Page 3 of Take It Offline

Well. Not anyone, but 99 percent of them.

“Don’t look so worried,” Ivy says. “You’ve got this.”

“I’ve got this,” I repeat. Maybe if I say it enough, I can force my will into being.

The issue with always putting everyone else’s needs first is that there’s no end in sight. I don’t want to be the kind of person who doesn’t care, but I also can’t stop hearing the echoes of every authority figure in my life telling me to do as I’m told.

Fit the role. Play by the rules. Be a good girl.

If I could do all that, my life would be much easier. But some intrinsic part of me can’t help but go left when everyone else goes right. To test my limits in new ways, whether that is teaching myself DAX basics to improve a report or holding a plank for ten seconds longer than I did last week.

Nothing excites me more than a challenge.

“This is your year, Em. Don’t be afraid to be a little selfish. Step up and take what you’ve earned.”

She’s right. When I walk into work on Monday, I’ll do exactly that.

CHAPTER 2

AND YOUR OPPONENT IS…

EMMA

Helix’s headquarters took three years to build and boasts biometric entry, facial recognition, and a “defining carbon footprint.”

Out of the four thousand people who call 1105 Martin Place home—and Helix does its best to make us live in the office—there’s only one I truly hate.

Charlie Walker.

Which is why my stomach drops when I find the backstabbing pretty boy from Operations sitting shoulder to shoulder with my boss for the impromptu meeting I was summoned to.

The same meeting I am now desperately trying to decipher.

Because it can’t be the promotion I’ve worked my ass off for, and since the smiling bane of my existence is here, it can’t be anything good.

Roberts waves me into the room and gestures for me to close the door. This meeting room seats ten, but right now it feels uncomfortably small.

Charlie reclines extravagantly in his seat, head cocked, smirk firmly in place. So sure everything is about to go his way.

As always, he’s perfectly put together. Tailored navy suit—a Zegna pinstripe that’s making my mouth water—white shirt, dark tie. Paired with his pink pouty lips, silky brown hair, and blue, blue eyes, Charlie’s a walking aphrodisiac.

It’s a dangerous trap to admire.

I take a seat across from him, barely concealing my glare.

He winks.

Annoyance bubbles up inside me, but I can’t flip him off like I want to. Not with Roberts here. Even so, I focus my loathing for him across the barren gray room with so much force there’s no way Charlie doesn’t get the message.

“Morning, sunshine,” he says.

His smile sparkles like a diamond and leaves me twice as tipsy as champagne. I’d almost forgotten how attractive he is.

Oh, who am I kidding? I’d need to be dead to forget those dimples.

Roberts taps a cracked knuckle on the table, impatient. “I have a meeting in ten minutes, so I’ll make this quick.” He turns his body—along with the bulk of his attention—toward Charlie and rests his elbow casually on the table. I’ve always known Roberts to be an exacting man, with the cold, hard stare of airport security, but for Charlie, he’s practically swooning.

“I’ve been given budget approval for an information analyst. This will be a lead position, reporting directly to me, with responsibilities across corporate functions and projects. Now, as seniors with good track records, you’re both eligible for the role. But before I can recommend one of you to the lead team, I have a project for you.”

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