Wife's Bitter Revenge Against Neglectful CEO Husband-Chapter 36: Crazy Code

For long, beautiful seconds, I forgot that I didn’t like this guy, and I lost myself in the kiss. I now understood what kissing a man was supposed to feel like.

I had to mentally knock some sense into myself, and quickly, before King’s kiss pulled me under for good.

Where was that kind of kissing during the time we were dating? Where was it during those clinical monthly impregnation sessions? How could King be so cold to me when he was capable of this kind of passion? It broke my heart.

It also made me wonder what else he was hiding.

I raised my left foot and stomped down hard on King’s right foot, regretting that I wasn’t wearing stilettos for the only time in my life.

King cursed and fell back, trying to keep the weight off his sore foot.

"What was that for?"

"So many reasons, but let’s go with the most basic. You kissed me against my will."

"The way you responded didn’t feel like it was against your will."

"I---I—I was stunned. That’s all."

"I don’t think so. Why don’t you admit you’re attracted to me?"

"I’m attracted to chocolate, lions, horror films, and ha—" I stopped myself from listing hacking as an option. "But that doesn’t mean any of those things are good for me."

"What were you going to say but stopped?"

"Nothing. Not one thing." I looked at my bare wrist. "Oh dear, look at the time. I’ve got to go. It’s the first day at my new job."

I dashed off to the women’s locker room.

By the time I was dressed, Jake was waiting for me. King and Min were thankfully missing.

"I’ve ordered the Uber. Let’s go."

The Uber was a Lexus driven by a guy named Abel. Poor Abel’s car was shoehorned between two Mercedes Benzs. One was a to-die-for cross between a dove gray and lavender sedan.

I wasn’t really a car person, but I was salivating. Color me riding high on a dream cloud.

The other Mercedes was a sleek black SUV with polished chrome.

I wasn’t the least bit surprised when King stepped out of the SUV.

"You know what is coming next, right?" Jake said.

"Yeah."

"You might as well take it. They know where to find us."

"I’m tempted."

Almost as tempted as I was by King’s kiss.

King held out two key fobs. "Choose."

"Why?"

"Would you rather I give you flowers?"

"No, but I can’t."

"Consider it a rental for the next month. Once you receive your first paycheck, you can take over the payments if you want."

"Are you kidding? I can’t afford payments, let alone insurance on either of those vehicles."

"Dammit, Teela. Just take one of the cars. I swear it’s not bugged. You can have it checked out if you want. Use it for a month. If you want to return it, then I won’t fight you."

Or I could buy it with the money he pays me for the hacking contract, which would feel twice as good as buying it from a dealership.

"Yeah, okay. The sedan."

King smiled like he’d won the lottery.

As soon as he gave me the key fob, I tossed it to Jake. "Let’s go."

The minute I snuggled into the sedan’s leather seat, I regretted not owning a pair of oversized sunglasses. This car just called for oversized accessories.

Jake pulled away from the curb while I canceled the Uber. I made sure Abel was adequately compensated for wasting his time.

Jake said, "I’ll drop you off and have the car checked out."

I nodded, knowing it didn’t matter. Soon King would hand over all of his surveillance sources to Night Shadows.

King pushed away the smile on his lips. Teela took the car. It was a major win, regardless of whether they discovered the trackers Min had installed on the vehicle. If he could convince her to take the car, he could convince her to move out of the slums and that run-down church. And if he could get her out of the church, he could get her away from her sketchy friends. Once she was free of those people, King knew he could talk her into going home.

He wanted his life to return to normal, even if that meant he had to play referee between Teela and his mom. He had to admit that Mom was a bully, and Anya was egging her on, but he was sure that if he took a firm hand when it came to Teela, the women would learn to work together.

But this time, things would be different. That kiss they shared earlier was full of promise. King was ready to make good on that promise.

Bea’s company, Crazy Code, was located in a commercial complex made up of a dozen or so identical white buildings. Each building was made up of five stories. The landscaping was sparse, but the parking was ample.

It was a good starter location, but if I had my way, we wouldn’t be a starter business for long.

Bea waited for us in the lobby, which was bright and cheerful, just like Bea.

"You’re here! Finally. Stiff is in the conference room. Let’s strategize."

Stiff had been busy. He had created a PowerPoint presentation outlining Bea’s existing projects and manpower shortages. It also included King’s project. Thanks to my early morning activities, the real estate project was marked complete. It turns out the agent had two moles, so she was doubly happy with our progress.

But then, we had a separate set of projects with no monetary value. We tagged these projects as the Love List. Finding Jake’s boys topped the list.

Stiff stepped up. "I’ve been working with Jake to correlate background information and the details from the detective’s investigation, which wasn’t much.

"I’ve uploaded Drake and Davon’s pictures. I’m running a deep dive into available databases. I also contracted a buddy who specializes in infiltrating pedophile circles.

"Yeah, I know that isn’t pretty, but human trafficking is a lucrative business. Eve could have bought a lot of drugs at the cost of her sons."

"What do you need from us?" Bea asked.

Stiff said, "I’ve got the boys covered for now. I’m finalizing the contract with King. Teela, if you can help Bea with her priority projects while she focuses on hiring additional staff, I think we are golden."

"Sounds like a plan," I said, "but can we add a couple of projects to the Love List?"

"What did you have in mind?" Stiff asked.

"Father DiMarco saved me and has been such a support. I want to prioritize making his dream come true and renovate the church."

"Agreed," Bea raised her hand.

Stiff nodded. "This one is on me. I sent over an architect, designer, and engineer. He’ll have everything he needs."

"Aw, Stiff. You’re the sweetest, but let us help. We live there, too," Bea said.

"Agreed," I said.

"Alright, how about a compromise?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"We’ll set aside an even share of all hacker projects for Father DiMarco." Stiff’s smile grew. "Consider it the partnership’s tithe."

I wasn’t about to leave Jake out. "And a portion of my share should go to Jake. He has rescued me more than once and proven himself adept at security. I don’t want to lose him."

Stiff said, "Not out of your share. He should receive a full share of all the profits."

"Agreed," Bea said. "We stand together."

"I don’t agree." Jake entered the room. "A salary is fine. I’m not a techie like you guys."

I said, "But that is your value, Jake. You aren’t a techie. You bring something different to our group. Besides, don’t underestimate your MMA skills and your military training. Both are skills none of us have. As we grow, survival skills will be essential. I have faith you can transition those skills from the battlefield to the boardroom."

Stiff nodded. "Unless you’re willing to out yourself as Night Shadows, it’s a good idea. Jake has a strong presence. He’d make a good front man for assholes like King, who—by the way—wants to sign the contract in person."

I said," King has seen Jake before. He knows he’s with me."

"So? He already suspects you paid someone to hack in. If he’s focused on Jake, his attention is off you."

I shook my head. If something went wrong, I didn’t want Jake to end up the fall guy. "I can’t agree. I’m sorry. Jake won’t be the front man, especially with King."

"Well, who then?" Stiff asked.

Bea said, "Let Teela play herself. I can do makeup magic on the woman so fine that her own mother would have a hard time picking her out of a lineup. King isn’t nearly that observant."

That was so true.

I said, "I’m fine with playing myself with everyone but King. That one will be scary."

Bea blew me a kiss. "Trust me."

A notification sounded like a fire alarm’s little brother blasted from Stiff’s laptop.