Page 36 of Takeover
When Four Rivers was safe—when Michael was safe—he needed to leave. Keep moving. Unless the Boston gig was a complete waste of time—and if Fabian wanted him to come, then it wasn’t—he’d say yes and return to being Randell Anderson.
Michael—well, the man deserved someone not mired in the muck and stench ofbusiness.
Sam grabbed the financial records he’d borrowed. Those files needed to be returned and the rest of the papers needed to be cleaned up; then he could start thinking about exit strategies.
He glanced at the calendar. A week left until Forum. Another city—another hotel. One last time for Sam to be himself—if Michael agreed to go.
Sam exhaled. Getting Michael to attend Forum? Easy. Sundra wanted to meet him—the man who’d been there from the beginning. Michael would jump at the chance. Enticing Michael into one last fling? Sam shivered. Easy as well. All those buttons to push.
It was thecodethat needed to work, or they were all finished.
Chapter Five
Michael putthe pen down for the millionth time. The end was already chewed to bits. Too many final tests had turned his bad habit into a near compulsion. His screen flickered with terminal windows running scripts; the scrolling text jangled his nerves as scripts executed command after command.
Forum started in four days. These were the last tests he needed to run to stamp the release ready to be shipped. If they passed.Please, please pass.
They’d spent the past three weeks in high gear. Everyone who could worked long hours in the office, and those who couldn’t put in time from home. Even Sam had stayed, rolling up his sleeves and helping with installation testing. He also pulled out the company credit card and ordered dinner for the office every night.
And they’d done it. Michael eyed his screen. Maybe.
Shoes scuffed the carpet near his cube and he turned to see Sam in the aisle. No jacket, loose tie. His hair was even a touch unruly. “How’s it coming?”
Michael gestured at the screen. “Still running. Shouldn’t be long now.”
Sam stepped inside the cube and touched the guest chair. “May I?”
Michael nodded. Sam pulled the chair up next to Michael’s and sat.
Sam’s presence was not exactly soothing, but it was welcome. They’d found a rhythm again as coworkers, as boss and lead, and that eased the tension in everyone around them.
They made a good team, really. He ignored the sudden hollowness in his chest and picked up a pen, a different one than before. It too, was chewed on the end. He tossed it back. “Fuck.” It was only a murmur, just a curse under his breath. He doubted Sam heard. He bounced his leg until the cube walls vibrated and Sam put a hand on his thigh.
“Stop.”
The touch, the command, ripped through Michael and stilled everything, even his breathing. The warmth of Sam’s hand blazed through Michael’s shorts and straight to the back of his skull. He shuddered and took a deep breath. The room seemed both dimmer and brighter. Was this what Sam felt when Michael took control?Jesus.
“The tests will pass.” Sam didn’t remove his hand.
They hadn’t touched, not in any intimate sense, since dinner at the Sharp Edge. Probably a good thing, since Sam’s hand on his thigh was making it very hard to think.
“How do you know?” Somehow Michael’s voice didn’t falter, didn’t sound unnatural. He stared at the scrolling text, even as his cock hardened.
A deep chuckle, one Michael felt in his bones. “Because it’s you.” Sam tapped his fingers and Michael fought to contain a moan. “Your attention to detail has been the bane of everyone’s existence for weeks. I doubt we missed anything.”
“We always miss something.” It was the nature of software. Hardware, too. None of it was perfect.
“I’m not talking about weird corner cases or the box not working when submerged in water or set on fire. I mean normal functionality. A product as rock solid as you’ve released before.”
Only if the tests passed. Michael hazarded a look at Sam to find the other man watching him.
The desire to kiss Sam was overwhelming. He nearly did, twisting slightly in his chair. The things he wanted to say.I want you. I need you.Every nerve felt like a live wire. Rock solid didn’t just describe the release…
Get a grip. He’s your goddamn boss. Beyond Sam, a little rainbow flag sat, stuck in a mug of pens. A reminder. Never again. Michael cleared his throat. “I certainly hope so.”
They turned back to the screens at the same time. Three of the five windows no longer had scrolling text. All three read “pass.” Sam gripped Michael’s thigh, but this time the breathlessness Michael felt wasn’t from that touch, but from watching one of the test scripts cleaning up and resetting the hardware.
“Here we go,” Sam said.
