Page 20 of Just Watch Me

“The promotion practice here is ridiculous. They shouldn’t lean so heavily on supervisor recommendations. It incentivizes supervisors to keep their best employees away from promotion.”

“Tell me about it.” I blew out a long breath.

“I’ll look for an opportunity to put in a word for you that won’t tip off Chad. Okay?”

“Sure, thanks, Tommy.” I smiled. I doubted that would happen, but it felt good having an ally at work. I took a sip of my coffee. The bitter flavor was exactly what I needed as my blood boiled thinking about Chad.

“How’s it going with the consultants?”

I choked on my drink. “Wrong pipe,” I said once the coughing stopped. “I had my meeting the week before last.”

“They’re not bad. I expected worse. The young one knows his shit,” Tommy said.

I hid a smile behind my cup. “Definitely.”

“No wonder they’re so in demand.” Tommy drained the rest of his coffee then stood.

“Are they?” My voice cracked. My Spidey senses went on red alert.

“I heard EA wants to bring them on for a project.”

“EA? That’s huge.”

Skylar was amazing at his job. Of course one of the biggest video game companies in the world would want to hire him. At least their headquarters were on the West Coast. I shook my head. That shouldn’t matter to me. We were friends who’d fooled around in each other’s line of sight a few times, and I had no right to have any opinion over his career beyond being happy for his success.But if that’s the case, why does the thought of him moving to California for his next gig leave a sour taste in my mouth?

“I’d better get back to it. Great to catch up with you, Jesse.”

“You too.” I managed a smile.

After Tommy left, I sat in silence for several minutes. Fortunately, no one else came into the break room to witness my pity party. Eventually, my pouting was interrupted by a text.

Skylar:Want to grab lunch with me? There’s a ramen place a five-minute walk away

I smiled at my phone. A sappy and unfamiliar part of me hoped Skylar was so excited to see me he couldn’t wait until after work. He knew I would feel weird getting spotted with him by coworkers, and he’d found a way around it.

Me:when and where? I’m in

At least lunch with Skylar would keep my mind off Chad’s betrayal.

CHAPTER11

“Want me to prepare the salad?” I washed my hands in my parents’ kitchen sink as my mom seasoned the ground beef cooking in a pan.

“Sure. Thanks, honey.” She looked over and smiled at me. “How’s work going?”

I grabbed three carrots and a cucumber from the crisper in the fridge then rummaged through a lower cupboard for the mandolin and vegetable peeler. “It’s going well. We’re about to start working on our next major game, so that will keep me busy for the next two years at least.”

“That level of job security is important. I’m proud of you.”

Normally, her praise would leave me warm and pleased, but instead, I felt cold. I’d been raised to make my parents proud, to seek their approval, to bask in their support. However, the older I got, the more adept I became at spotting the invisible strings they’d carefully constructed. My parents weren’t bad people—far from it—but they didn’t understand how their particular brand of parenting had affected me.

If my job were remote, odds were I would become a hermit to avoid interacting with people and getting hurt, physically and emotionally. I didn’t want to be a hermit though. I wanted to go out with friends, travel, and have fun. I was in my twenties, for crying out loud.Isn’t that the time in life to be a little reckless?I’d never learned how to do that. Maybe Skylar could show me.

I smiled at the thought of him. We’d spent another weekend hanging out and exploring Portland. Without him, I never would’ve learned about so many great restaurants in the city. The Moroccan restaurant we’d gone to was incredible. Sitting on the floor and eating with our hands while watching incredible belly dancers had ignited a flame in me. The travel bug hiding in me expanded.

Skylar had even come over a few times to join me in some games. Kicking his ass atCall of Dutywas a personal highlight. I’d been thinking about inviting him to game with my online friends, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to blend my worlds. It would be fine while he was in Portland, but when he moved on to his next destination, he likely wouldn’t have time to play, and I wouldn’t want to answer questions about where he went.

In Skylar’s presence, I felt like I was finally turning into a butterfly. Corny, but I wanted to be a butterfly with my parents too.

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