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“Not much. I’ve got a shift in the morning, so I’ll probably just go to bed early.”
“Oh, sure. Well, you know… You could just hang out here if you wanted. It would probably be boring since I have to work, so maybe not. That was stupid. Never mind.”
My smile stretches across my face. I grab Carter around the waist. “I’d love to stay here and hang out. Even if I only get a small glimpse of you, it would be better than being home alone.”
Carter’s lopsided smile makes my day. “Okay, then. I have to go back to work, but maybe I’ll take a break for lunch?”
“That sounds perfect. I promise not to cook anything this time.”
Carter laughs. “That’s probably a good idea.” He leans in to kiss me, but then groans as he pulls away. “You’re distracting. Maybe this was a bad idea.”
I chuckle. “I swear I won’t bother you. I’ll just sit out here and watch TV or something.”
“This is ridiculous, isn’t it?”
“Absolutely. But I’m not leaving now, so you’re stuck with me.” I wink.
“I’m okay with that.”
CHAPTER 15
Carter
Focusing on my job while Sam hung out in my living room was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. All I wanted to do was cuddle on the couch with him instead of dealing with the fallout from our database project being incorrect.
The higher-ups were leery about continuing with the project. I can’t fault them for that. My boss made the point that we’re good enough at our jobs to catch anything that would be wrong, as made obvious by the fact that we caught the scoring issue in the first place.
I was ready to throw in the towel and be done with the whole mess. Even if it meant the last six months of work would go down the drain. The rest of the team felt similarly when we met this morning to discuss the latest news. William was still testing out the rest of the database in the high likelihood the company wanted it to be up and running by the deadline.
It wasn’t until after a perfect lunch with Sam that Paul told me RetLab seemed to be functioning fine, which meant something went wrong when we integrated the program into our database. I can’t quite conceive how that’s possible, but I’m determined to figure it out. We can’t afford to have this big of a mistake hanging over our heads. At best, it would discredit our entire team. At worst, I could lose my job. Our researchers need to know they can count on their IT team to keep their data safe. If they can’t trust us, what reason would they have to keep me in charge?
What a disaster.
I offload the few projects I haven’t wrapped up yet onto Eliza and William to focus on the database. It’s going to take weeks to dig into the chain of events to figure out where we went wrong. Even then, I’m not confident I’ll be able to find out what happened. It’s going to take luck and a shit ton of my energy if I have any hope of keeping my job.
Hours go by as I build up the timeline of events. Each piece of this database was coordinated like a complex clock. I knew we needed copious amounts of checks and balances to ensure each stage was completed to perfection.
Nothing about what I’ve gathered so far indicates when the scoring program was altered, but at least it’s a start. I glance at the clock only to realize it’s five-thirty.
I pull my glasses off and rub my eyes. I’ve been at this since one. My brain is fried to a crisp. Normally, I’d push through since there’s plenty more I could get done, but I have a hot firefighter sitting on my couch. The choice is a no-brainer.
I walk out of my office and walk toward the living room to find Sam curled up on my couch with a book in his hands. He hasn’t noticed my presence yet, so I take advantage of the moment to ogle him without reservation.
He’s the most attractive man I’ve ever seen. His sandy blond hair is a messy mop on top of his head, and he has the cutest frown lines between his eyebrows from concentrating on his book. I can’t see what he’s reading right now, but I’m dying to know what his preferences are. I don’t read books very often because I spend too much time reading code on my computer. The evenings are my time to give my eyes a break.
“Hey, Smoky.” I move closer to the couch to sit next to him.
Sam startles. “Jesus Christ. Not nice.”
I laugh. “Sorry. Must be a good book.”
He holds it up for me to read the title. The Shining by Stephen King. No wonder he was startled.
“Have you seen the movie?” I ask him.
“Yeah, but I’ve heard that King wasn’t happy with how it was produced, so I wanted to read the book.”
“Huh. I’m not one for scary movies. They give me nightmares, so you’ll have to tell me which one you prefer.”
