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Authors: Jayne Castle
Tags: futuristic romance
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with him.
"How did you find out?" she asked almost uncaringly, standing very still and watching him through narrowed silver-blue eyes.
"The computer recorded the 'corrections' you were making to its data base. The corrections always carried the same identifier. Your password was the one being used the most consistently when sums of money were juggled."
"I see." She shrugged, her mouth tightening. "I told you I didn't know very much about computers."
"Enough to realize that you could go in and modify columns of numbers to make them add up properly, it would appear," he countered.
"It seemed a logical way to handle matters," she sighed. "As you said, the computer leaves very little in the way of a paper trail. . . . "
"If it makes you feel any better, I think you would have got away with it indefinitely if you hadn't called in someone to check out your security problem. Did you realize how dangerous such an action was?" Locke inquired almost mildly.
"I knew there was a risk involved, but since I didn't know very much about the inner workings of the machine, I couldn't judge the extent of the danger." Kelly met his eyes with a straight glance. "In any event, I didn't have much choice. I couldn't solve the inventory problem on my own. I knew enough to realize I needed professional help."
"A calculated risk," he said, nodding with surprising approval. "You just couldn't quite calculate the exact di-mensions of that risk. No wonder you looked at me with such wariness the first day. Have you been sleeping nights lately, wondering when I was going to discover the facts?"
Kelly's mouth twisted wryly. "Actually I'd begun to hope you might not find out anything at all. You gave no indication yesterday. ..."
"I wanted time to think about the possible ramifications of your involvement in such an affair," he said quietly, unfastening the row of buttons along the side of his fencing jacket. "And I wanted to solve the inventory puzzle first.
I figured you probably weren't involved in that or you wouldn't have called in someone to analyze the problem. You would just have made the—er—appropriate 'corrections.' "
She watched him warily, trying to assess his mood. He didn't seem outraged or angry or even disgusted. Instead there was a faint air of concealed triumph, determination, and calculation. What was he thinking?
"I suppose you have a reason for telling me of your brilliant sleuthing at this particular point in time?"
"Naturally. I fully intend to use the information, but you know me well enough, I think, to have guessed that." One black brow raised sardonically. He hadn't moved, still watching her from across the distance of the room.
Kelly felt as if she were in the presence of a large cat who was biding his time before the final spring. It was difficult, she found, to accept the total defeat Locke Chan-ning had unloosed. She wasn't accustomed to losing. But the risks had been there from the beginning and she had accepted them.
Nevertheless, she discovered grimly, there was a certain double impact in the way he had done it tonight by combining his victory over her in the matter of the computer with another in fencing. She felt breathless and cornered.
Lifting her head proudly, she stared at him, eyes Ml of ice and snow. "You're going to go to Helen with the information?"
"Shouldn't I?" he demanded aggressively. She knew he was waiting to hear her try and argue him out of it.
She sucked in air, realizing she would have to try to do exactly that and it galled her to step into his trap.
"You're a friend of hers," she began slowly.
"Not a close one," he remarked, surprising her.
Kelly frowned. "And I'm sure you have your professional ethics to maintain."
"I'm not a fanatic about them," he stated evenly, raising a hand to carelessly thrust the dark hair back off his forehead. The green eyes never left her face, and she could sense the coiled tension in him.
"What if I told you that going to Helen would only upset
"How did you find out?" she asked almost uncaringly, standing very still and watching him through narrowed silver-blue eyes.
"The computer recorded the 'corrections' you were making to its data base. The corrections always carried the same identifier. Your password was the one being used the most consistently when sums of money were juggled."
"I see." She shrugged, her mouth tightening. "I told you I didn't know very much about computers."
"Enough to realize that you could go in and modify columns of numbers to make them add up properly, it would appear," he countered.
"It seemed a logical way to handle matters," she sighed. "As you said, the computer leaves very little in the way of a paper trail. . . . "
"If it makes you feel any better, I think you would have got away with it indefinitely if you hadn't called in someone to check out your security problem. Did you realize how dangerous such an action was?" Locke inquired almost mildly.
"I knew there was a risk involved, but since I didn't know very much about the inner workings of the machine, I couldn't judge the extent of the danger." Kelly met his eyes with a straight glance. "In any event, I didn't have much choice. I couldn't solve the inventory problem on my own. I knew enough to realize I needed professional help."
"A calculated risk," he said, nodding with surprising approval. "You just couldn't quite calculate the exact di-mensions of that risk. No wonder you looked at me with such wariness the first day. Have you been sleeping nights lately, wondering when I was going to discover the facts?"
Kelly's mouth twisted wryly. "Actually I'd begun to hope you might not find out anything at all. You gave no indication yesterday. ..."
"I wanted time to think about the possible ramifications of your involvement in such an affair," he said quietly, unfastening the row of buttons along the side of his fencing jacket. "And I wanted to solve the inventory puzzle first.
I figured you probably weren't involved in that or you wouldn't have called in someone to analyze the problem. You would just have made the—er—appropriate 'corrections.' "
She watched him warily, trying to assess his mood. He didn't seem outraged or angry or even disgusted. Instead there was a faint air of concealed triumph, determination, and calculation. What was he thinking?
"I suppose you have a reason for telling me of your brilliant sleuthing at this particular point in time?"
"Naturally. I fully intend to use the information, but you know me well enough, I think, to have guessed that." One black brow raised sardonically. He hadn't moved, still watching her from across the distance of the room.
Kelly felt as if she were in the presence of a large cat who was biding his time before the final spring. It was difficult, she found, to accept the total defeat Locke Chan-ning had unloosed. She wasn't accustomed to losing. But the risks had been there from the beginning and she had accepted them.
Nevertheless, she discovered grimly, there was a certain double impact in the way he had done it tonight by combining his victory over her in the matter of the computer with another in fencing. She felt breathless and cornered.
Lifting her head proudly, she stared at him, eyes Ml of ice and snow. "You're going to go to Helen with the information?"
"Shouldn't I?" he demanded aggressively. She knew he was waiting to hear her try and argue him out of it.
She sucked in air, realizing she would have to try to do exactly that and it galled her to step into his trap.
"You're a friend of hers," she began slowly.
"Not a close one," he remarked, surprising her.
Kelly frowned. "And I'm sure you have your professional ethics to maintain."
"I'm not a fanatic about them," he stated evenly, raising a hand to carelessly thrust the dark hair back off his forehead. The green eyes never left her face, and she could sense the coiled tension in him.
"What if I told you that going to Helen would only upset
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