“MERCY’S TURNED YOURname into an effective curse word,” Andrew said.
Justin rolled his eyes at the phone, but he’d taken the call willingly and was grateful for the friendly distraction. “I thought you resigned from being her guard dog.”
A note from Antonio popped on his monitor.Incoming. I promise all she has is a name and a handful of assumptions
Justin didn’t need to ask for details. He could make assumptions of his own.
“I did.” Andrew sounded like this was the least of his concerns. Then again, that was typical for him. “I’m the messenger. Nothing more. I don’t care that you brought the entire site down.”
“It’s your site.”
“It’s data collection.Oh no. I might have to guess on my own which fetishes are trending next.” Andrew owned Smut Central, one of the largest internet-porn distributors in the world.
Justin chuckled at the light sarcasm. It was one of the reasons they were testing PP with Andrew. The man had an instinct for what kinks were hot, and the goal was to see if PP’s algorithms could match or even beat human experience. “If you’re that blasé about my impending doom, thanks to Mercy’s wrath, you called because...?” If Justin didn’t cut to the chase, he’d get sucked into an hour-long conversation. Tempting but counterproductive.
“Yeah, yeah. You’re a busy man with a busy life. This is a social call. One of Susan’s classes is competing in San Francisco in a few weeks. She was wondering if those cute gay friends of mine are free for dinner.”
“Her words?” It was an old joke. When Justin met Mercy in Brazil, she misunderstood his preferences and set him up with a friend of Andrew’s. Who turned out to be Antonio. After the night Justin shared with Emily, though, Andrew’s question tugged at a thought Justin didn’t care to examine too closely.
“My words.” Andrew said. “She actually bothers to remember people’s names. It’s a neat trick. Someday I’ll get her to teach me. But I figured we’d drive into town for the day if you two are free.”
The chance to catch up, unwind, and do something besides pound toward conflicting deadlines was tempting. “I can’t say yet. This thing is devouring every free minute. I need an extra day in the week as it is.”
A knock drew Justin’s attention, and he looked up to see Emily standing in the doorway, lips pursed and cheeks flushed. Time to cut the conversation short. “If you’re willing to pencil me in, I’ll give you a definiteyesornonext week,” he said to Andrew.
“Will do. Do you think Antonio has five minutes? Is he still around?”
Justin glanced at Emily again—the crossed arms and the furrow of her brow—then back at the message on his screen. “Odds are good. I’ll send you over.” Based on the clues, Antonio should welcome the distraction.
Justin blind transferred the call, then gave Emily his full attention. He wasn’t sure how to approach her. The flirting they fell into on Monday probably wasn’t appropriate. That didn’t stop the swell of her lips and tapping of her foot from being alluring.
And she was still watching him with expectation.
He settled on, “I have a meeting in five minutes. What’s up?”
“You have a meeting at five thirty-seven? You really do schedule your time down to the last minute.”
“I do.”
She stepped in the room and kicked the door shut behind her.
That was a bit odd and presumptive.
“Promiscuous Perks,” she said.
Ice slid through his veins, but he shook it off. Antonio warned she had a name. Which also meant she now had a piece of lucrative information to use against Justin. Not that she needed to know that. “It’s catchy.” He kept his expression and tone neutral. “Are you thinking of taking what you learn here and competing with us?”
She lingered near the door. “Picture me pretending to be offended you think I’d break my non-disclosure and non-compete agreements. If I did that, I’d come up with a name you’re not already using.”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about. If Antonio hasn’t given you access to the development timeline yet, make sure he does that. You’ll see we’re maxed out on man hours until we make this beta.”
“The one you rolled out Monday night?”
He couldn’t hide his wince. If all she had was assumptions, she’d put some pretty significant pieces together, to arrive at them. If he couldn’t bury the truth, maybe he could sell her on the idea enough to buy her silence. It was a long shot, but the harder he pushed her away, the more curious she’d get. If she was at this point, after less than a week, it was time to try a new approach. A desperate play, but his reserves were drained. “Do you have time right now, or are you headed home?”
“It depends.” She eyed him suspiciously.
He gestured to the table, on the opposite end of his office, and the chairs around it. He stood and approached his whiteboard. “I’ll tell you what’s going on.”