Page 17 of A Hard Fit

Finn shrugged, brushing eraser shavings away. “It’s fine. There wasn’t anything special there, you know?”

He raised his head to look at Rory, and his heart crashed into his ribcage when they were looking back, eyes wide.

Rory’s mouth curled in a small smile. “Yeah, I know.”

“Well.” Finn cleared his throat. “I, uh, better get going. I have a design meeting to finalize some stuff for the Sartini presentation.”

Rory shut their laptop and stood to help Finn collect his papers. Their fingers brushed again, and this time Finn didn’t jerk them away. They stood only inches apart as Rory slid a stack into Finn’s hands. “Amazing work, Finn.” Their eyelashes fluttered.

Something bubbled up Finn’s throat—either elation or panic, he couldn’t say which. “You too.”

“I’ll see you later.” Rory swayed toward him for a second, bringing a whiff of sandalwood with them, then they collected their laptop and slipped out of the room.

Finn sat down in a chair with a thump. He flipped through his sketches again, the smile on his face stretching wide.

* * * *

Finn had been working so hard with Rory and prepping for Sartini that he realized he had barely talked to Luka the past week. He made a point of popping into Luka’s office one morning, the day before Thomas Badgley arrived. “Do you want to grab lunch?”

“Can’t,” Luka said shortly, rifling through the papers on his desk. “I have to get these storyboards finished before the meeting with Thomas tomorrow.”

Finn frowned. “You don’t even have time to eat?”

“I have a granola bar somewhere,” Luka muttered, shoving that stack aside and moving onto the next one.

“Hey, are you okay?” Finn asked. Luka never missed a meal.

Luka stopped and looked up, smile strained. “I’m good.” Then he shifted, noticing the concern on Finn’s face. “You know what, a quick lunch would be great, actually. Thanks, Finn.”

They went to grab tacos at a food truck up the street that was fast and delicious. They perched on a planter with their lunches while Finn updated Luka on their progress with Thrill Island.

“Rory’s been amazing to work with. They have so many good ideas, and you should see how fast they can type when they really get going.”

Luka wiped his mouth with a napkin and smiled as he swallowed. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, that’s great. Hey, when’s your next date?”

Finn studied his remaining taco. “Don’t have one planned.”

Luka grinned. “You don’t?”

“Nah, work’s been so busy.” Finn took a big bite.

“Mmhmm.”

“What?” Finn mumbled.

“Nothing. Thanks for the lunch break, Finny.”

* * * *

The day finally came where they would meet the legend, Thomas Badgley, a.k.a., The Big Bad Wolf, a nickname Finn had promised Ilona he would never use…where she could hear it. Finn slipped into the conference room ready for the meeting a few minutes before nine and scanned the crowd. A seat was open next to Rory.

“Morning,” he said, slipping into the chair.

Rory’s smile made Finn think of the painting he worked on the night before, a soft curve of pink that hinted at so much more. “Morning,” they replied. “How are you?”

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