Freedom (Billionaire Secrets 2)

“Sure, I could eat,” she said.

After she freshened up in the bathroom, she ate some takeout with Simon.

“Don’t forget, I have to tell your concierge to expect some electricians tomorrow,” she reminded Simon as they walked into the elevator. “I know you hate having people over here, but your electricity needs updating.”

He reached for her hand and squeezed it gently. “I like having you over here. In fact, I hope to have you over a lot more often.”

Her lips curved up into a smile and she rested her head on his shoulder. He was such a strong, comforting presence that part of her never wanted to leave his apartment.

When they stepped out of the elevator she walked over to the building’s concierge to remind him about the repair work, and then she got into the car beside Simon.

They got back to Dover just as it was time to close for the day. Simon walked her to her car and helped her in.

“Say hi to your parents for me,” he said as she started the engine.

“I will.” She smiled. It was a request she was happy to oblige. Her parents adored him, and if he was still eager to communicate with them maybe that meant she might have a real future with him after all.

THE REST OF THE WEEK went by totally uneventfully, but Simon was disappointed he wasn’t able to steal another private moment with Heather.

She had almost caught him going through her stuff, and as guilty as he felt about doing it he was glad he had. Because he hadn’t found anything suspicious.

He headed into his office early Monday morning. Heather wouldn’t be in her office this early, but he had gotten restless this morning and work was the best way to clear his head.

Simon started up his computer, ready to tackle the day. His restlessness had been because of a dream about Heather, so going to the one place that reminded him so much of her probably wasn’t healthy. Not that it mattered. Heather consumed every other thought. There was no escaping her. And he didn’t want to.

Not now that he was starting to trust her again.

His office door swung open, dragging his attention away from his thoughts.

“Good morning, Everett,” Simon muttered. “Any word about the media?”

That damn photo had been taken over a week ago, and last he heard over the weekend the tabloid that’d gotten a hold of it was willing to negotiate with his offer to buy it back from them. If keeping that photo from going public protected Heather’s job and her son, he was ready to pay whatever price the tabloid wanted. He had to spare Heather whatever humiliation came her way, especially since her ex was desperate to take her son away from her. That photo would be the perfect ammo for Gary to use against her, and Simon refused to sit by while that happened.

“We’re still working on it.” Everett’s eyes narrowed as he glanced down at the tablet he was holding in his hands. “But that’s not what I’m here to talk about.”

“Have a seat,” Simon said, knowing deep down that if Everett didn’t want to discuss the photo he had to be here to discuss Heather.

Everett sat down across from his desk and cleared his throat. “I think there’s been a security breach at Dover.”

Simon raised an eyebrow in surprise. “So, you’re not here to talk about Heather.”

Everett shook his head. “Unless she’s developed incredible hacking skills, I don’t think so.”

“There’s been a hack?” Simon frowned. “Our security is incredible. It would take a master hacker to get into our system.”

“They didn’t hack Dover’s offices,” Everett said, sliding his tablet over to Simon. “There’s been some chatter going on in some of the tech forums online.”

“What kind of chatter?” Simon glanced down at the tablet screen and started scrolling. When his eyes landed on a photo he recognized, he froze. “This is a photo of my apartment. These are the servers I have over there. How the hell did this get out?”

“It’s worse than that,” Everett said. “In addition to the photo, someone is claiming they managed to hack into the system you keep at home.”

Simon broke out into a cold sweat, the weight of Everett’s explanation hitting him. “All my ideas are on that system. I’m talking years of ideas. Years of coding.”