Pursuing Phoenix: Nova Satellite Security Read online

  Before I met Kat, I never would’ve said anything to the man for being rude. Every time I was around her, she taught me another way to protect myself. The night before Tommy and I left for Texas, she held another self-defense class, the tenth class I had taken. Once Tommy and I got settled, I planned to find a kickboxing class in Houston.

  Kaylene grumbled next to me, “I’m sorry I didn’t call Jacob. Jared was right. I should’ve called him.”

  I squeezed the girl’s hand as she used her other one to wipe the tears away. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I’m early, and Jacob should’ve left information with you so you would know to let me in. Jared was rude.”

  “I can’t believe you called him an asshat.” A giggle escaped her. “Oh, I know he’s rude. It usually doesn’t bother me, but I’m having a bad morning.”

  “Well, he was. You want to show me where my desk is?”

  Kaylene reached into her desk and pulled out a badge. She made a quick call, asking someone to cover the front desk. When an older woman appeared to watch the desk, I followed Kaylene toward the sleek silver elevator, where she swiped her card and pressed the up button. A woman staring at her phone plowed into her.

  The woman looked up. “I’m so sorry, Kaylene. Mr. Walker’s on a rampage this morning. I swear I’m going to call out sick one of these weeks and binge-watch Netflix.”

  Kalyene let out a laugh. “It’s okay, Sasha. This is Ms. Minix. She’s Jacob’s new assistant.”

  Sasha placed her phone into her Louis Vuitton purse and held out her hand.

  I reached out and shook it. “Please, call me Lily.”

  The elevator doors opened. “Okay, Lily, let's make sure you get up to your new office. You're lucky you're working for Jacob. He’s the nicest out of the brothers,” Kaylene said.

  “Wouldn’t take much,” I mumbled. When I realized I’d said it out loud, I put my hand over my mouth.

  Kalyene laughed and pressed the seventy-fifth-floor button. “Lily met Jared this morning.”

  Sasha leaned over and pressed the seventy-third button. “I wish I could come with and talk more, but Mr. Walker’s head’s about to explode. Do you have plans for lunch today?”

  I held up my paper bag. “Planned to eat at my desk.”

  “Kaylene and I will be up at lunchtime. We can eat in the executive break room.”

  The doors opened on the seventy-third floor, and Sasha stepped out. “See you at lunch.” I noticed an overweight man tugging on his tie. His eyes were shooting daggers into Sasha. I didn’t hear what he said before the doors closed. “Is she in trouble?”

  “No, Mr. Walker messed up a design. Sasha told him it wouldn’t work, and he didn’t listen.”

  “How do you know this?”

  The doors to the executive level opened. “I’m Jared’s assistant. I normally don’t work downstairs, but the temp called in sick.”

  My feet faltered. Kaylene seemed so sweet, and Jared was an ass. “You have to deal with that asshat all the time?” I asked as we stepped out of the elevator. Unlike downstairs, the office space we stepped into was dark cherrywood with hardwood floors. The décor screamed money.

  I didn’t see the man standing next to the elevator when I asked the question. His deep voice startled me. “You already met Jared?”

  I squeaked at the question. “I didn’t mean what I said.” I put my hand out. “Are you Jacob?”

  The extremely hot man took a sip of his drink. His eyes were a few shades lighter than his brother’s. They reminded me of the sky. The suit he had on had to have cost more than I’ve made in a year. It was perfectly tailored to his body. Damn. I wanted to reach out and run my fingers over his five o'clock shadow. I stopped myself, though—he was my boss, and I needed the job. I saw his mouth move, but I didn’t hear what he said because I was so lost at staring into his eyes. “I’m sorry, can you repeat that?”

  Kaylene laughed next to me. The sexy man obviously knew he was hot, and his lip ticked up. “I said it’s nice to meet you, Lily. I’m Jacob, and never apologize for calling my brother an asshat. I’m shocked Kaylene hasn’t put that on his business cards.” He waved for me to follow him. “Thank you, Kaylene, for showing Lily up. I’ll let you get to my brother.”

  Kaylene grabbed my hand. “If you need anything, call. My extension is programmed into the phone. Don’t forget, Sasha and I will come to your desk and grab you for lunch.” Kaylene turned toward Jacob. “Human Resources doesn’t have any info about Lily, and Jared hadn’t said anything to me. Do you need me to take care of it?”

  Jacob’s eyes flashed to me for a second. “We are handling Lily’s hiring a little differently. I will speak to HR.”

  Kaylene opened her mouth then closed it.

  “There is a reason we are doing this. Jared and Jax know what's going on along with Lily. If we feel you need to know, we’ll tell you.”

  Kaylene nodded, but I could see she wanted to ask more questions. The three of us walked down the long hallway until we came to a three-way intersection. Jacob pointed to the far hall. “That will take you to Jax. He’s in charge of engineering. This hallway leads to Jared’s office—he’s the CEO—and this is our way.”

  “Don’t forget lunch,” Kaylene yelled over her shoulder as she walked down the center hallway.

  I lightly brushed my hand on Jacob’s arm to get his attention. “Mr. Black, I don’t want to get any special favors.”

  Jacob stopped in the middle of the hallway. “First of all, it’s Jacob. The only person who likes to be called Mr. Black is Jared. Secondly, we are going to pay you cash until everything is taken care of.” I went to say something, but he held his hand up. “No, I’ve seen what that asshole has done. We’re going to take every precaution to make sure you’re safe.”

  My face heated at Jacob’s words. I could only imagine the images he had seen. I knew Kat was going to send my file over, but my stomach turned at the thought of him reading it. “Okay.” What else am I supposed to say?

  Jacob put his fingers under my chin. “Stop whatever is going through your mind. You’re strong and brave.”

  When it came to compliments, I had a hard time believing them. From early on, my mother or father would give praise followed by a verbal beatdown. Not until I met Kat did I understand how emotionally abusive my parents had been. The physical abuse from Greg, I understood, but how my parents and Greg used words to make me feel like I deserved to be beaten or locked in a closet for a couple days was appalling. “I’m not brave, but I will do whatever I have to for my son.”

  Jacob stared into my eyes a second longer. I quickly glanced away—his sky-blue eyes were easy to get lost in. “Okay, let me show you to your desk.” He reached over and grabbed the box from my hands. “Then you can get set up.”

  At the end of the hall, Jacob swiped a card across a black box next to the glass doors. The doors opened into an incredible room with black-and-cream marble floors. The ceiling was shiny gray with recessed lighting, and the reception area contained a large u-shaped desk. Behind the desk on the wall were four different live pictures of a rocket going into space at night. The images seemed alive. When I lived in Florida, I had always wanted to watch a rocket launch, but my parents spent all their time with the church where my father was the pastor, and Greg never cared what I wanted.

  “If you don’t like anything, we can change it.”

  “No, these images of the rocket are so cool. Tommy would be in awe.”

  Jacob pointed to the first picture. “The one in the top right was the first government contract we got. We launched our NSSB-19—the acronym stands for Nova Satellite Security Black—and the number is our nineteenth prototype. That satellite is still being used by the NSA today. The team is in the process of building another one for them right now. Technology breakthroughs increase each day, and we can only update a unit in space so far.”

  Doubt started to sink in. The people who work here were geniuses. I’m twenty-five years old with a GED a
nd no college education. I don't understand what they are talking about. Moving here was a mistake. “Jacob, I don’t think I’m qualified to work here.”

  The sexy man dared to laugh, and when he did, it made my body tingle. “Lily, I don’t expect you to write code or design a rocket. I need help staying organized and keeping my schedule intact, I’m more than positive you can help me with that. Now, why don’t you get settled in while I check my emails? Down this hall”—to the right of my desk, he pointed—“is the executive floors’ break room. All three wings feed into there. If you want coffee or soda, you can find it down there.” He walked over and set my box on the top counter before striding through the frosted-glass doors to the left of the desk.

  I let out a deep breath and walked behind my new workstation. There was a place next to the computer where I could put my pictures of Tommy. I didn’t want customers to see my boy, but I wanted to look at him while I was at work. The Mac computer was powered on, and I brushed my hands across the white keyboard. Once I had placed my few things on the desk to make myself feel at home, I wandered down the other hall, looking for the break room.

  The theme from reception carried down the hall, with black marble floors and splashes of white. The cabinets in the break room were cherry, and there were stainless-steel appliances. One appliance caught my eye—it was a coffee maker that also made iced coffee. I walked over and grabbed a glass from the cupboard. I filled it with ice cubes from the fridge, and the sound of the ice falling blocked out the footsteps behind me. I squeaked when I turned around and saw Jacob behind me.

  “Sorry, I thought you heard me. I came to grab a cup of tea.”

  “I can make that and bring it to you.”

  Jacob grabbed a mug from the same cupboard and filled his with hot water from the other side of the coffee maker. Once my cup was full of ice, I walked back to the coffee maker and selected iced coffee. While the coffee filled my glass, I watched as Jacob make his tea. He slowly steeped Earl Grey into the glass.

  I pulled my mostly full cup away from the machine, and when I went to grab the cream, my hand brushed against Jacob’s. My fingers tingled where it touched him. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. He’s your boss, I repeated in my head as I walked back to my desk.

  4

  Jacob

  I was having a hard time listening to my brother. When I came back from lunch, I changed the windows in my office from clouded to clear. I wanted to make sure Lily made it back okay. I kept looking at the clock—she would be back soon. Sasha and Kaylene showed up right at noon and whisked Lily away from her desk. I caught Kaylene's attention before she took Lily off to lunch and told her they couldn’t leave the building. I knew she would listen. Sasha, on the other hand, would be mad that I told her she couldn’t go and would make sure they left the building.

  “Are you listening to a word I’m saying!” Jared asked. Most people listened when Jared spoke. Jax and I were used to him and let him bark. We knew why our brother was the way he was.

  “You said NSSB-46 had a coding error when you had Sasha upload the new software.” I had no doubt our team would figure out a solution. Jared would be down there every night working on the code with the team. “What did Sasha say?”

  Jared leaned back in the white leather chair. “She told me to mind my own business and go back to my ivory chair. My chair’s black, not ivory.” My brother's lip twitched as he tried to make a joke.

  “Sasha’s good at what she does. I have faith in her, and we need to make sure she stays.” I dealt with the numbers, whereas Jared and Jax worked on the engineering and technical parts of our company.

  “If she wants to make it any higher in the company, she needs to watch how she talks to her superiors. And she took a lunch break when we’re trying to figure out what’s going on.”

  I tapped my pen on the desk and took a quick look to see if they were back yet. “She doesn’t need to watch her tongue. You just don’t like that she doesn’t know to you and tells you how it is. Her boss does everything you ask. Luckily, she doesn’t listen to him either, or we would never have a working product. Speaking of her boss, have you made a decision about firing him yet?”

  “No. I don’t have proof it was him that made a mistake. I’m waiting for Eddy in IT to get me more information.” Jared turned around at the sound of giggles coming from my lobby. Sasha, Kaylene, and Lily were standing in front of Lily’s desk. She reached over the counter, and my eyes went straight to her firm ass. The woman was stunning. She had no clue how hot she was. I shifted in my seat.

  “I thought Lily was hot in her pictures, but damn.”

  I couldn’t hold back the growl. “Stay away.”

  Jared turned back to me. “You should take your own advice. How’s that divorce coming?”

  I ground my teeth. The divorce papers didn’t show up the night before as she’d promised. I expected a call today with yet another excuse. “If I didn’t marry her, NSS wouldn’t be open today. We needed that money.”

  Jared ran his hands through his hair. “I know, and I’m sorry she won’t sign the papers. As for Lily, you know I don’t date anyone from work.”

  I wasn’t sure my brother ever dated. Rumor around the office had it that he picked women up from bars, and never the same one. My brother was adamant about never having a relationship, and I knew it was because of how we were raised and how evil our mother was. Every time our father hit her, she took it out on us. She blamed us for his anger.

  I waved at Kaylene before she and Sasha walked back down the hall. Lily sat behind her desk and picked up her phone. “Do you date?” The question just came out.

  “No.” Jared didn’t offer any more info. “If you need anything, let me know. That woman out there has been through hell. So if you need Kaylene to help more, that’s fine.”

  Even though Jared was brash, he wanted to help people in need. “I think Kaylene has enough to do for you. She deserves a raise for the shit you put her through.”

  Jared stood from the leather chair and placed the folder of contracts I needed to look at on my desk. “She probably does. I can’t believe she hasn’t quit yet. Call if you need anything. Jared turned and left. He nodded at Lily as he walked by, not wanting to bother her while she was on the phone.

  I felt like a creeper as I watched her work. Her long, blonde hair covered her face as she typed on the computer. Her head was to the side, holding the phone. A couple hours after she started working, I pulled up my calendar to find it color coded. I had to admit it was easier to find what I needed.

  My cell phone buzzed next to the computer. Rachele’s name flashed across the screen. I didn’t want to talk to her, but I wanted her to sign the papers. I grabbed my phone and swiped across the screen. “I didn’t get the papers yet.”

  “I know, but when we got off the phone, Daddy called, and we started to talk. Then I remembered the Hope for Kids Foundation gala is this weekend.” She was correct. It was on my calendar. I went every year with Rachele along with all my brothers. “I can give them to you on Friday at the event.”

  The Hope for Kids Foundation held a place close to my heart. The trip would be quick, and I could take the company jet. I glanced at Lily and thought of her wearing a long red dress with her hair up. “I want the papers in my hand today, or I won’t come.” It was a bluff. I wouldn’t miss the gala for anything. I also wanted to bring Lily. The jet would be big enough to take Abe and Tommy as well. I wanted to meet the little man. I wanted to learn everything about Lily, even though we’d just met. Jax gave good advice, and I wished he was around to talk to, but he was out of the country. Jared would just tell me to stop thinking about her.

  “Why can’t I just hand them to you on Friday?”

  I took the last sip of my tea. “Rachele, if I don’t have the papers in hand by the end of the day today, I will start over and use the prenup. You will only get back the money we agreed upon back then.”

  She huffed. “If I sign, you’ll be
here Friday?”

  “Yes.” I watched as Lily got up from her desk and headed toward the break room, her ass swaying with each step.

  “Did you hear a word I said?”

  “Sorry, I’m busy at work. Get me the document today, or we start over, and you won’t like what you get.”

  “But how am I to get you the document today? I’m leaving for New York soon.”

  “Sign the copy, send it by courier. Give me a tracking number and send me a scanned copy of the document. I’m not playing around anymore. You’ve dragged this divorce out long enough, and I’ve let you. Not going to happen anymore.” I hoped she didn’t find out she couldn’t get back into the Los Angeles house—she would probably make me start over.

  “I’ll have them to you within the hour. I’m trusting you to hold up your side of the deal.” She wanted to say the Black brothers were coming to the event so she could get more people.

  I would go because the foundation supported foster kids. My brothers and I donated often. The system was broken, and I wanted to see it fixed one day. “One hour.” I didn’t say goodbye or anything else. I clicked off the phone. If I didn’t get them soon, I would call my lawyer by the end of the day so we could figure out the next step to getting the divorce finalized.

  I needed to move on with my life. I’d been putting off a trip to New York to meet with a few of our low-level investors for a few weeks. Jax, Jared, and I decided to buy the last couple people out of business. They only owned a total of five percent. When we first started the company, we needed an influx of cash, which had been the main reason I married Rachele. Jared hadn’t wanted me to—he thought we could find the money another way. I didn’t want to keep putting off our dreams if I could help it. I’d invested the money, but Jared and Jax were the technical minds behind the company.

  I watched as Lily looked down at her desk and smiled at the picture of her son. My brothers and I hadn’t had a caring mom like Lily. After our father’s death, the only thing our mom cared about was where she was going to get her next fix. A year after his death, each night, a new drug dealer would show up, and Mom would go behind a closed door. When she came out, she was high. Jared spent most of our childhood protecting us from the shit that went down.