“The one for Promiscuous Perks. Justin set it up weeks ago.”
Fuck. Leave it to Justin.Antonio gritted his teeth. “We’ll take care of it. Thanks for letting me know.” He hung up and dropped his head into his hands. He didn’t have anyone with an open schedule and that skillset. A flash of red hair caught his attention, and inspiration struck.
“Emily, do you have a minute?” he called.
She locked her computer, then crossed the short distance to his office. “What’s up?” Her relaxed posture and cheerful tone erased a layer of his stress. The view didn’t hurt, either. Her jacket and slacks hugged her curves in all the right places, and she had an extra button undone on her blouse. If she bent over, the view wouldn’t be as generous as in his dream, but the tease of what lay underneath might better.
He mentally cleared his throat. “You said the other day you’ve got experience with Android user interfaces and Java optimization.”
“It’s a hobby.” She caught her bottom lip between her teeth, looking pleased with herself.
Christ, that was alluring. “I’d say oddhobby, but I’d be lying if I pretended wondering why didn’t fascinate me. I need you on something more critical than bug fixes.” He gestured for her to come around to his side of the desk and pointed at his screen. “My UI guy is tied up with a focus group. This is what you need to do.”
When she stood this close, looking over his shoulder, the faint scent of jasmine drifted from her. It drilled into his thoughts and mingled with the dream he hadn’t managed to shake two days later. “What’s the picture of?” she asked.
She meant the image on his computer desktop. “Milan. My sister and I, last time I visited.” The memory summoned traces of homesickness.
“It’s gorgeous. You’re lucky.”
“Because I’m from Italy?” He glanced at her.
“Well, yes. That too. Though I suppose it’s as exciting to you as San Francisco is to me. Big deal, right?”
It depended on whose eyes he saw the city through. Experiencing Milan with Justin for the first time had given Antonio an entirely new perspective. He didn’t need to share that information, though. “It’s got its beauties.”
“I can only imagine. I meant lucky that you’ve traveled the world. The farthest I’ve been out of the country was when my best friend and I would take weekend trips to Mexico. I bet you have a million stories to tell.”
Her awe reminded him of the wonder of setting out on his own, back then. His flight to Brazil. First time roaming a foreign country alone. “I’ve got a few. You talk like you’ll never go. There’s always the option.”
“I guess. Work gets in the way. You know? The next job is waiting; the next paycheck is set aside for something.”
He glanced at her again. The wistfulness on her face matched her voice. “I suppose you’re right,” he said.
“Anyway.” She shook her head. “UI work?”
“Right. That.”
As he spoke, she made notes, asked questions, and seemed to absorb everything he told her.
“Antonio.” One of the developers interrupted. “I need your time.” He was one of the people working on the other project. The team had been asked not to discuss it openly.
“I’ll be by in a minute,” Antonio said.
“I just need ayesorno. I can’t move forward on Promiscuous Perks—”
“I said, I’ll be there in a minute.” Antonio cringed at the edge in his voice.
“Sure.” The guy left so quickly, he might as well have vanished.
Emily looked between Antonio and the doorway. “What was that about?”
None of your business.He bit back the sharp retort. “Nothing.” He spoke through clenched teeth. He gestured to his screen. “Back to UI requirements.”
She frowned but let him dive back into his explanation of her new assignment.
Fifteen minutes later, she was back at her desk, working. He was grateful she didn’t push the PP issue.
The rest of the day passed without incident. His meetings flowed smoothly, and by the time five closed in, he was ready to call it a day. Not that he could. He’d shift his attention to their side project for the next several hours before that was an option. But tomorrow was Friday, and after they redeployed Mercy’s site on Saturday night, they could take Sunday off. Something to look forward to.