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I propped my heel on the edge of the seat, shifting again but knowing there was no comfort to be had. It didn’t help that my jeans were wet, making them harder to move in, or that they had an AC vent directed right at me that felt like it was set to “arctic chill.”
He was intent on the tablet. From the noises he was making, it wasn’t going well. He’d tap, make a noise, then tap a few more times, each tap more aggressive than the last.
“I still don’t know what this place is. What kind of aptitude test is this, exactly?” I asked, not that it should matter. The whole situation was beyond absurd. I’d sit here, regroup, figure out what was going on and, most importantly, how to stop the pain that came when I left, and then get the hell out of here again.
“We’re tinkers. Now stop talking. It messes up the test.” He didn’t bother looking up as he spoke.
Bullshit it messed up the test. This guy just hated the sound of my voice.
“Tinkers?” I asked, pulling my other leg up until I had my knees to my chest.
“Yes, we fix things for a price. Now stop talking.” He tapped on his tablet and then tapped again.
I would’ve pressed further, but he seemed to be having some technical difficulty. If I had to bet, I’d put my money onuser error. The last thing I wanted was to get stuck here longer, so he needed to figure this out.
He was tapping on the tablet so hard it was echoing through the room.
The sound of a door opening and closing, along with footsteps, drifted down the hall.
Dice yelled, “Cookie, Connor, I need your asses in here.”
Cookie was there first, took in the situation, and said, “I didn’t come to work. I heard she was back, and I’m here to collect my winnings.”
Connor, who was right behind her, sagged. “Shit. She’s really here.”
Obviously he was on the losing end of the bet.
“If you want me to pay up, I need you to look at this. The chair is acting up.” Dice held up the tablet.
Cookie rolled her eyes, sighing almost as loud as a yell, but walked over. Connor followed.
She tilted her head, staring for a few seconds as if she wasn’t familiar with what she saw. “That doesn’t look right. You’re doing something wrong.” She reached to take the tablet from Dice. “Give it to me.”
“I don’t need you to do it. I just wanted your opinion,” Dice said, moving it out of her reach.
“If you give it to me, I might be able to fix it. Why have me look and not let me touch it?” She reached for it again.
“Because I’m still working on it,” Dice said, jerking it away from her.
Connor left them and came over to examine the chair, giving it a little shake, rattling me along with it. I grabbed the arms before I ended up on the floor. These people were a mess. No wonder I couldn’t get a simple question answered.
Connor walked back to them, and they huddled, arguing over the tablet but sharing it to some degree, even though Dice was gripping it so hard his knuckles were white. Their voices had dropped, hiding whatever they were saying, but I caught Kaden’s name.
“Are you calling Kaden? You don’t need to call Kaden,” I said. “I’m sure you can fix this on your own.”
I barely knew the guy, but he had a way of rattling me worse than any of these three. I felt like I could handle them. Kaden? That seemed like slippery ground.
They quieted for two seconds, looking at me, and then continued whispering. Connor broke off from the huddle, heading toward the door.
“Where are you going?” I asked. He didn’t answer, so I turned to the other two. “Is he going to get Kaden?”
They didn’t answer either. They were too busy tapping, shaking, and banging the tablet.
“You don’t need Kaden. If you didn’t beat your electronics, they’d probably work better.”
They ignored me, and I had this urge to go over and grab the tablet from them.
A few minutes later, Kaden walked in. “What’s the issue now?” he asked, his gaze shifting to me. I pulled my legs up closer and then pretended to be interested in my nails.
