Defended & Desired
Page 3
“This needs to stop before it reaches the second floor. We go dark during the press conference, and we can kiss our flawless reputation goodbye.”
“I won’t let that happen,” she vowed, her determination as unwavering as his. “But if all the servers go down, it’ll take me at least a week to restore data from the past few days to everyone in-house. It’s bad enough all work from today has been wiped.”
“Isn’t there some kind of back-up device?”
She bristled. “You think I’m a rookie?”
“I know you run a tight ship, but I’m not familiar with the ins and outs of IT protocol.”
“Hang around with the nerds for a few days and I’ll give you the whole geek-ified tour.” Her tone implied he hadn’t invested time or resources in her department. They may not have passed the budget proposal she submitted months ago, but he’d sat in several times when she gave presentations to her team, which always impressed him. Then again, he should be more informed to give her better assistance in a situation like the one they faced. Nothing like hindsight, he thought scowling. “Never mind, we’ll be swamped for days,” she added with a touch of misery. “You can get your geek on after I handle this meltdown.”
He planned to take her up on that offer, but right now he needed firm assurance. “So there is a backup.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, we have an off-site server housed a few blocks from here. But it’s a huge pain to reset everything when our servers go down.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. He gave Devon a lot of leeway because he trusted and believed in her. But if she rolled her eyes at him again, they were going to have words. This was his business and his family’s future on the line. His voice came out harsh. “I don’t care what you have to do. Just make it work.”
“That’s what I’ve been doing—before you barged in here and pestered me to death.”
He crossed his arms, more amused than irritated. “Within an inch of your life, I see.”
She exhaled. “I tend to exaggerate when I’m stressed.”
“Where are your minions?” Typically they flocked around her, hanging on her every word, following her around like enamored puppies.
“In their cubicles working their fingers to nubs helping me locate the source code for this beast.”
“Hacking the hacker?”
She sent him a saucy grin. “That’s how we roll.”
The tingle at his scalp zipped down his spine and intensified below his belt. Despite the urgency surrounding them, he wanted to tilt her head up and seal his mouth over those gorgeous red lips.
Another buzz on his phone interrupted his unprofessional thoughts. The text came via his marketing director—on the third floor. My computer ’s blank. Can’t get my screen up. Tried IT. No answer.
Trey launched into action. He stole the dry-erase marker out of Devon’s hand, pitched it toward her desk and grabbed her waist. “We’re shutting this down.”
“Wait—”
“Now.” He scooped her up and out the door before she protested further. She moved toward the elevator. He veered her in the opposite direction. “We’re taking the stairs. I’m not gambling the operational status of the elevator with the fate of our company.”
Her demeanor became resolute. “Got it.”
Kicking off her heels, she picked them up and flew down the steps ahead of him. Hastening his strides, he caught up to her. Resting his hand solidly on her back, he flung open the basement door followed by the door to the server room, and ushered her inside with him.
The first thing he noticed about this unfamiliar room was the loud drone of equipment fans. Air-conditioning pumped constantly, cooling the temperature—the vibration hum of static electricity and the stale chill scent of free-on cooling the space at a constant set temperature.
The sounds quickly became white noise. Then he noticed rainbow splashes of color running like rivers from the server cables. Blue, purple and green. Then yellow, orange and red.
He scanned the loud, crowded space, completely out of his element, though he berated himself for not paying more attention to all the things that functioned under his watch. “Where do we start?”
“Third floor. This row.” She dropped her shoes and trailed her fingertips along the metal mesh backs of the server racks. “We have to contain the virus here before it creeps through and attains second-floor access.”
With a quick, thorough scan, he took in the room and its components stacked floor-to-ceiling. On the way, he noticed a section of the wall where plugs fused with huge sockets meant to handle massive flows of electricity. “Is that the ultimate off switch?”
“If I say yes, do you promise not to use it?”
“Nope.”
“I was afraid of that.” She let out a distressed sigh. “Please, Trey. That is our absolute last resort. You have no idea how long it takes—”
“I’ll make that call. Fix what you can before I have to.”
“I will, but I need your height.”
His height? “Why?”
“We need to investigate the condition of the servers. The racks down this aisle cover the top three floors.”
“What am I looking for?”
“Green lights are good. Flashing yellow or red lights and we have problems. You take the top, I’ll take the bottom.”
If only they were in his bed right now and not fending off a pending disaster. Smart, sassy and incredibly sexy, he’d love to have her under him any day, any time, any place.
Thirty seconds later, he paused as a series of red lights flashed in his face. “Devon.”
She came to his side. “Did you find something?”
He pointed to the highest server on the rack. “You tell me.”
She stood on tiptoe and craned her neck. “I don’t see—”
Without stopping to think, he slid his arms around her waist and hoisted her so she was eye-level with the top server. If the situation wasn’t so dire, he’d revel in the feel of her in his arms, her slim body pressed against him.
“Now?” he asked.
With an audible gulp, she stated, “Pull the plug, Trey.”
He slid her down his height until her toes touched the floor, and then darted to the knot of plugs at the end of the row. Wrapping them in his fist, he gave a hard yank. The servers went dead, their loud hum silenced.
He breathed a sigh of relief, and the tension tightening his chest eased a fraction. He glanced at Devon who rubbed her temples. She looked close to tears, although her tough-as-nails persona would probably never allow her to admit it.
“I won’t let that happen,” she vowed, her determination as unwavering as his. “But if all the servers go down, it’ll take me at least a week to restore data from the past few days to everyone in-house. It’s bad enough all work from today has been wiped.”
“Isn’t there some kind of back-up device?”
She bristled. “You think I’m a rookie?”
“I know you run a tight ship, but I’m not familiar with the ins and outs of IT protocol.”
“Hang around with the nerds for a few days and I’ll give you the whole geek-ified tour.” Her tone implied he hadn’t invested time or resources in her department. They may not have passed the budget proposal she submitted months ago, but he’d sat in several times when she gave presentations to her team, which always impressed him. Then again, he should be more informed to give her better assistance in a situation like the one they faced. Nothing like hindsight, he thought scowling. “Never mind, we’ll be swamped for days,” she added with a touch of misery. “You can get your geek on after I handle this meltdown.”
He planned to take her up on that offer, but right now he needed firm assurance. “So there is a backup.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, we have an off-site server housed a few blocks from here. But it’s a huge pain to reset everything when our servers go down.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. He gave Devon a lot of leeway because he trusted and believed in her. But if she rolled her eyes at him again, they were going to have words. This was his business and his family’s future on the line. His voice came out harsh. “I don’t care what you have to do. Just make it work.”
“That’s what I’ve been doing—before you barged in here and pestered me to death.”
He crossed his arms, more amused than irritated. “Within an inch of your life, I see.”
She exhaled. “I tend to exaggerate when I’m stressed.”
“Where are your minions?” Typically they flocked around her, hanging on her every word, following her around like enamored puppies.
“In their cubicles working their fingers to nubs helping me locate the source code for this beast.”
“Hacking the hacker?”
She sent him a saucy grin. “That’s how we roll.”
The tingle at his scalp zipped down his spine and intensified below his belt. Despite the urgency surrounding them, he wanted to tilt her head up and seal his mouth over those gorgeous red lips.
Another buzz on his phone interrupted his unprofessional thoughts. The text came via his marketing director—on the third floor. My computer ’s blank. Can’t get my screen up. Tried IT. No answer.
Trey launched into action. He stole the dry-erase marker out of Devon’s hand, pitched it toward her desk and grabbed her waist. “We’re shutting this down.”
“Wait—”
“Now.” He scooped her up and out the door before she protested further. She moved toward the elevator. He veered her in the opposite direction. “We’re taking the stairs. I’m not gambling the operational status of the elevator with the fate of our company.”
Her demeanor became resolute. “Got it.”
Kicking off her heels, she picked them up and flew down the steps ahead of him. Hastening his strides, he caught up to her. Resting his hand solidly on her back, he flung open the basement door followed by the door to the server room, and ushered her inside with him.
The first thing he noticed about this unfamiliar room was the loud drone of equipment fans. Air-conditioning pumped constantly, cooling the temperature—the vibration hum of static electricity and the stale chill scent of free-on cooling the space at a constant set temperature.
The sounds quickly became white noise. Then he noticed rainbow splashes of color running like rivers from the server cables. Blue, purple and green. Then yellow, orange and red.
He scanned the loud, crowded space, completely out of his element, though he berated himself for not paying more attention to all the things that functioned under his watch. “Where do we start?”
“Third floor. This row.” She dropped her shoes and trailed her fingertips along the metal mesh backs of the server racks. “We have to contain the virus here before it creeps through and attains second-floor access.”
With a quick, thorough scan, he took in the room and its components stacked floor-to-ceiling. On the way, he noticed a section of the wall where plugs fused with huge sockets meant to handle massive flows of electricity. “Is that the ultimate off switch?”
“If I say yes, do you promise not to use it?”
“Nope.”
“I was afraid of that.” She let out a distressed sigh. “Please, Trey. That is our absolute last resort. You have no idea how long it takes—”
“I’ll make that call. Fix what you can before I have to.”
“I will, but I need your height.”
His height? “Why?”
“We need to investigate the condition of the servers. The racks down this aisle cover the top three floors.”
“What am I looking for?”
“Green lights are good. Flashing yellow or red lights and we have problems. You take the top, I’ll take the bottom.”
If only they were in his bed right now and not fending off a pending disaster. Smart, sassy and incredibly sexy, he’d love to have her under him any day, any time, any place.
Thirty seconds later, he paused as a series of red lights flashed in his face. “Devon.”
She came to his side. “Did you find something?”
He pointed to the highest server on the rack. “You tell me.”
She stood on tiptoe and craned her neck. “I don’t see—”
Without stopping to think, he slid his arms around her waist and hoisted her so she was eye-level with the top server. If the situation wasn’t so dire, he’d revel in the feel of her in his arms, her slim body pressed against him.
“Now?” he asked.
With an audible gulp, she stated, “Pull the plug, Trey.”
He slid her down his height until her toes touched the floor, and then darted to the knot of plugs at the end of the row. Wrapping them in his fist, he gave a hard yank. The servers went dead, their loud hum silenced.
He breathed a sigh of relief, and the tension tightening his chest eased a fraction. He glanced at Devon who rubbed her temples. She looked close to tears, although her tough-as-nails persona would probably never allow her to admit it.
