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Mr Hook Up 63
When I connected my stare with Holden’s, I said, “My heart was fucking breaking for her when you told me the news in your office today. It shattered again in the conference room. And when I went to her office right before she left, I told her, as long as it was okay, I was going to talk to you guys and tell you everything.”“To plead her case,” Holden said.“Listen, I know it’s not going to change anything. But Drake is more than just our director. She’s a woman who I believe would do anything for our company. I can speak about her character. I can speak about her morals and ethics because she’s the woman I love.”“Goddamn it,” Grayson groaned. “This is a lot.”“A lot because Holden warned us not to date anyone at the company. And a lot because Love and Drake are the same woman. And a lot because Drake is getting wrongly accused—”“We have no choice, Easton,” Holden began. “These are the steps we have to take to protect Hooked. You know that. Hell, I’m positive even Drake knows that.”
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If I shook my head, which was what I wanted to do, the tears would fall. If I stayed still, like I was doing now, I could keep them at bay, halfway between my lids and tear ducts—where they’d been frozen since she’d handed me my first glass of wine.“I don’t know, Saara . . .”“Hey . . . look at me.”I hadn’t realized I wasn’t.I turned my face, feeling a drip round my eyelid, meeting an expression that caused even more tears to fall.Fuck.Fuck, fuck, fuck.She was hurting, hurting for me, and that killed me.Saara and I shared happiness and pain.I just didn’t want there to be pain.I didn’t want today to happen.Breathe.Sip.Repeat.“Listen to me,” she started. “The forensic dude is going to prove your innocence. The second they get their hands on your computers, it’s going to be more than obvious that you didn’t transfer anything to FaceDicks.”Normally, that would have made me laugh.But I couldn’t even imagine that sound coming through my lips.“Easton is trying to put a rush o
Mr Hook Up 65
“More like a few weeks. It’s going to suck. And while I’m up at the crack of dawn every morning, pacing my apartment, watching the sun rise, all I’m going to think about is how I should be at work. How I should be getting prepped to motivate my team so we can accomplish the day’s tasks that will get us one step closer to the rollout.”“And that’s going to happen. I bet my life on it.” When I tried to interrupt, she continued, “You won’t even have to explain to your team what went down since the guys were nice enough to tell everyone you had to go on medical leave.” I attempted again and she lifted her hand, stopping me to say, “And while I know medical leave isn’t something to lie about, the last thing any of us wants is to have rumors and gossip floating around the office when not a single word of it would be true.”I leaned forward, freeing my hands of the glass, holding my palms over my head. “This is too much.”“Drake—”“I can’t.” I got up and walked to the kitchen. There wasn’t a
Mr Hook Up 66
And as the events began to unfold yesterday—first at the office and then on the plane and shortly after we landed in San Francisco—it turned out that the plan wasn’t just genius, it was one of the best I’d ever come up with.It was exactly what needed to happen to clear Drake’s name.Originally, using David had merely been a way in. An unprotected pathway, as though I were hacking into the truth. Never did I think it was going to be this easy to get the information I needed.Of course, there was still lots of work to do, but at least this trip to the West Coast hadn’t been a waste. Within the next hour, I would have a much better understanding of how Faceframe had a design that looked almost identical to Hooked’s.The SUV dropped us off at a café several minutes before the scheduled meetup. David and Grayson grabbed themselves a coffee while I waited for them at a table. I didn’t need any more caffeine in my system. I was already wired enough, even though I’d been up all night.Knowin
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“Grayson, you’re fucking pathetic, you know that? You were always jealous that Easton came up with the idea first. Always pissed off that Holden got the better-looking women because he’s the nice guy that you’re not.”I was on the verge of verbally destroying him when Grayson moved his coffee aside and set his arms on the table. “What scares you the most, Brennon? The fact that we have proof that the Dating Place designs are yours? That even though you met the end of your noncompete, we can and will file suit? Or that your design will never be as successful as ours because, in this day and age, people want anonymity? They want to avoid getting into bed with motherfuckers like you, and the Dating Place can never offer that.”“You’re going to sue me?” His laugh turned even louder. “I dare you to try.”“Try?” I laughed back. “That’s what you think we’re going to do? We’ve hired Declan Shaw, the top litigator in the state of California, and the second we leave this café, we’re flying to L
Mr Hook Up 68
“That’s a good question,” Grayson said. “I’d like that answer as well.”Declan smiled. There wasn’t a single feature on his face that warmed from the expression. “I don’t think Brennon is the only person at fault here, although I fully plan to roast his ass in court.”“Are you saying . . .” My voice faded out as Declan nodded.He knew what I was about to voice.He adjusted his cuff links and set his arms back on the table. “Yes, Easton. I think we sue the social media giant and take both motherfuckers down.”Me: I know it’s late, but I just got back to the hotel and wanted to say good night. Hopefully, this text doesn’t wake you and you see it in the morning.Drake: I’m up.Me: I had a feeling you would be.Drake: How did things go today?Me: I’m going to tell you everything tomorrow. Will you meet me and the executive team at 6:00pm at the office?Drake: At the office? Are you sure that’s okay?Me: It’s more than okay. It’s where you should be—and where you should have been today. On
Mr Hook Up 69
“Drake . . .” I shook my head as I gazed at the woman I loved. “You have to know that if I was in your shoes, as a partner, I would have been treated the same way. Our in-house counsel has standard operating procedures. All she was doing—all we were doing—was following them to protect Hooked. This wasn’t personal, trust me when I say that.”“I know,” she replied.“We didn’t want to do this, Drake,” Holden added. “We didn’t want to have that meeting. We didn’t want to even consider that you had something to do with the Dating Place or that you were acting as a mole or that you had sent that email. But for the sake of Hooked, we had to do our due diligence. Although none of us were able to voice this, we didn’t think for a second that you were involved in any way.”“Shit no,” Grayson said. “If you wanted access to our system, you would have hacked in—we all know that. You wouldn’t have wasted your time and taken a job here.”Holden chuckled. “What he said, but that still doesn’t change
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“You better come inside before I eat you in this doorway.” He turned, giving me enough space to slide into his condo.I’d already smelled dinner the moment he opened the door, but the closer I got to the kitchen, the stronger the aroma became.I set my overnight bag on one of the barstools, and that was when I heard “Draaake!”Heavy, clunky footsteps came barreling out of the living room. Belle’s head barely exceeded Easton’s high counter, her pigtails bopping just above the edge of the stone, her ringlets finding flight as she sprinted toward me.“Belle,” I sang back, kneeling on the kitchen floor so I could give her a hug. “What are you doing here?”As she circled her small arms around my neck, I immediately got a whiff of chocolate chip cookies. A dessert, I was positive, Easton had fed her.Although Belle’s nanny often brought her by the office, those stops were quick. The most time I spent with her was during occasions like this, when Holden needed to speak to Easton and they wer
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