Page 99 of Take It Offline

I nod. “He’s set against you for some reason. So I wanted to make it as difficult as possible for him to pin any win we had on me.”

“Why didn’t you just take it?” she asks. Before I can reiteratebecause fuck him, she adds, “Not because of Roberts, but because you’ve earned it.”

“I’ve had to fight for a lot in my life, but I’ve never stolen anything, and I’m not about to start now.”

“I should have expected this,” she says with a defeated scoff. “My last boss, Mason, warned me when he left to be wary of Roberts, but I thought I had it under control.”

My gut twists. I’ve seen firsthand how low people can sink, but somehow, they keep going lower.

“Don’t you dare.” I run a hand through my hair. “You’ve done everything right. He’s the asshole. And so am I.”

“Charlie, no.”

“I should have told you earlier.”

“It wouldn’t have changed anything.”

Yeah, but she wouldn’t have been blindsided.

Dammit.

She covers my hand with hers and gives it a light squeeze. “Thank you for telling me.”

It’s a solid hit, enough to put me on my back if I wasn’t sitting. There is absolutely no reason she should be thanking me, but that’s Emma. Beautiful, generous Emma.

She leans back, looking at the ceiling, and lets out a long breath. “This is worse than the time Jesse Olsen tried to cheat on me with my best friend and then stole our ride back to the hotel.” A broken huff of a laugh escapes her. “Good thing he’d forgotten to close out his tab. Once we realized he’d taken off, we enjoyed a very lovely bottle of 2008 Cristal on his dime.”

Her voice is too quiet. She’s trying so damn hard to stay composed, but I don’t need her to be calm for me. I like her fire and brimstone. There’s a fighter in her, and it kills me to see her throw the match.

“I should quit,” she says.

Every fiber of my being revolts at the idea. “Absolutely not.”

She lets her head loll against the back of the couch so she’s facing me. “Why would I stay? You said it yourself; Roberts has it out for me. Whether I get this promotion or not, he’ll find some new way to make my life as difficult as possible.”

For me.Stay for me.

I should know better than to wish for things like that.

“Sometimes I think I’m still there out of spite,” I admit. “Just to prove I could stick it out.”

“And now?” she asks, her brows pinched. “You’re exceptional at your job. There’s no doubt in my mind that you could keep going if you wanted to. But is it what you want? Not because you need to prove something, but for yourself.”

“Not everyone has the luxury of choice.”

She hums, thoughtful. “That’s true. Which is why it’s important to not waste it if you do.”

I’ve never let myself think about it for too long, because once I have an answer, I won’t be able to forget.

I’m not going to lie; I like the lifestyle. Wearing clothes that aren’t secondhand. Slipping on an oxford and a silk tie, walking into the world knowing I look damn good. Powerful. Persuasive.

But we aren’t meant to be talking about me.

“Hold up,” I say, rerouting the conversation. “I already know how good I am. I want to know why it sounds like you’re rolling over right now.” I refuse to let her dim herself for that asshole. “Let me ask you this: if Roberts hadn’t played this bullshit game with us, and the lead team pulled you into a room and said ‘tell us who should get this role,’ what would you say?”

Without answering, she lowers her head, brushes an invisible spot from her pants.

“I get it. You think I’m the best. Honestly, who could blame you?”

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