His Obsession

17- The Hack

Lorenzo's POV

"Sir, someone just hacked into our firewall! They got in, and it looked like they were only looking for information on one person." Oliver Thorne, my head of security, told me over the phone.

"Who?" I asked, wondering what this person wanted.

"Ms. Jennings sir, I believe she's your newly appointed PA," he whispered into my ear. I glanced over to find her on the phone herself. I wondered immediately who she was talking to, and why this person was looking for information about her. How did they even know she was here? Today was her first day on the job. I told him to investigate the breach and thanked him for letting me know about it. I intended to handle it personally.

After hanging up with Oliver, I dialed the number into the intercom, "Get in here Azlynn." I screamed at her and immediately felt guilty when I realized that it might not have been her fault after all. I watched closely as she rushed into my office, watching as she quickly sat down in the chair I was pointing at. "Is there anything you want me to know about your past, Mrs. Jennings?" I shot back at her sharply. I knew that my anger was overpowering at times, but I didn't care. Someone was willing to go to such lengths to find her if they were hacking into my security firewall and I needed to find out why? If I was hoping to succeed in protecting her, I needed to find out who it was and quickly.

"W-why are you asking me that?" she asked softly, and I could see confusion written all over her pretty face.

"Well, dear, there has been a security breach here in the office and the person behind the breach was seeking information about one person... you!" I hissed at her.

"What?" Her face paled, and I could see fear spreading across her face. If I am being honest, this pissed me off. I needed to get the truth out of her, and quickly.

"Now I want to know, is there something I need to know about your past?" I asked her softer this time: I wanted her to tell me everything, to open herself up to me about it all.

"No, there is nothing there," she said, and I could sense she was holding something back. It made me wonder what in her past could have been so horrible that she would refuse to tell me about it. I needed to know everything. I needed her to tell me everything so I could protect her.

"Azlynn, I need to know what's going on here. Why would someone hack my servers to get information about you?" I looked into her face, only to see a blank stare. I waved my hands in front of her face, but she didn't respond. "Azlynn, are you okay?" I asked. When she remained silent, I became worried. "Ms. Jennings!" I yelled really loudly this time. I saw her come back to me.

"Yes, sir," she replied in a whisper.

"Why are you not paying attention? You have ignored me for the past five minutes!" I snapped back at her, irritation being not one of my strong suits. I could see her eyes watering, but I didn't care. I had to get information from her.

"I'm sorry, sir, but there is something I should tell you, someone I should let you know about," she spoke quietly, tears streaming down her cheeks as she glanced toward the floor as if she was ashamed of herself. I felt guilty that I was pushing her, but I really needed to know.

"And what is it?" I asked, softening my tone.

"Well, to be honest with you, I'm on the run from someone right now. Someone who is extremely bad news, someone who wants nothing more than to control everything I do. Someone with a lot of power where I'm from. He tried to force me into marriage right outside of high school after he raped me and made me abort the child. A man whose father shaped him to be the monster that he is, and he's been searching for me since I escaped. My real last name isn't Jennings. I had to change it to try to avoid him. But I am afraid he has found me," she said quietly and softly as if she was afraid to utter the words out loud. I wanted to wrap her in my arms and tell her that everything was going to be OK. I wanted to swear to her that I would never let him touch her again. That I would protect her.

After she finished telling me her story, the story of how she escaped from him, I wanted to personally track him down and kill him. How dare he make a woman fear for her life just so he could force her to marry him? During the conversation, I learned that her name was Azlynn Harper and that she was actually 19 years old instead of the 22 I thought she was. But none of that mattered. The feelings I had for this woman remained the same. I excused her from my office, telling her not to answer her phone after she told me about the strange call she had gotten. I called her into my office. I was concerned that he might reach her here.

Picking up the phone, I dialed his number. There was only one person I could trust with her protection details. "Hello?"

"Yes, Nick, how are you doing? I have another assignment for you." I spoke to the receiver quickly.

"Oh, yeah? How much is this job worth?" he asked.

"Ten million dollars, Azlynn needs you again. The only difference this time is that you'll be her bodyguard when she's not with me at the office or the penthouse. She is in trouble. His name is Julian Greene, and he is on the hunt for her. I cannot let him get to her. I will explain more as I learn more... but her life is worth a lot of money to me, as is her safety." I spoke to him. "If he gets close, you are instructed to use deadly force to protect her."

"Okay, I will do it, but I have a family with needs, so I need half the money upfront," he said to me, and I wanted to punch him on the phone.

Instead, I said, "Fine, I will wire you the $5 mill by midnight."

"Deal." I felt better about having a bodyguard for her, as I could not always be by her side. It made me feel better knowing that one of the few men I trusted would be following her around. He proved to me that I could trust him with her already, so I contacted my attorney, Mr. Wolfe.

"Hey Nathan, I have a favor to ask you," I growled out when he answered the call.

As he replied, "What is it now, Lorenzo?" I knew I had always demanded so much from him, but I also paid him well enough that he owed his luxurious lifestyle to my business alone. I told him about her story. I told him I wanted information about Julian Greene. I made sure he knew we needed to be discreet about it. I didn't want to cause any alarms, but I needed to figure out who I was really dealing with. He agreed to find the information for me, so I felt accomplished as I hung up the phone.

At five o'clock, I stood up as she entered the office.

I take hold of her hand and walk her out of the building. The protectiveness I feel for her grows stronger with every step. I managed to have a successful day. I got my head of security to investigate the breach from the inside. I hired a bodyguard for Azlynn and even hired someone to investigate this Julian Greene guy. "What would you like for dinner tonight?" I asked as we got into the elevator to leave the building.

"How about some Mexican food? I've always loved enchiladas," she responded.

"Enchiladas sound delicious!" I replied as I pulled out my phone and found a restaurant, ordering some to be delivered to the penthouse in an hour. She was silent. I realized that the events of today probably took their toll on her. I felt so guilty, but I felt as if I should know everything in order to help her.

Walking out of the building with her hand in mine, I saw my driver and led her that way. He brought my black Lincoln MKT Limo today. It was time to show her the finer things in my life. I watched as he climbed out of the driver's seat and walked around the car and opened the door for us. She thanked him and slid into the car, and I followed. The drive home was spent in awkward silence; she wasn't talking to me and I understood why. I pushed her hard today, but I hoped that one day she would feel comfortable enough to tell me all about the horrible things he put her through. She would not share with me today.

We pulled up in front of the building, and they opened the door for us to get out of the car. Climbing out of the car, I thanked him for the ride, and turning around I noticed that she had already disappeared into the building. She was angry with me, and that is fine and all, but I wasn't willing to tolerate this attitude of hers forever, so she needed to get over it.

I followed her into the building, where I had to rush to catch the elevator with her. "What is wrong with you, Azlynn?" I asked.

"Nothing, I just don't want to talk about it anymore," she growled back at me as I smiled. She was a feisty one, and I enjoyed every minute of it. When the elevator doors opened she took off for her room. She always seemed to be slamming the damn door. I shook my head as I sat down on the sofa waiting for our dinner.