Page 21 of Twice the Rivalry

“Oh, don’t be telling her that,” Karissa whined as she came into the room, making Nari jump and flush in embarrassment. “She’s been hearing all her life how smart she is, and she doesn’t need a bigger head.” She looked at Glitch, grinning. “That better be the cheesecake.”

“Could be,” Glitch smirked as she moved to put the pan in the fridge to set for a few minutes. “But if you touch it before it’s ready, I’ll kick your ass and send you home to your pretty boy biker all bloodied and bruised,” she added with a sharp smile.

Karissa grinned, while Nari’s eyes got even wider. She looked terrified. “Now you’re just trying to bait me into having a good time,” Karissa snickered, coming around the island and reaching to grab the cream cheese on the counter, but yanking her hand back before Glitch could slap it. “Oh, please, I just want to help you go faster so I can have some before the horde arrives and discovers what you made.”

“Uh, I’m just going to, uh, go,” Nari told them nervously.

“Sure,” Glitch said easily. “But if you need any help with your course, let me know. I’m happy to help.”

“Thanks,” Nari replied shyly, before giving Karissa a small smile and hurrying out.

“I think you scared her off,” Glitch remarked to Karissa, hip checking her out of the way as she got to work on making the batter. “And don’t touch any of this. The last time you tried to help, you destroyed it and I had to do it all over again.”

Karissa scoffed. “I did not. You’re just anal. And I didn’t scare her off. Believe it or not, Nari is one of the few club whores I can stand, and we’ve never had a problem. The other bitches, especially Loni, need a good reminder from time to time, and between Esme and I, we make sure they remember their place.”

“Something tells me that it still doesn’t matter to them,” Glitch said drily. “And you over beat the mixture last time, which made it crack and look awful. So no, you’re not helping me with this. Besides, I need to double the recipe so there’s enough left over for me to have.”

“Calling me fat now, huh?” Karissa joked.

“As if,” Glitch scoffed. “Though we do need to schedule some time in the gym now that I’m here so that you don’t get too soft. Sex only burns so many calories, you know.” She laughed when Karissa swatted at her.

“We can do that tonight while the guys have Church,” Karissa promised her with a roll of her eyes. “You know, the boys-only meeting where the little women aren’t allowed in to know all their secrets?”

Glitch shrugged. “I doubt there’s anything interesting going on in there anyway. Let them do their manly man work, and then we can watch them come crawling to us for help when they can’t figure shit out themselves,” she added with a grin.

Suddenly the door to the kitchen swung open, hitting the wall, to reveal Code stalking through, face red with anger, and his eyes blazing with the promise of retribution. Glitch just arched a brow at him as he stopped on the other side of the island. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Code barked at her. “You hacked my credit card and purchased shit?”

She shrugged. “I need a proper desk and chair to work in. And you also need a new desk, because yours is falling apart,” she replied calmly.

“So buy it your damn self,” he seethed.

Glitch looked at Karissa and said, “Remember how I said men have dicks and that means they can’t think things through? Perfect example.” She turned back to Code and added, “Let me explain it so you can understand. Because of your fuck up, it wasn’t safe for me to stay where I was, so I have to stay here. It’s not safe for anyone to know where I am. So I can’t exactly use my own credit cards to buy things and have them shipped to where I am, now can I?”

His expression changed only slightly, but the angry look didn’t leave his face. “And you chose my card because?”

“Makes the most sense,” she reasoned. “No one will think twice about you ordering a desk and new office chair, especially when you throw out your old one and get rid of that ugly ass chair you brought in for me to sit in.”

“You charged over six thousand dollars!” Code yelled. “Who the hell needs to spend that much on a desk and chair?”

“It’s not like you can’t afford it,” Glitch sniffed. “But as soon as I can figure out a way to transfer you the money without raising any alarms, I’ll pay it all back. Sheesh, you would think you would be grateful that I got you something that will be much better for your back. Ergonomics are important.” She looked at Karissa, who was fighting a grin. “See, dicks.”

“Stay the hell out of my shit,” Code warned, pointing at her.

“Oh, like you stayed out of mine?” Glitch tossed back, annoyance pricking at her. “Or did you forget already that this whole thing is your fault?”

“Stop tossing that shit in my face, I get it, alright?” he snarled. “You need to buy something, we have other ways of getting it instead of you using me like your own personal bank account. I have shit that I’m committed to, and thanks to your little stunt, I now have to think of another way to get it done.” Then, with a furious glare, he turned and stalked back out, slamming the door behind him.

Glitch stared after him, unmoving for a moment and digesting what he had just revealed. A small pinprick of guilt wormed its way into her gut. He was right, she hadn’t considered that maybe the money on that card was needed for something, and she hadn’t looked deep enough into his finances to know anything about it. She had been focused on herself and her comfort, and had completely ignored anything else.

“Don’t let him get to you,” Karissa told her quietly as she handed Glitch a measuring cup so she could continue making her mixture.

“I’m not,” Glitch assured her, telling herself she would get that money to his card before the end of the day somehow. That would ease her guilt, and then she could go back to work and at least be somewhat comfortable.

“I don’t know what’s up with him lately, but I’ve never seen him like this with anyone else,” Karissa remarked thoughtfully. “I want to say it’s just a bruised ego, knowing that you’re way better at this than him, but something tells me it’s more than that.” She narrowed her eyes at Glitch. “Are you sure you two didn’t sleep together and it went south?”

Glitch laughed outright. “You’re joking right? That man wouldn’t come near me if I was slicked up like one of the club whores and had giant fake-assed tits. Ever since I first showed up and made comments about his system, he hasn’t liked me, and this little battle we’ve been having hasn’t made it much better. Still, I don’t give a rat’s ass if he likes me, as long as he knows that he can’t get away with doing that shit again.”

Karissa nodded. “Code never seemed like the type to do that, that’s why it surprised me. Royal said that he’s always been super nice and sweet since she’s known him, and with everyone else he is, but with you, he’s different.”

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