Free Beck & Call by Emma Holly

for me and a personal assistant position for Mia. He admitted he hoped this would be a precursor to us putting on more intimate shows for him.”
    “Really,” Curtis said. “That was quick.”
    “We didn’t give him an answer. I figured we shouldn’t look too eager.”
    “He knew Jake had security experience,” Mia added. “He must have researched him.”
    Curtis spread his hands. “He’ll research you too, but it doesn’t matter. Your story is that you are who you are, and you do what you do. The only thing you keep from him is that we work for Raeburn.”
    “Which maybe we don’t.” Mia rubbed the couch’s slipcover.
    Jake had a feeling he knew what was bothering her. “Did Raeburn pay the retainer?”
    “I put it in escrow,” Curtis said.
    “You know this is a fine line we’re walking ethically.”
    Curtis’s steady look said he knew it was. “I’ll be careful not to cross it. You be sure you don’t cross the line with Mia. And you—” He jabbed his finger at the girl. “Don’t forget you can tap out any time. It hasn’t escaped my notice that Jake interests you, but he’s a big leaguer.”
    Okay, this topic of discussion made him uncomfortable, especially when Mia flushed bright red. “She held her own tonight. If she wants to, I think she can handle this. I could tell Call was impressed with her.”
    “Apparently, he’s also impressed with you.”
    Curtis sounded slightly annoyed. “Jealous?” Jake teased, hoping to defuse his boss’s irritation with humor.
    “Screw you,” Curtis swore mildly. “Who needs a man who only wants to watch?”
    He seemed fine, so Jake relaxed and sipped his beer.
    “I want to see what you’ve dug up on Call,” Mia said.
    “Thought you might.” Curtis handed the folder over. Mia took it with such eagerness he grinned.
    He knew what was inside. He’d done his own background check. Damien Call had been born in Pacific Palisades, California to upper middle class parents. He’d attended exclusive charter schools where he excelled beyond the norm. Now 29, Forbes estimated his personal net worth at 5.2 billion. He was single and never married. Current residence: Manhattan. Attended MIT but didn’t graduate. Generous sponsor to green-related charities. Parents divorced when he was seventeen. Formed his first company, Sun Motors, a year later. The IPO had broken records, which whetted his appetite to break more. Damien Call was coder and engineer—accomplished on both sides of the equation. He had complicated and expansive holdings around the world. Though viewed as eccentric, he commanded fervent respect from his employees. Sometimes referred to as the Twenty-Four Karat Ice Cube, he was famed for his dispassionate negotiating style. Rivals called him a calculating bastard but admitted he knew his stuff.
    Public record of his activities at Diogenes seemed not to exist at all.
    Jake wondered which of these facts was causing Mia’s brows to furrow. Watching her read was always interesting. She turned pages faster than most people skimmed—and with total absorption. There was no denying her brain was different then. Other things about her too. Jake had never met anyone like her.
    Cut it out, he ordered his wandering mind.
    Thinking about Mia as one in a billion didn’t help him stay businesslike.

CHAPTER 4
    DAMIEN Call’s corporate HQ took up five of his Manhattan skyscraper’s sixty floors. The building was one of the financial district’s newer builds. Its boldly curving architecture was very airy, very sleek, and exemplified the Call aesthetic. In case people didn’t recognize the streamlined shape of one of his jets in it, the WORLDWIDE logo wrapped the topmost floor. The giant letters were brushed silver, their edges lit up at night to help approaching pilots orient themselves.
    Okay, really the lights were for him. Damien liked seeing his company’s name glowing above the great city.
    He also liked the amazing view the building commanded at