Free Amedeo, Her Italian Billionaire by Susan Westwood Page A

back and watched her eat as he drank the rest of his drink.
    “I’m sorry I ordered so much, but I was really hungry.”
    “You’re eating for two. It’s understandable.”
    “Still.”
    “No, enjoy. I’m in no hurry.”
    “You sure? I know we have to get to work.”
    “It’s fine. I told my assistant I’d be late. I also told Carl, my IT guy, to be ready for you later in the morning. I can fix it all, don’t worry.”
    She glanced up at him, her fork part way to her mouth. She’d bet he could fix anything. Isn’t that what men did? Fixed things? It was just part of their nature. She finished putting the food in her mouth.
    “I could get used to this and that scares me, Amedeo.”
    “Why? We will have a child together. I will always be in your life in some form.”
    She knew that. She wondered how she would handle it when he did finally marry and had a child with that person. Right now, she had him all to herself.
    Yikes. She had to stop thinking that way.
    ***
    Violet had been quiet since the end of breakfast. They’d walked home in silence then she showered and changed for work. They’d only arrived an hour later than everyone else arrived at work. More like two hours later than he normally entered his office. He did run the company so he liked to be there first.
    “Are you nervous?” he said when they climbed into the car.
    “No, why?”
    “You’re just being quiet.”
    She rubbed a hand down her face. “I guess I’m embarrassed about this morning.”
    He took her hand in his. “Don’t be. You’re pregnant. It’s to be expected.”
    “Still.”
    “Please don’t be, Violet. I’m not going to judge you.”
    He wanted her to know that. He understood. He would understand. This child was his also and he was willing to invest the time.
    “Thanks. Tell me about your IT guy.”
    “Carl? He’s a former Marine. Tough as nails, but fair. His employees say they never have to guess what he is thinking. He’s well liked and the only person who has left his department since we started left because she quit to have a child.”
    “Sounds good. Are his skills good?”
    “He’s good, but he’s assembled a great team. I was surprised when he told me someone had hacked into my system. They are top notch and often get headhunted by bigger companies”
    “But they stay?”
    “We always counter offer. Carl thinks they’re all worth it so I believe him.”
    Amedeo still held Violet’s hand. It was warm and soft and he liked holding it. She didn’t retrieve it until they arrived at work. She followed him to his office where he called his employee.
    Carl was a squat man and Violet instantly liked him. He shook her hand, looking her in the eye.
    “How much experience do you have with security?” he said when they sat down in Amedeo’s office.
    “It’s mainly what I do. I’ve done some app development, but I really prefer the security aspect of systems. I can usually get into a system pretty easily.”
    An eyebrow of Carl’s went up. “Oh? Let me see.”
    She pulled out her laptop and fifteen minutes later, she showed him that she was in their system. Amedeo’s phone rang. He was impressed with her skills.
    “Yes, Carl is here.”
    He handed the phone to his employee who said that they were doing a test and that it was okay that someone had hacked into them this time. He handed the phone back to Amedeo.
    “For the record, I used brute force not finesse, this time. I wanted to show you that it can be done and to show you that I was in there. If I were truly hacking, I’d have taken more time and you wouldn’t have known I was there,” she said.
    Amedeo flushed with pride. Violet was really good at this. Why was she wasting her time doing this freelance or why wasn’t she paid more than she was? They hadn’t talked pay, but he would give her whatever she wanted.
    “Got it,” Carl said, grinning. “I think you’re the person for the job.”
    “I need a way to get into the system without