She walked over to him, still holding little DJ on her hip, and put her hand on his chest over his heart, where her head had rested earlier. Even though he didn’t know what he was doing, somehow he felt he was bumbling his way through this. He was doing what he needed for her to see that she was important to him.
“Don’t leave. I’m so afraid that I’m giving you credit for trying harder than you really are. I don’t want to be stupid where you are concerned again.”
“Well, I don’t want to go anywhere.”
“Really?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said.
She took a few tentative steps closer to him and he watched her trying hard to pretend that he hadn’t just made a huge leap forward in her estimation.
* * *
The staff picnic at Infinity Games was held in mid-September. A lot of people weren’t too happy with Dec because they’d had to work harder and longer than they ever had before. But everyone had heard the news, thanks to the figures she’d forwarded to the staff, that all their efforts were paying off and they were projected to be over their profit targets. So the mood on the campus at the barbecue tents was pretty upbeat.
“Davis actually smiled at me when he took his plate of food,” Dec said to her with a wry grin as the last of the group of staff moved on.
“He doesn’t like you, but he told me yesterday he understood that the bottom line was important,” Cari said.
She and Dec had the first shift at the hot-food tent. It was a catered event but Infinity Games executive staff had always been the ones to serve the food. She had started the tradition.
It had been a little over two weeks since the night in her office, and they’d been on dates and really taken their time to get to know each other. She still felt there were times when Dec was keeping part of himself in reserve, but on the whole she was happy to have him in her life. Emma and Jessi had thought she was nuts to have gone out with Dec. But they’d both backed off when Cari had told them that he made her happy. Which was mostly true. He also made her scared and paranoid and neurotic. She didn’t know why he was afraid of commitment and had done her level best to be cool and not too clingy. But each day, as she fell a little more in love with him, she had to fight her own instincts harder.
“So this is the famous cyborg of Playtone Games.”
At the sound of her sister’s voice, Cari looked up, sensing Dec tense beside her.
“I don’t even need an introduction to know that you are Jessi Chandler,” Dec said, turning to greet her sister, who looked funky in her minisundress that she’d teamed with a pair of combat boots.
“Jess, he prefers to go by Dec rather than cyborg,” Cari said, going over to give her sister a hug and whisper in her ear, “Be nice.”
Jessi just gave her a wink. “Ah, trying to blend in with the humans?”
“Indeed. Is there a point to all of this?” Dec asked Jessi.
“Just wanted you to remember that the staff are people with lives and jobs and had no part in anything that Gregory Chandler might have done to Thomas Montrose,” Jessi said.
“He’s a fair man, Ms. Jessi,” Frank said, coming up to the serving line. “Good afternoon, Mr. Dec, Ms. Cari.”
“Hello, Frank,” Cari said, starting to make a plate of food for the security guard.
“Really?” Jessi asked Frank.
“Yes. I know most of the staff were a little scared when he first showed up, but he asks good questions, points out obvious improvements… I think most people are starting to like him.”
Cari glanced over at Dec and saw that his skin was flushed and he looked distinctly uncomfortable. Jessi didn’t look too pleased either and gave her a hard look that Cari couldn’t really figure out.
“Thanks, Frank. Enjoy the picnic.”
“I intend to,” he said, walking away.
“You two are relieved from duty,” Jessi said. She and her assistant Marcel walked behind the table and shooed Cari and Dec away.
Once they got out of earshot, Cari said, “Sorry about Jessi.”
“It’s okay. I get worse from Kell all the time. Want to grab a bite to eat before DJ gets here with your sister Emma?”
“Yes,” she said. “You really made an impression on Frank.”
Dec shrugged. “Six months ago I would have slated him for early retirement and given him a package of benefits, but when I talked to him I saw that he still had something to contribute here. The last thing he wants is to be retired.”
“I agree. He’s smart and surprisingly strong for his age,” Cari said.
“How do you know that?”
“He’s the one who carried my new Louis XIV side table upstairs. That thing is heavy.”