Chapter 373
If she’d just been a little braver earlier, maybe she would have confessed and things would be different now. Next time, she promised herself, if she ran into Asclepius again, she wouldn’t hesitate. She’d go for it and say how she really felt.
The payment came through. That meant she was one step closer to getting her hands on the B20 component.
“Any idea who’s trying to outbid us for B20?” Charlotte flipped through the offers on her screen, then pulled off her mask and cap. Her face was flawless, cool and sharp.
Those pharma companies were ruthless. The minute they found out she was desperate for B20, they hiked the price sky high ten times the original, just overnight. Then some fool jumped into the bidding, and the suppliers caught on. They stopped quoting prices and just let both sides fight it out, watching the number climb higher and higher.
It started at two hundred million, but now it was already up to four hundred.
“No luck yet, Charlotte.” Jackson sounded embarrassed.
If the N Organization couldn’t even dig them up, this person must be something else.
“Let’s head back to the hotel,” Charlotte sighed, tossing her iPad aside and closing her eyes, exhausted. “And set up a meeting with the B20 supplier.”
Back at the hotel, Charlotte stepped out of the bathroom in a white bathrobe. Her long, pale legs were bare, and her damp hair fell over her shoulders. Under the warm orange light, she looked like something out of a dream.
She dropped onto the couch, stretched her legs across the coffee table, and set her iPad on her lap. Her fingers moved quickly, pulling up a window full of code, then jumping to a secret website.
Same one she’d used before, when she was tracking Anthony’s IP. The memory of almost getting out-hacked by him made her snort. She took a sip of milk, feeling just a little better.
The site loaded. Charlotte got to work, tracking down the rival bidder for B20. The profile picture was just a blacked-out avatar, but in the middle of the darkness, she could make out the outline of a human-no, it looked almost feminine.
A woman?
Charlotte pressed her lips together, then launched her hacker tools to try tracing the location and identity.
Apex. No surprise there.
She zoomed in. Apex, Netherworld Casino. Was this person part of the casino, or just there for now?
Right as she was about to dig deeper, her iPad started blaring. Someone was attacking her firewall.
Of course. The other hacker had noticed her.
Charlotte’s eyes went cold. Her
fingers moved even faster, each
command slamming into her
e n
opponent’s defenses. Most people
wouldn’t last thirty seconds against
her
But half a minute passed, and not only did this person hold their ground, they
started pushing back with even stronger attacks.
A chill crept into Charlotte’s eyes.
She dropped the iPad onto her
knees and started typing with both hands. Aside from Anthony, no o had ever given her this much trouble.
She barely finished that thought before her phone rang. Anthony’s name lit up the screen.
“Yeah?” She answered, voice icy. She put him on speaker and tossed the phone aside, eyes glued to her iPad. She was so close…
“Who got you all fired up?” Anthony’s voice was warm, teasing. She could picture him graning, probably typing keyboard.
away at his own keyboat
Even over the phone, he could imagine how cute she looked when she was mad.
“Some idiot,” Charlotte snapped, her eyes stinging with frustration.