Lucy
We worked diligently all day yesterday, making good progress. To my relief, JP was occupied with important mogul things like counting his billions and didn’t spend all his time sitting beside me. But he did make his presence known, popping by to scrutinize our progress and fray my nerves further.
This morning, the third full day of hackathon, after another stupid dog dream that woke me up at the crack of dawn, I decide to attend yoga. Shockingly, half the team turns up. With the mountains as a beautiful backdrop, the unnaturally cheerful instructor guides us through poses on the lawn.
My eyes, however, are not on the mountains, nor the sunrise. Instead, I gawk at JP’s cobra pose like a perv. For a man built like Superman, the control he has arching that gracefully powerful frame is obscene. The morning sun bounces off his gym-honed shoulders and arms, which are straining in the most sinfully delicious manner. His T-shirt creeps northward with each stretch, riding up just enough to reveal a tantalizing strip of abdomen that sends my ovaries into a tizzy.
The only thing that tames my raging hormones is the silent deadly fart that someone-I suspect Matty, since I dragged him to yoga-let out, making me want to be sick in my own mouth.
I know it isn’t JP. His farts are probably really sexy. They’d come up as growls and leave behind an intoxicating blend of spearmint, tea tree musk, and a hint of rugged cedarwood.
By lunchtime I’m a nervous wreck. The yoga was supposed to be calming, but really it just left me needing a cold shower and a confessional. It’s been two nights since I kissed JP, and any time I’ve seen him, he’s acted totally normal. Meanwhile, I’m barely keeping it together. Since I can’t talk to Priya or Libby, Matty will have to do. He’ll probably give me crap, but I trust him.
I drag him away from the buffet, a chicken wing hanging from his mouth.
“Matty, I need you to be serious for once and promise not to breathe a word of what I’m about to say.”
He raises an eyebrow, clearly not expecting anything juicy. My usual meltdowns are more Oh no, I used the wrong font than life-changing drama.
“Okay, so… I did something.”
He waves the chicken wing at me impatiently. “Out with it.”
“I, um, made out with Wolfe,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Didn’t hear a word of that.”
I sigh, scanning the area warily, before I repeat my confession a little louder.
His jaw drops, chicken wing frozen mid-air. “Are you messing with me?”
“No,” I hiss back at him. “I’m not just saying this for shits and giggles.”
“You?”
“What’s that supposed to mean, me? What, like I’m not good enough for Wolfe?”
“No, no, you’re a catch, Luce.” He shrugs, looking genuinely puzzled. “I just didn’t see that coming.”
I sigh. “Yeah, me neither. It’s a massive fuck-up.”
I watch as his expression morphs from surprise to interest and then to a grimace, as if he’s tasted something sour. “How the hell did that happen? When?”
“Two nights ago. We were talking and…” How did it happen? “He made a move, and I got caught up in the moment. Forgot where I was. Who I was. Who he was.”
He sucks air in through his teeth, leaving me hanging on the precipice of judgment. “Did you fuck him?”
“No way! It was totally PG. Wait, what age is that again? It was definitely eighteen and up. But nothing that would get us kicked out of a movie theater. We kissed,” I confess, twirling my bangs again.
He rolls his eyes. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s not gonna get banned.”
I cross my arms indignantly. “It was an insanely passionate kiss!”
The most passionate of my life, but I can’t go down that mental rabbit hole right now. “But that’s not the point. What do I do now? Act like it never happened or do I talk to him about it?” Anxiety gnaws at my lip. “I’m all over the place. I can’t believe I let it happen.”
“Just let it slide, Luce. You’re not in the right place for a fling with Wolfe. Memory loss or no memory loss.”
“Wait, what?!” I sputter, laughing. “You think I’m planning to… with Wolfe? I’m not that dumb.”
At least, I hope not.
“Good.” He nods approvingly. “Don’t you remember the first hackathon?”
“No! Why?”
“Oh shit, yeah. I forgot you forgot.”
“What?” My eyes are saucers. “Spill it!”
“The guy wasn’t short of female attention. He tried to keep it discreet-actually he didn’t try that hard-he had at least two different women that week.”
I swallow hard and try to respond. To say what? It’s hardly breaking news.
“It was just a dumb mistake.” I muster some bravado. “Forget I mentioned it.”
Oh my God. I’m such a dumbass. Wolfe is only making moves because we’re stuck in the middle of nowhere, and not in Vegas. Out of the hackathon crew, I’m the most viable option. Most of the team are guys, Wendy is just out of college and too busy thinking about Game of Thrones, and Taylor is already tethered to a boyfriend.
Would his gaze wander in my direction in Vegas if he was surrounded by those glamazons he’s photographed next to at “events”? Not a chance.
My face must spell out shock because Matty’s brows knit together. “Luce, what were you thinking?”
I manage a smile. “That’s the thing. I wasn’t. How long can I play the amnesia card?”
“Oh, you can milk that for months.”
I steal a glance at Wolfe.
He’s out on the lawn, holding court with the team. The sunlight catches his chiseled jaw.
It’s a face that commands attention, even when my brain is screaming, Retreat, retreat!
What the hell was I thinking? I’m not built for office romances, not with anyone, let alone with the man in charge.
Priya can pull it off. She had a thing with a guy at work, but she’s able to neatly slot lust, work, and love into tidy compartments. It only got messy when she discovered the guy was also “compartmentalizing” another woman at work.
I’m not built for that kind of drama.
A guy like Wolfe will chew me up and spit me out, taking what he wants and leaving me to gather the remnants of my dignity.
Our eyes meet, and he smirks. Matty’s words echo in my head, and I can only imagine the other hackathons. The audacity of the man. He thinks he can use me for the week. What a total bastard.
Heat rises in my cheeks and I turn away, busying myself by smoothing out my bangs.
“Five minutes till we regroup!” Taylor calls out from the brainstorming area, her voice cutting through the chatter.
A smug smirk spreads across JP’s face before he saunters into the mansion. I glare back, giving my best death stare.
That’s the last time I get involved with Wolfe. I must stay professional, avoid Wolfe, and focus on the job. I’m not here to become tomorrow’s gossip around the water cooler. Doesn’t matter that we had a “moment” in the hall, getting tangled up with a ruthless guy like Wolfe, especially as my boss, would end in disaster.