only confirmed and emphasized their differences and her rather jaded opinion of him.
He apparently had a different date every night. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a date. By choice. She much preferred machines to men—machines didn’t lie, they didn’t leave you and they couldn’t hurt you.
“What do you mean?” he asked with a frown.
Faith sighed, realizing she’d been staring at him. The sun coming through the windows glinted against his facial features, highlighting the plane of his cheeks, the curve of his jaw, already dark with an early afternoon stubble. The total effect was irresistibly sexy. No wonder women swooned at his feet, obeyed his every command and begged to do his bidding.
Annoyed by her own train of thought, Faith shook her head, averted her gaze, then glanced back down at her notes, trying to get her mind back on business.
“Okay, Ali, let me explain what I’ve discovered so far.” She struggled to concentrate, took a breath so her voice would be calm. “First and foremost you need a new server. The one you have is not only hopelessly outdated, but not nearly adequate for your needs. I’m surprised you haven’t had a serious problem before this.” Carelessly, she flipped through her notes with a frown, then glanced up at him, surprised to find him watching her intently.
The way the man focused his total attention on you made you feel as if you were the only person in the world. It was unnerving, and a bit annoying.
She wasn’t accustomed to being scrutinized so closely by a male, particularly such a potent male. It was definitely having an effect on her, and only increasing her nervousness and irritability.
“Second, you need a completely new operating system, something you’ll be able to use not just today, but in the future as well. In addition, each workstation needs new, updated monitors, keyboards and programs that will complement the new operating system.” She stopped, rubbed the throbbing in her forehead, then sighed, wishing she could read her own handwriting.
“And above all, Ali, you have to install anti-virus programs on each and every workstation. With the proliferation of viruses out there, you’re far too vulnerable without it. I think that’s what happened to your system. I think you picked up a virus somewhere, probably in an e-mail attachment from someone, the kind that sics itself onto your hard drive, and then begins eating your files.” She sipped her warm soft drink, wishing for a hot sandwich and a colder drink.
She shrugged her slender shoulders. “That’s the only thing I can figure out right now. It’s the only explanation I can find. I’ve checked and rechecked everything else.” And she had the headache to prove it.
He leaned forward in his chair, his concentration total. “Do you mean that perhaps someone has done this deliberately?” Concern etched his words and she sought to soothe his worry.
“Deliberately?” She considered. “No. Not necessarily. Certain software is particularly vulnerable to this type of virus. Hackers think it’s cute to send viruses out that disrupt businesses and destroy data.”
“This type of thing is done for fun?” He looked so shocked, she laughed.
“Believe it or not, yes.” She cocked her head. “Guess you’re not in Kansas anymore.” At his frown, she realized he didn’t have a clue what she was referring to. She laughed. “Never mind, it’s just an expression.”
“An expression?” He continued to frown. “What does Kansas have to do with my computer system in California?”
Amused, Faith realized she was going to have to give him a crash-course in American pop culture. “Did you ever see the movie The Wizard of Oz?”
He looked both suspicious and skeptical. “No. Should I?”
“Yeah.” She smiled and leaned her arms on the table. “It’s a great flick. Anyway, ‘you’re not in Kansas anymore’ is merely an expression, a takeoff on the movie’s theme. It just means someone’s being particularly naive about something.”
“And am I being naive?” he asked carefully, wondering if she was once again making fun of him.
Uh-oh, she had a feeling she was about to put her foot in her mouth again.
She chose her words carefully, not wanting to insult him further. She rather liked having her head where it sat.
“Ali, I know it’s hard to believe, but some people do deliberately try to disrupt businesses and destroy data merely for their own pleasure.”
“That is a very sad state of affairs.”
“I agree.”
“But because of them, you have a job, correct? Then perhaps you should show some appreciation?” The amusement glinting in his eyes made her realize that he was teasing her. It took her by surprise.
“You’ve got a point there,” she admitted with a smile.
“But if you think or even suspect this was deliberately done to disrupt my business, I shall need to get my security people on it.”
The way he said it made her think he was about ready to call out the royal national guard.
“Now wait a minute, Ali, don’t get your shorts in a crimp. I don’t think this was deliberate. I think someone was just careless.” She held up her hand before he could speak. “Not necessarily one of your employees.” She didn’t even want to go there, fearing his reaction. She certainly didn’t want to be the cause of someone losing his job. “Sometimes you pick up a virus and you don’t even realize it until your system is affected. So for the time being, I think you’ll need to be very, very careful. I’d instruct all of your employees not to open any e-mails from anyone who is not known to them.”
“Okay.” He nodded slowly as if deep in thought. “I shall have Kadid attend to it immediately.”
“Good.” At least the man was taking her advice, something she was certain he had difficulty doing normally. She wasn’t certain if it was because she was a woman, or simply because he was a royal. In either case, she had a feeling Ali was more accustomed to issuing orders than to taking them.
“Now, once I install the anti-virus software, it will run automatically every time the system is booted up, and every time one of the workstations is turned on. It’s not foolproof, but about as close as you can get. Once that’s done, about once a month, you should have your systems people do a sweep for viruses of the entire system. Do you understand what I’m saying, Ali?” He looked blank as a blackboard.
Ali shook his dark head, his eyes bemused. “Viruses. Servers. Systems. Boots.” He held up a hand. “I do not understand all this technical jargon.” He watched her, entranced by the intensity in her vivid green eyes.
Faith was a woman, he’d discovered in the past few days, who appeared to be passionate about everything. There was so much about her that was different from the women in his life. She was proving to be a refreshing change. And a challenge.
With her back against the windows, sun spilled into the room and over her, glinting off her hair, making the reddish gold strands shimmer like spun gold.
He found himself wondering if her hair was as soft, as silky as it looked. He laced his hands together on the table
