“No.” He shook his head, then tapped his temple like I needed to pay attention. “Remember, I said you could come to my office if you wanted to discuss the team further.’'
“I’m not getting into logistics with you. We both know you’re changing everything around when it doesn’t need to be changed.”
“Based on what? Your expertise?”
“Is that a jab at my education?” I think my mouth nearly hit the floor while my blood pressure skyrocketed. This guy had the audacity to go down that road?
“Izzy, I don’t even have the credentials you do. Why you went back to school for a degree in computer analytics is beyond me when you already knew how to hack into government shit in the first place,” he grumbled, rubbing his forehead. “Now, doing your assigned IT troubleshooting job, I’m not so sure about—”
“Are you kidding? I handle my job and other tasks. And I’m good at what I do. Stonewood Enterprises literally threw our team a party because we’re that good.”
“They’re always throwing damn parties. Jett’s been party happy ever since he got married.”
Wow, he had some nerve talking about the guy who owned the company that way. “Look Juda and I have worked in sync—”
“Juda can’t handle the job, and you and I both know it.” Cade cut me off.
“Well, if you believe that you should let me help him so his projects don’t go completely off the rails.”
“Do you do everyone’s job around here, Izzy? Your task list also included a large project from Cassie and—”
“I like to work,” I ground out. “Juda has not once complained about—”
As if on cue, Cade’s AI announced that Juda was calling. Cade didn’t think I was worth passing up his call, obviously, because he said, “I’ll answer.” He waited a moment for a beep and then said, “Juda, I’m still talking with Ms. Hardy.”
Don’t think I didn’t roll my eyes as big as I could before I grumbled, “Now it’s Ms. Hardy.”
“Yes, sir, I’m very aware you’re talking things over with Ms. Hardy. I just wanted to make it clear that I’ve got all this handled. Ms. Hardy has done some great assisting.”
Boy, he must have been sweating in his boots out there, because he damn well knew he’d done none of the work.
“I know. I know. She’s telling me how great you are, Juda, and I’m happy to have you as the team lead.” His tone didn’t make him very believable. “Please remind me what projects Ms. Hardy was assisting you on so I can be sure her workload isn’t too light in IT.”
“Oh.” Juda cleared his throat.
I tapped one stiletto and noted Cade’s eyes were glued to it, like he was absorbing the energy from each tap. He even smiled as Juda tried to brush all my work under the rug.
I didn’t correct him. It wasn’t my job. I really didn’t care if he took credit. I let him finish his ridiculous downplay of my work as I racked my brain for how to navigate this situation. When he mentioned the JUNIPER project, my whole body went rigid.
“She’s done well there. We got that algorithm ironed out very quickly. And the infrastructure we set up for the Chicago PD and the voting system for midterms is ideal for combating their ever-evolving cyber threats.”
“Juda, I’m happy you brought that up,” I said. “I’d love a chance to take that off your plate, if Mr. Armanelli is comfortable with me doing so.”
Cade’s finger now tapped the desk in about the same rhythm as my foot. “Why do you need to take over?” Cade inquired.
“Because I’d like to continue managing those threats. You know my history in undercover work—”
“Is over,” Cade snapped. “You don’t need to do that here.”
“But I want to,” I ground out as I searched his room for the speaker of the phone. “Juda, are you comfortable with that? It will free up some of your time.”
“Juda, you realize this is a big opportunity. We intend to mirror some of the setup for the election cybersecurity. We’ll fly you out to DC to meet the team and—”
“Oh, I think it’s ideal that Izzy takes it, then.”
I smirked when Cade’s brow furrowed. He didn’t get that Juda really had no idea about the project that I’d essentially built from the ground up. JUNIPER was my baby, and I was proud to say it was working out nicely.
Cade’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not interested in the opportunity for a promotion?”
“I think Izzy’s got this one handled,” he grumbled.
Cade’s tapping stopped. He stood from his chair and made his way over to me as he said, “Great, Juda. I’ll iron out the rest of the details with Izzy, then. End call.”
The beep overhead signaled Juda was gone. Cade wasn’t done yet. He walked around me like a snake, ready to coil me up.
“You think you’re winning right now, don’t you?” he snarled. I couldn’t help but smile. “You think you can handle a managerial position? If that’s the case, why have you been taking all of Juda’s work and not standing up for yourself?”
“It’s practice, quite frankly. I needed to know I could do his job. Now I know I can handle his duties as well as my own.”
“There’re calls with management, HR issues, complaints, strategy, not to mention all the other Stonewood bullshit we have to work on.”
“I can handle it.”
“You saying it doesn’t prove it to me.” Yet Cade rubbed his chin like he was thinking about it, like he might give me a shot. Then he pulled his cell from his pocket and sent off a text. “Plus, you’re going to have to prove it to Jett.”
“Jett?” I squeaked. “What does Mr. Stonewood have to do with any of this?”
“He’s not going to let an employee run the security of an election.”
“But it’s your team, and I—”
Of course, it was at that moment that Alice—their version of AI assistant—announced Jett Stonewood calling.
“Either we answer it or we don’t, Izzy.”
I’d barely graduated high school because of juvie, I’d faced one or two pretty bad drug deals, and I’d been held at gunpoint undercover. My life had been full of extreme choices, but for some reason, this one felt heavy, full of weight, and definitely life changing.
I quirked a brow at him. If I was going to get my feet wet, I might as well jump off the boat into the ocean. “Answer it.”
I stood tall as he circled me, and I didn’t falter or shrink.
Cade shrugged when I looked over my shoulder at him, and then he pointed to the knot at my neck where my blouse was tied. “This holding your top up?”
“What’s it matter?” I sneered.
Then I heard, “Cade, what’s going on?” from the man himself. Jett Stonewood had taken over a multibillion-dollar business from his father, invested vastly throughout the world, and partnered with the mob to pretty much rule the United States. I knew that between him and Cade Armanelli, I was about to have probably the most important conversation of my life. He was one of the only trillionaires in the world, and I think he shared half that wealth with the Armanellis.