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“I just…” I can’t look away, his eyes hypnotic. My brain tries to work through a rational thought, a way to express how confused I feel because I don’twantanyone else and it scares me. But I don’t want to scare him in turn and… “I just think it’s a bit odd.”
“Maybe it’s a good odd? Because I would’ve hated knowing you were crying on someone else’s shoulder. And I’ll admit it’s a littleoddfor me, too. I don’t really… talk to anyone. At the risk of sounding like a fucking loser, I don’t have time for friends. Orotherfriends, I guess. You are…” he exhales, his eyes bouncing over my face, as if taking me in.
“Conveniently virtual?” I ask.
He laughs once and shakes his head. “I was gonna say an exception. But the fact that I’ve had you in my pocket this whole time, that up until now our entire relationship was all through texting and emailing and FaceTiming? It’s definitely made things more convenient than a regular friendship, yeah. This thing—this friendship—is also odd for me. So maybe two odds make a right?” He smiles at his own attempt at a joke, and I can’t help but smile, too.
“That wasn’t even funny.” I bite my lower lip to keep from smiling. Will and his dad jokes.
“It kinda was. It rhymed with the original saying.” His smile is heartbreaking as he pulls out a stool for himself.
“You know, if you have to explain it, it almost certainly means it’s a sign the joke isn’t funny.”
He rolls his eyes and laughs. “You know you love my dad jokes. Now let me order a beer so I can catch up to you and you can tell me everything about your day and who I need to kill.”
WILL
Will has half a mind to flush this whole deal with Sartoria down the drain just to get the VP fired. He wants Jenna to pay for taking credit for Bridget’s idea, of course. But more than that, he wants to make her pay for taking away Bridget’slight. For breaking her heart, which he so desperately wants to protect at all costs.
Despite all that, despite the hunger for vengeance growing inside, he knows he couldn’t do that to Bridget. If he were to help pull the project, she would also end up losing. Her passion project would be cancelled, an investigation would surely happen, and her reputation, unfortunately, could be ruined.
Either way, it’s not like hisbosswould even allow it, anyway, would he? It’s not like he can walk over to him and say “This company’s manager hurt the woman I care about’s feelings so we must cancel our order and find a different vendor.”
There isn’t much that Will could do for Bridget, realistically.
What he can do is be there for her in any other way. And there is nothing in this world that would ever stop him from doing so.
13
PRO TIP: TRY NOT TO DEVELOP A MAJOR CRUSH ON YOUR NEW BEST FRIEND
Once I finish my story, Will gulps down the last of his beer, slamming the glass down with a loud enough bang that our neighboring tables turn to look at us. Eyes on the table, he grits his teeth as if biting back words, bushy brows pulled together as he processes the events that led me to hate my job for the first time since I started. Did I have moments of dislike towards other jobs I had in the past? Yes. But never until today, I’d never felt anything close to hate or heartbreak until Jenna took from me what I’d worked so hard for.
“Will?” My voice is small and careful. Slowly, I reach out to place a hand on his forearm, which breaks him free from whatever path his mind took him down. He turns to look at me and places a hand over mine before taking it between both of his.
“Are you okay?” Just listening to the sound of his deep voice feels like crawling under a cozy blanket on the couch during a rainstorm—comforting, warm, and reassuring. Like I know there’s a lot going on outside, but nothing can hurt me while I’m there.
“No,” I say, my voice breaking. I dig into the bowl of pretzels in front of us with my free hand and shove a few into my mouth. I chew viciously, thinking over my answer before correcting it. “But also yes? Like, it’s horrible and it kind of feels like my heart is broken. Like I was betrayed, because I suppose I was. But, I mean, I guess I should look on the bright side, right? My idea was so good that an executive from the company felt compelled to steal it and claim it as their own.” I shrug and try for a pathetic laugh, trying to make light of it.
“Stop. Don’t diminish what happened by trying to spin it.” His no nonsense attitude derails me, a bucket of cold water over the fire I feel in my heart for this job that I’m trying to stoke. “Your ability to find good in difficult situations is one of the things I like the most about you, but you can’t make light of what happened. None of this is right.”
I stop and sit up straight. “I’m not making light of the situation. I’m just… What else am I supposed to do? Looking at the bright side is all I can handle right now.”
“You can report her. Say something to HR or something. Talk to the CEO.” He raises a hand and signals our waiter for another beer while I scoff in disbelief.
“Are you crazy? You really think it’s that simple? You want me to just walk into the CEO’s office or HR all willy nilly and tell them that the VP, who has been at the company for over a decade, stole some random associate’s idea she developed in a week? Like, who do you think they’re going to believe? The inexperienced one who’s barely above an intern and has had more jobs in different industries than she can count on two hands, or the woman with years of experience under her belt that are exclusive to not just this world, but the company?”
He sits up, his jaw set in determination. “It’s wrong, what she did. And when you show them all of the work and research you put into the project, they’ll believe you.”
I roll my eyes at him. “You don’t get it, do you? That’s not how things work, apparently. Otherwise, my boss would’ve said something, told me to do the same thing you’re telling me to do now.”
The waiter places a beer in front of Will, and he slumps in his seat. “It’s not that I don’t get it. I do, believe me. It’s that I don’t want this for you. When we first met, I loved how excited you were about your job and this industry—which I have grown to seriously resent. So I’m upset it’s getting to you. I’m frustrated that you’re finally facing some of the negative things that come with this world, and I don’t want that for you. I don’t want you to get to a point where all this bullshit will eventually dull your shine.”
“Dull my shine?” My lips quirk upwards, cheeks blushing once again. He thinks I have a shine to be dulled? Before I can help it, my little quirk turns into a goofy grin, despite the subject matter of our conversation. Even through this stressful conversation, Will can make my body light up like a freaking Christmas tree. My mind drifts back to our dirty and flirty exchanges and I realize I miss them. I want them back.
Will looks down at his glass and clears his throat. “You know what I’m saying. You’re almost annoyingly positive,” he says, a teasing smile playing at his lips while his eyes remain intense. “But I think having people like you in the world brings a balance to it we are in desperate need of. Like vegetarians.”
I sputter a laugh. “Vegetarians? What the hell does that mean?”
