Page 13 of Work with Me

Expensive leather. Something woodsy, like pine. Rick had smelled like the fragrance counter at Walgreens. But this didn’t smell like it came from a bottle. He smelled like he could’ve ridden a horse through a forest earlier that day. He hadn’t, had he? I sneaked a glance at his hands. Pale across the back except for a semicircle right below the wrist, and tanned fingers. All wrong for riding gloves, and callus-free, so probably not.

I shook my head. It didn’t matter how great he smelled. We were colleagues. And not even friendly ones. Not even after my apology.

A few minutes later, he interrupted me. “I think we have some code for that method. You should call it.”

“Oh.” I searched the utility repository and found it. “Thanks.”

“And maybe if you—”

“If I?”

He suggested a different way to organize the code. Unorthodox, but efficient. Grudgingly, I keyed it in.

“It’ll compile a ton faster that way.”

I shrugged. “Maybe you’re right.” He was definitely right. Damn him and his coding smarts. Would I ever reach his level?

He crossed his arms. He wore a Black Sabbath T-shirt that showed off his defined biceps and forearms and made me forget all about his brain. What would it feel like if I trailed a finger across his skin? Down over those strong wrists and—I swallowed—powerful fingers? I balled my hands into fists. I wouldn’t be finding out.

Coding. I was here to code. I turned my face to the screen and started typing.

For most of the morning, we worked in silence, broken only by his suggestions for improvement. And although he’d said he worked best on his own, he acted more like a coach than a critic, making brilliant suggestions for how to make the code more efficient, more elegant. I felt like a clueless freshman around him, and I wondered again why I was there. Jackson could’ve coded the module we were working on with one hand tied behind his back while asleep.

Lunch by myself at a nearby deli was a welcome respite from Jackson’s physical energy and intoxicating smell. I’d hoped for a few more minutes of peace when I returned, but no such luck. He was already there, his fingers clacking across the keyboard.Mykeyboard. Pair programming? Worst idea ever.

But I was the one who’d committed to it for at least the next two weeks, so I tucked my purse into the desk drawer and rolled my chair far enough away from him that I could sit down.

“I think we can finish this module today,” he said. “You don’t mind working after five, do you?”

“Actually, I have to leave by four. Every Tuesday and Thursday.”

His fingers stilled, and he looked at me for the first time since the stand-up this morning. “You have another gig? Aren’t we paying you enough?”

They were paying me plenty, more than double my hourly rate at my previous job, and I barely kept myself from snorting. “This is my only job. I quit my previous employer last month, when I’d saved up enough, when I’d done enough planning to go out on my own.”

“So this is your first solo gig?”

Shit.I kept my wince on the inside. I’d revealed a weakness. “It is. But I’ve been planning this move for three years. It’s always been my dream to be my own boss. You must know what that’s like.”

A flicker of something—pain?—narrowed his eyes. “I guess Synergy’s recommendation will mean a lot to your business.”

Was that sabotage lurking behind those flinty eyes? Regardless, I couldn’t lie. Not even to someone who disregarded me as much as Jackson Jones did. “It will.”

“And still, you’re leaving work early two days a week?”

“When and why I leave work is no business of yours as long as I get the work done. You’ll get your money’s worth while I’m here.”

He grunted. At least he didn’t make another disparaging comment.

“Mind if I drive?” I indicated the keyboard.

He held up both hands. “Go for it.”

We worked for half an hour or so as we had before lunch, me typing and him advising me in a way that made me wince at my own clumsiness. After a while, he asked, “Where’d you learn to code, anyway?”

“High school, and after that, UT.”

“You’re originally from Texas?”

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