Sentenced to Marriage by MadlainQ novel Chapter 8

By Aren Lan’s order, Mr. Errington organized a room for me… and a group of babysitters in the form of IT specialists who were supposed to check if I wasn’t a secret spy who merely pretended to help. I expected that to happen. After all, I was given access to their sensitive information, like their tenders and bidding offers. Aren Lan didn’t engage in the process. He only instructed Mr. Errington to inform him of the results. I took it as a good thing. I didn’t think I could stand him as one of my babysitters, leaning over my head and constantly looking at the screen.

 

I quickly established that the infection hadn’t missed a single computer in their company. It couldn’t be a coincidence. It looked like a planned, precise attack aimed at stealing intel, and the bug must have infected their system no more than a few days ago.

 

Supervised by steadily frowning IT specialists, I called Alan and Norton and told them about the problem. Fortunately, we had already found the best way to fight the pesky worm when we treated our client’s computer a month ago. We had even written a simple program to delete each infectious part of the worm.

 

The IT specialists stood in disbelief while I eliminated the plague spreading across their system. I grinned inwardly, watching how they were ineptly trying to register my moves, but I was too fast for them. I was too good for them; I was way better than most of the specialists hired by big companies. Norton once said that I was a “computer fairy” because I had a sixth sense, getting to the problem faster than anyone else could. Of course, I laughed at the name he had given me, but I was never going to deny my worth. I was confident about my abilities. Period.

 

It took me six hours to clean up the entire system, and, thank God, I wasn’t dealing with the entire Lan Diamond Corporation network. My babysitters decreased hour after hour, and by the time I finished, there was only one of them, sitting next to me. He was looking at the screen with his sleepy eyes. Well, he was forced to take a lot of overtime since it was 2 AM when I could finally say that my work there was done.

 

“Finally…” he mumbled, struggling to get up from his seat.

 

I smiled wryly, looking at him. “Thanks for your support… I guess.” I was unable to stop the sarcastic tone from surfacing, but he seemed to be too tired to notice.

 

“Yeah, whatever,” he tossed my way before pulling out his phone and sending someone a message.

 

“So… what now?” I asked, slightly nervously. I did my part of the deal, and I wasn’t leaving without a sign of proof that we could stay in our workshop even if I had to chain myself to the desk in this office.

 

“The security will tell you,” he said faintly, walking out of the door and leaving me there.

 

“Jerk,” I muttered under my breath.

 

He should be thanking me. If that infection worked as it was meant to, he would most likely lose his job… he and the entire department! It pissed me off that I saved their sorry asses and didn’t even hear a thank you. Moreover, they all dared to look down on me, first only because I was a woman, and then even more, after I had to give my personal data for the contract, and they had found out that I didn’t have a diploma… Surely, I had long acknowledged the fact that this freaking piece of paper could change everything in my life. Nonetheless, I still couldn’t stand assholes who felt superior because they had something I didn’t.

 

I grabbed my jacket and purse and left the office soon after. As soon as I walked out into the corridor, I saw two security guards dressed in black suits that made them look like they were Secret Service agents. Both of them stood firm with their chins slightly lifted. Their faces were expressionless to the point where if one of them didn’t move, I would take them as wax figures.

 

“Hello,” I greeted them with an awkward smile.

 

“Mr. Lan told us to take you to him,” one of the guards said, gesturing at me to follow them.

 

“Mr. Lan did…” I mumbled, instantly becoming restless.

 

Was he really still at work at 2 AM? I wished he wasn’t. I would rather not stand before him right now. I had no strength to deal with arrogant guys. Not to mention that after six hours of staring at the computer screen, I probably looked like shit. The guard led me to the elevator and stepped inside it with me. Once the door closed and we moved up, I took a glimpse at the elevator mirror.

 

“Fuck,” I cursed under my breath. I actually looked worse than shit, with most of my makeup gone and my hair completely flat and ruffled. I ignored my company and started combing the messy strands with my fingers and wiping the panda circles below my eyes. It didn’t help much, but I tried.

 

Of course, my inner feminist immediately raised an argument that I wasn’t going there to impress him with my looks. I did an awesome job of saving his company. Why should I care how I looked after several hours of work?!

 

With that in mind, I walked out of that elevator and confidently strode through the empty, dimly lit top-floor corridor. There was only one intense source of light, and it was coming through the opaque windows surrounding the CEO’s office. Once we got there, one of the guards knocked on the smart-glass door.

 

“Come in.” Lan’s voice sounded.

 

The guard opened the door, allowing me to enter, and then closed the door, leaving me alone with his boss. Aren Lan was sitting behind his massive desk made of dark wood, working on his laptop. The few seconds of silence that surrounded us doubled my anxiety in an instant. I wasn’t even sure why I was always so nervous in front of him. I did my job well, and he could only thank me for dealing with their security breach. Still, shivers ran down my spine when his gaze shifted from the computer screen to me.

 

He smirked and crooked his finger, gesturing for me to come closer. I breathed in and took a few steps towards the desk, still leaving comfortable space between us. A single chuckle escaped his throat, and he crooked his four fingers, making his gesture more decisive. I let out a soaked with irritation sigh and took another step forward.

 

His lips curved, forming a mischievous grin. “You don’t like me, do you?”