Hardpressed

Book 2: Hacker

by Meredith Wild

Genres: Women's Fiction; Contemporary Romance; New Adult Romance; Romantic Suspense

Synopsis

In Hardpressed, the highly anticipated second book of the Hacker Series that began with Hardwired, Blake and Erica face threats that put both their love and their lives on the line. Despite Blake Landon's controlling ways, the young and wealthy hacker finally won the trust of the woman he loves. Internet entrepreneur Erica Hathaway broke down the walls that kept her from opening her heart and her business to Blake. Ready to start this new chapter in her life, Erica is determined not to let anything come between them, even if that means giving Blake back some of the control he craves in and out of the bedroom. But when demons from her past threaten their future, Erica makes a decision that could change their lives forever.

Release date: April 7, 2015

Publisher: Forever

Print pages: 304

Sample

“I can’t believe I’m doing this again,” I said.

Blake slid his arm around my shoulders. He pulled me close and I relaxed into his familiar warmth. We stepped out of his office building and headed a few blocks down the street. He leaned down and gave me a reassuring kiss on the cheek.

“No funny business this time, I promise.”

I laughed and rolled my eyes. “Very reassuring.”

I almost believed him. The past few weeks had been intense, but something had changed between us. I could joke, but he had my trust now. After all my fervent protests and desperate attempts to fight the way I felt about him, I’d finally let him in. At least more than I’d ever let anyone else in, and nothing had ever felt more right.

He flashed me a mischievous smile. “Don’t worry. There was no way I could get Fiona to pull a stunt like that again.”

Dressed in white capris and a navy chiffon shell, Blake’s sister, Fiona, waited ahead of us near the entryway of a quaint café. We stopped directly in front of the entrance. The engraved sign above read Mocha. A young patron swung the door open and the deep aroma of freshly ground coffee and chocolate wafted out, setting off happy signals all over my body. I’d nearly forgotten about our original mission when Fiona motioned us toward an unmarked door next to the café.

“We’re upstairs.” She ushered us up a narrow staircase to the second floor.

“Who owns the building, Fiona?” I tried to make it sound like small talk, but who was I kidding? The fact that we were a few short strides from a steady caffeine source was already a major selling point, but Fiona knew my position on renting from Blake or any of his subsidiaries. I trusted Blake, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still committed to becoming intricately involved in my business dealings at every possible opportunity.

Blake had plenty of his own contradictions. He could be sweet and heart-wrenchingly tender one moment and be driving me into a fiery rage with his compulsive controlling tendencies the next. He could micro-manage the hell out of my growing business during the day and fuck me straight out of my mind the second we walked through the door every night. Granted, sometimes I needed both, but I still wasn’t sure how I felt about all this dominance in my life. Letting him in scared me, but I was learning to be more open to it, to trust him as much as I could.

Today, a part of me, the part of me that needed separation and independence from Blake, wanted to make absolutely sure he wasn’t pulling a fast one on me again.

“I can assure you that Blake has no ownership stake in the property,” Fiona reassured me.

That was all well and good, but not so long ago she’d sold me on a beautifully updated apartment within the same Comm Ave brownstone that Blake not only owned, but also lived in. The tenuous line between our personal lives and businesses was already too blurred. I was holding firm on this one.

“I’m glad to hear it.”

Fiona dug into her purse. Despite my misgivings, my anticipation grew. She unlocked the door and we filed into the space. The long room was small, at least compared to Blake’s. Though musty and in dire need of a cleaning crew, the space held promise. Behind me Blake sighed.

“Fiona, seriously. This is the best you could do?”

She shot him an annoyed look.

“We—Erica and I—discussed her budget, and for the location and size, this is a fair option. Obviously the space could use some TLC, but you have to admit it has potential.”

I took a long look around, envisioning the many possibilities. I had been so busy keeping things running out of my apartment, all while hiring, that I hadn’t had a chance to get excited about this move. But this would be fun.

“I love the wood floors.”

“They’re filthy.” Blake scuffed the sole of his shoe on the floor, drawing a faint line through the dust.

“Have a little vision, Blake. We just need to clean it up, and with a few enhancements, this could definitely have a cool design studio feel.”

“Exactly. Exposed brick never goes out,” Fiona added.

“Pretty old.” Blake wrinkled his nose.

I laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. “Show me a building in Boston that isn’t old.”

The space was a far cry from the Landon Group’s renovated modern offices, but I had modest and realistic expectations. The current state of the space left much to be desired, but with some elbow grease and a few additions, we could make this work.

We stopped in front of the large windows facing the street. A flutter of excitement coursed through me. Giving the business its own address would be a major milestone and make everything we’d accomplished so far seem much more real.

I turned to gauge Fiona’s reaction. “I think I like it. What do you think?”

Fiona pursed her lips and looked around. “The price is fair and the lease term gives you options for growth. All things considered, I would say this is a safe bet. Can you see yourself here?”

“I can.” I smiled, having renewed faith in Fiona’s brokering skills. At the end of the day, we needed a comfortable, affordable working space for the new team members of Clozpin, the fashion social network I’d spent the past year growing.

“Let me make some calls and see if I can get the price down for you. Because Blake’s right, this place is kind of dirty. Plus, if you plan on fixing it up, that gives us a bargaining chip.” Fiona pulled out her phone and exited toward the hallway, leaving us alone again.

“You didn’t ask me what I think.” Blake gave me a crooked grin.

“That’s because I already know what you think.”

“I could give you twice the square footage and you wouldn’t even need to leave the building to come visit me. Plus you’d get the girlfriend rate, which I think you’ll find is unmatched in this part of town.”

Blake’s uninvited assistance in all matters was a lost cause. Sure, he was controlling, compulsive, and persistent as all hell, but he was ultimately a fixer. When the people he cared about ran into problems or wanted for anything, he came to the rescue, sparing no expense in the process.

“I appreciate the offer. I really do. But you can’t put a price on independence, Blake.” We’d had this conversation before, and I was standing my ground. He needed to trust me to make things work on my own. This trust thing went both ways.

“You can be independent. We’ll put it all in writing.”

“In my experience, putting it in writing only commits me to being dependent on your ample resources for a minimum length of time.” Blake already had me bound to a year-long lease with my apartment, though he’d yet to cash any of my rent checks.

“Call it rent control. You could lock in the girlfriend rate for, say, a twenty-year lease, and then we could negotiate from there.” He encircled me in his arms, pressing me firmly against his chest, his lips inches from mine.

My heart pounded. This went beyond our usual banter of trying to outwit each other. We had only been together a matter of weeks and he was already thinking about the long-term? My lips parted slightly as I struggled to take a full breath. Blake’s words and his proximity made my world spin, time and again. No one had ever affected me like this, and I was gradually learning to enjoy the roller coaster.

“Nice try,” I whispered.

He growled and closed his mouth over mine. He claimed me with gentle urgency, teasing me with tiny licks of his tongue.

“You drive me crazy, Erica.”

“Oh?” I breathed, trying not to moan as the air left me.

“Yes, in every conceivable way. Let’s get out of here. Fiona can wrap up the paperwork if you’re intent on renting this dump.”

He grabbed my hips and sandwiched me between his rock hard body and the wall behind me. I didn’t know what it was about him pinning me to hard surfaces, but I fucking loved it. I slid my hands through his hair and kissed him back helplessly, so easily forgetting myself in his embrace. What time was it? Where did I need to be later? I mentally ran through every possible obstacle between me and being naked with Blake. His thigh found the space between my legs, exerting the perfect amount of pressure so the crease of my jeans rubbed me through my panties.

“Oh, God.”

“I swear, if there was a clean surface in this place, I’d fuck you on it right now.”

I giggled. “You’re bad.”

His eyes went dark. “You have no idea.”

“Ahem.”

Fiona leaned into the doorway, wide-eyed.

Blake stepped back abruptly, leaving me dizzy and momentarily confused. For the first time ever, I witnessed him flush as he ran his fingers through his hair, seemingly embarrassed at having been caught making out in front of his little sister.

“If you two are finished, I got the price down another couple hundred. Can we make a decision on this, or do you want to see some more places in different parts of town?”

I straightened and stepped away from Blake to join her, knowing the farther away I was, the more clearly I could think.

“Decision’s made. Let’s do this.”

***

“You new to the neighborhood?”

The busty redhead serving up two steaming creme brulee lattes interrupted my train of thought as I checked through my email with obsessive care.

“Sort of. I’m renting commercial space upstairs.”

“Rock and roll. I’ve been here a few years. I opened the café with my parents but they retired, so it’s just me and the crew now.”

“Wow, congrats. I didn’t realize you were the owner.” I’d seen her several times since scouting out the neighborhood and practicing my route to work. Okay, so I was mainly over-eager to move into the office, and the compelling smells coming from Mocha lured me in regularly.

“Most people don’t. They’re pretty surprised when they ask for a supervisor and they’re still looking at me.”

We laughed, and I held out my hand to hers. “I’m Erica.”

“Simone. These are on the house.”

“Awesome, thank you.”

“No worries.” She sauntered back to the coffee bar with curves that even I envied. Simone had a presence in the place and she made a mean latte, so she wasn’t easy to forget. The patrons around me followed her with their gazes until she was safely hidden behind the counter.

Liz pushed through the door and found me at my table.

“Wow, you’re wicked tan,” I said, admiring Liz’s ability to look like a catalogue model with presumably very little effort. Somehow her perfect blond bob looked even lighter than the last time we’d met over coffee. My own hair was pulled up into a messy bun, and I was dressed in a pair of well-loved, thoroughly ripped blue jeans and a tie-dyed tank top, ready to clean up the office space before our furniture arrived.

“Thanks! Barcelona was amazing. You have to go sometime. My parents rented a villa and I basically hung out on the beach the whole time. Absolute bliss.”

“Sounds amazing.”

“So what have you been up to?” She took a sip of her latte.

“I got my funding for the business, so I found office space and now I’m renovating and hiring.”

“Holy crap, congratulations!”

“Thanks.”

“What are you hiring for?”

“We have a couple new programmers, but I’m sort of agonizing over finding a marketing director. No one has wowed me yet, but I need someone soon. I can’t wear that hat with all the other things I have going on.”

“Oh my God, I know the perfect person.” She clapped her hands together and then started rummaging through her purse.

“Yeah?”

“My friend Risa. She’s been working for a marketing company for the past few summers. She graduated with us and is on the job hunt now. She’s crazy into fashion. You would love her.”

I raised my eyebrows. Not like I especially loved fashion. Sure I ran a fashion social network, but that was business. Obsessing over fashion was Alli’s gig, but since Alli was the one I was replacing, maybe this girl would be worth talking to.

“I’m trying to replace my business partner who moved to New York for work, so she’d have to be willing to take on a lot of responsibility for meager start-up pay. Not really everyone’s dream job.”

Liz shook her head, seeming undeterred. “Sounds perfect, actually. You should talk to her. I could be wrong about what she’s looking for, but connecting with her couldn’t hurt. You never know.”

I shrugged. “All right, but I can’t make any promises, okay?”

“Absolutely. She’s a friend but we’re not super close so if it doesn’t work out, no hard feelings.”

“Okay, cool.”

I waited for her to send me the info on her phone, and I let my mind wander to everything I had to do before we set up shop upstairs.

“I’m really glad we reconnected, Erica.” Liz smiled sweetly, bringing me back to the moment.

“Me too.”

“I thought a lot about what you said when I was away.” Her expression changed, her features softening. “I should have been more understanding of the whole situation. I had nothing to compare it to, so I probably didn’t react the way I should have. I’m sorry I couldn’t be the one to help you through it, but I want to try to be a better friend to you now, if it’s not too late.” Her voice lowered when she spoke to me, even though the coffee shop was humming with other customers wrapped up in their own conversations.

“Of course not. Don’t worry about it.”

I waved away her apology and all the emotions it threatened to conjure. One of the reasons we’d grown distant to begin with was the constant reminder of the difficult time in my life that we had shared. I did want to give our friendship another chance, but I seriously hoped that didn’t mean reliving the past every time we met up.

“We’re talking ancient history, Liz. I’ve moved on and I’m not interested in dwelling on it. I have a million other things to think about right now.”

“Right.” She nodded. “I don’t know how you do it. I couldn’t imagine running a business. I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

“There’s definitely a learning curve, but you could say that about anything, I guess. How’s your job going?” She must have already started her position at one of the large investment firms in the city.

“Great, actually, except I’m in spreadsheet hell right now. But I’m learning a lot and trying to figure it all out. I think I like it. Plus, there are tons of hot guys who work at the firm. Major bonus.”

I laughed, remembering how boy crazy she had been when we’d shared a dorm room our freshmen year. In fact, her love of boys and parties might have been what had landed us off campus at a frat house one night. I shook my head, pushing thoughts of that terrible night with Mark out of my mind.

Now that I knew the identity of the man who’d raped me, I was even more determined not to let the experience rule me. I was stronger than the pain he had left me with, and I had come too far to lament the innocence he’d stolen.

“I’d love to come see the new office sometime,” she said.

“Sure, as soon as we get everything set up you should come by. On that note, I really better run. The furniture is being delivered tomorrow, and I’ve got a long night of cleaning ahead of me.”

“No worries. It was great seeing you.”

“You too.” I smiled and offered her a quick hug.

I hurried up to the second floor. I hadn’t seen the place since I’d made the decision to rent it. I was giddy to start making it our own, even if that meant getting a little dirty.

I stopped in front of the door. It was completely unrecognizable from the old door a few days ago. The wood had been painted a satin gray and the window was frosted, leaving a transparent silhouette of our company logo in the center. I turned the key in the shiny chrome handle and opened the door.

The original floors were now shiny and renewed from being refinished and lacquered. Ornate white trim lined the windows and the walls where they met the ceiling. A new ceiling fan and track lighting brought the space into the twenty-first century.

I grabbed my phone and called Fiona.

“Hey, Erica.”

“Do you have something you want to tell me?”

“What? Oh.”

“I thought we were past this.” I tried to keep my tone even, but when was she going to learn to keep Blake out of my business?

“Erica, he’s my big brother. What do you want me to do? He wanted to do something to help. You know how he is.”

Yes, I knew how he was and how impossible he made it to say no, especially when he had his sights set on something. I walked around the room admiring how the space had completely transformed since I’d last seen it. I couldn’t imagine anything better. All I could think to do was mentally map out furniture placement. Blake had done the rest. Damn it all.

“Well it looks amazing. It’s perfect.”

“I know. I sneaked a peek before giving you the keys. He did a great job. Just what I envisioned.” Her wariness at my reaction had clearly waned, her excitement shining through.

I sighed and tapped my foot. Damn it, I was excited too.

“All right, I’m still mad at you though,” I said, thoroughly unconvincing.

“I’ll buy you a drink sometime and you’ll forget all about it.”

“I usually need a few drinks to forget.”

She laughed. “Not going to argue with that. Well, enjoy the space. Congrats.”

“Thanks, I’ll talk to you later.”

I dropped my bag—heavy with cleaning supplies that were now unnecessary—to the floor. I sat cross-legged in the middle of the room, taking it all in. Every baby step we’d taken with the business these past few weeks had seemed overwhelming, and Blake never failed to take everything up a notch.

Just then the door opened, and Blake’s frame filled the doorway. His hands were full with a bottle of champagne, a blanket, and a brown paper bag. A knowing grin curved his lips.

“How’s my favorite boss?”

“Can’t complain,” I said flatly, looking up at his impressive frame towering over me.

He unfolded the blanket, sat down, and patted the spot next to him for me to join him there.

“What’s all this?”

“I was thinking we could have an office picnic to celebrate the new digs.”

He smirked and twisted the cork off the champagne, then poured the bubbly into two glasses he retrieved from the bag.

Our gazes locked. He was gauging my mood.

“You mad?”

“Maybe,” I lied. Luckily he’d done such an amazing job that I’d already forgiven him and his accomplice.

His eyebrows shot up as if he were waiting for me to react. I got a little lost in his eyes. His beautiful hazel irises under thick, long lashes were the centerpiece on a face that took my breath away with alarming regularity. The sharp lines of his jaw. His lightly tanned skin and full delicious lips that reminded me of the terrible, wonderful things they could do to me. I could stare at him for hours and never tire of the way he made me feel. Possessed and obsessed. I’d never felt so wanted or so enraptured by another human being. Blake was the whole gorgeous, maddening package, and I loved every inch of him.

I sighed, hoping I didn’t look as hopelessly in love as I felt. “I’m accepting your insanity.”

“Good girl.” He visibly relaxed and flashed me a smile.

Eager to be closer, I accepted his earlier invitation and shifted to join him on the blanket. I took the glass of champagne he handed to me and took a sip.

“Do you like it?”

“I love it.” Despite his misgivings about the location, he seemed to have had some vision for the place after all.

“I hoped you would.”

“Why the change of heart?”

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You made no bones about hating this place when we looked at it.”

“Obviously I was going to want you closer. But this is what you wanted. You’re accepting my ‘insanity’ as you call it, and I’m accepting your obstinacy.”

I stared at him a moment. I couldn’t quite argue with his description of me. “Some might call that progress.”

He smiled in a way that made me believe no one had come this far with him before. We hadn’t talked about it, but Blake didn’t strike me as someone who made compromises often. Frankly, neither of us did, but somehow we were figuring it out. Remodeling the office was way over the top, but accepting my decision was a step in the right direction.

I sipped the chilled bubbly. Silence settled over the room. “You need to let me struggle a little bit, you know.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Do you hear yourself?”

“Yes, I do. And I know I won’t grow if I always have you butting in before I can face a challenge or make a mistake. I want those opportunities, otherwise I’ll just bumble along in this fantasy world where you make all my problems go away and I’ll never know what it’s really like to run a business.”

He exhaled loudly. “All right, then. How involved do you want me to be?”

“How about you let me ask for your help when I need it?”

He shook his head. “You’ll never do that.”

I rolled my eyes, but he was partially right. I was stubborn as hell and rarely reached out for help.

“Hey.” He caught my chin, turning me toward him. “I’m proud of you.”

“For what? Roping yo. . .