Page 20 of Twice the Rivalry

“If you were actually good at what you did, you wouldn’t have to worry about that,” she tossed back, arching a brow at him. His eyes flashed with fury. He opened his mouth to blast her, but she interrupted him by saying, “I have shit to do, so don’t worry about your precious system, it’s safe for now. Though, really, you should probably make sure it’s extra shored up, or I’m going to have to keep pointing out all the flaws with it. And I really don’t want to reduce you to a crying mess over and over. Kind of wrecks the whole bad boy biker vibe, you know? See you in a bit, caveman.” Then she headed out the door and shut it behind her.

She knew he wouldn’t be able to get into her system if he tried, and her phone would blare if he did, so there was that. She smirked at the image of his furious face and not being able to get that last word in. That would stick in his craw, and she couldn’t say she was unhappy about it.

When she reached the kitchen, the morning breakfast and dishes were all cleaned up, and Nari and Britney were sitting down talking in the corner. When she entered, they stopped talking and looked at her in surprise. She glanced at Britney first, who averted her eyes and didn’t say a word. Nari gave her a small smile, nerves behind her eyes. She had a dark complexion, with dark eyes and equally dark hair, and while her outfit was still a bit skimpy, it was tasteful. She wore a corset-style top with puffed shoulder sleeves and a pair of short-shorts that barely covered her ass, but she had a long cover up over them to give her a tasteful look.

Britney, on the other hand, was dressed in a bright pink crop top that showed off her stomach from just below her breasts to low on her hips where her own shorts sat, and those left little to the imagination. Glitch had to figure the only reason she was getting away with that outfit was because there were no kids around this time of the day.

“Ladies,” she said in greeting with a nod.

“Uh, hi,” Nari said with a hesitant smile. “Sorry, if we’re in your way. We were just taking a minute to relax after cleaning up.”

“No problem,” Glitch said easily. “Though since you know this place better than me, can you point me in the direction of some ingredients?” She listed all the things she needed for the cheesecake, and Nari helped her grab them while Britney stood there like she wasn’t certain what she should do. When Glitch and Nari set all the items she needed on the counter, Britney glanced at them and then frowned. “Problem?” Glitch asked casually.

“What are you making?” Britney asked, tossing her bleach blonde hair back over her shoulder.

“Cheesecake,” Glitch answered simply, turning to heat the oven.

Britney wrinkled her nose. “Why?”

“Because Xena likes it and I promised I would make her one.”

“Who the hell is Xena?” Britney demanded, jealousy making her eyes flash. “If there’s some new bitch around here—”

“Cool your jets, DB-Two,” Glitch interrupted with a roll of her eyes. “Jesus, the way you all fight over these guys is damn embarrassing. Xena is Karissa, just so you’re aware, but sure, you go ahead and try to fight with her and see how far you get.”

Britney narrowed her eyes at her. “Seems stupid to me, calling her by another name,” she sniffed.

“Well it’s a good thing you’re not a former mercenary, isn’t it?” Glitch replied with a cool smile, a hard edge making the other woman’s eyes widen and her throat bob as she swallowed. “Hell, you wouldn’t have lasted one day in basic training, and I’d have probably slit your throat with all your whining.”

Britney stared at her, face going pale. “Wait, so you’re saying you were…” She trailed off.

Glitch cocked her head to the side. “I’m more of a computer nerd, but I’m part of the team, and that means I have the same training. So, how about you spread the word to the rest of the DB clan and then we shouldn’t have a problem?” Britney didn’t reply. Instead, she turned on her heel and hurried out of the room as fast as her ridiculous stripper heels would allow. “How on earth does she walk, much less run, in those things?” Glitch asked Nari, who was also staring at her wide-eyed. “Oh, did I scare you, too?” she asked curiously. “To be fair, I don’t consider you part of the DB clan, because you seem to have brains. I think I heard that you’re trying to get your degree.”

She nodded slowly. “Ah, well, I had heard the rumors about Karissa, but nothing was confirmed. They don’t really tell us anything. So, uh, yeah, I’ll remember that.” She paused and looked like she wanted to ask a question, but kept her mouth shut.

“Go ahead and ask whatever you’re thinking,” Glitch said as she put her mix together for her crust.

“What did you mean when you said I wasn’t part of the DB clan?” she finally asked.

“Oh, that,” Glitch said with a chuckle. “DB, depending on my mood, is the Dumb Bitch or Dumb Blonde clan. Seeing as you’re not blonde, you could fall into the former. Though, if I find out you’re going after my friend’s man when she’s not around, I’ll be changing my opinion and making your life hell, got me?”

Nari nodded hurriedly. “I, uh, I don’t go near the ones in a relationship,” she admitted. “None of them look my way, either.”

“See, you don’t belong in the DB clan,” Glitch said cheerfully. “So we can be friendly and never have an issue while I’m here.”

Nari just nodded and then said, “Uh, well, I better get upstairs and work on the assignment I have due today.”

“Sure thing,” Glitch said cheerfully. “What are you taking, by the way?”

“I love business but I like the computer security world, so I’m looking at a degree in Computer Science,” Nari answered shyly. “I know it’s more of a guy program but—”

“Nope, gonna stop you right there,” Glitch interjected, giving her a stern look. “The whole male or female role thing is a thing of the past, and as a computer science grad myself, I can tell you that it’s a great field, and women are far more involved than you think.”

Nari’s eyes widened. “Wow, really? What school did you go to?”

“MIT.”

“So, you’re super smart then?” Nari said with a slight teasing smile.

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