Page 24 of XOXO

He leaned on the bar and tilted his head for me to do the same. “I’ve known you a long time. She’s not one of us. Girl just needed a break. Let her make her money in peace.”

Glancing over, I soaked her in. The nerves definitely weren’t just because of me from the look on her face, but if she needed the money I didn’t need to interfere or make her uncomfortable. “She’s something. But I won’t mess with her.”

I shook his hand once more then headed to my bike outside. The cold winter air was welcomed as I needed to cool off. But I said I wouldn’t mess with her. What the hell was I thinking?

Chapter 4

Adita

Yawning as I power walked to my cubicle in the overly beige office space with entirely too many windows, I managed to force a smile to the few people walking down the hall. It had only been a week at the Rusty Spoke and the cash at the end of the shift was great, but I was exhausted.

I had worked three nights and was scheduled to work Friday and Saturday, only having Sundays and Tuesdays off. It being Friday at the day job and having worked late nearly every night, I was looking forward to at least sleeping in tomorrow.

The sun was shining, and the fluorescent lights overhead were glaring.

“Out partying last night, Adi?” Chad asked as he strolled by with a coffee mug in his hand. His blue suit fit him perfectly. He was exactly what you would expect with a name like that.

Fighting the urge to roll my eyes, I smiled. “Just working late.” He didn’t need to know it wasn’t for a project here.

He must have assumed it was, because his smug grin fell, and he straightened his shoulders. “Prepping for today then? I have a great pitch ready. Good luck to you.”

When he walked away, I finally let my eyes roll as I pulled my flash drive from my bag and popped it into my computer. I had worked on the special project a few days, ever since we got specs for the building.

Someone was coming today to review our designs and there was never a guarantee that our company would get the deal, and the competition to be the one with the winning design was fierce. The more contracts we landed, the better chance we had at moving up.

I had only landed a few smaller jobs, so it was still not enough to be noticed. But this one seemed to be larger and I was confident in my plans for the space. I also had to watch my back like a hawk. The way the cubicles were set up, anyone could easily see what each other was working on.

I’d be damned if one of these suckups stole my work.

Looking over the blueprint, I leaned in close. I wish I had time to tighten up a few things, but it was still decent. Locking my computer, I stood to go get coffee from the break room then went back to my desk. I had just enough time to knock back the cheap but strong drink before my calendar alarm notified me of the meeting in just fifteen minutes.

I pulled my laptop off the docking station and cleared off my desk before making my way to the break room. My best suit was simple. Black slacks, black blazer, and I paired it with a pale coral shirt. Tucking my laptop under my arm, I closed the button on my blazer and tugged at the bottom for good measure. My hair wouldn’t cooperate this morning, so I slicked it back into a high ponytail and let the curls do their own thing. They bounced a bit as I strode into the conference room with all the fake confidence I could muster, my chin up high.

But when I looked over to the head of the table, I stopped in my tracks then nearly dropped my laptop as someone plowed into me from behind.

“Adi, what’s your deal?” Chad whisper-screamed in my ear.

Trying not to turn and slap him across the face, I straightened my blazer again and regained my fake facade of control. Placing my laptop on the table, I was about to sit when a large hand appeared in my face. I turned.

Stone was dashing in a dress shirt and slacks. The white shirt stretched over his broad chest and hugged his huge arms. “Allow me, miss. Seems some men forgot their manners.”

Thank God for my complexion; he likely wouldn’t notice that my face was on fire. “Thank you, sir.” Oh, that felt nice. Sir.

Others were piling in, and Stone went back toward the front and took a seat next to Mr. Lowell, one of the partners. His hair was short and buzzed. I hadn’t seen it before because he had a bandana on.

“Everyone, this is Mr. Stone. He’s with Steely Ridge Investments and in charge of the buildout at their existing office building. If you could all get your specs ready and Chad, why don’t you start the presentation?”

Chad and Andrew were my competition. Andrew wasn’t much competition if everyone did a blind presentation but the fact I didn’t have a dick always screwed me. Chad was a prick, but he was decent. The fact that Mr. Stone knew I was working a second job also didn’t bode well for me. He’d need someone who was available to get the job done. Which, I could. But clients wanted designers to be at their beck and call. It also wasn’t lost on me that he hadn’t been back to the Spoke since Monday. He was probably avoiding me since I acted like an idiot.

Chad went on with his presentation, cocky and smiling at the end. He unplugged his laptop and passed the cord to Andrew with a friendly pat to his shoulder. I was sitting across the table, but they never did the manly camaraderie moves with me and that was perfectly fine.

Andrew completed his presentation, and he was very professional, but even Mr. Lowell didn’t look wowed. He unplugged his laptop and leaned across to hand it to me.

Trying hard to appear calm, I cleared my throat as softly as possible while I pulled up my slides. I had spent the whole presentation not looking over at Stone, or Mr. Stone, but when I started talking, he startled me with a, “Mmhmm.” Glancing at him, he was leaning back in his chair, running his hand down his thick beard. He hadn’t made any noises during the other two. I couldn’t tell if it was a good thing or bad thing.

Swallowing hard, I kept going but halfway through, I realized I started talking really fast. But it was too late. If I corrected it now, it would seem obvious I was flustered. I was blowing this. Not that I had a shot in hell, but I was just making it worse and probably giving Chad something to joke about later.

Once I was done, I unplugged my laptop and sat back in my chair. I kept my back straight and my chin up. I may have just made a complete fool of myself, but I would do it with dignity.

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