Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 41137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 206(@200wpm)___ 165(@250wpm)___ 137(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 206(@200wpm)___ 165(@250wpm)___ 137(@300wpm)
She appears a moment later, fully dressed. I feel my heart drop.
“I should get going,” she says, coming down toward me.
“You don’t need to go just yet.”
“I really should.” She frowns, looking at her phone. “Mac texted me like ten times, and I should—”
“Mac?”
“The girl I live with. I really should get going.”
“Okay,” I say, nodding.
She hesitates at the door. “Why was he here?” she asks me suddenly.
I shake my head. “Who cares?” I ask her.
“I’m curious.”
“He has some idea about backwards implementation. I was only half listening.”
She bites her lip. “Howard is… smart.”
“I know.”
“He’s also an asshole.”
“I know.”
“Okay.” She hesitates again, looking awkward. “Well. Thanks, uh, for the breakfast.”
I grin at her. “Thanks for the sex.”
She blushes. I pull her against me and kiss her. I don’t care if she’s feeling awkward or not.
She returns my kiss and the ice breaks between us. “I’ll see you later,” she says softly.
“Yeah, you will.”
She leaves my house. I linger in the doorway, watching her go.
I shut the door behind me, frowning slightly. Fucking hell. Howard ruined the spell, and clearly it bothered her that he showed up.
Still, he’s a smart guy. He’s good at what he does. He’s a dick to Clara, but I need guys like him if I’m going to make my project succeed.
I’m torn. I want to get rid of Howard, since clearly Clara doesn’t like him. But I need good ideas and smart people.
I sigh and turn back inside. I’ll work this problem out. Maybe I can get Howard to leave her alone, because at the end of the day, I need Clara more than I need him.
13
Clara
I try to keep Howard out of my mind, but I can’t help it.
I don’t know why just him showing up cast a shadow on what happened between me and Jason.
Before he showed up, things were perfect. I mean, running into those professors was awful, and Jason saying he’s going to bribe them wasn’t great, but everything after that…
I’ve never felt that good in my life. In bed with him, giving myself to him, I was comfortable. I don’t know how else to describe it. I was comfortable and spiraling into a place of pure and intense pleasure. I didn’t need to sleep, eat, breathe.
I just needed him.
Now, though, after Howard showed up…
Somehow, it’s tainted. That night, that amazing night, the best night of my life, is tainted. Howard knows Jason’s address, and that changes things for me.
I don’t know why. I don’t get why Jason would tell Howard where he lives. Maybe Howard is smarter than I am, better at all this. Maybe Jason is working closely with Howard, since apparently they’re sharing ideas.
It just changes things for me. It taints everything.
I don’t know why. Or maybe I do, and I don’t want to admit it.
I want Jason all to myself. I know Jason doesn’t like Howard the same way he likes me, that’s obvious, but I thought we had something. I mean, I thought he liked me for my mind as well as for everything else.
But maybe he needs Howard more, since apparently Howard has all these great ideas.
I don’t say anything to Jason. I can’t let him know that I’m just another petty, jealous girl. I don’t even want to admit that much to myself. I’d rather just pretend like I don’t feel anything at all.
But it keeps creeping into my mind.
The next morning, we have an internship session. I show up just on time, and the other guys are already there. They don’t say anything as I take my spot and Jason stands up in front of the room.
I try not to look at him. I don’t want to think about that night. Right now, he’s just my professor, my teacher, my employer. I want to pretend like things are normal, at least for a second.
Even if Howard is his star pupil, and I’m just the girl he’s fucking.
“Now that you’re all here, I have something to announce,” he says.
The guys quiet down. All eyes are glued on Jason.
“You’ve all been doing very well,” he says slowly. “You’ve exceeded my expectations, to be quite honest. I’m more than happy with all five of you.”
I glance at the guys. Alan looks particularly proud, like he didn’t expect any of this.
“But there’s an opportunity that I can only bring two of you for. It’s a VR conference. I’ll be giving a talk, and hopefully we can start making some contacts and start talking up what we’ve been doing.”
I stare at Jason. I can hardly believe what I’m hearing.
“The two I choose will likely become a part of the final team,” he says. “Not definitely, but likely. I haven’t chosen who I will be bringing, so please, work hard. If you want to be included, show me you deserve it.” He nods and sits down. “Get to work.”