and paces the room. I can’t do more than stare at him, trying to absorb this revelation. He swings around, his hands moving to brace the top of his head. “No one was ever supposed to know the tip came from me. I didn’t even have to testify. It was an anonymous tip. She can’t find out.”
“Why the hell are you telling me then?” I swallow, but there’s not an ounce of saliva in my mouth. “I don’t want to know this.”
“Too late, man. Listen. Her dad was a criminal. She knows this, but I don’t know how she’s going to feel when she finds out it was me. She’ll quit working for us. And I don’t want her back in that strip club. I got her out of there, and I’m not having her resort to something like that again.”
“Back up. If you’re going to tell me, start at the beginning. I’ve never understood how a girl like Emerson could’ve been a stripper.”
“So, I was in college and working as an intern at a small company that provided checks on security systems. My job was to try to hack in and break a system to prove how safe it was. I noticed some activity that wasn’t from me and started monitoring.” Jordy shoves his hands into his pockets and walks to stand at the
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