“Tito?TheTito, whose version of on-time is three hours early?”
“I guess that wine hit me harder than I thought it would on a Wednesday.”
“Same.” I breathe a laugh.
“Well, we’ll be in pain together.” He laughs, and I can’t help but grin.
“Sounds awful, honestly.”
“I wish I could make it more appealing for you.”
“Going to work?”
“Spending time with me.”
“Hm. You underestimate the excitement of your company, Tito.” It’s an absolute lie, but I have to dosomethingto get this thing between us under control. As if I could, considering that we fell asleep on the phone together last night after our not-date, like sappy kids in love for the first time instead of, what did I determine we were?
Right. Definitely-Billionaire and Tech Expert. Except now Tito is Definitely-Billionaire-in-the-Mafia. Which makes it so much worse.
“Oh?” I hear running water and realize he’s probably a second away from stepping into the shower, which means he’s naked. The picture of Tito’s muscular frame under the shower, wet and soapy--I catch my breath before I sound as if I’ve been running a mile.
“Okay, I’ll see you soon.” I blurt out, and he doesn’t respond right away, so my heart does this strange thing where it feels like it’s being stabbed. I touch my chest to stop it, just as he responds and resolves the problem for me.
“Alright, Scout. See you soon.”
I hang up as soon as he finishes his sentence and turn the shower on too cold. “I’m going to hate myself for this,” I grumble and step into the icy stream.“Shit!” The water does nothing to calm my overactive libido, but it does make me not think about Tito for a few seconds while I wash in a hurry.
Five minutes later, I’m zooming out of my apartment without breakfast or, more importantly, water. It doesn’t matter if I feel as though I’m wilting and the sun isn’t even out yet; I’ve got to get to work on time. Today we’re supposed to have a brief test run, and Tito wanted to get it done before too many people arrived. Doubt it will happen now, but I want to stay committed to my word.
I push Bug as fast as she’ll go, flooring her like I never have and whipping around turns with screeching precision. I get to the building ten minutes earlier than the distance should have allowed and park as quickly as possible. Just as I’m jumping out of my car and running to the front door, I hear tires on the paved lot, and I tilt my head to see Tito’s black Bat-Mobile. He hops out as his driver parks it, a brown bag in his mouth and a cup of coffee in each hand. I unlock the door with the passcode and hold it open for him as he mumbles a “thank you” and slides through.
I follow close behind him, and we make our way to the main workspace. It’s quiet and empty, which is good for my headache. I take a seat at my desk and get right to work, fighting the pain in my head, when I feel Tito behind me. I turn my head, no longer surprised by his habit of sneaking up on me. Moments before I can make a joke about it, I realize he’s holding out one of the coffees and a wrapped sandwich that smells incredible.
“For your hangover.” He offers a crooked smile as I take them from him, surprised by his gesture. I’m usually the one taking care of people, so this is new for me.
“Um…” I clear my throat and furrow my brows so he knows this gesture means more than I’m conveying. “Thank you.”
“Of course.” He turns back to his desk, and I open the sandwich. It’s an egg, sunny side, bacon and cheese sandwich on crispy buttered white bread. Exactly what I need, salty and fatty with a hot coffee. I scarf it down and occasionally look over to see Tito doing the same. He offers me a crinkly-eyed smile through mouthfuls of food, and I try to return the gesture. Just as I finish my food and take a sip of coffee, he points to the testing room to my right.
“Should we try a couple of things out?”
“I thought you wanted to wait until no one else is here….”
He looks around smugly, and I realize with a flush of embarrassment that there is, in fact, no one else here.
“Come on.” He lowers his voice, and it reminds me all too much of the end of our conversation last night.
Which also reminds me that I made a joke about his dick, and I want to die.
“You’re in charge.”I shrug as if it doesn’t matter, but we’re already too late.
“Goooooood morning,” McLaren yells with a booming aggression that sends my headache to new heights of pain I didn’t know could exist. I clutch one of my ears that’s particularly painful, and Tito notices.
“Dude.” He scolds McLaren, who glances between us.
“Dude.” He shrugs as if he’s saying sorry and finds his way to his desk. Within the next few minutes, the rest of our team files in and heads straight to work. I focus solely on the final wires for a miniature drone.
Before I realize it, it’s the end of the day, and I’ve barely eaten or drank anything. The silence in the room alerts me to stop working, and as I look up, I notice Tito still flipping the switch of a tool our coding team finished this afternoon.