AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“There you go. Doing it again.Evading.”
I let loose a small, guilty smile.
She shakes her head. “You’re sharp, Nova. You just pretend not to be when it suits you.”
“I, uh, I’m not good at making small talk.”
“That’s fine. I don’t have time for small talk anyway. Every second counts here.” Her lips curve up mischievously. “I’ve been curious about something. How did you and Adam meet?”
“The way all bosses and employees meet. I was looking for a job and he hired me.”
Alexa groans. “Come on. I need more detail than that.” When she pouts, it reminds me of Rowan. “Were you always this uber professional woman with a great sense of style? Did he see that and immediately go, ‘I need her’? Or was it more like an enemies to lovers thing? Like, he couldn’t stand you at first sight and then you proved your worth?” When I look slightly overwhelmed, Alexa explains, “I’ve been reading a lot of romance novels lately. They take me away from… well… everything.”
“Uh, no. We weren’t enemies to—we didn’t have that exciting of a start.”
“Bummer.” She edges forward. “So what happened?”
“I…”
It’s hard for me to talk about myself most of the time, but ending things with Adam left a fresh wound. Digging up our old memories makes my mask of indifference falter.
I clutch my purse tightly, fighting to keep my expression intact.
Alexa looks eagerly at me.
Although it’s uncomfortable, I share, “My sister had gotten into some trouble and I’d been let go from my job.”
Alexa doesn’t need to know that those two things are connected. If Lyra hadn’t come to my job, acting crazy and making a scene, I would still be there.
“I needed money, quick, but no one was hiring. The only options available were retail or fast food jobs, but then I wouldn’t make enough to help my family.”
Alexa makes a humming sound and I get the feeling that she’s been there.
“I was getting more and more desperate to find something suitable, but nothing was working out. By chance, I heard that an inventor was looking for a personal assistant.”
“How did you find out? Did Adam put out an ad?” Alexa’s eyes widen.
“I overheard some girls when I was going through the newspaper classifieds at a café. They were talking about an inventor who’d sold his first invention for a million dollars. He’d been recruiting a PA from the tech college, but according to the girls, he kept rejecting everyone who showed up for the job.”
“So you just overheard a conversation? It was, like,fate?” Her eyes are shining even more.
“Coincidence.”
She rolls her eyes. “Oh no. You’re one of those.”
That gets a laugh out of me. “One of what?”
“The jaded ones.” She makes a circular motion with her hands. “But I won’t hold it against you. Keep going.”
“Even though I had no background in tech and didn’t think I stood a good chance, I was determined to get him to hire me.”
“What happened next?” Alexa seems far too excited about a story where she already knows the ending.
“I walked inside—Adam’s lab was in an old warehouse at the time—and I overheard him on the phone, arguing with someone about how his invention was about helping humanity and he didn’t want the selling price so high. I kind of lingered in the background and, when I’d heard enough, I held my hand out for the phone.”
“Youdidn’t.” Alexa wheezes.
