Nathaniel shrugs. “I am the cheesiest.”
Jared smiles bigger to reveal very nice teeth and takes a second longer to study me. It’s like he’s reading something on my face I’m not aware of. I don’t doubt for a second this guy has game. I scan his desk for pictures of a partner and see none.
“Okay, we’ll just let you get back to work.” Nathaniel shuffles me back out the door.
Jared raises the pierced eyebrow at his friend. “Nice meeting you, Jules. Hope we’ll see you again.” He shoots me another charming smile before dropping back into his work.
“Julia,” Nathaniel corrects before closing the door with a thump.
I think I hear a soft chuckle as I’m led away.
Back in the bright light of the hallway, Nathaniel dusts off his hands. “So that’s the team. You seem to fit right in.” He smiles hopefully.
Ughhh.
What’s the worst that could happen?
This.
The team could be amazing and hilarious. The project could be the coolest thing I’ve never heard of. The camaraderie between the engineers could feel like the family I’d never been a part of. Nathaniel looks so desperate for help that every time I look at him my resolve melts a little more.
That’s the worst that could happen. At least until I go off like a bomb and ruin all of their equipment and possibly kill someone.
* * *
I’d only had the briefest introduction to the Lite-Bright project and team and already my heart is chanting in my chest:want this, want this, want this.
I can’t want this. I can’t have any of this. I can’t have a normal life.
So dramatic, Grandma Sue says in my head as Nathaniel and I keep walking.
“There it is,” he whispers, gesturing me into a small alcove where the notorious espresso maker gleams.
I open my mouth to speak when he says, “Wait.” Nathaniel reaches into the small cabinet above and pulls out a giant bag of chocolate miniatures. He puts a finger to his lips and says “Shhh. Just so you know, I don’t tell just anybody about that secret stash.”
“You really are pulling out all the stops.” I lean back against the counter slightly away from him. When I smell him, a flush of heat rolls through me. Stupid lady hormones.
“What do you think so far?” he asks me.
“It is a very nice machine,” I say coyly.
He grins. “About my little island of misfits. What do you think of them?” His hands shuffle around before he tucks them under his arms as though restraining them.
Misfits. That description only makes me long to be a part of this team more. I connected with them. I liked them all. If they were misfits, then I’d definitely fit right in. The most baffling part is that he wants me to jointhem.Everybody knows Nathaniel and his team are the up-and-coming power team. Whenever they actually venture out to the lab cafeteria, they are always together, heads bowed, talking emphatically. Anybody would kill to be invited to sit with the cool kids. If anybody here needed to be vetted, it was me.
“I’m a little intimidated,” I say honestly, shocked at myself. “That’s a lot of brainpower in one building.”
He looks back to the offices we just toured with a befuddled grin. “We’re all just big dorks.”
“Dorks are the ones who change the world for the better,” I say.
Our gazes clash. The power in me surges suddenly and unexpectedly. I dig my nails into my palms to calm myself and look away. This lack of control is new and scary. I turn away sharply.
“It’s a great offer.” I pretend to look at the schematics on the wall. Squiggly lines and acronyms that make no sense cover it. They could be written in Latin for how well I understand them.
“I mentioned the pay raise, right?”
I groan quietly.
