Tori’s note went into further detail. She wasn’t in the security department, but she knew her way around a network and had been doing a little snooping of her own. She said that a few old-timers preferred to use an older, less secure piece of software that left ports open on the systems. The sysadmins had been trying to crack down on it, but the people who used it were in upper management and they did as they pleased.
I murmured a little prayer of thanks for users who remained set in their ways. They made my job so much easier.
The ports weren’t open from the outside, but if I could get physical access to the network, I could use a cracking script to get in. She even offered a few that might be useful. She warned that the sysadmins were good, so even if I got in, I wouldn’t have much time before they caught me.
I saved the scripts, then wrote Tori an effusive note of thanks and attached enough credits to it that she and her wife could have a very nice dinner out. Unlike my other contacts, credits weren’t required here, we just helped each other out when we could, but Tori had gone far above and beyond what I had expected.
I carefully left the safe house and logged out of HIVE. I rounded up a few more scripts that might get me into MineCorp’s systems, then shut down my com and took off my smart glasses.
Now it was time to face Ian for the first time since our scorching kiss. Despite giving myself a stern pep talk about acting normal, my pulse fluttered as I made my way down to the dining room. The public areas of Rhys’s house were opulent bordering on ostentatious. Rhys hadn’t struck me as the type for conspicuous consumerism, so I wondered why his house was an altar to excess.
In the foyer, a stately gray-haired butler directed me to the formal dining room. An ornately carved table with seats for fourteen dominated the space. The glittering crystal chandelier fought for equal attention. I would’ve preferred a smaller breakfast room, but I suppose with local time being evening, that wasn’t an option. I felt severely underdressed in my T-shirt and cargo pants.
Place settings for six were laid out in the middle of the table. Ian sat at the near end with a cup of coffee. He was dressed much the same as me, to my relief, but his expression was guarded.
“Is there tea?” I asked. I’d only been out of the silencer field for a few minutes, but I could already tell that the crush of signals would be a test. If I was lucky, I’d end the night functional but with a splitting headache.
Ian waved me to the chair on his left. While I sat, he poured me a cup of tea and added milk and sugar. After last night, it shouldn’t have surprised me that he knew how I liked my tea, but the small kindness still warmed my heart.
He handed me the cup, and I took a fortifying sip. Desperate to break the awkward silence, I said, “Ada sent me a message to let me know she’s on her way back. She and Loch should be here soon.”
Ian nodded, still frustratingly silent. Finally, he said, “I apologize for earlier.”
Humiliation heated my face. If he was about to give me a new version of the “empty-headed princess” speech, I didn’t want to hear it. “There is nothing to apologize for. If you regret it, fine. We’ll put it in the cabinet of things to never mention. But we were both consenting adults.”
“I shouldn’t have touched you,” Ian said, his voice cool. “It won’t happen again.”
Pain squeezed my heart. He’d rejected me again. It seemed I would never learn where Ian was concerned. I tried to match his coolness, with only partial success. “Then why did you kiss me in the first place?”
He sighed and it sounded like it came from the bottom of his soul. “I was being selfish.”
Hurt morphed into confusion. That wasn’t the answer I’d expected. “What?”
“There’s no future for us. I know that, but I couldn’t resist. It’s a lapse that won’t happen again. I refuse to use you for selfish reasons.”
There was an entire universe of things that needed unpacking there, but before I could attempt it, Ada called from the foyer, “Bianca, I’m home!”