Love Irresistibly (FBI/US Attorney #4)(29)
He grabbed his briefcase and shoved in a few files he wanted to review that weekend, then headed out the door to grab a cab. Bar Nessuno, one of Sterling’s restaurants, was an Italian pizzeria and wine bar just off of Michigan Avenue. The street was a one-way going the opposite direction, and traffic was as bad as always on a Friday evening, so Cade had the driver drop him off a block away to save time.
He walked briskly to the restaurant and pushed through the door. Against the warm exposed brick décor, the first person he saw was Brooke. She was chatting with the hostess, looking exactly as he’d imagined her that afternoon—sophisticated and all-around sexy in her skirt and heels.
He approached her. “I’m late. I know,” he cut her off the second she opened her mouth. “Sorry. It’s been . . . a strange afternoon.”
She gave him a long once-over. Belatedly, he realized he’d loosened his tie and had yanked open the top button of his shirt while ruminating over everything Zach had dumped on him earlier that day. And he was pretty sure his hair was standing on end from running his fingers through it. Not exactly the way he normally presented himself in a professional setting.
Cade braced himself for the inevitable quip or comment.
“You look like you could use a drink, Morgan.” Then, unexpectedly, her expression softened. She cocked her head in the direction of the tables. “Shall we?”
Out of nowhere, Cade felt a sharp tug in his chest—like a sailboat bobbing around in rocky waters that was suddenly righted by a warm, calm breeze.
As they followed the hostess to their table, he glanced sideways at Brooke. “Thank you.”
She met his gaze with a slight smile. “I’ve had days like that myself, Cade. Plenty of them.”
Eleven
ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AFTER they’d been seated, undoubtedly having been alerted to Brooke’s presence by the hostess, a waitress stopped by to introduce herself and take their drink orders.
“I’ll have a bourbon and bitters.” Brooke caught Cade’s look of surprise. “House specialty.”
Cade turned to the waitress. “In that case, make it two.” He pushed aside his drink menu, his eyes never leaving Brooke.
Something had changed. She didn’t know if it had anything to do with this “strange afternoon” he’d had, or if it was the simple logistics of their meeting—a cozy bar on a Friday evening—but there was a new undercurrent in the air between them. Something bold in his look that said they were playing a different game now.
And sitting across from him, taking in his strikingly handsome appearance—the finger-raked hair and devil-may-care loosened tie—Brooke wasn’t entirely sure she objected to the new rules.
“Thank you for agreeing to meet with me on such short notice,” she led in.
“This mysterious favor.” Cade stretched an arm across the back of the booth. “What is it you need from me?”
“A name.”
“Whose name?”
Brooke lowered her voice, careful to make sure that none of the restaurant staff could hear her. “The name of an employee who hacked into Sterling’s expense account database.”
That seemed to pique his interest. “I’m listening.”
She filled Cade in on the details, pausing momentarily when the waitress brought their cocktails. He listened without interrupting, occasionally taking a sip of his drink, as she laid out the details of the investigation conducted by Sterling’s VP of security, and then explained how they’d gotten stuck after determining the hacker’s IP address.
“Keith talked to an agent at the FBI office, who said it could take a while before anyone got back to us. I was hoping, maybe, you could speed up the process for us.”
She waited hopefully as Cade considered this.
He set down his glass. “I’m not going to talk to the FBI about this. It’s—”
“—too insignificant of a case,” Brooke finished for him. She continued on, undaunted. “Look, I understand that this is small potatoes in the grand scheme of investigations the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office handles. This jerk—whoever he is—didn’t take any money or steal anyone’s identity or anything.” She leaned in. “But nevertheless, he broke into company records with the sole purpose of humiliating my boss. And yes, I consider Ian a friend so that ticks me off on a personal level, but it’s more than that. This hacker is a bully. Only instead of writing his homophobic crap on the bathroom walls like he probably did in high school, he’s taken the twenty-first-century approach and spewed his insults via an online database.” She locked eyes with Cade. “I’m not expecting you to press charges, or even make an arrest. But I’d at least like the guy’s name so I can fire his ass.”
When she was done with her speech, Cade rested his arms on the table. “If you would’ve let me finish my sentence, the reason I’m not going to bring in the FBI is because I think this is something the Secret Service should handle.”
Brooke sat back in the booth. “Oh. The Secret Service. Of course.” She cocked her head. “Because, in addition to protecting the president, the Secret Service has jurisdiction over . . . something I probably learned in law school but am totally blanking on now.”
“Crimes involving U.S. financial institutions.”