White-Hot Hack (Kate and Ian #2)(34)

“Don’t be too quick with your praise. I didn’t say I knew how you were going to do it.”

He handed her a paper bag, and she reached in and withdrew a hand warmer. It was palm-sized so it could be slipped inside a glove or pocket. “I think I know where you’re going with this.”

“I’m going to attach it to a stiff wire and slide it under the door and up toward the sensor. The room is kept so cool that it shouldn’t take much to activate it.”

“Have you ever done this before?”

“No.”

She clapped her hands together. “Can I do it?”

“No.”

“Oh, come on. Why not?”

He looked sheepish. “Because I kinda want to do it.”

“I’m not surprised. This is some Mission: Impossible stuff right here.”

“I’ll let you do it next time, I promise.”

“I’m going to hold you to that,” she said as she pulled items from the refrigerator and preheated the oven.

“Are you sure you feel like cooking? We could pick up dinner.”

“Cooking relaxes me. Or maybe the wine does. Either way, I’ve been looking forward to this all day.”

“What does my gourmet chef have planned?”

“Beef medallions with blue cheese, roasted asparagus, and baked potatoes. I’ve never made the beef before, so you might want to lower your expectations,” she said, laughing. “I’m making no promises.”

“I have faith in you. I’m sure it’ll be wonderful.”

Ian went into his office after they finished dinner, which he proclaimed was every bit as wonderful as he’d predicted. Kate went in to check on him an hour later, and he handed her a piece of paper with every detail about Tristan that Ashley could ever want to know, including the fact that his girlfriend had cheated on him a year ago with a coworker. When the guy dumped her, she’d come crawling back and Tristan wisely told her to take a hike. Kate smiled as she scanned the information and then looked at him tenderly. “I never thought I’d say this, but I’m actually feeling a bit nostalgic for the first time you hacked me.”

He grinned. “Maybe Ashley and Tristan will get married someday. You should keep in touch with her.”



The next morning, Ian drove them to work and they walked toward the entrance together. They no longer minded if people thought they knew each other, but Kate stopped short of the door. “You can go in without me. I need to wait for Ashley. This shouldn’t take too long.”

“Check me out. No coffee. No box. I’m not even wearing my lanyard. Watch and learn, Katie.”

He sauntered up to the entrance and leaned against the building. When the next cluster of employees reached the door, Ian fixed them with a bored stare until one of them pulled out their badge and swiped it. Just before entering the building, he turned around and gave her the thumbs-up.

Ashley arrived holding her Starbucks carrier full of coffee, iPad, and purse, and Kate pulled her aside, knowing she had to speak quickly. “Tristan likes visiting microbreweries and watching horror films. He likes dogs more than cats, and loyalty is very important to him, especially when it comes to women.”

Ashley looked confused and more than a little wary. “How can you possibly know that? Oh my God, did you cyberstalk him?”

Kate felt a momentary twinge of guilt for her actions, but her heart was in the right place and she told herself it was for the greater good. “No, nothing like that. It’s all, you know, public knowledge if you’re good at reading between the lines. So here’s what we’re going to do. After Tristan swipes his badge and follows us in, I’m going to ask you if you’ve decided whether to go on the brewery tour of DC this weekend. You’re going to say you’d love to, but you don’t know anything about microbrews.”

“And then what?”

“Then we cross our fingers that Tristan takes the bait.”

They didn’t have to wait long.

“Here he comes,” Kate said. Watching from the corner of her eye as Tristan walked across the parking lot, Kate pretended to be engrossed in conversation with Ashley. Unlike Ian, she still had her box. Tristan eyed them, and Kate stifled a smile because she could tell by his expression that he was absolutely a willing and eager participant in this daily dance. He swiped his badge and held the door, and after they thanked him, he followed them inside. Kate deliberately slowed their pace.

“So are you going?” she asked in a slightly louder than normal voice.

“I don’t know anything about beer, especially microbrews.”

“That’s the point. The tour is supposed to be very informative.”

“I don’t mean to eavesdrop, but are you by chance talking about the DC Brew Tour?” Tristan asked.

Well done, Tristan.

“Oh,” Ashley said, looking over her shoulder as if she had no idea Tristan was there. “Yes. Are you familiar with it?”

“I’ve been on it three times. It’s awesome. You should totally go.”

“Really? How does it work?”

Kate very subtly nudged them out of the stream of traffic entering the building, looked at her watch, and tossed a breezy, “See you later” over her shoulder as she left Ashley and Tristan to their conversation and headed toward the elevator. My work here is done.