A Little Bit of Everything: Duquesne Brothers, #1

By Jo Carey

Tate, the youngest of the Duquesne brothers, is a tech genius and, like his three brothers, he's model gorgeous. He's the introvert. The geek who's happier in front of his computer than in front of a crowd.

Mari is an edgy, computer hacker with a heart of gold.

The two met under unusual circumstance, but it's when they return to their normal lives that they realize they aren't sure what they want from their future. They discover they need a little bit of everything and a lot of each other to be happy.

A Little Bit of Everything is the first book in the Duquesne Brothers series.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jo Carey
• Release date: Apr 18, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201513375

Jo Carey

Jo Carey grew up in the Midwest but her curiosity and gypsy-spirit has kept her on the move. She's lived in eight US states and spent three years living in Ireland. She has always loved creature movies, so creatures and bugs often show up in her books. Jo, a former information security compliance guru, writes fast-paced, character-driven stories in a variety of genres from medical thrillers to space operas and cozy mysteries. Her novels are filled with humor, romance, and sometimes creatures or aliens, or maybe even all of the above. She often builds her stories around a strong female lead character surrounded by plenty of hunky male heroes. Jo's been under fire on a golf course and climbed out the roof of an elevator in the Netherlands. Life hasn't been boring. Now residing in Texas, setting often plays a huge role in her stories. Jo was intrigued by the League of Planetary Systems, a world her husband, Frank, created for his science fiction books, and she now writes mysteries and other types of tales sets in that world. Jo was bitten by a cat, a fire ant, and a snake, before succumbing to the bite of the writing bug.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Oh. My. God. He does exist, Janet said as Tate walked past her desk on his way into his office.

Very funny. We've been in touch daily.

But I haven't gotten the chance to see my gorgeous boss in person. I've missed not having to escort crying women to the door after you tell them you aren't their HEA. I haven't had to call security once since you've been away. Although I do think there was one idiot with a camera who was camped out behind the dumpster for at least a month.

Tate laughed. You could have come with me. Now, that I'm back. Things can return to normal.

We can only hope, she said. Want your usual coffee?

Yes, please. When you come in, bring your laptop, and we can start setting things back to rights.

Tate had kept up with his business while he was sequestered but there were things easier done face to face. He made some notes while he waited for Janet to return with coffee.

She handed him a cup from the coffee shop downstairs and sat down in the chair in front of his desk.

Are you going to tell me what you've really been up to or are you going to let me use my imagination.

I told you, Duke felt strongly that the situation in the world was deteriorating to the point that we needed to take precautions.

The questions were expected. Although Haven had decided it was time to shelter in place, the world as a whole did not follow suit.

After being in Haven, it seemed odd to be back in the city where he found himself surrounded by strangers anytime he stepped out of his car. The day was filled with meetings, and he found himself bored more often than not.

It’s official. You survived your first day back, Janet said as she walked into his office.

The day is not over yet, he said.

Janet had worked closely with Tate for years, and she could read him like a book. He was exasperated, and she wasn't sure why. He was often out of the office for two weeks at a time, and that never seemed to bother him. Though this time he'd been working remotely for a longer stretch, he also seemed to be working more normally while he was out of the office, so she wasn't sure why the transition was hitting him so hard.

After Janet left for the night, Tate headed down to the floor where his most senior programmers were working on what had been touted as the next leap forward for data security.

Tate looked around the room. It was silent. If anyone was listening to music, they wore earphones. That made sense in a shared work environment, but it seemed so quiet after the energy of the Haven Media Center. He checked his watch. At nearly ten o'clock at night, the programmers still working were the ones he would have expected to be there. He walked over to peer over the shoulder of one of them at what was on the screen. He leaned over and spoke close to Kirby's ear. You still haven't solved this?

Kirby's body jumped up in his chair, but his hands never strayed from the keyboard. It sounds like Tate Duquesne, but that isn't possible. He's fallen off the ends of the flat Earth and disappeared.

Did I miss all those calls you made to tell me how much you missed me? Tate asked. Oh, I guess you were too busy trying to solve this problem you told me would be a piece of cake.

Tate didn't get into a serious discussion with any of his staff, He just talked to a few of them to see what they were working on. They were working on a new product that he had hoped to keep under wraps until release. Someone leaked the basic concept and now the race was on to get his product released before his competitors beat him to the punch. He asked a few questions and headed back to his office.

XXX

Isn't that the same shirt you were wearing yesterday? Janet asked as she set a coffee in front of Tate.

He rolled his chair back from the desk and reached for the coffee. Thanks, he said as he took a drink. I didn't expect to spend my first night back home at my desk.

He downed the rest of his coffee and headed for the shower in the private bath attached to his office. It had been a while since he'd pulled an all-nighter. At least if you didn’t count his time in Haven.

Dressed in fresh clothes from his office closet, he stopped by Janet's desk. I want to meet with the CryptID project team at noon. Order lunch and clear my calendar for the rest of the day."

Janet handed him another coffee she'd picked up while he was in the shower. Figured you'd need this.

Chapter 2

The staff quarters at the Pickering Bio Research Center were smaller than the ones at Haven, but it suited her. Mari hadn't added much to her accumulated belongings while she was living in Haven. She had a box of keepsakes, some clothes, and several boxes of books.

Even though it was still daylight, she had all the blinds closed. She had always been a night owl but after spending the last few years living in an underground missile silo, she expected to crave sunlight. One of the big differences between this place and her last apartment is that this one had windows she could look out. Maybe with time she’d come to appreciate that feature but right now living above ground made her nervous. Being able to look out her window and see people seemed wrong somehow. It was all strange and made her uncomfortable. It wasn't that she didn't feel safe. She just didn't feel right.

She sat down in her comfy chair and logged in to her laptop. Mari wished she could honestly say she was looking forward to her first day working at Pickering's Bio Research Center, but she would have preferred to stay in Haven and work for No Stone. She felt like she could contribute to the search efforts, but they only needed one person with her skillset, and Zach needed to stay more than she hated to go. Since his partner on a Priority One Team op was killed, Zach had been questioning why he survived, and Elsie didn’t. Mari and Zach were best friends, so when it was time to discuss disbanding Priority One, Mari offered to be the one to leave and try something new.

She was happy to be at the Bio Research Center. It wasn't as secure an environment as Haven, but it was less of a change than moving into a traditional corporate environment. She knew some of the people at the center already since they had worked closely with Priority One in the past.

Mari reviewed her notes about her new co-workers, responded to some emails, and settled in to do some research of her own. Most of her work would be in keeping up with what other research teams in the pharmaceutical field were doing. She understood how that could be important to business, but she didn't really care about it. She expected this transition to be difficult and doubted the Research Center was her long-term future.

XXX

When Mari walked into her apartment at the end of her first week, she wondered if she made a mistake accepting the job. She had learned so much from her time with Priority One that she wasn't sure what she really wanted to do now. Everyone she met at the Research Center was nice enough, and the work they expected her to do was interesting if not all that challenging.

Sitting down in front of her laptop with an energy drink, she was glad to see a message from Z. Instead of answering, she picked up her phone and called him.

After Z caught her up on all the news from Haven, they talked about her new job. Talking to her old friend made her more introspective. She always lived her life day-to-day without putting much stock in long term plans. With all the changes in her life and her thirtieth birthday looming, maybe it was time to change that.

Before she could fall into a pit of self-analysis, her phone beeped. The screen said it was Sylvy.

Hi, Mari. How are you settling in?

It's going to take some adjustment, she said honestly.

Why don't you come to dinner tomorrow night. Jean will cook us amazing food and you two can commiserate about the adjustments required when you first move here.

OK. I'll never turn down a chance to eat Jean's food. Thanks, Sylvy.

Chapter 3

It had been a long unproductive week. Tate had done more actual programming work when he was in Haven than he had in years. He believed once he got back to where he could work directly with his development team that he would be able to figure out why they had hit a wall in their development of CryptID. Despite his efforts to help, they were still stuck.

Corporate rumors were saying one of his competitors was close to releasing a product in the same space. He needed to solve this problem.

Over the years Tate had learned that wallowing in a problem made it impossible for him to see the solution. On his drive to work, he used every trick he knew to get into a positive mind set. He hired incredibly intelligent people who worked hard. If there was an answer, they could find it. Tate stopped at the coffee shop in the lobby of his office building and picked up a coffee for himself and one for Janet. He stopped by her desk and held out the cup to her.

Well, someone looks happy today, she said. Did you finally make some progress on CryptID?

Not yet, but I'm working on it.

XXX

After a day full of meetings Tate promised himself he'd leave the office in time for a nice dinner at one of his favorite restaurants. He always preferred time alone unlike his twin brothers who enjoyed spending their nights out on the town trailed by a parade of paparazzi.

When he walked in the front door of Perelli's, he realized how quickly he'd adapted to the lifestyle in Haven. There were more people waiting for a table than Haven's total population.

The hostess saw him and stepped out from behind her podium to approach him. Welcome back, Mr. Duquesne. It's been too long since you've been in. Follow me.

He felt the eyes of several people on his back as she led him to a small table in the back corner of the restaurant. I'll let Chef know you're here."

He had barely settled into his chair, when the waiter appeared with water, and the sommelier followed close behind.

No wine tonight. Thank you, Tate said, looking around the restaurant.

The food was delicious, and the chef visited his table to make sure things were to his liking. Perelli’s was perfect as always, but the comforting feeling it normally provided didn't come. He was just finishing his dinner, when a leggy blonde sat down in the empty chair at his table.

She reached across the table and took his hand. How long have you been back in town?

Not long, he said, continuing to focus on his remaining food. How are you, Izzy? If he finished his food quickly, he could make his escape without having to spend too much time with her. They had dated a few times, but it was never serious. At least not to him. She was one of the women Janet referred to when she said she had to escort crying women from his office when they learned he wasn't interested.

Better now that you're back in town. If you'd called, we could have had dinner together, she said. A pout caused her botoxed bottom lip to stick out unnaturally.

I'm working on a project, so I don't have much time. I just came in for a quick dinner before getting back to work.

You're the boss, Tate. You pay people do to the work so you can leave the office at a normal hour and enjoy spending time with me.

That version of reality wasn't one he wanted to pursue. You should get back to your table, Tate said. It looks like your friend is getting lonely. He nodded his head to the table where one of Izzy's girlfriends sat staring at them.

Izzy ignored his comment and continued to hold onto his hand across the table. When the waiter brought his bill, Tate pulled his hand away to retrieve his wallet and pull out his card. When the man left, Izzy stood up and walked around to lean over Tate's shoulder and whisper in his ear. I could go home with you. We could spend the rest of the night getting caught up. She placed a kiss on the skin just below his ear and nipped his ear lobe before standing up.

Thanks for the offer, he said, but I've got work to do tonight. He had thought about going back to the office, but he knew that wouldn't help. He needed to clear his head if he was going to find a solution.

He felt the daggers from Izzy and her friend as he walked by their table on his way out of the restaurant. He thought back to the staff dining room at Haven. It definitely wasn't on par with Perelli’s in terms of service or food, but there were no hassles. That was priceless.

Chapter 4

Hi, Mari. Glad you could come, Sylvy said as she opened the door and stepped back to allow Mari to walk inside. How did you spend your first weekend in the Research Center?

In front of my computer, as always.

Hi, Mari, Jean said, walking up to hug her in his muscular arms. It's great to have you here. How are you settling in?

It's an adjustment, she said. Not wanting to sound negative, she added, Everyone's been really nice.

She had followed Jean and Sylvy into the kitchen where Jean went back