Dirk: A Stepbrother Romance(3)
“Good call,” she laughed, sliding the glass back in front of her and studying the caramel color of the whiskey. “I live in New York.”
“Ah, so you hail from a place with several tribes of *s.”
“Pretty much,” she said, fighting the urge to defend her city.
“That's all right. Artists live there. You're an artist, aren't you?” he asked, his silver eyes twinkling.
“Artists can be *s, too,” she countered, avoiding his question. She actually was an artist, but something about him made her think that he would use any bit of personal information she gave him against her. Whether to tease her or to exploit her, she wasn't sure. Either way, he seemed ruthless.
He flashed her a dazzling grin, revealing a perfect set of white teeth. She was briefly mesmerized, and took a moment to study him. His light brown hair fell past his shoulders, grazing against his biceps. The gentleness of the strands seemed a stark contrast to the intimidating tattoos they rested against, and she quickly took her eyes away and looked back up at his face. He was smiling at her like he could tell exactly what she was thinking.
He peered into her eyes as if to confirm her suspicions, and her cheeks reddened under his gaze. He laughed heartily, and she shrank back against her chair in embarrassment. His laughter subsided until all that was left was a smirk etched deeply into his face. He was ridiculously attractive, even with the sprinkle of stubble lining his strong jaw. If anything, it magnified his appeal. He was about as rugged as they came.
He opened his mouth to say something, his silver eyes twinkling, but suddenly his phone rang loudly. He looked alarmed and stood, fumbling to pull the phone out of his pocket. Suddenly, Katherine didn't exist anymore, and he was carried away in an urgent conversation. He turned his back on her and rushed out the door, leaving her at the table alone, with nothing but the bottle of whiskey to show he had ever been there at all.
Chapter 4
Dirk regretted leaving the company of the gorgeous woman at the table, but as soon as he heard Tanner's voice, he knew something was wrong. Tanner, his business partner and ex-stepbrother, was in a panic.
“What's wrong?” Dirk asked, rushing toward his office.
“We've been hacked!” Tanner exclaimed. “Remember that deal that didn't go through with the Russian group a few months back? They wanted more money, more this, more that. They were terrible to work with. Shady, too.”
“Yes, I remember. They hacked us?”
“All they wanted then was to get closer to your business model. Inside intelligence for their own company. They wanted to pull Russia ahead of the rest of the world and knew your ideas were brilliant enough to steal from. Well, they just breached our security!”
“Did they take anything?”
“We don't know how much information they've gotten.”
“Fuck! How could you let this happen?” Dirk growled into the phone.
“You know it's not my fault, Dirk. As soon as I know more I'll let you know. For now, all we can do is take it a step at a time. We need to update the security and move all our accounts as quickly as possible. Are you ready for a long night?”
“Yeah, let's do it. Fuck.”
Dirk kicked the office door shut behind him and turned his computer on, bouncing his foot impatiently as the system booted up. Finally, he was able to access his network and worked at superhuman speeds to move all of his accounts before the Russian scumbags could take anything else.
Katherine's mother found her at the bar eventually. She had completely forgotten their conversation by the fountain and was drunker than ever. She loudly demanded someone show Katherine to her room before disappearing off into the manor. Katherine sighed, partly glad her mother didn't remember what had happened, and partly agitated at how drunk she was.
She happily allowed the maroon-suited staff members to lead her to the extravagant bedroom that had been set up for her. Her bags were near the doorway, and she closed and locked the door behind her, taking a look around the room. It was posh, with thick pink carpet and intricate wallpaper. She walked around the room slowly, peeking into doorways and drawers. She found a closet the size of her bedroom back home, and a bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub. It was nicer than the most luxurious hotel she had ever stayed in, and she shook her head in disbelief. Her mother really had moved up in the world.
The wedding would take place bright and early the next day, and so she dug through her luggage for a pair of comfortable silk pajamas and locked herself in the elegant bathroom. She noticed with pleasure that candles were dispersed throughout the room, and she lit them happily, deeply inhaling their calming lavender scent. Even if everything else went wrong during her stay, at least she would be able to fully enjoy the luxury of this bathroom. It looked as if it had never been used, and she ran the bath, stripping slowly before she dipped her toes in the warm water. Finally, she found herself fully able to relax for the first time in days.
Her mind wandered back to the man at the bar. She had never responded so physically to somebody she had only just met. It may have just been his magnetism, but maybe it had been something else. Either way, his masculine face and piercing silver eyes had left a huge impression on her. She sighed and leaned back in the tub, imagining secretly what it might be like if his strong arms were wrapped around her. She closed her eyes to relish in the thought before shoving it out of her mind.