"And who would we bring in?" Titus said.
Apollo shrugged his shoulders and ignored the pungent scent that was now filling the room.
"Someone who knows how to deal with this." He nodded toward the computer.
Val stepped in front of him and, despite her small size, took up quite a bit of room.
"Listen here, dickhead," she said and stepped even closer into his space. The air was so filled with her smell that he was nearly choking on it. Unlike before, this wasn't the sweet alluring smell that had pulled him in. No, this was bitter and made his chest ache with need for fresh air.
Apollo gritted his teeth and tried to keep his temper in check. The last thing he needed to do was lose it in front of the one man that could relieve him of this hell.
"I know you all are used to the giant sausage fest you've got going on, but let me make one thing clear," Val said and poked him in the chest. "You try and talk over my head, I'm going to have to start busting some balls. Literally."
A loud laugh filled the door of the room, and they all turned at the sound.
"Sol," Val whispered.
Apollo frowned. He didn't like the way she said the name. As if it carried some meaning to her. It niggled at the back of his mind like a splinter and pushed him even more than he would have thought.
"Well, I can see things are going great here," Sol said and grinned. "Couple of smooth talkers."
The air near him turned sweet, almost sickeningly so. Apollo looked down at Val, whose face had gone stark white suddenly and then over to Sol.
"I need to use the restroom," Val said. She slipped around Sol and rushed down the hall.
Titus raised a brow at him. "Vestal?"
He scowled. The idea of sharing that fact only pissed him off more.
"She's … " Sol began. He frowned. "Different."
"It doesn't really matter what she is," Apollo ground out. "She's not going to be here long enough for it to matter."
Titus ran a hand through his thick black hair and then stopped abruptly. Having it short now was clearly a challenge.
"We can't get rid of her," Titus sighed. "She's cleared, and she seems to know what she's doing."
"But what if we've been hacked?" Apollo said, not backing down from his original thought. She was bad news right from the start. The fact they didn't know she was a woman should have been a clear indication of that.
"Hacked?" Sol said.
Titus held up a hand. "We've been over this a thousand times. She's cleared. And she was able to spot the issue, if there even is one." He looked between the two men. "Let's see how this plays out. She could be of real use to us."
He was shaking his head, but there wasn't much to be done about it. Titus had his mind made up, and that was all there was to it.
Sol cleared his throat. "Jenna has some notes for you," he said to Titus and then turned to Apollo. "Doc said to remind you about your appointment."
Apollo frowned.
"Just make sure she stays," Titus said as he headed for the door and then stopped to look at him. "As much as you might not want to admit it, she's the best woman for the job. All of them."
Apollo thought about flipping him off but held his hands firm. Titus was not going to get to him on this.
Chapter Eight
Val flopped onto the mint green couch and closed her eyes as she rested. Today had been far more challenging than she could have ever guessed. Everything she tried seemed to be blocked by some weird interference.
She supposed she could take down the whole system, but that would mean everything they had would be useless, and the task would require for more work than she guessed they wanted. For starters, they would have to hire a team to come in and help. That sort of job was way too much for one person.
And a certain someone didn't seem too keen on her staying any longer than she had to. All morning, Apollo had sat in the corner of the room, scowling at just about everything she did, his irritation filling the air around her. It wasn't like she could help that there were issues. She didn't put the damn system in. The last thing she needed was some walking muscle with a hard-on thinking he could push her around.
"Dick head," she mumbled.
"Excuse me?"
Her eyes popped open, and she stared at Jenna, the quiet roommate that had been fairly scarce so far.
"Sorry." Val gave a sheepish smile. "Not you. Just processing the day."
Jenna raised a brow and took a seat in the chair next to her side of the couch. Her curly brown hair bobbed around her face. The whole place seemed to fit the somewhat mousy woman. Pale green furniture. Nothing that really stood out, but it was comfortable and clean. Val could appreciate a clean and simple place.