“Yes, Amedeo. I know it. I’ve found a back door that I can’t account for. I didn’t put it there. No one in my department put it there.”
“You haven’t had anyone leave recently?”
“Jessica left to have a baby. I would have killed to take her back, but she wants to be home with her child.”
Which made him think of Violet. If he managed it, would she stay home with their child? He’d loved coming home from school to see his mother. She made cookies and listened to his day. An idyllic setting.
He shook himself. Back to business. He sighed, looking at what Carl had brought him. He understood the code and it chilled him. There was a back door in his system. Not good at all. Who would do that?
“You have any idea who it is?”
“None, but I’m betting that whoever put this in, knows who we all are. We need someone from the outside to take care of this.”
His mind went back to Violet. Could she do something like this? Could she track down this person? He’d have to ask her tonight. Amedeo put the pages down on his desk. “I may know someone who can help us and keep it quiet. I trust her implicitly.”
“Okay. I’d appreciate whoever you can send my way. I don’t know anyone who does stuff like this. I can build a secure network, but I can’t hack it,” Carl said.
Amedeo’s phone buzzed. Madge was calling him. “Hold on.”
“Violet is here to see you. Shall I send her in?”
“Yes.” He hung up then turned to Carl. “The person I want to take this on is here. Let me talk to her then I’ll have her come in with me tomorrow. She probably doesn’t have her laptop with her nor is she prepared to take on this task.”
Carl nodded, then left. He held the door open for Violet and glanced at her butt as he did. Amedeo felt a twinge of jealousy, but he knew that Violet had a great butt. He’s kissed, licked and nipped the damn thing. He’d do it again, too.
Taking her from behind was priceless in his mind. Damn. He wanted to do that again. Maybe tonight.
Violet smiled at him. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
He stood, but wasn’t sure what he should do. His instinct was to kiss her on the cheek, at least. They were lovers. He should be kind to her. Show her some affection. She took the initiative and kissed him on the cheek.
“What was that for?”
She smiled again then landed on one of his chairs. “Just because. You free for lunch?”
“Not yet, but I can be in about a half an hour. Where do you want to go?”
His fingers itched to touch her. What would she do if he did her on the desk? He could take her from behind that way. He licked his lips.
“Doesn’t matter to me.”
“You’ll eat anything?”
“Nothing too spicy.”
“Fair enough. I actually have to talk business with you.”
One of her eyebrows went up. “Oh?”
“Someone has hacked into my company. I don’t think they’ve done any damage, but I don’t want someone internally investigating it.”
She sat straighter. “Do you think it was recent?”
He held up his hand. “If you choose to take the job, I’ll have you deal with Carl my IT guy. He’s the one who found the hacker.”
“You need to do some backups to save your data.”
“I’m sure he’s doing that as we speak. I’d hate to lose everything.”
“Why hire me?”
“Because I trust you.”
She shifted in her chair as if that made her uncomfortable. “Okay, but I don’t need you giving me a job just because you feel guilty.”
He stood then came around the desk. “I’m not, Violet. I need your services and I’m willing to pay for them.”
“Are you sure? This might be you trying to fix things. I know men are that way. Always wanting to make things better.”
He didn’t know how to stop those ridiculous words coming out of her mouth. He wasn’t doing this for charity. He needed her expertise. He grabbed her face and kissed her, stopping the flow of words.
When he stopped the kiss, the look on her face was priceless. She’d never expected him to do that. Good. He liked to keep things fresh and alive. Even if they weren’t in love. They were lovers and he wanted to keep it interesting.
She would be around longer than any other woman had been in his life. He didn’t want to screw this up, but he liked her. Even if he knew the relationship had a sell-by date, he wanted it fun and interesting.
He liked to keep people on their toes. Surprise them.
Her fingers went to her lips then they gripped his tie to pull him closer. She used her tongue and he was a goner. He wanted her right now, but he’d have to lock the door. “Hold that thought.”