Page 7 of His Bride Bargain
I sit bolt upright, shooting him the dirtiest look I can summon and raising my voice to levels I normally don’t allow, even when I’m angry. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? I’m more than capable of anythingyouare.”
He moves away, raising his hands in surrender and his eyebrows likeI’mbeing the unreasonable one. “Whoa, cool it, sunshine. I was only offering. I’m trying to look out for you. After all, it can’t be fun being in last place.”
My mouth drops open, a furious rush pounding through my head, filling my face with heat. I’m too startled to think of a witty response. I bet he was a bully at school. I bet he was the type who’d steal your lunch money and laugh when you cried trying to get it back.
Then, to both my relief and annoyance, Aiden steps in. “Hey, Blair, back off. Leave her alone.”
Blair stands up to face Aiden, getting in his space like he thinks he’s intimidating. But he’s barely taller than Aiden and skinny as a beanpole, so all it looks like is an angry kid trying to assert some dominance. “Why don’tyouback off, lover boy? We all know you’re crushing; you’re as obvious as a traffic cone.”
Aiden’s face doesn’t change, a mask of stoic calm. I wonder ifanythingcould fluster him. “Just because you feel threatened, doesn’t mean you should pick on people smarter than you.”
“What, her?” Blair scoffs, looking back at me like I’m dirt he’s scrubbed off his boot. “No one fromMichiganever got hired to Fletcher Tech.”
“And they don’t hire boneheads either.” A flash of fury turns Aiden’s eyes ice-blue. Even if his tone isn’t giving him away, his clenched fists do.
“What’s it to you, man? Are you in this to win it or not?” Blair folds his arms and for a second, it really looks like Aiden is about to throttle him.
“The best person is going to win this, and right now that’s not looking like you, is it? At least Candice can do her own work by herself.”
It shouldn’t be possible, but the temperature in the room drops another ten degrees. I want to be mad with Aiden for jumping to my rescue as if I’m some helpless wench. I didn’t even need rescuing at all, really. Blair’s an annoying toad, and I can cope with that. He’s the kind of guy that needs to bully other people to make up for his own lack of self-esteem. His comments cut, but after the rush, it won’t bother me.
But Aiden’s sweet and I can’t be mad at him. No one else is going to stand up for me here. Even if I don’t need it, it’s good to know I have it. It’s something I might need someday down the line, and it’s not something I want to throw away.
I jump to my feet before things can escalate any further. “All right, boys, stop. I’m cool doing my own work, thanks. Why don’t we each do what we’re here to do? Or else we’ll all look like slackers.”
The expressions they both give me could not be more opposite. Aiden’s got that wide-eyed concern, while Blair looks like a muzzled wolf. I know which one would leave me in the dirt if given half the chance.
But they both back off, fortunately, and return to their screens. Aiden leans over as if to try and soothe me, but I don’t need that so I ignore him, focusing on my work. We have a lot to do, and it’s got to be done by the end of the day. I don’t care how much they hate me. I won’t let my group fail because we’re too busy trying to prove something to each other. Someone has to take the lead here, and their dick-measuring contest isn’t getting us anywhere.
We don’t say anything else, and I barely even realize time has gone by until one of the senior technicians wanders around to check on us. “How we doin’ over here?” she asks in a thick Boston accent, a complete anomaly among all these other voices. She’s been supervising us from afar all week, and she really knows her stuff.
I jump a little at being interrupted. “Oh, good, I think. I’m about getting to the end of the documentation, and I’m pretty sure Aiden and Blair are finishing up.”
“Great. Can I?” She gestures to the screen and I wheel away to let her read over what I’ve done. My heart starts to beat nervously as she scrolls through it, her eyes darting over the lines as she skims my work.
I’m not totally sure if the occasional hums and nods are a positive, but when she straightens back up, she smiles approvingly. “Great job, kid. You’ve tidied that up perfectly.”
I flush at the praise, unable to stop myself smiling. “Thank you.”
She winks at me, then heads over to the boys. I don’t really listen to the conversation, but I do hear her leveling them both suggestions to do better. It’s amazing what praise can do, and getting the best review in the room can — well, I’m swimming in it, dizzy with elation. My heart is so light it could burst.
Lately, it’s been beating like that over two things: code, and Aiden.
As I look over and watch him put a pencil in his mouth as he gets lost in thought, I think maybe it’s time to stop lying to myself.
CHAPTER6
CANDICE
Ikeep expecting someone to come in and kick me out. I’ve never stayed in an office this late, and though I could go home and work on this, it’s nice to have a mouse and a big screen. Sitting in bed with my laptop into the early hours isn’t the right vibe.
After all, this presentation could make or break my career.
Not that this office exactly has a nice vibe. We’ve been given free rein of one of the IT suites on the third floor, an old one that no one else uses other than students and interns. None of the computers have updated software, and all the lights hum and crackle like they’re about to burst and shower me in sparks.
Earlier, I managed to snoop over the shoulders of Blair and Kyle, and their presentations could have been copied from each other. Literally no original thought in either of them, and some really ugly design too. Which is a relief, because Kyle is probably my biggest rival here. He has that edge of determination that Blair lacks, a confidence that Louise hasn’t got, the businessman-like hard edge that makes Daniel look kind in comparison, and the assurance of having grown up securely, something neither me nor Aiden ever had.
Out of everyone, I’m most worried about Kyle beating me. I’d almost respect the others if they got the job. Almost.