Ever Cynical

Chapter 2- Face to Face

Anais POV

I felt like I was going to pass out. I’d picked up my equipment order and pretty much filled my SUV with stuff paid for by Mr. Blake. I was probably going to need to make another trip in a few days once I had eyes on their current set-up, but this would at least get things started. Six laptops and twelve PCs, all kinds of wiring and countless cameras. All of my worldly possessions, other than my flush bank accounts, were in the large black duffel on the passenger seat next to me. I had about forty miles left to drive, and I swear they were the longest forty miles of my life, and believe me, that is indeed a long ass time. The bright midday sun was not helping,

Damned bright evil ball in the sky.

It was with the greatest relief about thirty minutes later when I saw the small private road that I was expected to turn on. About a mile in, there was a massive metal gate with a guard booth. Wow, I guess they really take their security and privacy seriously. I noted a solid rock and concrete fifteen-foot wall that appeared as if it ran along the perimeter of the property. I grabbed my wallet from the seat next to me and lifted my thick black sunglasses, thank goodness trees were plentiful, and the evil ball was temporarily nowhere in sight, and waited for one of the guards to approach my window. I rolled my window down, handing over my license, and for some reason, this guy gave me a weird vibe.

I sighed.

“Hii, I’m Amalie Allard. I’m here to do your security update?” I said in the most lively and friendly voice I could muster. Let me tell you, I am neither of those things, so it probably wasn’t the most convincing. He said nothing but spoke into a radio on his shoulder. Silently, he handed back my license and motioned for his buddy in the booth to let me through. “Thaaaanks.” I sing-songed at him before I rolled up my window.

I swear I saw the side of his mouth mayyybe quirk up in a ghost of a smile, but what do I know?

Here I’d thought my drive was almost over. Well, nope. I drove through woods with no sign of civilization for another 45 minutes. I was going thirty-five miles an hour to ensure I wasn’t being unsafe. It was beautiful, with massive, ancient trees. It created a blessed green canopy that filtered the sun to a tolerable level. I finally broke through the trees to a small community of alpine-style wood homes.

Mr. Blake had mentioned that the main community building I’d be working on, at least to start, was at the very back of the circular drive that meandered in front of all the houses. I could see a large hotel-like building at the back and figured that must be it. The sun had made its presence known once again, so I slid my blissfully thick dark lenses back down on my face.

The homes were all beautiful with generous lawns and several kids playing outside. I could see women smiling down from their porches, and a few men walking around. There were two branches off the main loop that I assumed led to other communal areas. I wondered if they had any shops or anything. It was about two hours to the nearest small town, so having something on-site would be ideal.

I could see four tall men standing outside the... well it’s a community, right? Guess I’ll call it the community hall? I had to giggle at their stance. All four stood with their feet apart and arms crossed like f*****g Paul Bunyan. I wondered for a moment if they were trying to be intimidating or that was just their usual way of standing. My windows were tinted, so I knew they could not see me.

Something I’d been careful to do was hide my identity. First of all, being pro at hacking and cybersecurity was not something you wanted your face known for. I had other reasons for keeping my face hidden for the most part, but that had no bearing on my job. Secondly, few high-end businesses took you seriously as a female. Not to sound vain either, but I’m a pretty one. At least, according to the endless number of men more focused on getting in my pants than respecting my ability.

It was sad, really.

The tallest of the bunch had thick, slightly curly dark blonde hair that was tossed into a sexy man bun, with green eyes I could see from inside my car. His skin was golden from being outdoors, and he was seriously built. He had a handsome face that was both beautiful and intense all at once. I don’t get involved with men, well, anyone really, but if I was thinking about it, he’d be exactly what I was looking for. I turned off the SUV and opened my door. I noticed him stiffen as he saw that I was female. The other men side-eyed him, but none of them moved. Sighing, I closed my door and walked up the steps to where they stood.

I held out my hand to the tall one, since everyone appeared to be deferring to him. His jaw clenched. I internally rolled my eyes and sighed. Great, another man who doesn’t trust females in a male-dominated field. What else is new? I truly hoped that one day, the archaic thought process of women being lesser would end.

“Mr. Blake, I presume?” I said as customer-servicey as I could muster.

Keiran POV

I stared at her hand. I didn’t want to take it. f**k I'm terrible at talking to females. I just knew this was going to be the most difficult woman of all. My right-hand man, who was ironically standing to my left, yes my humor is odd, Geoffrey, nudged my side with his elbow. I grabbed her hand, shocked at the strength of her grip. I was stuck on assessing her appearance.

She had thick, glossy black hair that hung in a long braid past her hips, and pale creamy skin. Her eyes were crystalline blue under arched brows with thick lashes. She had a firm chin, straight nose and Cupid’s bow lips with high cheekbones. In a word, gorgeous. By far the prettiest girl I’d ever seen, and now she was going to be staying here for at least a month. I couldn’t help but notice her lithe yet curvaceous figure. I tried not to make it obvious, but when she cleared her throat because I’d just stood there, holding her hand in my grip and saying nothing, I realized I’d been too obvious.

“”Uh, yes. I’m Mr. Blake.” Geoff smothered a chuckle next to me. “But you can just call me Kieran.”

“O-kaaay Kieran. Call me Anais, I go by my middle name.” She looked to the men on my left curiously, and they scrambled to fill the awkward silence.

“Hi, I’m... um, Geoffrey Malcolm but you can just call me Geoff.”

My third in command, I guess? Stepped forward after Geoff.

“Hello, Sean Flanery at your service. I’m just Sean.” He grinned, showing his dimples. Damn flirt. My fourth stepped forward last.

“Hey, I’m Lugh Lachlan. I also have a short name like Sean here. If you need help with anything that’s physical labor, I volunteer.” Geoff smirked at Lugh. Frankly, their interest was all irritating, and I had the urge to just steal her away. I was smarter than acting like a caveman though, and waited as patiently as I could for them to finish their introductions. She smiled with her beautiful, straight white teeth.

“Nice to meet you all. Generally, I like to do everything myself though. This little woman...” She made a bicep curl and patted her muscle through her black leather moto jacket. “Is capable of doing everything all by her tiny self. Appreciate it, though.” She patted my chest. “So, Kieran, show me where you want me to get started.” She began to walk inside as I left my men outside in various states of shock. She waited in the foyer, and I led her down the hall to my office. I only hoped I didn’t make a total fool of myself.

Hope is a funny thing.

I knew immediately I’d already failed by Anais’ stiff posture. She’d noticed that I ogled her for sure. My palms were getting clammy. I was normally so confident until you put me in front of a pretty girl. She was young too, considering her expertise. Couldn’t be more than twenty-five, and I truly felt that was a generous estimate. She looked fresh out of high school. I felt ancient standing next to her.

“Alright so... Show me your current computer and internet. I pretty much brought everything from the ground up, but I figure maybe I can use some of your stuff too if it’s half decent.” She put her hands on her hips. It was kind of distracting with her smooth, flat, pierced belly making an appearance between her low-slung ripped skinny jeans and cropped black tank top. I licked my lips and pulled my eyes to her face. She quirked a brow.

“Ah, yeah, well, the reason I asked for everything is that we have nothing. Still using paper.” I laughed awkwardly as I lifted my arm to scratch the back of my neck. Her eyes went wide with shock.

“You do have electricity at least?” She smirked, obviously knowing we did with, you know, the lights being on. “Sorry, after the assumption I can’t handle heavy lifting by your friend out there, I’m feeling a little grumpy. I shouldn't take it out on you though, it happens all the time.” I was surprised. Lugh had actually been offering genuine help. My eyebrows shot up.

“Lugh is a face-value kind of guy. He offers help if he thinks it’s helpful, not because he thinks you can’t do it.” Her face fell in guilt.

“Oh, well damn. Now I owe the kid an apology.” I stared at her. Kid? I was pretty sure all of my team were older than her. I bristled. She patted my arm then let her hand rest on my bicep. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch Kieran, I have all the respect in the world for you guys.” I could not take my eyes off of where her hand rested on my arm. She suddenly pulled it away, as if worried that I was upset. “Sorry.” She turned away, looking around my office and of course, pointed her lush perfect ass right at me. Ugh. This is why I was hoping for a man to do the job. She was a major distraction. I felt like a tongue-tied i***t.

She walked around humming.

“Show me where else you want things set up please?” Her tone had gone from somewhat playful to dry and professional. As I looked at her face, I could see she was in a state of extreme exhaustion. I tapped my chin. I bet if I tried to tell her she needed to rest she’d tell me no.

“Actually, I have some things today that I need to take care of for the business. How about I show you to your room and we can finish going over the plan tomorrow? You’re welcome to join us at dinner around six PM. Follow me.” I started walking, and she had little choice but to follow.