Page 90 of Playing Flirty

“I’ll quit too,” he said. “They don’t deserve us.”

I blinked against the stinging sensation. “You’re getting married and starting a life. Don’t quit your job in an economic crisis on my account.”

“How am I meant to work for him?” His panic was clear as his heart beat rapidly against the side of my face.

I didn’t have an answer for him, but I was sure of mine.

Round 29

The door flung open, and William’s eyes darted between Shaun and me until we stepped apart.

“I heard voices. What’s going on?” William asked, taking me in as he always did.

I passed Shaun the quickest of looks, and he understood it. After years of working together, Shaun and I could basically communicate telepathically. I didn’t want William to know about my conversation with Mr. Markham. Knowing what I knew now, he would feel responsible. Or worse, like he’druinedeverything.

“Nothing,” I said. “Work sucks, and I really want to hear about the game review. Please put me out of my misery.”

William’s eyes narrowed, his expression hard and unplayful. But William was William, and we had been playing our game long enough that I knew which moves would suck him in.

I shot him a coy smile and pushed past him with a whisper. “William, I struggled to sleep last night, plagued by too many dreams, and now I need you to come and talk to me.”

I sat on the couch and waited, watching as he fought back a smile and dragged himself to the couch, falling into a heapbeside me. He was warm and sleepy, the smell of pine and lavender still lingering around him. It must be his shampoo.

“Well, they loved it. They literally told me so.” He turned to me, offering me his sweet dimple. “I could see it in the way they played.”

“No, no, no.” I kicked off my shoes and curled my feet underneath me. “Start from the beginning—from the instant you stepped into their offices. What was it like? Had they already played the other finalists’ games? How old were they?”

William’s eyes lit up, and he threw his head back before giving me a dramatic sigh. “Fine. It was a beautiful morning. The sun was shining, and the flowers were in bloom. I approached their office and rang the buzzer. The buzzer had thirteen buttons and—”

“William!” I poked at his ribs.

He flinched away but immediately came back as though there were something pulling him toward me. I wanted to move closer to him too, to sit in the bend his chest made when he slouched forward.

He wiped his face with his hands. “They called me in at exactly eleven. There were five of them, ranging from about early twenties to late sixties. I’m not sure. They all dressed very casually. It reminded me of my office.”

He paused as Shaun passed him a cup of coffee. I waited, resisting the urge to grind my teeth as he took his time inhaling the scent of the rich brew and blowing over the rim of his cup. He was doing it on purpose.

“I’ll remember this.” I raised an eyebrow at him.

Now I had his attention.

“Okay!” He laughed.

Such a delightful sound.

“So,” he continued, “I handed them the game, and they used the same rule and instruction sheet you submitted to set it up. It took them a few minutes, maybe two minutes longer than Lincoln did the other day. One of the men timed it and made note of it, but he nodded while doing it. It seemed positive.” He took a sip of his coffee. “I let them pick their markers. I ended up being the scientist. The game lasted for about two and a half hours or so, pretty much on schedule with what we predicted. But there was some conversation in between, which also seemed like something they were marking on.”

“What do you mean?” I gulped down the rest of his coffee. It was hot, but my entire body was already burning with excitement.

“Some of it seemed rehearsed. I think they were testing to see if chatting throws the game off or if it enhances it. I don’t know. They wouldn’t explain it.”

I huffed out a frustrated breath.

“I did ask,” he offered.

“You didn’t fight them about it, did you?” Shaun asked, obviously still unimpressed at William’s physical altercation.

William side-eyed his brother and then turned his focus back on me. “When it ended, they asked me a few basic questions about you—why I think you created this game, and why I think you should win, et cetera.” He bit down on his lip, his playful eyes wide-awake now.

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