Chapter 60 Rage baiting Final Boss
I almost forgot how hilarious Jay could be.
We’re in a quiet corner booth at our favorite little diner a few blocks from the office. Jay’s been going on for the last forty minutes, fully in storyteller mode, describing the IT department’s latest disasters while I was in London.
“Okay, you have to hear this one,” he says, already chucking. “Remember that eager little intern who started when you got back after the whole Kieran situation?”
I take the last sip of my drink. “The one with the funny hair cut?”
“Yes. That's the one. His name is Jude.”
I giggle. “Who still names their kid that?”
Jay starts laughing his ridiculous laugh, and I join in.
“Okay. What'd he do?” I ask, wiping the tear from my eye.
“He got one of those suspicious emails screaming ‘Congratulations! You’ve won a brand-new iPhone 17Pro and a $3,000 cash prize. Click here to claim your reward before it expires.’”
“Okay…” I say, sitting up curiously, interested in how the story ends.
“The kid actually clicked the link!”
“No way!” I groan.
“Within thirty seconds our security systems lit up like the Fourth of July. Half the servers started freaking out, passwords got locked, and some files started encrypting. It was crazy, Scarlett. Alerts were going off everywhere.”
“Oh my goodness.”
“Yeah. It was a nasty phishing attack trying to drop ransomware on the network.”
I cover my mouth but can't stop the laughter that breaks through. “No way.”
“Dead serious,” Jay continues. “We caught it and nuked the malware before it could spread, but for about fifteen minutes it was total chaos.”
He shakes his head at the memory. “The poor kid was sweating profusely, apologizing to everyone who walked by.”
“He must've been so scared," I say, suddenly feeling sad for him. The kid just wanted the latest iPhone.
“Yeah. Absolutely," Jay replies. “He got roasted by the entire department and scolded within an inch of his life.”
I make a pitiful sound.
“But he was fucking lucky Moore was still wherever the hell he was when it happened.” Jay takes a sip of his beer, oblivious to the way my body goes rigid at the mention of Lawrence’s name.
“If Lawrence had been sitting in that office when those alerts popped up, Jude would’ve gotten the talk of his life before being personally escorted out of the building with a cardboard box and his dignity in shreds.”
Ah yes. Lawrence and his words.
Irritation and something else churn in my belly. That arrogant, uncultured mouth of his is unmatched when it comes to tearing someone down.
One clipped sentence and he can make a grown man feel two inches tall.
My mind, the traitor, immediately supplies the other thing that mouth is exceptionally good at.
Heat crawls up my cheek as memories of some of the most intense, toe-curling orgasms he's ever given me flash through my head.
I clear my throat, shifting in my seat and forcing my attention back to Jay. "Yeah... sounds intense.”
Jay doesn’t notice my blush. He’s already launching into a dramatic reenactment of the department’s over-the-top scolding, complete with exaggerated voices and wild hand gestures.
Within seconds the ridiculousness of it all pulls me back in. I burst out laughing so hard my stomach aches, and my eyes water.
Whenever the talk drifts too close to my “grandma,” I steer us away with another question or a joke.
Jay notices, but he doesn’t push.
He never does. And that’s one of the things I’ve always appreciated about him.
Suddenly, his phone vibrates loudly against the tabletop. He glances down, and his grin fades instantly into a frown.
“Shit,” he mutters, already reaching for his wallet. “I have to get back to the office. I installed a custom monitoring alarm on one of the important servers months ago, especially after the whole deal with the first breach. It’s going off right now.”
“Oh my gosh.”
“I don't think it's that serious. Someone probably tampered with it.” Jay shrugs on his jacket. “But I have to check it out, regardless. We have to be extra careful these days.”
“Yes. Don't risk it.”
He sighs, standing up. “I hate to leave you.”
I wave him off, still smiling. “Don’t worry about me.”
“You sure? Let me at least call you a cab…”
“No, it’s fine,” I say. “I’ll just stay here for a little more while, then hail one in a bit.”
“You sure?”
“Yess. Go save the servers, hero," I joke.
He hesitates, searching my face for a second, before leaning in and pressing a quick, friendly kiss to my cheek. “Be careful getting home, okay?”
“I will. Bye, Jay.”
He tucks the bill under his tray, giving me one last warm smile before disappearing through the restaurant doors.
I sit there for fifteen minutes longer, enjoying the peace.
The heaviness from this morning creeps back in, but before it can settle, I get to my feet and pick up my bag.
The evening air is cool and refreshing. Instead of immediately hailing a cab, I decide to stroll a little.
I've barely walked up to a block when Lawrence's car idles up to me.
No fucking way.
The tinted backseat window rolls down smoothly to reveal Lawrence's face, his green eyes staring at me.
“Get in,” he says, his voice commanding.
I freeze momentarily, surprised by the audacity in his tone. Then I resume walking, looking ahead.
Lawrence sighs aloud.
“Scarlett.” His tone is sharper, laced with something like anger. “Get in.”
“No.”
“Please.”
His voice is lower now, filled with a dangerous sort of calm.
A few pedestrians glance our way.
I don’t want a scene, so I stop walking. Exhaling sharply through my nose and against every ounce of stubborn pride I have left, I yank the door open, sliding into the luxurious leather seat beside him.
The door shuts with a click, sealing us inside.
Elias pulls away from the curb without a word.
“You had dinner with Jason Straw,” Lawrence says quietly, his words clipped.
“Yes? And?” I fire back.
He doesn't reply, staring at me. There's anger in those eyes.
“Jay’s my friend," I continue. “Unlike you, he doesn’t keep massive secrets from me or try to erase my entire career.”
“Why were you walking home alone?” He asks, still in that quiet voice of his. “If he were really your friend…” He says the word like it’s something that repulses him. “...the least he could’ve done, the most basic, courteous thing, was make sure you got safely into a cab.”
“He wanted to,” I snap, twisting in the seat to glare at him. “He offered. I declined. And we would’ve taken one together if he hadn’t gotten called away on that stupid server alarm.”
I shouldn’t even be explaining myself. I know I shouldn’t. But Lawrence has a fucking master’s degree in rage-baiting, in pushing every single one of my buttons until I can’t help but react.
“Some server alarm went off and…”
I stop speaking when the realization hits me in the face.
“Oh my God.” I whisper, my voice full of disbelief and fresh fury. “It was you, wasn’t it? You triggered that alarm.”
Lawrence doesn’t even try to deny it, his green eyes darkening behind his glasses.
“Have you been watching me, Lawrence?”