Page 15 of The Thorne at My Side
“Maybe you’re taken out by a disgruntled employee, but they give you some weird disease when they sneeze on your salad and you die slowly as your teeth turn to dust and you choke on it.”
“Cruel but that’s closer to what I expected from you,” he says with a wink as the elevator lands in the lobby and he holds his hand in front of the doors for me again.
His long strides bring him next to me as I reach the front door. Sam always complains about how fast I walk. I’m 5’9”, she’s 5’4” and Austin is even taller than I am, 6’2” I’d guess. Again he opens the door for me and holds it as I walk through. It’s this weird waltz we’ve done now threetimes as he holds the door, lets me pass, and then slides up to my side.
The ridiculous Tesla is still idling at the curb so I’m assuming it’s his.
“Although, with your speech writing capabilities maybe you could go a little more realistic. Snot-borne diseases rarely cause dental issues.” He leans close to make sure I hear him as he passes me and I catch his scent. Salty, and fresh, with a musk like olive oil or something. I feel an awareness turn on in my chest and have to stop myself from inhaling deeply.
And while I am wondering if that scent is sold as a candle I could burn in my studio apartment, my brain registers his words. And how his tone is this infuriating combination of teasing, smug, and confident. And how I don’t want to stop sparring with him.
"My speech writing brain power is better spent trying to solve political problems than debating nonsense with you.”He spins around on his heel and strides back to face me."AI isn't nonsense. This is going to change the world."
"But not for the better," I ground out as my clenched fist finds my hip.
"It's going to be the best thing since sliced bread. People are going to flock to it for its convenience even though it's laden with preservatives. People are lemmings and don't want to think for themselves. They want to sit back and be told what to think. They want to know that they're thinking what their friends are thinking. They want dumb dance videos and marriage pranks."
"No, people want more than that." I reply but even I can hear how empty my argument is.
"Maggie, c'mon." He stands up a little taller and I only realize how close we have gotten to each other when I have to lift my chin to maintain contact with his graphite eyes. "You're a smart person so tell me, whydo videos of people doing something nice for a stranger out perform nearly anything else on the internet?"
"Umm, I ah," I mumble.
"I'll tell you, they go viral because the people on their phones don't realize that humans can interact with each other. They've completely forgotten that positive, real life, interactions exist. They're living in their algorithm and not thinking for themselves. They're sending memes to their friends instead of meeting them for coffee and talking to them. They're following GPS directions in their hometowns because they've forgotten how to think for themselves. Most people think they’re political because they know the words toHamiltonor watchedThe West Wingwith their parents but have never canvassed for a candidate or connected with their representatives.”
I won’t admit it but he just described half of the frustration I experience at my job. It is sexy to be on the side of the young female candidate. But while I’m going to take the backing from people who are voting for her because she’s a woman, a part of me wishes they’d pay attention to the issues and understand what the policies mean.
"So your solution is if you can't beat ‘em join ‘em?"
"More or less. It's too much work to right the ship; we're headed straight for the iceberg, but I can play some lovely music while the boat sinks."
My ride share pulls up and rolls down the window, "Ride for Maggie?"
I'm still stunned that Austin wants to be the string quartet conductor on the Titanic while the rest of us fight for our lives.
"Time to go," Austin says and then he leans closer and I can feel the heat of his breath on the shell of my ear as he whispers, "next time I'd be happy to give you a ride."
He slowly pulls back and his eyes rake over my body. Lavapools in my center under his gaze and I make my way to the gray sedan on wobbly knees.
CHAPTER 6
Put it all on the line.
AUSTIN
"How'd the podcast go?" Elle asks as she gives Brinkley a little chin scratch and tosses her bag on the island.
"Good," I say as I sip my beer and try to refocus on the baseball game on TV.
"Just good?" Elle prompts as she comes and sits down next to me. "I would think there was quite a lot of action between you and Maggie Collins."
My head whips towards her, "how do you know about Maggie Collins?"
Is she reading my mind? Because my eyes might be pointed at the TV but they’re seeing Maggie. No woman has distracted me like this before.
"She was all over the show’s social media, geesh, chill out. Elle walks into the kitchen and continues talking to me, "When I saw her headshot I knew you'd be a bumbling mess because blonde hair and blue eyes are the epitome of beauty to you. Plus I can’t imagine a speech writer whose livelihood depends on creating content would like the idea of AI Media coming into her space. I bet she was pissed." She says with a laugh as she plops down in the corner seat of the sofa with a bag of popcorn.
I look at her with side-eyes and confirm she’s in a position to keep talking to me instead of watching the TV the sofa is pointed at.
