Out in the hall, he still didn’t release her hand. “That was fucking amazing. You’re even better than I thought.”
“You’re not so bad yourself.” She tugged her hand. “You can let go now.”
“Nope. You promised me a drink and conversation. And I like holding you.”
She sighed. “I’m not going anywhere. You want to talk, we’ll talk. Not that I think there’s much to say. But you don’t need to hold my hand.”
“I know I don’t need to. I want to.” He smirked at her. “Do I make you nervous?”
Hell yeah. “Of course not. I can handle you.”
He led her to the nearest bar and wove through the crowd like a man on a mission. He pulled out a chair for her. When she sat, he asked, “Beer?”
“Sure.”
Another man joined them and Jonah introduced him. “Charlie Castle, this is my boss, Kyle Zimmerman.”
Oh shit. She wasn’t ready for an interview right at this moment. She’d been sure that Jonah had used the conversation with his boss as a ploy to get her to the bar for a drink. She forced her hand out in front of her to shake. “Hi.”
Kyle put his drink down on the table as he accepted her hand. “Nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
She immediately turned to glare at Jonah, who had already disappeared to get drinks. She tried to loosen her tight smile. “I hope you only heard the good stuff.”
He nodded and eased onto the chair across from her. “Jonah had plenty to say about you. So much, in fact, that I began to believe you were a figment of his imagination.”
“He does have a good imagination, but I can assure you that I’m real.” And really in need of a decent job.
“So I see. I was in the room while you and Jonah played Capture the Flag. You showed remarkable skill.”
She blushed at the compliment. “Thank you. It was a lot of fun.”
“You and Jonah made an excellent team.”
She nodded. What could she say? They’d always made an excellent team. She glanced over her shoulder again. Where the hell was Jonah with her beer?
“Here’s the thing, Ms. Castle—”
“Charlie, please.”
“Charlie, I have quite a few applicants who are more qualified than you and who have experience through various internships. And they come with a completed college degree.”
Charlie’s stomach plummeted. She shouldn’t have agreed to this meeting right now. She wasn’t prepared for rejection. Not yet. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep the pain from showing on her face. “I understand.”
“However, Jonah believes you have something his team needs.”
Huh? Focus, Charlie, something is happening here. She gripped her hands together in her lap under the table. “Excuse me?”
“I’ve allowed Jonah to handpick his team because it works for him. As long as he continues to produce and I like the results, I don’t care how he gets them. He’s not an easy team leader, but I’m sure you already know that.” He lifted his glass and sipped the amber liquid.
What she wouldn’t give for a shot of something, anything at this moment.
“Are you offering me a job?”
“I am. Jonah can give you the specifics because you’ll be working directly beneath him. Now that I’ve witnessed your work, I can understand what he sees in you. You’ll need some training, but you have skills.”
Holy fuck. She had a job offer.
“Think about it. Talk it over with Jonah. Let us know.” Then he stood and walked away without giving her the chance to say anything, which was good because her mouth had forgotten how to work.
She stared at the empty chair across from her until Jonah filled the space, setting her beer in front of her.
He quirked an eyebrow. “Congratulations?”
She blinked and tried to think. She had a job, but it was only because of Jonah. She would have to work with him. No, for him. Could she do that?
She grabbed the beer and chugged half of it in long gulps. When she set the bottle down, she thought she could finally speak. “What the hell are you trying to do?”
“Get you to work for me.”
“I don’t need a pity job.”
He set his beer down with a loud thunk. “Pity has nothing to do with this. I had already e-mailed Kyle about you back in Chicago before the entire cheating accusation fiasco. Shit. I wanted to hire you as soon as I watched you work through the first challenge. The second challenge sealed it. That’s why I didn’t want to help you network. I knew someone would snap you up and I want you on my team.”
His words sank in, but her brain refused to process them. She scrubbed a hand over her face.
“I know we have some personal shit to get through. And believe me, we’ll get to that. But no matter how that shakes out, Charlie, I want to hire you. You’re the missing piece I need for my team.”
She looked at him from in between her fingers still covering her face. Joy spread through her chest. He wasn’t looking at her with pity, and he wouldn’t lie about why he was offering her a job. But like he said, they had some personal shit to deal with. Her hands slid away and she stood. “I have to think about this. I appreciate the offer. I really do. But I’m not sure if the personal stuff is something I can get past.”
She turned, but he grabbed her wrist. “Before you go, can you just tell me why you dropped out of school?”
The question wasn’t one she’d expected, but having already told Layla and Felicity, she had her answer handy. “I couldn’t hack it.”
“Bullshit.”
“No, not that I couldn’t handle the work. It was more that I was bored. School was always hard for me because I easily get distracted, but in the beginning, I was learning. After Sylvie, when I met you, I learned how to focus my energy.”
“Yeah, I remember that. Too much focus isn’t all that good either.”
“I figured that out. I took a semester off and learned.” She winked at him. “You know, kind of like you wanted me to. I spent time with people who knew their shit. After that, school was a bigger struggle. I felt like they were trying to teach me to crawl, but I was ready to run.”
She felt a little silly saying it out loud, especially to him, but he nodded.
He slid from his stool and stood beside her. He lowered his head to her ear. Blood zinged through her and every nerve tingled as he whispered, “Let me help you run.”
Chapter 11
Jonah watched Charlie walk away from him again, and it about killed him not to go after her. She needed to think and he understood, but it also left him with nowhere to go because he still didn’t have the balls to tell her he was Win. He planned to tell her after she’d accepted the job offer.
It never occurred to him that she might not say yes.
He stayed at his table, finished his beer, and ordered another. The gift he had specially made for Charlie weighed in his pocket. He’d imagined her jumping up and down with excitement over the job and then he’d tell her like it was a funny little story.
Suddenly he didn’t think she’d see it that way. He’d underestimated her again. And if his stupidity cost him her personally and professionally, he didn’t know how he’d forgive himself.
Maybe Win should just blow her off. He could disappear as easily as he came into Charlie’s life.
But he couldn’t do that to her. As Jonah, he’d abandoned her three years ago. He reinvented himself as Win Abo to keep an eye on her virtually. She’d confided in Win, shared parts of herself, and he couldn’t pretend that didn’t carry a lot of weight. She deserved the truth.
Leaving a tip on the table, he headed upstairs to their room, practicing what to say. Everything sounded completely ridiculous and inadequate in his head, which meant it would be worse out loud. He held the key card in his hand and then shoved it back in his pocket.
Announcing himself as Win by letting himself in the room would probably get his ass kicked, so he knocked.
&n
bsp; “Who’s there?”
“It’s me, Jonah.”
She swung the door open and his mouth dried. She only wore a Star Wars T-shirt that he was pretty sure she had stolen from him. “What do you want, Best? I told you I needed to think.”
“I know. I’m not here about the job. Not exactly. I think in order for you to make the best decision, all the cards need to be laid on the table, and that includes dealing with our relationship.”
She cocked a hip out and crossed her arms, making the shirt ride dangerously high. “We have a relationship?”
“I hope so. Can I come in?”
She swung her arm wide and closed the door behind him.
“I have one question, Charlie, and then I have some stuff to say, but before we get into that, your answer to my question isn’t going to change how I feel about you. I want you to know that going in. And I hope that not only do you feel the same, but that you won’t hate me after I say what I need to.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re talking in circles, Best. Get to the point.”
He shoved his hand in his pocket and touched the necklace for reassurance. “Why did you leave Chicago without talking to me?”
Charlie plopped on the edge of the bed but looked him in the eye. “Mostly because I was mad. I blamed you because Jane accused me of being a cheater.” Her hand flicked up. “I know it wasn’t your fault and it could’ve been explained away, but I wanted someone to blame and you were handy.”
Keeping his focus on her face was difficult because as she spoke, the shirt kept wiggling higher and he desperately wanted to know if there was anything under it.
“But I was hurt. You told me I couldn’t beat Poison, but I believed I had a shot. You cut me off without giving me a chance. You had no faith in me.” She took a deep breath. “And then, the way you looked at me when I’d told you that I’d dropped out of school. All that disappointment. I just kept hearing you say that I was throwing away all my potential.”
Her gaze dropped with the admission, and she stared at her hands in her lap.
“That wasn’t disappointment. It was shock. I didn’t know what to say. As far as not thinking you were good enough to beat Poison, well, I hadn’t given that much thought either. I wasn’t kidding when I told you that I’d already contacted Kyle about hiring you. I looked at that hackfest for what it was: a game. I’m sorry I let you down.”
He lowered himself and took her hands. “I’ve never been disappointed in you. I’ve been afraid for you, worried about you, but never disappointed. Just the opposite. You amaze me.”
“Pretty words aren’t going to make me take the job.”
God, he wanted to kiss her, but he forced himself to step away and finish.
“What, no snarky comment about what else you have to offer?”
“I have plenty to offer and even more snark, but first, I have a confession to make.” He pulled the necklace from his pocket and laid it in her lap. “I had this made for you.”
She held the necklace in the palm of her hand and held it up. The intricate Celtic knot glinted in the lamplight behind her. “It . . . It’s beautiful.”
She hadn’t yet made the connection, so he forged ahead. “I know you think that with the exception of some harmless online scoping, I haven’t had any contact with you except in Chicago. That’s not true. I’ve been playing Resskaar with you.” He swallowed a lump and said, “I’m Win Abo.”
Her hands dropped down to her lap. “What?”
“Win Abo. When I found you playing Resskaar, I just wanted to check in on you, to know you were okay after I left.”
She stood, one hand fisted tightly, the other still cradling the necklace. “So you pretended to be my friend? You’ve been lying to me for more than a year?”
He raised his hands in defense. “I never planned to be part of your life. I wanted to make sure you were okay, but then once I saw that not only were you okay, but you were Charlie, my Charlie, the girl I fell for three years ago, I didn’t want to leave you again. I was afraid if I’d told you who I was, you’d leave Resskaar and I’d lose you.” He stepped forward, knowing he was risking a punch to the face. “I knew I screwed up when I left after graduation and you probably wouldn’t talk to me again, but if I could have the small part of you that played a game, I wanted it.”
She backed away from him. “God, I’m such a fucking fool. Win Abo . . . Obi-Wan, right?”
He nodded.
“Oh God, I bet you had a hell of laugh in Chicago, didn’t you?” She crumpled back to the bed. “I had such a brave front on when I saw you, but I went to Win and confessed to him how I felt seeing you again.”
Tears brimmed on her lids and his heart broke. He didn’t want to hurt her. Ever.
“I never laughed at you. I was afraid to tell you. I’ve never been more afraid of anything until this moment.”
“Why?”
He didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t even sure he knew what she was asking. He knelt in front of her again. “I love you, Charlie. I loved you three years ago, but you scared me. I couldn’t watch you self-destruct. And you didn’t. I should’ve had more faith in you back then. When I met Laura Nim in game, I knew she was you. The kick-ass attitude, the sense of humor, the loyalty and determination—it was all you, the best parts of you, the parts I fell for.
“It was never about making you feel foolish.” Tears trickled down her face, and he reached up and brushed them away. “I planned to tell you in Chicago, after the last challenge. When you left, I couldn’t tell you in an e-mail. You still trusted Win, so I used that. I won’t apologize for that part. You were ignoring me. But I wanted this time to be different. No secrets, no games. Just us.”
She took a shuddering breath. “What are you saying?”
“I still love you, Charlie. I want us to have a chance.”
He took the necklace from her palm and held it up. “I designed this in the game just for you. It’s one of a kind. The Celtic knot weaves endlessly, but in the center, there’s the claddagh. Love, loyalty, and friendship. You are the best of that for me.”
Silence answered him. For the first time since he’d seen her again in Chicago, he began to doubt. His apology might not be able to overcome her stubbornness. She traced the lines of the knot and he held his breath.
“I don’t know, Best. I’m not sure that a one-of-a-kind necklace is enough groveling to make up for spying on me and lying to me for almost two years.” She reached up and clasped the necklace around her neck.
His voice was rusty when he spoke, but he tried not to jump with excitement. “What else did you have in mind?”
She stood and, holding his hand, pulled him up beside her. “I’m thinking a whole lot of worshipping of my body to start. And we’ll have to work on your gaming skills, ’cause you know, Laura’s been saving Win’s ass for a long time.”
Laughter burst from his chest and he scooped her up in his arms. “I’m open to any and all suggestions.”
She laughed, and when he kissed her, it was like coming home.
Her Winning Formula
Chapter 1
Felicity Stone eased her way past the crowd hovering by the boarding gate. God, how she hated airports. Most people were afraid of flying or crashing. For her, being crammed with over a hundred other people was torture. She sought out the farthest seat she could find while she waited for the announcement to board.
It had been bad enough that she had to switch planes, in Chicago of all places, but her first flight had been delayed. Her original thought when she found she had a connecting flight in Chicago was to convince her friend Charlie to meet her at O’Hare for lunch. Then, with any luck, she’d be able to convince Charlie she needed to go on spring break vacation even if it meant letting Felicity buy her plane ticket. The plane being late ruined that plan.
She huffed out her irritation and set her hefty backpack on the floor at her feet. She checked her phone and saw the text from Layla. Her car had broken down
in Georgia. Felicity jumped from her seat. Another text said that her wallet had been stolen and included the license and picture of some guy that Layla had decided to go home with. What the heck was she thinking? Layla had always been too quick to trust. At least she left a trail of proof of who this guy was.
Felicity dialed Layla’s number and paced. She’d barely gotten three feet when someone tapped her shoulder. She turned and looked up and up. The guy was probably about six feet tall, towering over her barely-over-five-foot height, and had dark scruff covering his jaw. She widened her eyes in expectation of the reason for his interruption.
He lifted her bag from his side. “I think you left this—”
She blew out a breath and disconnected the call. “So what? I’m trying to make a call.”
“The thing is, we’re in an airport, and I really can’t afford not to get to Texas on time.”
“I don’t control the plane.”
“But a bag left unattended might get reported.” He still had her bag, dangling from his fingers as though it weighed a few ounces.
“You’re being a bit paranoid, don’t you think? Every bag left sitting doesn’t contain a—”
His other hand quickly covered her mouth. “I will pay you twenty dollars to not finish that sentence. Department of Homeland Security and the TSA do not take kindly to that word being used in an airport.”
She swiped his hand away from her and snatched her bag from him. Swinging it over her shoulder, the weight pulled at her back.
The guy looked at her and smiled—seriously smiled—and then put out his hand. “I’m Lucas, by the way, and I’m normally not so paranoid, but I have a wedding to get to, and if this plane doesn’t leave on time, my family might kill me.”
“So are you going around policing all of the passengers, or just me?”
He dropped his hand and shrugged. “I noticed your bag and was afraid it might be a problem. Sorry I bothered you.”
He turned and walked away, taking the seat two over from where she had staked out her spot. There were four other seats in that row. Did he have to sit within touching distance of her? Felicity took a deep breath. She knew her thoughts were slightly unreasonable. The stress was getting to her.
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