I needed to damage something, and if something didn’t present itself soon, I was probably going to take it out on my hostage. I looked over to her, finding myself ever so slightly calmed by her passive demeanor.
“Do you have a laptop?” I asked, fighting to control the tone of my voice.
“Um…y-yes?” She stuttered out her reply. I tightened my fingers almost into fists.
“Are you asking yourself a question this time?”
“No,” she replied. I could hardly hear her whisper. She looked down at the floor and reminded me of a properly chastised schoolgirl, which made my dick want to get up and do a little dance. The bastard had just calmed down a minute ago.
“So you do have a laptop?”
“Yes, I have a laptop.” Her voice was a little steadier, and she at least met my eyes for a moment. So demure, so subservient, so fucking hot I wasn’t sure if I should get her out of the room so I could accomplish what I needed or if I should get Cole out of the room so I could accomplish what I wanted.
“Where?”
“The desk outside this office.”
“Go and retrieve your laptop,” I commanded. “Bring it back here to me. Don't stray, baby, okay?”
“Okay.” Again, she didn’t flinch at the familiarity, and I had no doubt whatsoever that she would do exactly what I asked.
“Want me to go with her?” Cole asked. He obviously wasn’t paying attention to her mannerisms.
“It's okay, Cole,” I said. “She's coming right back. Aren't you baby?”
“Yes.” She walked swiftly out the door and into the outer office.
“I know that look,” Cole mumbled. He tossed another folder into the rapidly growing pile at his feet and then grabbed another one to leaf through.
“What?” I barked.
“You gonna tap that?”
“Fuck you.” I couldn’t help but smile a little. Yeah, I could definitely see myself spreading her out over the desk with those heels perched on my shoulders. “Maybe.”
Cole just chuckled quietly to himself.
“I don’t think there’s anything here,” he said as he nodded toward the filing cabinet. “There are a couple references to China and another to Honduras but nothing concrete.”
“Keep looking.”
I looked back to Kender’s computer and growled at the “Access Denied” message displayed on the screen. My fingers twitched, and I felt just a slight amount of sweat beading up on my neck. I reached back and wiped it away as pictures of Elliot’s last birthday party ran through my head. I clenched my teeth.
All for you, big brother.
Olivia walked back in carrying a pricy HP laptop, and my thoughts were again directed toward fucking the shit out of her. I felt myself grin.
“Good girl,” I said under my breath. I meant for bringing the laptop and being quick about it but also for the demure look she gave me as she met my eyes and then looked to the ground. “Over here.”
I made a point of running my fingers over the back of her hand as she handed it to me. Gooseflesh appeared on her wrist and then traveled up her arm. I wondered if her nipples got hard, but I couldn’t tell in her loose-fitting blouse.
I looked down to the laptop in my hand and flipped it back and forth between my hands a couple of times as I let the anger flow through me. Once it was nicely built up, I flung the computer across the room and into a painting of a couple of kids on a beach. Fucking bastard Kender, parading his sick little pastime around in his office. Olivia jumped a little and placed one of her hands over her mouth, probably trying not to scream as laptop bits scattered over the floor.
“Sorry about that,” I said with a shrug. “I needed to break something, and I figure what I need is probably on this computer, not yours.”
Cole broke out into a ridiculous-sounding guffaw, and I wanted to smack him over the top of his shiny head. I was still annoyed, and I wanted to see what kind of information I could get out of the young PA. It didn’t seem likely, but there was always the possibility she might be able to help me get what I wanted. I was more likely to influence her without an audience, though. At least, that’s what I told myself.
“Go check on Frank.” I gestured at Cole to get the fuck out of the room. “Make sure he isn't trolling for more stragglers. He's pissing me off.”