Rules of Engagement

Nate Leeman stood at his office window and watched as big, fat snowflakes drifted lazily down from an overcast sky. It always surprised him when somebody mentioned how beautiful Boston could be in January.

As far as Nate was concerned, snow meant only one thing…longer commutes to and from the office. Many a wintry night he had camped out at work rather than fight traffic and inclement conditions. Of course most nights he’d just as soon be here as at home.

Here, was his office at Wintersoft, Inc. As Senior Vice President of Technology, he commanded a large office outfitted with a wet bar he’d never used, an ornate armoire containing a television, stereo and DVD player he’d never touched and a sofa sleeper he’d never unfolded.

All he cared about sat on his enormous desk—his state-of-the-art computer and supporting equipment. The computer and its programs and files weren’t just his work; they were his life and, despite all the security precautions, somebody had violated it.

Now his computer wasn’t alone on his big desk. A second monitor and keyboard sat next to his and the sight of it only served to heighten the irritation that had been with him since the moment he’d awakened that morning.

A knock sounded on his office door. “Come in,” he called and turned away from the window.

Emily Winters, Senior Vice President of Global Sales and the boss’s daughter, entered and immediately sat on the burgundy sofa opposite Nate’s desk. “The forecast is for two to four inches by midnight.”

“What time does her plane arrive?” he asked. Kathryn Sanderson was a private investigator specializing in tech crimes and a part of his past he’d just as soon never encounter again.

Emily looked at her watch. “In an hour.”

“Then there shouldn’t be any problems,” he replied. He hoped his personal feelings about the subject didn’t color his words or tone. As far as he was concerned he wouldn’t care if bad weather kept Kathryn’s plane circling Logan International Airport for days.

He didn’t want her here. He didn’t need her help. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the boss. Emily’s father, Lloyd, was and it had been his and Emily’s idea to hire outside help. It had been sheer serendipity that they had chosen a woman—the only woman with whom he’d shared a tumultuous history.

“I’ve booked her a room at the Brisbain so she’ll be close to the office.” Emily tucked a strand of her shoulder-length brown hair behind an ear, her blue eyes troubled as she gazed at him.

“We’ve got to get to the bottom of this, Nate. We’ve got too much time and too much money tied up in the Utopia program for it to be tampered with and leaked to our competitors.”

“Trust me, I’m as upset about this as you are,” he replied.

She stood and smoothed the skirt of the sapphire dress that perfectly matched the hue of her eyes. “Father and I are confident that you and Kathryn will be able to get to the source of the security breach. You’re two of the best in the business.” She headed for the door. “I’ll send her in as soon as she arrives so you can put your heads together and find the hack who’s creating our problems.” With these words she left the office.

Nate sank down at his desk, a frown tugging his features. It wasn’t just some hapless hack who had managed to breach the main computer and break into the Utopia program and personnel files. It had been somebody with considerable computer savvy.

From his bottom desk drawer he withdrew two magazines. Both were computer tech periodicals and each had an article on Kathryn Sanderson…aka Tiger Tech. Born and raised in Silicon Valley, in the past five years Kathryn had made a name for herself in catching computer criminals. She’d not only worked for big business but had also consulted with several police departments as well.

Accompanying one of the articles was a small photo. Although the picture was a little bit fuzzy, it depicted a young woman with a slender face, large eyes and short auburn hair.

The picture didn’t do her justice. The way he remembered, her face was slender but always animated with an abundance of confidence, laughter and life. There was no way a photo could capture the exact color of her hazel eyes for they were always changing—sometimes blue, sometimes green, and always sparkling.

And that short auburn hair was shot through with sun-kissed highlights that glistened and shone, adding a multitude of dimension to the color of auburn.

He slammed the magazine shut and stuffed it back into his bottom drawer. He’d told her goodbye five years ago and had assumed he’d never see her again. He didn’t want to see her again. She’d been the one risk he’d taken in his life…the one and only gamble he’d been willing to take. He didn’t take risks anymore—the outcome was far too painful.

He frowned and rolled his shoulders to release some of the tension that had taken root in a spot in the center of his shoulder blades.

All he needed was a little more time and he could figure out, on his own, where the breach in the program was coming from.

He punched up his computer, all set to get to work. Maybe he could have the problem solved before Tiger Tech even got off her plane. Then she could just climb on the next flight back to California.

He’d only been working for a minute or two when another knock on his door broke his concentration. “Come in,” he said in frustration.

Carmella Lopez, Executive Assistant to Lloyd Winters, entered carrying a fruit basket tied up in pretty cellophane. She smiled, her natural warmth radiating in the depths of her chocolate-brown eyes.

“Mr. Winters thought it would be nice if you’d give this to Ms. Sanderson when she arrives.” She set the bountiful basket on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

“How nice,” Nate said, trying to ignore the irritation that rose inside him. Maybe he should just roll out a red carpet. Certainly everyone in the entire place seemed eager to make Kat feel welcome. “I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.”

“We appreciate her coming all the way out here to help us,” Carmella replied.

Nate knew he was being rather childish, but he couldn’t help it. Utopia was his baby, and Lloyd and Emily Winters were telling him to hand over his baby to the woman who’d once broken his heart. Of course, nobody knew about his former connection to Kat and he didn’t intend to share the information with anyone.

Carmella glanced out the window where the snow was falling at a faster rate than last time he’d looked. “They’ve changed the forecast to four to eight inches by evening. I hope Ms. Sanderson knows how to dress for winter weather.”

It was just like Carmella to worry about such a thing. She was always fretting over somebody. She often made Nate rather uncomfortable by straightening his tie or brushing lint off his jacket. He wasn’t accustomed to being touched.

Carmella looked out the window once again and muttered something in Spanish beneath her breath. He looked at her quizzically. She smiled. “I said, beautiful but treacherous. And now I’ll let you get back to your work.”

When she left, Nate stared at the basket of fruit. The staff of Wintersoft, Inc. could welcome Kathryn Sanderson to the fold all they wanted. But they didn’t have to work with her, he did.

Beautiful but treacherous. That not only described the snow falling outside the window but could also apply to Kathryn Sanderson.

He walked over to the window and drew a deep breath, steeling himself for the experience of seeing her again.

Emily Winters was waiting for Carmella when she stepped out of Nate’s office. She grabbed the attractive Hispanic woman by the arm and pulled her into an empty conference room.

“What’s wrong?” Carmella asked.

“I think it’s time we stopped our little research plot. With Kathryn and Nate trying to find our hacker, we just can’t risk accessing any more personnel files.”

“Whatever you think is best,” Carmella agreed. “We only have two men left anyway.”

“And the odds of Nate Leeman and Jack Devon getting married anytime soon are astronomical,” Emily replied. Nate Leeman didn’t seem to realize women existed and Jack Devon always had a different model babe on his arm at company functions.

The two women parted and Emily went into her own office and closed the door. She sank down at her desk and thought about the scheme she’d hatched with Carmella five months before.

It had been Carmella who had overheard Emily’s father in a phone conversation indicating that he meant to hint to the bachelors in the top positions of his company that it might be a good idea to take an interest in his daughter.

Emily had been appalled, especially since she’d already married a company man and the end result had been a divorce more than four years ago. To counter her father’s plans she and Carmella had devised a plot of their own.

It was a crazy plan. Carmella had agreed to research the six bachelors in top company positions and it was Emily’s job to find them the perfect match.

So far their plan had worked unbelievably well. Four of the six bachelors had found love, leaving only the loner Nate and the elusive Jack unattached.

But now she had bigger problems than her father’s matchmaking. She didn’t want anyone to know it had been her and Carmella who had accessed the personnel files in order to marry off the men. She would be humiliated if that information became common knowledge.

It wasn’t as if what they had done had been illegal. Certainly it was within Carmella’s job description to have access to the personnel files. But, she and Carmella had snooped and, even though everything had turned out well for everyone so far, Emily didn’t want to press their luck any further.

However, more important than any humiliation she might suffer was the genuine threat to the company by a hacker who had managed to access some of the Utopia files.

Utopia was the working name for a revolutionary financial software program that Nate had been developing on behalf of Wintersoft, Inc. It had been in the works for months and months and the projected date for completion was fast approaching.