Chapter Eight

Jenna

I arrived at the fifteenth-floor conference room at 8:00 AM sharp the next morning for the big team meeting. I made sure I didn't arrive a minute late because I didn't want to draw any extra attention to myself.

I intentionally wore the most boring, boxy blazer today. It was a faded gray color that made my shoulders look square and awkward. It was also very ugly and even though it made me irritated anytime I looked at it, it was necessary. 

I was building a shell, a shield to hide behind. 

I wanted to make sure I looked totally different from the woman Dante met in Milan. That night, I wore a sleek dress and had my hair down, but today I looked like a tired robot.

The thought made me chuckle. 

I sat near the middle of the long mahogany table and pulled out my tablet. The others were already chatting nervously, fixing their collars and adjusting their notebooks.

"Did you read the updated brief from the dev team?" Marcus whispered, leaning over from the seat next to mine.

"Yeah, I went through the whole thing last night," I replied, keeping my voice low. "The numbers don't add up."

"Well, just be careful how you say that," Marcus warned, looking toward the empty chair at the head of the table. "The boss doesn't like being told his baby has flaws."

"Well too bad it's not about his feelings, Marcus," I murmured. "It's about the security of the company."

He gave me a look that said I was being way too naive, but I didn't care. I needed to do my job so I could keep my paycheck.

Ten minutes passed, and the tension in the room kept building. Everyone kept glancing at the glass door, waiting for the floor to drop.

Suddenly, the heavy door swung open, and the entire room went quiet. I watched Dante walk into the room late, and the vibe changed instantly.

He didn't even apologize for keeping twenty people waiting. He didn't even look at the projector screen where the presentation slides were already flashing.

He threw his folder onto the table, and the loud thud made the guy sitting next to me flinch. Dante stood there for a second, buttoning his suit jacket.

His eyes scanned the room, ignoring the senior vice presidents who were trying to smile at him. Finally, his gaze locked onto me, and my breath caught in my throat.

He ignored the presentation slides and stared straight at me. It felt like he was trying to look right through my ugly gray blazer.

"Martins," Dante said, his deep voice cutting through the silence like a knife. "I looked at your preliminary notes on the Aegis project."

"Good morning, Mr. Salvatore," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

"You flagged the deployment schedule," he said, leaning his hands on the table. "Explain to me why you think my timeline has an unacceptable risk."

The whole room turned to look at me, and I could feel the collective panic from my coworkers. They probably thought I was about to get fired on the spot.

Instead of getting scared like the other employees, I sat up straight. I wasn't going to let him intimidate me, not when I knew I was right about the code.

"The current timeline doesn't allow for a proper penetration test on the vendor portal," I said, looking right back at him.

Dante didn't move a muscle. "The portal has a standard three-tier encryption. It's the same system we used for the alpha launch."

"And the alpha launch didn't include the biometric database," I countered, keeping my tone perfectly professional. "You're adding a huge amount of sensitive user data without upgrading the perimeter."

"We're on a strict schedule for the trade show, Jenna," one of the product managers chimed in, his voice shaking a little. "We can't just delay the launch for a standard test."

"It's not a standard test," I said, turning to the manager before looking back at Dante. "Launching the new cloud system without fixing the firewall leaves our richest clients open to hackers."

I didn't blink and I didn't stutter. I just laid out the facts, directly challenging his tight schedule in front of his entire inner circle.

"The firewall is configured to block any unauthorized external queries," Dante said, his voice dropping an octave.

"It blocks queries from unverified IPs, yes," I replied, tapping my tablet to pull up the schematic. "But if a vendor's credentials got stolen, the firewall still treats them as trusted. A hacker could easily steal thousands of biometric profiles before we even notice."

The room went quiet as Dante leaned forward, his dark eyes narrowing as he surprisingly listened to me. I could hear the hum of the air conditioner overhead.

Nobody breathed. Nobody tapped their pens. They were all waiting for the explosion that was Dante Salvatore. 

I felt my heart hammering against my ribs, but I refused to look away or back down from my professional opinion. I kept repeating the same thing in my head, ‘I had a daughter to feed, and letting this company launch a broken system wouldn't help me keep my job in the long run.’

"Are you saying my architecture is sloppy, Ms. Martins?" Dante asked, his eyes burning into mine.

"I'm saying that it's incomplete, Mr. Salvatore," I said, holding his gaze. "There's a huge difference. You're the one saying it's sloppy."

He stared at me for five long seconds. I didn't shift in my chair, and I didn't break eye contact.

"We will review the portal logs again," Dante finally said, breaking the stare and looking at Marcus. "Move to the next item on the agenda."

I breathed out a sigh of relief and the rest of the meeting passed in a total blur. I couldn't focus on the marketing data or the budget numbers because I could still feel his eyes on me every few minutes.

When the clock finally hit nine, the VP of operations wrapped up the meeting. Everyone started packing up their laptops as fast as they could, eager to escape the room.

I grabbed my tablet and stood up, ready to head back down to my cubicle but—

"Martins," Dante's voice rang out over the sound of rustling papers. "Stay behind."

Marcus gave me a worried look as he grabbed his notebook. "Want me to wait outside?" he whispered.

"No, it's fine," I said, forcing a small smile. "Go ahead."

I stood by my chair and waited as the rest of the team filed out of the room. The door clicked shut behind the last person, leaving just the two of us in the massive space.

Once everyone left, he closed the door, making sure it was tightly sealed. Then he turned around and walked over to me.

He stepped closer to my desk, stopping just a couple of feet away. He was so tall that I had to tilt my head up just to look at him.

"What was that out there?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous.

"I was doing my job, Mr. Salvatore. You know, the job that you pay me to do?" I said, gripping my tablet tight. "You asked for my assessment, and I gave it to you."

"You went out of your way to humiliate my dev team in front of the executives," he said, stepping even closer.

"I didn't humiliate anyone, Sir," I replied, refusing to step back. "I pointed out a very serious security flaw that could have ruined this company's reputation."

Dante leaned down slightly, his scent hitting me all at once. It was the same expensive woodsy cologne he wore in Italy, and it made my stomach do a dangerous twist.

"I know your type," he said, his eyes scanning my face, lingering on my lips for a fraction of a second. "You're loud, you're aggressive, and you like to make a scene."

"Excuse me?" I said, my jaw tightening. Who does he think he is?

"Are you causing trouble just to get my attention after what happened in the lobby?" he asked, his voice dripping with arrogance.

He really thought this was all some game. He thought I was playing hard to get or trying to get him to notice me as a woman.

I let out a dry laugh and looked him right in the eye. The sound echoed off the glass walls of the empty conference room.

"You've got to be kidding me," I said, shaking my head.

"I don't joke about my business," Dante said, his eyes narrowing again.

"And I don't joke about my work," I snapped, stepping around the corner of the table so I could look him dead in the face without him towering over me. "Let's get one thing straight, Mr. Salvatore."

"Watch your tone," he warned.

"No, you listen to me," I said, the fear draining out of me, replaced by annoyance and irritation. "You think everything revolves around you. You think every woman in this building is trying to find a way into your office or into your stupid bed."

Dante crossed his arms, staring down at me like I was a puzzle he couldn't solve. "You're avoiding the question."

"I'm answering it by telling you that your ego is way too big," I said, my voice sharp and clear. "I don't care who you are outside of this company, and I have no interest in your personal life."

He blinked, clearly surprised by the fact that I was talking back to him like this. Nobody spoke to Dante Salvatore this way.

"I came here to do a job because I'm damn good at what I do," I continued, backing up toward the door. "If you want to risk your clients' data just to save a few days on a timeline, go ahead. I don't care. But don't you dare suggest that my professional opinion has anything to do with you."

Dante opened his mouth to speak, but I didn't give him the chance to cut me off. I was done with this conversation.

I grabbed my tablet from the table, tucked it under my arm, and walked out of the room without asking for permission to leave.

I didn't look back to see the expression on his face. I just pushed the glass door open and walked straight toward the elevators, the stupid organ called my heart pounding wildly against my chest.