Page 27 of Just Watch Me

“It’ll be great. You’ll be near the Gulf Coast. Our coast doesn’t stand a chance against the warm, clear water over there.” I almost believed myself.

“But the cheese.”

I laughed. “I’ll mail you cheese care packages.”

Skylar smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Perfect.”

“This is exciting.” I forced cheer into my voice.

“Is it? I don’t feel excited about it this time,” Skylar admitted.

A breath whooshed out of me. “I’m sure you’ll get there. In the meantime, let’s plan your see-ya-later tour of Portland.” Planning more time to hang out with Skylar was the only way I would get through the next three weeks.

CHAPTER14

“You doing okay, man?”

I looked at Ben. “Yeah, why?”

Ben shrugged. “You’ve been quieter than usual this week.” He angled his head. “I guess quiet like you used to be, but you’ve been different the past month. Nervous about the project?”

I turned in my chair to face Ben. He was right. I’d been off my game since the countdown with Skylar had a defined conclusion. Usually, I thrived on defined things. Not with Skylar. I missed the vague knowledge that he would leave eventually because I could convince myself it was always weeks or months away.

Finally, I had taken careful steps out of my shell, but with Skylar’s departure, my connection to the real world would disappear. I would return to a social life consisting of online games a few times a week and making awkward small talk with people at work.

The forthcoming pain was worth it though. I wouldn’t trade my time with Skylar for anything, not even a meet-and-greet with George Lucas. But I could already sense myself retreating into the person I’d been all those weeks ago, and I wasn’t sure how to stop it.

I returned my attention to my computer and tried to lose myself in the code, but my mind kept wandering. After a while, I checked my email and saw one from Chad that made no sense. His were often confusing with missing information and half-explained requests.

“Got a Chad email. Gonna go get it deciphered,” I said to Ben.

He laughed. “Good luck with that.”

I walked down the hallway and turned the corner near Chad’s office.

“I appreciate the information, Chad. You’ve got a good pulse on your team.”

I recognized the voice of Rick, the programming department director.

“It’s important as a manager to foster an environment where my team can talk to me.”

I fought the urge to gag at Chad’s slick bullshit.

“I’ll admit, I’m surprised none of your team members are looking to advance. They’ve been in their positions a long time. But it’s fine, we can look externally for the roles we need to fill.”

“You know the uber-tech ones. They like to keep their heads down and focus on their screens.”

Rick chuckled. “I guess so. Well, keep me posted if any of them are looking for other opportunities as we map out theLegion of Tomorrowteams.”

“You got it, Rick.”

My blood boiled. Tommy had been right. Chad was actively keeping us from advancing.The urge to march in there and tell him off warred with a compulsion to tuck my tail between my legs and shuffle back to the safety of my desk, where I didn’t have to confront anyone.

Rick and Chad came into view, and Chad’s eyes widened when he saw me.

“Hello, there…”

“Jesse,” I said to Rick. I should be annoyed he couldn’t remember my name since we weren’tthatbig of an organization, but I had no spare ire for him since it was all locked and loaded, aimed at Chad.

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