Page 41 of Left of the Slash
Nick leans back in his seat, pinching his lips together and shoving his argument back up his ass where it belongs. I can tell he wants to say something else. Words are battering against the inside of his lips like prisoners trying to escape, but he sealsthem in as he glares at me. I stare back, ready to leap across the table if he keeps looking at me or says another offensive word to Olivia, but Olivia speaks again before I commit assault on her behalf.
“So, that’s the plan moving forward,” she says. “Quinn and I will prep for the pitch over the next few days, and hopefully we’ll all have something to celebrate next week. Any questions?” No one says a word or even moves a muscle. “Good. Have a good rest of your day, and I’ll see you all in the morning.”
Olivia is the first to get up and walk out of the room, followed by Eden and Stephen. Now that I know that my first-ever pitch will be to save Obsidian’s life, I realize how much work I have to do. So, I ignore Nick’s peering eyes and make my way out of the conference room and back into my office. If I'm going to help with this pitch, I refuse to let it be anything other than brilliant. We have to convince the East-World CEO to come over to Obsidian, because our lives literally depend on it. Even the lives of Stephen and Nick are leaning on my next moves. As much as I hate them, if saving them means savingus, then so be it.
I cross the threshold into my office with my mind totally focused on what’s coming. I have been consumed by being with Olivia. Every cell in my body has been locked on her, wondering when we’ll be together again, anticipating how good it will feel to flog her, bruise her skin, and make her come for me. But now she has given me something else to dive into, and I know how important it is. Neither of us has ever done a pitch, but I know she's leaning on me. She needs me and I won't let her down. When I sit down behind my desk, I lock in, but just as I'm about to open a tab for East-World Bank’s homepage, my train of thought is cut off by the sound of Nick stomping into my office and throwing himself into the seat in front of my desk.
He lets out a loud whoosh of air and gawks at me with a canyon-sized furrow in his brow, and before I can ask what the fuck he’s doing in my office, he speaks first and sends me reeling.
“So,” he says sharply. “How long have you been fucking Olivia?”
TWENTY-FIVE - Quinn
“What the fuck did you just say to me?”
“You heard me,” Nick replies before swallowing hard. I see the tremble in his cheeks as he looks at me, trying to match my energy, but he can't pull it off. My energy is dark matter—not to be replicated or even understood. I'm a fucking black hole ready to annihilate everything around me, and he has no idea that he's a hair’s width away from the event horizon, yet he still trembles.
I stare at him, my mind imagining me vaulting over my desk and wrapping my fingers around his throat until he can no longer speak a word about Olivia, but I stay in my chair with hatred spewing from my irises. After having refound his arrogance and audacity, shitting all over Olivia’s idea to pitch to East-World Bank, and throwing a hissy fit over not being able to do the same pitch he didn't even believe in, Nick has thenerve to step into my office and hurl accusations around like monkeys throwing shit. He somehow manages to sit in front of me with that smug look on his face, completely unaware of how ridiculous he is. I don't know how some people manage to do it, but this group of assholes at Obsidian has mastered the art of having the fucking gall.
I want to hurt him. Bad. Being with Olivia is doing a number on my ability to keep my dark devil at bay, because I feel the lines between us blurring. It’s becoming harder to figure out where I end and it begins, but I have to keep it together. I just got promoted, and this is a game being played. This corporate life is a giant chess board, and I don't win if I stand up and knock all of the pieces off the table. That’s exactly what they want us to do—lose our shit over their audacity so they can say we’re violent DEI hires who don't deserve the positions we’ve earned by being twice as good as them. I can't let that happen. If I want to win, I have to maintain my composure, but it is becoming so fucking hard.
I clear my throat and flex my jaw. “Nick, the only reason I'm not fucking you up right now is because I just got promoted and I don't want to be firedjust yet, but you're pushing it. You don't know shit about me or Olivia, so I advise you to close your mouth and get out of my office as quickly as possible.”
“Interesting,” he says, rubbing his stubbled chin. “I heard threats, and I heard arrogance, but I definitely didn't hear denial. So, it’s true then? You're fucking Olivia?”
Hearing him say it again sends my body into autopilot. Against my better judgment, I snap, hopping up from my seat with my finger pointed.
“Keep your fucking voice down,” I snip. “I see what you're doing—coming in here and saying that bullshit as loudly as you can just because she didn't pick you to do the EWB pitch. Get over yourself, bitch. The reason you did pitches with Jon beforewas because he was the CISO. He's gone now and I'm the CISO, so I'm doing the pitches the same way my predecessor used to. If you don't like it, go cry in a fucking corner until you dehydrate and die, butdo notcome in here with accusations that have the same amount of evidence as you have common sense—fucking zero. Now, I'm not going to tell you again, get up and get out of my office.”
Nick lets out an aggressively loud huff as he slams his hands on the arms of the chair and stands up, his face reddening as his nervous breathing makes him stammer. “This … this is bullshit. Maybe I should fuck the CEO and get promoted to a position I don’t deserve, leap frogging two guys with more seniority in the process. Talk about special privileges and favoritism. Since you claimyou'renot fucking her, maybe I’ll shoot my shot and see where it gets me.”
The heat that engulfs me from the inside is hot enough to send steam shooting from my ears. I don't know where it comes from. My emotions sneak up on me and catch me by surprise, and the next thing I know, I'm nose to nose with Nick, my fists balled so tight my knuckles threaten to pierce my skin. My glare is menacing as my nostrils flare and my breathing picks up. I’m ready for war in a matter of seconds. If I don't tighten up, it’ll be a checkmate for my career.
“Say that again,” I tell him, but it’s not a demand. It is one hundred percent a threat. “I fucking dare you to say another word about Olivia. I promise you won't walk out of this office if you do. Somebody will have to carry you out.”
“Oh, you want to fight me over the woman you'renotfucking?” Nick says.
I'm like a coiled viper ready to strike, and what's worse is that I know he's right. He may not have any evidence or proof, and he's just fishing for anything to make himself feel better because that’s what pussies do, but he's right and he doesn't even reallyknow it. So, as much as I'm feeling an uncommon sense of protectiveness over Olivia, my anger is also fueled by the fact that I know I'm lying. The people who tend to be the most defensive are usually the ones who know they're being found out, and I hate that I fit that mold, but it doesn't stop me from acting out. I hate that being with her has me behaving this way, but I can't fucking help it.
“Say her name again,” I say in a voice resembling a pitbull’s growl. “That's all I want you to do. Say her name. Fuck all of this talking. Say her name … see what happens.”
Nick and I stand frozen, face to face like two ice sculptures, until we’re startled by another person stepping into the room.
“Whoa, what the fuck is going on in here?” Rob’s voice booms. “Did you know we can hear you two from down the hall? That’s enough, man. Come on, Q, step back, bro. Don't risk your career over this. It’s not worth it.”
I keep staring at Nick, but his eyes shift to Rob before cutting back to me. “Yeah … Q. It’s not worth it. I’ll just head back to my office and start looking into which cybersecurity companies are hiring in my position or higher, because if we’re depending on you and her to save Obsidian, we’re all fucked.”
I scoff, refusing to step back. “Save us all the trouble and just quit now, while you still have all of your teeth. You saw what happened the last time one of you bitches tried to run up on me. If you can't remember, just ask Jon. Oh, you’ll probably have to wait until visiting day for that, huh?”
“Fuck you, Quinn,” Nick says as he steps back and turns on his heel.
“Eat a fat dick, Nick,” I spit back, just as he walks out of my office, leaving Rob and I alone.
Rob slowly turns to face me with gawking eyes. He looks like a behemoth stuffing his muscles into a red and white button-up that’s a size too small. His brows knit together as he steps closer.
“Dude, go sit down,” he says. “What the hell has gotten into you, man?”
I steal a final glance at my door, hoping Nick is still close by, then I go to my chair and take a seat. It takes a minute for me to relieve some of the pressure that has built up in my chest, but I exhale a few times like I'm versed in meditation and I'm able to focus on Rob.
