His jaw dropped. “I took that picture just this morning. It hasn’t even been uploaded to my cloud yet.”

The picture was of his wife feeding who I assumed was their granddaughter in her high chair. 

“I hacked your phone, from my cell, within less than 10 minutes. Now will you trust us to upgrade your mobile security? As well as your cloud security?” I reached over and swiped my phone, where all of his pictures on the cloud were. “I stayed out of any of your business folders, but they would be just as easy. The pictures are all I looked at.”

He cleared his throat and passed my phone back. “Yes, upgrade it all. Anything you need. I thought we were safe enough.”

“Tech progresses every year. We need to make sure your security does as well. It’s the only way to keep your business, your family, your whole life, safe.” Lawerence stated almost morosely.

The rest of the meeting went smoothly as we explained all the measures that would be taken. When I shook Bill's hand, he leaned in and whispered, “All of the pictures?”

I giggled. “Yes. Don’t worry, I quickly swiped past any, uh, personal ones. It’s nice to see that you and your wife have such a close relationship, even after all these years. Congratulations. I hope I have that one day.”

He blushed and nodded as he quickly walked out. 

“Do I want to know?” Lawerence asked in amusement.

I cringed. I hadn’t swiped fast enough on the first one and the couple were definitely not in their prime anymore. Nor did he look as good as Dillan had.

“Probably not.”

He laughed and collected his things. “I heard the rumors over the years, about your skills with computers. I must say, I was a bit incredulous about it. I’m proud to say I was wrong. And I am even more thrilled that you chose our side. If you had gone the other way, I don’t know that we ever would have been able to catch you.”

It was my turn to blush as he escorted me out of the room. “Thanks. I love it here. I love helping people feel safe.”

“Then you are in the right place, Fiona.” He nodded in farewell and then left. 

Linda followed me into my office, dying to know what happened. I told her and she laughed. She often said it was nice to see a young woman showing up all the men for a change. The last Junior partner she helped was a bit misogynistic. She had celebrated when he decided to branch out and start his own firm. I had a good laugh when she told me that she frequently threw a dollar coin into the wishing fountain at the mall, wishing for his business to fail and be bought out by a woman. 

I didn’t see Chris again until after work when he walked me out. Katia was waiting, having been in the area showing a condo to someone. Her eyes lit up when he kissed my cheek goodbye. As soon as he was out of earshot, I pointed a finger at her.

“Don’t say it. I’ve heard enough about it from Linda.”

Katia raised her hands up in surrender. “Not gonna say a thing.” Once we loaded up and started driving, she changed her mind.

“Okay, one thing.”

I groaned and closed my eyes.

“He’s got that nerdy cute thing going for him. Totally go for it if the door opens.”

I whimpered out a pathetic crying laugh. My mind, of course, went to me opening the door as Dillan balanced me in his arms. I really needed to stop thinking about him.

Chris met me every morning with coffee that week and walked me out every evening. It got to the point that I grew used to it and started expecting him at those times. Color me surprised when he showed up in my office again at lunchtime on Friday.

“Can I cash in that rain check now?”

I laughed. “Sure. Why not. Any ideas?” I pulled out my purse and let him escort me to the elevator. Thankfully, Linda had already left for lunch.

We ended up going to a deli nearby. Not a single thing romantic about it. We talked about work mostly, but small things about our outside lives crept in toward the end. For the most part, he kept to his side of the table, giving me distance. Only occasionally touching my hand with his. And when we left, Chris put his hand on my lower back as he held the door for me.