“Excuse me,” I said to the woman if only to get Xander to shut up. “What kind of phone do you have?”
She angled in my direction and squinted at her phone, holding it out so I could see.
“It’s the most recent version,” she said, then frowned. “Still a piece of shit.”
Xander agreed in my ear. “Yep. Okay, tell her she can try a soft reboot and then…”
He explained what to do, and I instructed the woman, sounding like a robot as I repeated technological jargon that meant nothing to me.
The whole time, I was aware of Declan watching me. His gaze bore into me in scrutiny. Fuck, he knew something was wrong. He knew I was an imposter.
Any minute now, he was going to call security.
The elevator had almost reached the lobby. Hurry, hurry. The faster I could get out of here, the sooner I’d be able to breathe.
“It worked!” the woman said, a smile spreading wide on her pretty face.
She was probably Declan’s lunch date. A jolt of jealousy hit me, followed by the immediate desire to slap some sense into myself for ever feeling such a ridiculous emotion.
I wasn’t supposed to be drooling over the man, I was supposed to be investigating him.
“Tell her she should probably back up her information,” Xander said, sounding distracted. He went on to explain how, and I relayed the information as the elevator dinged and the doors open.
We all stepped out together and Declan took my elbow to steer me to the side as a group of people moved to take our place.
His fingers held barely veiled strength, steel under a gentle touch. His smell surrounded me, threatening to take me down.
Good thing Xander could only see what I saw, not feel what I felt.
“You’re a lifesaver,” the woman said, looking like she was on the verge of hugging me.
Declan released me, taking away the warmth of his grip. I blinked and nodded. “Of course. Have a good day.”
“Wait!” the woman said.
I grimaced and angled back, plastering a fake smile on my face.
“You have to let me thank you,” she said, glancing at Declan as if trying to convince him as well.
I shook my head. “It’s really not necessary.”
Besides, the one she should be thanking was Xander. He was a supervisor for some phone company, dealing with this kind of shit all day long. It was a cover, sure, because he needed to appear above board even though more than half the things he did with technology were illegal.
“What kind of business do you have here at Dark Enterprises?” Declan asked.
My throat dried. I couldn’t tell him the truth. It would probably blow my cover if I said, Stalking your ass. I shook my head instead. “No—no business. I mean, I was just leaving. I was here for an interview.”
His eyebrows furrowed. Shit. That didn’t explain why I was all the way on the top floor.
“Did you get the job?” the woman asked.
“No.”
Xander cleared his throat. “Lie a little better, I think. She’ll believe anything you say. Him—not so much.”
“Unfortunately. I didn’t,” I told her, infusing regret into my smile. I shrugged. “I wasn’t meant for the job, I guess. But then, I thought, since I’m already here, I’d love to take the elevator all the way to the top of one of the most famous skyscrapers in the city. It’s pretty impressive.”
Xander snorted. “Yeah, lay it on thick. Men like him love flattery.”
But Declan didn’t look flattered so much as he was trying to figure out a puzzle.
I made my smile larger as the woman spoke.
“I’m so sorry you didn’t get the position,” she said. “Let me make it up to you—and thank you. You should come to lunch with us.”
Oh, shit. I tried not to turn and run. “Really, it’s not necessary—”
“Persuade her, Declan.”
Declan’s jaw flexed. He put his hands in his pockets. “It’s Russo’s across the street. I know the chef.”
“The best Italian food you’ll ever eat,” the woman insisted. “By the way, I’m Maggie.”
Xander spoke to me again. “Oh, yes. Russo’s is the place to go. And I hear their breadsticks are to die for.”
Dammit. He was supposed to be helping me, not making this even harder.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I told Maggie, keeping my gaze from Declan’s. “I wish I could, but I have a—a doctor’s appointment in about thirty minutes. I’d hate to cancel.”
“Oh.” She looked genuinely disappointed.
Declan cleared his throat. “Tell you what. You need a job and I have something opening up that might work for you. Be here at ten o’clock tomorrow for an interview.”
Panic enveloped me. I didn’t really need a job. I—I needed a fake job. Help me, Xander! I screamed inwardly.
“Take it,” he said immediately. “We need information. You can be our mole.”
I wasn’t cut out to be a fucking spy and I’d already told him this. But saying no was even more suspicious.
Just say yes and then don’t show up. No problem, I told myself.
“That’s too kind,” I said, flashing that smile that was starting to feel like a second skin.
“That’s a great idea,” Maggie said, nudging Declan’s arm. “Perfect.”
“We won’t keep you any longer,” Declan said, lifting his chin. “Tomorrow at ten.”
“Thank you,” I murmured. What else was I supposed to say?
I turned abruptly, my brain yelling at me to run. Then I heard Declan’s deep voice behind me and thought I was going to pass out.
“One more thing,” he said.
Oh God, this was it. This was where he uncovered all my secrets.
I couldn’t even muster a smile when I turned.
But all he said was, “I didn’t get your name.”
“Oh.” I swallowed. “Sure. It’s Samantha.”
“Nice to meet you,
