Page 10 of Playing Flirty

Shaun rolled his chair toward me. “What was that about?”

Without responding, I kicked his chair, sending him wheeling back to his desk.

I opened the office messaging service.

Rose Jones:Got a warning for being too chatty.

Shaun Ashdern:What do you mean?

Rose Jones:What do you mean what do I mean? He said I was too chatty and I was distracting… So, stop talking to me. YOU never get into any trouble. Golden boy.

Shaun Ashdern:Ouch.

Shaun Ashdern:But fair.

Shaun Ashdern:Coming to game night?

Rose Jones:It’s my turn. I’d never miss it.

Shaun Ashdern:What are we playing?

Rose Jones:Do some work before I get blamed for distracting you.

Shaun Ashdern:Fine.

When I arrived at Shaun’s place, I was—as usual—greeted by William, by not being greeted at all.

Apparently, gaining social skills onThe Simswas more important than in real life. I grabbed a chair and sat next to him.

He looked at me with a deep frown and adjusted the glasses he rarely wore. “Pippin.”

I ignored that, eager to win this round of Playing Nice while finding a way to irritate him at the same time. “What’s your Sim’s name?”

“Go away.” He nudged me with his elbow.

I tried to make eye contact, which was how I gauged how much longer I could tease him before he exploded. “What’s your Sim’s wife’s name?” I pointed atThe Simslady walking around the house he’d built.

He ignored me.

I lowered my finger toward the power button. “Oh, what does this button do?”

He broke his focus and took off his spectacles. “Rose, I’m working.”

Oops.His gaze was darker than I’d expected, and he used my real name.

Retreat. Retreat.

I stepped away from his computer. “You have a really cool job.”

The easiest way to decompress William was by talking to him about the games he designed and reviewed for a living. It was every geeky teenager’s dream.

“What do you want?” he asked, slipping the spectacles back on and turning his focus back to his game. “Are you still trying to win Shaun’s stupid game?”

“No,” I lied.

He smiled at his screen, his dimple coming out to play. He didn’t buy that at all.

“Claire and Lincoln aren’t coming. We need a fourth player for the ultimate gaming experience.” I widened my eyes in what I hoped would be an irresistible manner, although I can’t say I had a high success rate.

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