explain.”
“How, exactly, are you planning on explaining the starvation and beating of illegally smuggled immigrants?” She stared at him, her expression a war between anger and disgust.
“First, they’re really not illegal immigrants,” he said. Which was also true. They weren’t even human, and he had documentation that allowed them onto this plane. Technically legal, from what he understood. “Second, I, ah, contracted their work because the people who can read this language are very, very rare. I needed them for their expertise.”
“That’s bullshit.”
He blinked. “Excuse me?”
“I spoke with them,” she snapped. “You don’t need someone who can read… whatever the hell language that is. You just need to find one specific word. A simple image recognition program could handle that more quickly and more efficiently.”
“That’s right,” he agreed. Damn, the woman hadn’t been there a week, and she’d found out all that? From demons ?
What were they doing down there, braiding each other’s hair?
“So why didn’t you just do that?” she demanded. “Why didn’t you do what I did?”
Because the programmers keep getting possessed. Which brought him back around to why he was here in the first place. She wasn’t possessed, psychotic, or even ill, after a few days. She was his best and only candidate. “It’s top secret. I couldn’t trust a programmer with this image.”
“Why is it top secret?”
He let out a brusque laugh. “Perhaps you don’t understand what ‘top secret’ means.”
“I’m saying there’s no possible way I can make any sense of it. It’s just a cipher, something encrypted. I was assuming that’s the whole point of the language—to keep stuff secret.”
Thomas took a step back, evaluating her. Despite the fact that she looked like a cute, irritated librarian, there was real intelligence gleaming in her eyes. She’d survived for four days with some of the most brutal beings he’d ever encountered—and all she had to show for it was one popped seam. And now, despite living at home with her parents, she was still standing toe to toe with him, not backing down—something that most billionaire businessmen had a hard time managing.
I like this girl , he thought. She was smart, strong. A powerful combination. Sexy, too, he realized.
He probably shouldn’t focus on that aspect.
Thomas cleared his throat. “I’d like you to come back to work.”
Now she blinked. “Excuse me?”
“You were right. There was an easier way, and you found it,” he said, shifting his voice to the gentle, aw-shucks drawl that had served him surprisingly well in so many business deals. “It’s too late to keep you from knowing about the, er, code—and as you say, you can’t figure it out anyway. So let’s say I trust you by default.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What’s the catch?”
“There is no catch. At least, not for you,” he said. “I’m stuck in a predicament because you wound up going where you weren’t supposed to—”
“Where I was assigned,” she interrupted. “Maggie sent me there.”
Thomas paused, then growled softly. “Of course she did.” He felt a headache starting to brew behind his eyes. “I’ll have a talk with her. And I can promise that if you take the job, you won’t be reporting to her.”
Kate tilted her head, surveying him suspiciously. “Why should I?”
Now it was his turn to cross his arms. “Last we talked, you’re the one who needed the paycheck.”
He watched as her cream-pale cheeks flushed a dark rose. Her jerky shrug confirmed what he’d thought—she needed the money. “I can always get another assignment.”
“True,” he said, feeling more confident. “But can they match what I’d be willing to pay?”
He then named a number, and was gratified to see her emerald eyes go wide. “Holy crap,” she muttered. “For that much, am I supposed to kill somebody, too?”
She was possibly the least
“How, exactly, are you planning on explaining the starvation and beating of illegally smuggled immigrants?” She stared at him, her expression a war between anger and disgust.
“First, they’re really not illegal immigrants,” he said. Which was also true. They weren’t even human, and he had documentation that allowed them onto this plane. Technically legal, from what he understood. “Second, I, ah, contracted their work because the people who can read this language are very, very rare. I needed them for their expertise.”
“That’s bullshit.”
He blinked. “Excuse me?”
“I spoke with them,” she snapped. “You don’t need someone who can read… whatever the hell language that is. You just need to find one specific word. A simple image recognition program could handle that more quickly and more efficiently.”
“That’s right,” he agreed. Damn, the woman hadn’t been there a week, and she’d found out all that? From demons ?
What were they doing down there, braiding each other’s hair?
“So why didn’t you just do that?” she demanded. “Why didn’t you do what I did?”
Because the programmers keep getting possessed. Which brought him back around to why he was here in the first place. She wasn’t possessed, psychotic, or even ill, after a few days. She was his best and only candidate. “It’s top secret. I couldn’t trust a programmer with this image.”
“Why is it top secret?”
He let out a brusque laugh. “Perhaps you don’t understand what ‘top secret’ means.”
“I’m saying there’s no possible way I can make any sense of it. It’s just a cipher, something encrypted. I was assuming that’s the whole point of the language—to keep stuff secret.”
Thomas took a step back, evaluating her. Despite the fact that she looked like a cute, irritated librarian, there was real intelligence gleaming in her eyes. She’d survived for four days with some of the most brutal beings he’d ever encountered—and all she had to show for it was one popped seam. And now, despite living at home with her parents, she was still standing toe to toe with him, not backing down—something that most billionaire businessmen had a hard time managing.
I like this girl , he thought. She was smart, strong. A powerful combination. Sexy, too, he realized.
He probably shouldn’t focus on that aspect.
Thomas cleared his throat. “I’d like you to come back to work.”
Now she blinked. “Excuse me?”
“You were right. There was an easier way, and you found it,” he said, shifting his voice to the gentle, aw-shucks drawl that had served him surprisingly well in so many business deals. “It’s too late to keep you from knowing about the, er, code—and as you say, you can’t figure it out anyway. So let’s say I trust you by default.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What’s the catch?”
“There is no catch. At least, not for you,” he said. “I’m stuck in a predicament because you wound up going where you weren’t supposed to—”
“Where I was assigned,” she interrupted. “Maggie sent me there.”
Thomas paused, then growled softly. “Of course she did.” He felt a headache starting to brew behind his eyes. “I’ll have a talk with her. And I can promise that if you take the job, you won’t be reporting to her.”
Kate tilted her head, surveying him suspiciously. “Why should I?”
Now it was his turn to cross his arms. “Last we talked, you’re the one who needed the paycheck.”
He watched as her cream-pale cheeks flushed a dark rose. Her jerky shrug confirmed what he’d thought—she needed the money. “I can always get another assignment.”
“True,” he said, feeling more confident. “But can they match what I’d be willing to pay?”
He then named a number, and was gratified to see her emerald eyes go wide. “Holy crap,” she muttered. “For that much, am I supposed to kill somebody, too?”
She was possibly the least
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