Page 93 of Take It Offline

He raises a skeptical brow. “You’d be the first.”

I don’t know what to tell him. That people are awful? Clearly, he’s aware. That he’s expecting me to use this against him proves that I have failed the both of us.

What happened last year is still a sore spot, but it’s healing slowly, and I would like to believe that we’re more than strangers. Charlie has given me the space to be vulnerable, and he deserves better than he’s gotten in the past.

The pain he buries under his smiles crushes me. I want to erase every trace, rewrite every wrong he’s lived through. Show him just howgoodhe really is.

I stride over and place a gentle kiss on his cheek. “You’re worth so much more than what can be presented on a piece of paper, Charlie. Everyone in the company knows that.”

I’m only sorry it took me so long to see it.

It’s easy to lose track of time here. Whether it’s helping Reese hand feed a week-old Bengal or debating with Mae over which version ofSabrinais better (the costumes in the 1954 version are phenomenal, as is Audrey Hepburn; but the 1995 remake is eminently charming).

I don’t want the day to end, and I can’t take my eyes off him as he drives me home. He’s gorgeous, but he’s also so much more.

My heart knocks against my chest in deep, echoing thumps.

Charlie sees problems in a way I can’t and can ask me a question I’ve never considered and open my eyes to something new. He’ll clear the weeds away so I can find the answer and then look at me as though I’m brilliant for discovering it.

Sex might be off the table, but I can’t lose his friendship. I don’t want to give up his teasing smiles or clever quips.

I can’t lose the time we get every day in his car. Even when we don’t talk, it’s enough to simply know he’s there. Every time I sink into the worn leather, I get the urge to tell him to forget the office and suggest we take a new road and keep going. It wouldn’t matter where.

Ever since my life changed course, I’ve wondered what my future could look like.

When I look at Charlie now, I finally see that future looking back.

CHAPTER 30

KARMA WITH A KO

CHARLIE

Another day, another crisis. Maybe I should find a desk for Drue upstairs so that I don’t have to travel so far every time he has a problem.

Few people would guess where I’ve come from. I’ve made sure of it. Not because of shame, not because I give a greasy rat’s ass about what some suit thinks of me, but because I’m more than a made-up birth certificate and a history of juvenile delinquency.

Being underestimated isn’t new.

But I used it to my advantage. Got under people’s skin, never backed down from a fight, worked my ass off so they never had anything to use against me. It wasn’t easy, but I fucking did it. Spent junior year waking up every morning at the ball sack of dawn, mowing the lawns of the monstrous houses on the hill while they were still shrouded in mist.

I hated a lot of my guardians, but Jude and Dana are good people. Better than most. Then, Reese arrived. There was no way I was going to spit in the face of that.

So I stayed. Said yes when they wanted to make it official. And planned to make a better life for myself.

I started by taking notes on how the assholes of the world did things.

Lessons in the shape of other kids’ fists with the scars to match. I taught a number of those classes myself. They’re probably the only tests I ever passed with flying colors.

Eventually, I learned to beat them using their own tricks.

With words.

It turned out a bit of charm went a long way. And a turned-out three-piece doesn’t hurt.

Now look where I am. Earning more in a year than my parents combined and in line for a promotion—all before my thirtieth birthday.

I’m steps away from Drue’s desk when a strong hand comes down on my shoulder.

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