Cyber Warfare (INTERCEPT: A Jack Coyote Thriller Book 2) by J. S. Chapman

Author:J. S. Chapman [Chapman, J. S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Weatherly Books
Published: 2018-07-18T18:30:00+00:00

19

Washington, D. C.

Saturday, July 26

LIZ AND HER escort, a man whose unlikely name was Dominic Petrovic, or Dom as he urged everyone to call him, guided her with a hand grasped lightly about her waist while hobnobbing with power brokers, lobbyists, and society types, introducing her as he went.

She smiled up at him. He showed her an even set of white teeth. Like his teeth, his smile was as artificial as his name. After being introduced to each other by a mutual friend, they formed a partnership of convenience. Since he worked with a lobbying firm and she worked for government, it was a perfect arrangement. Having an escort to take her to functions such as these was important for an ambitious woman such as she. And having a beautiful woman on his arm made Dom’s presence more than acceptable. There was a time when she wondered if he liked men more than women. He was attracted to both.

Her confidence crumbled when she saw a man of her acquaintance elbowing his way through the crowd. When he came abreast of her, he greeted her with a pleasant, “Ms. Langdon.”

“Mr. Brandon.” The formality of their meeting belied the palpable tension between them, arrogance on his part and woodenness on hers.

She could hardly believe what happened last night had been real. There was something ethereal about the episode, as if she could reach out but touch nothing of substance. After he left, she dressed and took a cab home, no point in going back to the office for her car. In the isolation of the back seat, she was shaking and sobbing, drained and crushed, embarrassed and feverish, tormented and feeling very much alone. More than once, the cabdriver glanced at her through the rearview mirror but said nothing.

She considered reporting the rape, but who would believe her. She had eagerly rendezvoused with Brandon. Shared an enjoyable dinner with him. Willingly accompanied him to the hotel, smiling and laughing along the way. Witnesses would have reported nothing untoward, quite the reverse. Security videos would have shown them conversing pleasantly with his supportive hand resting at the small of her back and his other hand showing her the way. Everything between them would have appeared sociable and not the least coercive. When it came down to her credibility against his, the Firm would have supported him and fired her. Embarrassment, innuendo, and scandal would have followed. Her bright career would sunset and her professional prospects dry up.

The decision she made was absent equivocation. She would never tell anybody about the incident. She didn’t want to look like a victim. Worse than a victim. A fool. A mile away from her apartment, and still dabbing at her eyes, she leaned forward and instructed the cabbie to turn around and take her back to Annapolis. She would pick up her car after all, no sense in leaving it in the company garage overnight. People might notice. And talk. Besides, she still had something to do upstairs, something Brandon wanted her to do for him.

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