Lauren (Silicon Valley Billionaires 1)

“I don’t know that for sure. We have the most up-to-date firewalls, the most sophisticated security on the market. There’s a chance that Clive got nothing.”

“Let me help you.”

“I don’t need your help,” I said, exasperated. Gabe was the last person I wanted to lash out at right then, but he was the closest one to me. “I can handle this myself. I handle everything myself. I’m going to have my team come in and re-encrypt all the data. Even if he got in, he couldn’t have gotten everything. I have some information that’s impenetrable.”

Gabe crossed his arms and smiled at me faintly. I wondered briefly if it was because I’d used the word impenetrable, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to ponder that at the moment.

I turned back to my computer. “You’re not leaving, are you?”

“No.” He shook his head and sat down heavily. “I don’t want to leave you alone.”

“Suit yourself.” I started analyzing my intelligence for signs of a possible breach.

Gabe was snoring lightly on the couch when I found it. Part of the security code repeated itself twice in a row, indicating an irregularity in our firewall.

I wasn’t a programmer, but I could tell from what I’d found that Clive had gotten in. He’d gotten past our sophisticated firewalls and into Paragon’s main database. He’d seen my most recent reports and the results of my first positive prototype trial.

What Clive didn’t know was that the actual design and technology for my working prototype wasn’t contained in Paragon’s database. It was only on my private laptop, which was never synced to the network for this very reason. We manufactured the prototype in house. Because I lived in fear of being hacked, I personally oversaw every aspect of production. I provided my employees the correct data for each portion of the production, but after every cycle was complete, I switched out the most up-to-date specs with older information.

So even if Clive had successfully hacked me, he didn’t have the updated plans for the patch—the plans that finally worked.

This was where being a paranoid recluse came in handy.

“Gabe.” I nudged him, and he hugged his arms around himself as if trying to ward me off and stay asleep. I watched him for a moment, his breathing even and regular, his arms wrapped around his chest.

He opened one eye to look at me. “You’re staring at me, aren’t you? That’s really rude.”

I sat back and rubbed my eyes. The lack of sleep was starting to catch up with me. “Uh—sorry.”

“I’m kidding.” He sat up a little. “What did you find?”

I swallowed hard. “He breached the firewall. He was in. Now that the chip’s been turned off, he probably can’t get anything else. But he had hours. I’m sure he got a good look.”

Gabe patted my hand. “You want me to go fight him now?”

I laughed, but it sounded as miserable as I felt. “If I thought it would help, maybe.”

“It would definitely help. Think about it. Consider me on call.” He looked at his watch. It was six in the morning. “I told you that you’d put plenty of time in today. Let me take you home. You must be exhausted.”

I shook my head. “I have too much to do. I have my entire IT team coming in.”

Gabe sat up and gave me a firm look. “You need to go home and sleep for a few hours. And eat something. And change your clothes, even though I’m quite fond of that dress.”

I’d completely forgotten what I had on. “I don’t need you to take me.”

“I insist. Besides, I promised your sister I’d take care of you. I want to deliver you in one piece. I want her on my good side.”

I wearily closed up my office. “I’m pretty sure she already likes you.”

“There’s always room for improvement. I bet I could work on you liking me more, too.”

“After this, I consider you a friend.” And a sexy, charming one, at that. “You helped me get through a tough night. I owe you.”

“I look forward to cashing that in.” His eyes glittered, and I felt my face start to redden. “Now, let’s go. I know a very important CEO who needs breakfast.”

A few hours later, I met with my IT security team in my office. “Tell me what you know so far.”

Leo, the head of the group, looked up at me from his laptop. “They had over twelve hours inside your system. Depending on who this is, and how much a priority Paragon is to them, they could hav