Henry was in his office alone. He had heard one Sunday while driving around town with his ex-girlfriend that the devil was the accuser of the brethren. And today, he felt the devil accusing him out there. He wondered what the hacker stood to gain by doing all this. He would have felt more prestige had the hacker's ransomware been about money. The money he had, lots of it! But he didn't have time to defend himself against his employees over his lack of interest in their personal lives.Besides, he wondered, wasn't it unethical to pry into the lives of your workers. The hacker called him clueless if he thought knowing about his worker's welfare was poking his nose where it didn't belong. He referred to the hacker as the accuser because his conscience continually reminded him that he had pried into Zoe's life. Wasn't it selfish? He knew all about her shortcomings. Why? Because he wanted to force her to be his mistress, or was it because he enjoyed the game of conquering women. He stubbor
There was tension in the air as the President of Maga Tech walked into the building with his tough-looking bodyguards in black suits and dark sun shades. His assistants and secretary followed rapidly, all with a heavy set of footfalls.The President was cladded in a black tuxedo with black Italian shoes that made clicking sounds as he walked majestically on the ceramic tiled floor.Some of the departmental directors were already hurrying out of their offices as the news of the President's presence spread around almost every department.Jack and Henry could be seen coming from the other side of the hallway, looking as composed as ever with charming smiles."Hey, Dad!" Jack greeted, giving his father a big embrace, then a kiss on the cheek."Henry!" Richard called, "come on, give me a hug!" He extended his right hand towards Henry to draw him close.Henry suddenly looked uneasy due to the situation at hand. His mind was not at rest at all. How on earth could this happen today? Jack was
Henry took a break to go and check on Jack and his father. He told Andre to keep him posted."How did it go, bro?" Jack said, announcing Henry's presence to Mr. Richard, who lifted his head expectantly."Well, the rats have been contained," Henry said smugly."All of them?" Mr. Richard asked."It's still a work in progress," Henry replied, sitting across from Jack. "So why are you here, dad?""I came to have a word with you," said the President."I'm here now." Henry gave his brother the "what the hell?" look. Jack smiled because he already knew what his father was about to say."Right, I'm disappointed! You thought I wouldn't hear?" Mr. Richard said. Henry's heart flew into his mouth."Hear what?" he asked."About your recent affairs, of course, with that cougar lady, Kathy!"Oh, that was much better, he thought than having his father hear about the hack. Everyone knew about his scandalous affairs with women. Once, he had almost gone to jail for dating an underage girl, but where the
The Highway GossipThe ride home was frustrating due to the heavy traffic. The road was congested with lots of cars. It was already rush hour with people closing from work and returning to their respective homes.Emily won't stop complaining about how much she hated being held up in traffic."You should get used to it by now," said Zoe.She was looking out the window, feeding her eyes with the numerous spectacles in sight."It's really annoying," Emily complained bitterly. "After a hectic day at work, you still have the stress of driving home to deal with."The traffic light had indicated red for some time now, causing a total standstill. To worsen things, some impatient drivers wouldn't stop honking, and this seemed to annoy Emily more."Crazy Americans!" she cussed to Zoe's surprise. She brought her gaze to rest it on Emily, whose face showed frustration."And you are?" Zoe teased."Stop it, Zoe, I know what you're trying to do!" she replied with a soft smile."Alright, fine.""By t
It was midnight already, and Henry found it difficult to sleep. He tossed around in bed wrapping himself up with the duvet, but still found it difficult to sleep.He has a lot of things on his mind. First of all, he didn't know how someone was able to hack into the company's system, with the long list of experts he has. His father mustn't hear of it, or he's going to pay dearly for his carelessness. His position as the Vice President might even be at stake.Zoe! Yes, Zoe. She's his number one enemy at the moment. To make things worse, she seems to have won the hearts of every member of his staff.She's also a computer genius. 'Hold on a second. Could she be the one...'He shook his head to clear the thought off his mind. She can't do that, moreover, she was with the other staff in the lab throughout the whole situation. She even solved the riddles.She solved the goddamn riddles! He almost screamed in his head.He got out of bed and moved to the study table in his spacious bedroom, si
"Changes?" asked Emily searching Zoe's eyes for clues."Yeah," Zoe replied, sounding excited. She sat properly and turned to face Emily. Zoe was beaming with smiles."Tell me about it," Emily said, returning the smile. She's very curious to know about the changes Zoe had in mind."Okay, here it is," she took a deep breath. " I have to work as a double agent. I'll go to Henry with two options. First, I could help him catch the hacker.""How?""Because I feel the hacker and I share this nerdy bond," Zoe explained. "He would love to meet with me. I beat him in chess and answered his riddles. And besides, he would be unsuspecting since I'm coming to him as one of Henry's victims."Emily's eyes widened."Girl, you've got game!" said Emily."Thank you! But only if Henry accepts canceling his proposal and continues letting me work for him.""And alternatively? You said you were going to present your boss with two options.""Alternatively, if Henry refuses to comply, I'll get the hacker to po
Meeting With The HackerThe taxi pulled up in front of the restaurant where Zoe and the hacker had planned to meet. She paid the driver who immediately drove off, leaving Zoe on the spot as she observed the environment like a detective.The restaurant was a medium-sized one. It had red and yellow frames with most of its body frames consisting of glass through which one could see the interior parts.Zoe straightened her shirt, and walked into the restaurant, observing the different sets of people. Most of them were busy eating their meal, while some chatted with their partners."Red cap, black hoodie, and black pants..." Zoe remembered the description given to her by the hacker over the phone.She glanced at her wristwatch to see if she was late since she couldn't find anyone that matched his description. She was right on time. So what the hell was happening?Her eyes caught sight of a figure at the extreme of the restaurant. His eyes had been on her all this while even though she cou
It was a busy Wednesday morning at the company. Each department was bustling with activities. Their directors could be seen going about supervising their staff.Zoe was busy rounding up the work she was supposed to do yesterday. Although Mrs. Randolph had helped her, as Andre had said, there were still some unfinished businesses.Zoe had a cup of coffee on her desk, which she occasionally sipped from as she worked on her computer.A thought made her smile. She knew Henry would be waiting for her in the office by now, but she intentionally decided not to go. She was going to wait for him to send for her. And if he did, God knew she was ready for him."I'm ready for you, Henry!" Zoe muttered to herself, "Hell yeah!""What was that?" Mrs. Randolph asked, eyeing Zoe."Um, nothing," Zoe replied.**Henry was pacing around in his spacious office as Daniel watched him from a corner. They did not speak to each other.Henry had been expecting Zoe for the past two hours, but she still had not s
He was not sure who deepened the kiss first. It might have been Zoe- or at least a part of him wanted it to be her- but since it was all he had been thinking about since he saw her when she walked downstairs, it seemed more likely it was him. It stopped being important who deepened it first when their mouths collided fully in a clash of wet, warm tongues. Zoe’s arms went up and around his neck, clinging to him. Henry slid his hands down her body to her backside, scooping her up into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pushed her mouth further into his, exploring, tasting. The soft moans she released from her throat made his body tremble slightly. His knees weakened as his erection lengthened. Zoe kissed her way down his face, around his mouth to his neck, his throat, inhaling deeply when she got there. She felt perfect in his arms. He dropped her mouth to her shoulder and bit her there softly which caused her to moan louder. Bringing his mouth back to hers, he move
Zoe went to Mario’s house the next day with rage. She had made herself clear about leaving Henry to her. Why he kept meddling, she could not tell. She went into his room without knocking, and saw a half naked girl on his bed. The sheets was the only thing covering her nude body. "Welcome," the girl looked at Zoe from toe to head. "Mario did not say anything about a third person joining us." "Where is he?" "He stepped out for a bit." Zoe groaned in frustration. He was having fun with girls while also making things hard for her. The door to Mario’s room opened and he walked in wearing a black robe. He took one last puff of his cigar and put out the flame on a steel plate, furrowing his eyebrows at Zoe."What are you doing here? I did not ask you to come over." "I needed to discuss with you," she glanced at his visitor on the bed. "In private." "Excuse us," Mario told the girl as she got up from the bed, shrugged on a dress and walked out. "You can speak now.""I thought we agreed
Zoe stared up to the face of the voice in shock. Henry’s eyes searched her face worriedly. "What is wrong?" he asked. "You look like you have just seen a ghost." "I needed to step outside for a moment," she replied, checking to see if Mario was anywhere in sight. Zoe could no longer find him in the swarm of people. "You should have told me. Let us go somewhere else if you do not feel comfortable here." Zoe shook her head. "You still have guests to meet. I do not want to keep you away from them.""You are more important to me. Let us go." She felt bad making him leave early because of her. Zoe followed him outside, letting Henry open the front door for her. "Since when are you this nice?" "I am a changed man." Zoe snorted at his claims. "That is hard to believe." Henry was trying everything he could to gain her trust but she was being too hard headed. He should have known winning her over would take more effort and work. Coercing her into a contract marriage was obviously not e
Henry cleared out his work schedule to spend the day with Zoe. The last time they went out together on a date, he ended up messing everything up. This was his second chance to earn her trust again. Maybe if she trusted him, she would not have to be sneaking around in the house and be open to him. If she was hiding something from him then there must be a reason. She had never been one to be too secretive. Zoe would come to him herself whenever she was ready, but for now, he had to focus on winning her back. Zoe changed out of her clothes into something perfect for a date. She wore a dress with heels and a sling bag. Henry suggested a date together out of nowhere. Was he really changing for the better? Why did he have to be nice to her now of all times? If Mario had asked her a year ago to crash the servers, she would have done so with glee and without hesitation. But not now that he is actually putting in effort to make sure she was happy. Zoe joined Henry outside who waited for he
What Mario asked her to do was impossible. Crash Henry’s company of all things? He had already admitted to his wrongdoings and even apologized, doing what Mario suggests would be beyond heartless of her. "I can't..." Zoe tried to muster up courage. "I can't do that. I settled things with him. There is no need for that." "I am not asking you to do it for yourself," Mario said. "I am asking you to do it for me." Zoe could not understand why he was being this way. It was not like he held a grudge towards Henry or anything. She used to hold a grudge and she was finally letting it go. Mario’s demands were questionable. "What do you want me to do?" she asked. "Since you can't hack into their system, I want you to crash the system servers. If his branch here becomes useless, then he can go back to America where he came from." Mario did not know yet that if Henry leaves for America, she is going along with him and that meant she would not be able to work for Mario anymore. "Why can't y
It was a bad sign that Henry was getting suspicious about her. If only Maria had not been too forward and ran her mouth like that. The cons of having an overactive five year old. Henry had even went ahead to do a background search on Mario without her knowledge. Him digging a bit deeper might ruin everything. She had to be extra careful now and quit being so distant from Henry. Her actions was what was making him grow suspicious. He surprised her earlier by stating he was trying to make things right between them. It sounded like this was not about Maria anymore. It was about both of them resolving their past issues. He even got flowers for her with Maria. Zoe came out of the shower that night and noticed Henry was not in the room. They had not spoken a word to each other after she walked out on him in the kitchen. Was she being too harsh? Even Emily advised her to give him another chance. Henry and Zoe were going to spend the rest of their lives together, it was only reasonable t
There was nothing else that could quench Henry’s curiosity other than what he was about to do. Zoe kept giving him reasons to suspect her, and his gut never failed him. There was something about her so called boss she was desperately trying to hide. Henry could tell from her reaction yesterday when he mentioned him. It was either they had an affair, or some other activity Henry was yet to fathom. He called Daniel into his office and Daniel showed up immediately. "There is something you have to do for me," Henry said. "I am all ears." "Zoe has a boss. His identity is unusually unknown. I want you to find out who he is and what he does." "Are you sure about that?" Daniel asked. "If Zoe finds out you are digging into her work life, she is going to be pretty pissed." "Let us worry about Zoe later. Do what you are asked to do." Daniel knew contradicting Henry’s opinions would only cause an issue, so he nodded and left the office. Doing long distance was harder than he thought, and
Zoe moved into Henry’s apartment by the end of the week. He was out with Maria when she stopped by the house. Daniel happened not to be home too. She had been instructed to pick up the house key from inside the flower pot just beside the front door. Zoe dragged her luggage inside the empty house, taking a look around. His taste in house decor had not changed over the years. Everything still looked expensive and shiny. She was conflicted on whether she should share a room with Henry or take a separate one. This was just a marriage contract because of Maria, she thought. Zoe did not feel obligated to share a room with him. Making up her mind, she chose a room and settled in it. Maria and Henry were out having father and daughter time, and Zoe could not help but feel a twinge of jealousy no matter how hard she tried to push it away. They were getting closer day by day and she did not want Maria drifting away from her. But then again, they both still had to make up for the five years
"He said what?!" Emily exclaimed on the other end of the phone call. Zoe had just told her of Henry’s proposal, and her reaction was understandable. "It sounds crazy, right?" "Crazier than when he asked you to be his mistress? Yes," Emily said. "This is marriage, Zoe. You are going to spend the rest of your life with him. Are you sure you want to do that?" "Do I really have a choice? I want to do it for Maria." Emily sighed deeply. "I understand. But it is all just so surprising. You have been running away from him, and now you are going to marry him. The universe must really want you two together.""This has nothing to do with the universe. That bastard would not just leave me alone." "Did Maria and Henry get along?"Zoe scoffed. They did more than getting along. "I would say she even loves him more than she loves me at this point." "You know that is not true." "Emily, please. I know what I saw." Zoe was not jealous Maria seemed to like Henry a lot, she just did not think Mar